NETWORKings
Antioch Charter Academy
Reminder: when dropping off AND picking up your student, please remain in your vehicle. Thank you in advance!!
Newsletter for Antioch Charter Academy/TLCS Families and Staff Volume 25, Issue 28, April 5, 2021
Dear ACA Families,
Lately, the news coverage about schools and students is dire. There are several reports highlighting learning loss and mental health concerns. While we teachers have been carrying the weight of these concerns (for me in my head, neck, back and tummy) for the last year, I wanted to share with you a recent and relevant article that focuses on our role as parents/teachers and the impact we can have on our children in the ways we think and talk about these worries.
Ron Berger is a senior advisor for EL Education (a program that our staff have begun training with and aiming to integrate at our school), a teacher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and author of eight books on education. In his March 20, 2021 article in The Atlantic entitled “Our Kids Are Not Broken,” he reminds us that there is a “direct connection between a student’s mindset and academic success” (Berger, 2021). Teachers, parents, students and the broader community can influence that mindset and may need help reframing this last year of school and its successes and failures.
While we continue to measure student academic progress, we should “recognize students’ resilience over this past year, support their healing and emotional growth, and honor them with meaningful and challenging academic work, not remedial classes” (Berger, 2021). Of course we need to identify all of the core content that our students have/have not mastered, but we also need to acknowledge (loudly and proudly) what our students HAVE LEARNED and the skills that they HAVE ACQUIRED since last year’s school closures. In the intermediate grades, our 4th-6th graders have learned to email, upload, download, sign-in and sign-out of Zoom, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and maintain close to 4 hours of sustained focus/work time- to name just a few. You will not find any of these skills on our “common core curriculum” lists, however, I hope you see that they do fall under our ACA School Wide Performance Goals and are, more importantly, real life and employable skills.
Soon, our students will be asked to participate in the CAASPP state-wide testing. While these results can and should be used by teachers to inform future instruction- please avoid using these scores to judge your child’s overall growth. In line with the EL and ACA philosophies, Berger urges teachers to avoid remediation or “filling in” all of the learning loss with tedious and repetitive practice. Rather, students should be challenged and pushed by the curriculum. We hope to awaken student interests, help them feel safe, be seen and have value.
This is what drives student achievement. Our goal at ACA, particularly in these last few months of school, is to continue to tell and show students how much they have learned and how far they can and will go. Berger closes his article with a thought I’d like our community to consider:
“If students know that teachers value and believe in them, no matter what they have gone through over the past year, education can create a classroom environment where high expectations are the norm. When students feel empowered, they care more and work harder. Next time you hear the phrase learning loss, think about whether we really want to define our students by their deficits instead of their potential” (Berger, 2021).
Thanks for reading!
Kris Cordova
Intermediate Teacher
Berger, R. (2021, March 20). Our Kids Are Not Broken. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/
GENERAL NOTES
Middle School News (Community Challenge Groups): Thank you for all your support for our Middle School Cause groups. Check back for updates on activities!
2020-21 Yearbook:
Hello ACA Families,
The yearbook staff is having a Chipotle fundraiser April 21st from 5-9pm at the Chipotle on Lone Tree(5401 Lone Tree Way Ste 100, Brentwood) All proceeds made will go into buying yearbooks for the 8th grade students. Any support is greatly appreciated. If you go to the Chipotle either show them the flyer (attached below) or say that you are with ACA, if not the money won’t go to ACA.
Any support is greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much,
ACA yearbook staff
And remember…we need pictures of your students doing school activities so we will be able to create a yearbook that is full of amazing school memories! If you have any pictures of students participating in school related activities please send them to ACAMemories@
FAMILY NETWORK (FN) NEWS & INFORMATION
The ACA Family Network is made up of ACA adults who volunteer for fundraisers and social events for the enrichment of our children. The money we raise goes back to our school for study trips, family activities, assemblies, and classroom supplies. If you have a child/grandchild/niece/nephew/
Family Network Meetings are usually the first Thursday of each month. Meetings will be held by Zoom until we can go back to campus. The board welcomes and encourages all ACA families to attend the meetings. Check with the calendar below to find out the next meeting.
Annual Give: Thank you to everyone that has donated! Let’s keep it up! donate here via PayPal → paypal.me/ACAfamilynetwork
AmazonSmiles: Shop at Amazon? Shop at Amazon’s fundraising site, smile.amazon.com and they will donate back to ACA. We are registered as The Learner Centered School, Inc.
REMINDERS & ONGOING INFORMATION
School Campus Open: The campus is open Monday through Fridays (except holidays) from 8-12pm. Call the office, or check with your student’s classroom if arrangements need to be made to come after open hours.
Drop Off & Pick Up Reminder: When dropping off AND picking up your student, please remain in your vehicle. Thank you in advance!!
