Letter from the MC Principal
Hello MC families,
In my last Courier letter I mentioned that on Monday and Tuesday, March 11th and 12th the International Baccalaureate organization was sending a pair of evaluators to visit our school as the culmination of our school going through the “Evaluation” process. After having spent two days at our school the evaluators raved about what they had seen. They were impressed with the work that we are doing as a school, and with the students they saw engaging in class. I am extremely proud of the hard work that our teachers are doing. We will share a summary of the Evaluation report that we received in the coming weeks, but this is one of my favorite quotes:
The school has a safe, healthy, nurturing environment that reflects the school’s purpose for learning and is characterized by respect for diversity, fairness and trust. Examples include the general understanding of rigor as communicated by the students, the presence of a native speaker language acquisition class, and the general understanding that learning is about growth, as communicated by the special education lead.
It’s great when outside evaluators who have seen schools all over the world are independently verifying the level of the work that is happening at both campuses. Big shout out to our teachers, and thank you parents for believing in the mission of Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School. We have a different approach than most; that’s what makes us special, and what makes us so successful.
It was great seeing many of you in the building this week for student led conferences. Students have been working hard the last few weeks to put together presentations that outline their reflections on how their commitment to the Guiding Principles (work habits) impacts their learning. This process of reflection helps our students take Responsibility for their actions and learning in a way that prepares them for high school; and ultimately prepares them to be more self-reflective in life. Our commitment to student-led conferences is an important part of what we do, and is an example of one of the ways that we help our students learn how to use their minds well.
Finally, our students are working hard right now between student led conferences and summative assessments. Our 8th graders are completing Community Project presentations, and our middle schoolers also have the standard stressors that come with being members of their age group in this digital age. Please check in with your students and help them manage their stress levels. We always encourage our students to talk to our counselor, school administrators, or any trusted adults if they need help. Specific to next week, the therapy dogs that have been visiting our school this year will be here on Monday as a resource as well. If there is anything that we can do to be of support please let us know.
As always if you have any questions please feel free to reach out.
Kind regards,
Mark
Mark Sanders
Mark Sanders began teaching at ANCS in 2011. Before coming to the school, Mr. Sanders worked in New York City. He spent three years teaching 7th and 8th grade mathematics at Middle School 50 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and two years at Harlem Village Academies teaching Geometry and Algebra 2/Trigonometry. He taught 8th grade Math/Science/Technology at ANCS for five years.
