Orchard Farms PTO

The Orchard Farms staff, students, and community have reason to be proud of their school. Outside, the aesthetics of the building are wonderful. Inside, there is a feeling of community and caring. The staff demonstrates their willingness to assist every student to achieve at the highest levels and the proof of our effort continues to roll in.

The NECAP scores from October 2008 are in. Orchard Farms’ students have outdone themselves again. In all areas, the students have demonstrated a steady progression over the last four years of testing with particularly exciting gains in reading and writing this year.

Over the last two years, writing has been one of the school improvement initiatives at Orchard Farms. Due to the hard work of faculty, staff, and students we saw an 11% gain last year and an 8% gain this year in proficiency. Particularly gratifying is that we had no students substantially below proficient in the category of all fifth graders tested.

Reading is a subject of major concern in the elementary schools. This particular skill is used to further education throughout a student’s learning career. There have been gains in reading through the last four years and this year we can proudly say that there are no students at Orchard Farms (three through sixth grades tested) that are substantially below proficient in reading. The full proficiency rating in reading at Orchard Farms is 92%.

We are proud of our school and what we have accomplished. The staff has collaborated to identify areas of concern in both teaching and learning to solidify the instructional program. The students have taken the tests seriously and applied the skill they have learned in the classroom. The community has supported us in our efforts and worked with their children to make the educational program at Orchard Farms what it is today.

And you may ask, where do we go from here? We will continue to seek out subject areas that need our attention. We will focus on student needs as they present themselves because it is always a new group of students that we are testing. The community of Orchard Farms must continue to remain focused on the goals at hand but yet pinpoint those student needs that require attention whether they are social, academic, or personal. But for now, let us revel in our success and celebrate those individual students that exceeded expectations.

As the principal of Orchard Farms, I congratulate you on a job well done. Thank you all.