Grab & Go Meals: Students from ACA I & II (and any siblings 18 and under) may pick up a bag containing FREE breakfast, lunch, supper and a snack M-F from any one of our 12 feeding sites. The waiver is good through the 2020-21 school year. Please visit https://www.antiochschools.
Charter Council: the Charter Council is our governing board. The board meets usually on the second Thursday of the month @ 4PM. Please check the calendar for the next meeting date/time, or call the office at 925-755-7311 to confirm. These meetings are currently on Zoom, and open to the public – all are welcomed! The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 8 at 4pm. Contact the office with any questions.
Absences and Tardies – Daily Attendance is expected: If your student will be absent, or tardy, please call the office at 925-755-7311, or email your student’s classroom, before 8:00am. Even though we are currently doing Distance Learning, roll is still taken EVERY DAY.
Updates on Distance Learning and Reopening: Distance and On Campus Learning for students continues to evolve. We are constantly evaluating the situation, and are bringing in student stable groups in a safe manner. All parents and guardians are encouraged to read the various Safety Plans and Policies that are currently available on https://antiochcharteracademy.
Need Assistance – it is OK to ask!
Antioch Charter Academy: call the school office (925-755-7311) if you need help finding school supplies, figuring out how to get school lunches, and/or need to talk with someone regarding any struggles your student(s) may be facing.
Shelter Inc. COVID 19 and Eviction Prevention Hotlines: COVID 19 hotline for those affected by the COVID-19 virus: rental assistance, payment of utility bills, funds for food or necessities; Eviction Prevention – due to crisis. Call 211 or go to https://shelterinc.org/
programs/covid-19-hotline.html Contra Costa County Office of Education (Supplies available upon request for students in unstable housing):Headphones for distance learning, Hygiene kits, School supplies (crayons, markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, construction paper, pencils, lined paper), Reusable cloth mask (plain white, or Crayola colors for elementary)
Contra Costa Crisis Center (call 211): https://cccc.
myresourcedirectory.com/
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Calendar
April 8 Charter Council Zoom Meeting @ 4pm
April 12-16 Spring Break – no school
April 21 Yearbook Elective Chipotle Fundraiser (see above for details)
April 26-30 Book Fair (Virtual)
April 28 Young Author’s Night (check with your child’s classroom for how they will be celebrating this annual event)
April 30 Minimum Day – school day ends at 12pm
May 6 Family Network Zoom Meeting at 3:30
May 13 Charter Council Zoom Meeting @ 4pm
May 28 Minimum Day – school day ends at 12pm
May 31 No School – Memorial Day
2021-2022 School Calendar ACA / ACA II
Aug 18 First Day of School
Sep 6 Labor Day
Oct 4 – 8 October Break
Oct 11 Staff Day – no school for students
Nov 11 Veteran’s Day Observed
Nov 22-26 Thanksgiving Break
Dec 23-Jan 7 Winter Break
Jan 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Feb 21 – 25 President’s Day & February Break
Feb 28 Staff Day – no school for students
Apr 18 – 22 Spring Break
May 30 Memorial Day
June 10 Last Day of School
CONTACT INFORMATION
School Phone – 925-755-7311School Address – 3325 Hacienda Way, Antioch 94509
School Website – www.AntiochCharterAcademy.org
ACA Office – ACAOffice@
ACA Family Network – ACAFamilyNetwork@
ACA Elementary – ACAElementary@
ACA Intermediate – ACAIntermediate@
ACA Primary – ACAPrimary@
ACA Middle School – ACAMiddleSchool@
ACA I & II Special Education – SPED@antiochcharteracademy.org
ACA Newsletter – ACANewsletter@
ACA Memories – ACAMemories@
ACA Hot Lunch Program – ACALunchProgram@
Twitter & Instagram Accounts – #AntiochCharter; @AntiochCharter
Parent Network Board & Contact Info
Co-Chairs: Lydia Moon and Kelly MacCallister
Secretary: Brooke Farrington
Treasurer: Beth Rottier
School Volunteer Coordinator: Salena Killion
Social Chair: Janika Barnes
Fundraising Chair: open
If you’re interested in an open position please email ACAFamilyNetwork@
We need help to make this year amazing for OUR KIDS, the school families, teachers and staff
Members at Large: Everyone!
Private Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/
Email: ACAFamilyNetwork@
VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS
Our Vision To provide a learning environment where students of all socio-economic levels and ethnic backgrounds embrace education, exhibit compassion, and accept personal responsibility
Our Mission The mission of the Antioch Charter Academies is to facilitate academic and personal growth of TK-8th grade students of all socio-economic levels and ethnic backgrounds. ACA enables 21st century students to become literate, self-motivated, innovative, lifelong learners, and compassionate, collaborative active citizens. We nurture and support a partnership of students, teachers, families and the community; embrace individual strengths; and build upon research informed educational best practices including Montessori, multiple intelligences, brain-compatible teaching, and multi-age groupings with small class sizes.
Antioch Charter Academy is Fully Accredited for Grades K-8 by the Schools Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges