Welcome Back Carman-Ainsworth Cavaliers!

The 2017/2018 school year was another exciting year in our school district. We are very eager to continue to create and maintain high standards of academic and social success for all Carman-Ainsworth students. The 2018 graduating class of Carman-Ainsworth High School amassed nearly $4 million dollars in college scholarships and attained well over 600 college credits. The 2018 graduating class of Carman-Ainsworth Baker Career Academy earned a combined total of 131 college credits; graduating senior Paris Folsom alone completed a total of 55 credits! These are examples of students who have taken advantage of the outstanding college partnerships that we have in Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools. Our hope is that this year even more students will aspire to take advantage of gaining college credit while attending high school.

As we continue to improve upon our ability to deliver outstanding instruction, we are very fortunate to provide students with extra curricular activities that are exceptional. For example, the Carman-Ainsworth Middle School Robotics team MO’ Peeps was crowned World Champions and was the recipient of the Excellence Award at the VEX World Championships that were held in Louisville, Kentucky. The Carman-Ainsworth High School Robotics team BIG MO, received the Quality Award and the Innovation in Control Award at the FIRST World Championships, which was held in Detroit.

Moving forward, please keep in mind the two initiatives that began last year that will be available to our students for this upcoming school year:

• School-based Health Center at Carman-Ainsworth High School- Our partnership with the Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools (RAHS) at Michigan Medicine aligns with the district’s continued commitment to the health and well being of students and the community. The fully functioning health center provides valuable resources to our students and families that include, but are not limited to: Immunizations, Physical Exams, Sick Visits, Nutrition Counseling, Health and Fitness Education Programs & Groups, Confidential Mental Health Services and Psychotherapy, Vision Screening, Referrals for Community Resources.

You can find more information about the Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools at Michigan Medicine and RAHS-Carman-Ainsworth Health Center on the RAHS website at: http://umhs-rahs.org/ or by calling 810-591-5473.

• Free Breakfast and Lunch for all Carman-Ainsworth Students- Based on our current Free and Reduced Lunch data, Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools qualifies to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a program designed to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students without the burden of collecting and processing free and reduced price meal applications. All students in Carman-Ainsworth, beginning with the 2017/2018 school year, received meals at no charge. Although students will receive meals at no charge, all families will be required to complete a Household Information Survey in order for us to fulfill our requirement and obligation for participation in the program. This is yet another opportunity for us to meet the needs of our families.

Expectations for 2018/2019 include a continuous effort in building and sustaining a district-wide culture of positive relationships that help foster environments that are safe, secure, respectful, caring, and most importantly conducive to helping each student meet and/or exceed their highest academic potential. This year we are working to advance and promote the following initiatives that are researched based and intended to meet the social and emotional needs of our students, they include:

• Culturally Proficient Instruction: Culturally Proficient Instruction is a way of teaching in which teachers engage in practices that provide equitable outcomes for all learners. Culturally Responsive Classrooms specifically acknowledge the presence of culturally diverse students and the need for these students to find relevant connections among themselves and with the subject matter and the tasks teachers ask them to perform.
• Restorative Practices: Restorative Practices are standards derived from the concept of Restorative Justice. These practices are designed to improve school environment, enhance learning, promote safety, inclusion, and respect as well as increase positive relationships in the school setting.
• SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity): SEED is a peer-led professional development program that promotes change through self-reflection and interpersonal dialogue and builds capacity for more equitable curriculum, schools, workplaces, and communities.
• ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences):Adverse Childhood Experiences are events that can cause significant social-emotional, behavioral, and health problems. Information provided from ACEs Surveys will help us establish and provide academic and behavioral interventions for students impacted by ACEs.

I can assure you that our staff understands the commitment and effort that it takes to carry forward these strategies in an effort to impact each student personally in a positive yet meaningful way.

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The safety and security of our students is paramount in the success of the programs, services, and initiatives that we provide, participate, or institute within our district.  Please continue to partner with us to ensure that our safety protocols are adhered to on a daily basis.  As a reminder:

• Michigan law requires that all K-12 schools conduct at least three lockdown drills per school year. Schools are also required to provide a list of scheduled fire, tornado, and lockdown drills to their county emergency management coordinator no later thanSeptember 15of each school year.
• All of our instructional buildings have single point entry areas with surveillance cameras and buzz ringer/alert systems. Building doors are locked during school hours and those who enter or visit are directed to the single point entry areas.
• Our district has established outstanding partnerships with our local Police and First Responder Community. We are fortunate to have School Resource Officers on several of our campuses.

Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools has and will continue to invest in safety resources that provide additional layers of security district wide. Although we adhere to a high degree of safety requirements and standards, we constantly evaluate our current procedures in an effort to stay up-to-date with practices that enhance the safety and security of our buildings.

In closing, I would like to welcome three individuals that will assume new roles within our school administration.

• Ms. Mary Haslinger will serve as the Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Carman-Ainsworth High School.
• Mr. Charles LaClear will serve as the Principal of Carman-Ainsworth High School
• Mr. Taylor Chapman will serve as the Principal of Carman-Ainsworth Middle School.

Ms. Haslinger, Mr. LaClear, and Mr. Chapman are dedicated educators that will be a welcome addition to our administrative team.  I can assure you that they will build outstanding relationships with our students, staff, families, and community members and will provide the type of leadership that will uphold the high educational standards that we expect and appreciate in Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools.

We are looking forward to the start of the upcoming school year and are preparing for nothing less than another outstanding year in Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools.

Sincerely,

   Eddie

Eddie L. Kindle
Superintendent of Schools