Welcome to Walton School!
We are excited to have a new year of progress awaiting our scholars. Our team of educators would like to thank all of the parents and guardians who made their child's education a priority. We increased our parent participation to 93% in 2016-17 and our goal this year is to reach 100%. A strong determining factor of each child's school success is positive parental support.
Last year marked the first year for our PreK program. We were pleased to see our youngest scholars reading to parents at the year end promotion. Our pre-kindergarten scholars reached the highest academic growth category of the state measuring system. Pre-school education helps to provide a wonderful foundation for all future academics and it is of no cost to families. Tuition free pre-school at Walton provides a tremendous learning opportunity for your child.
During the 2016-17 school year, we gained a phenomenal partner with the Cleveland Play House. With this partnership our scholars have gone to shows, had a play come to us, participated with Social and Emotional Learning with the CARE program, recess coaching, summer camp scholarships and so many other supports including Drama Club. The Cleveland Browns Foundation continues to support schools sponsoring technology, scholar incentive programs and the Get 2 School YOU Can Make It attendance campaign.
This school year we are pleased to add Gifted Education enrichment and acceleration programming at Walton PreK-8 School for those scholars who qualify. Our gifted program will utilize the hallmark programming of Major Work. We will also offer high school credit courses to Grade 8 scholars.
In the challenge to meet the increased reading expectation of State of Ohio Third Grade Guarantee we are implementing a K - 3 Response To Intervention "family" model. This model supports individual student learning needs while monitoring progress toward established goals. We also will promote continuous independent reading practice with the addition of Accelerated Reader. Writing Across the Curriculum supported by traits of writing program will help build needed content vocabulary while improving writing quality that new standards of learning demand.
We need our parents, caregivers, and community partners to help encourage each scholar to read and write every day. This is vitally important. We need your help.
Walton is proud to announce that we have the #1 Boys and Girls Club program in the city. Not only does this partnership offer daily Boys and Girls Club after school activities, but also provides summer programming field experiences and additional tutoring. Walton provides a game room and art center for the Boys and Girls Club to use and works together with the day program educators to provide a high quality program and additional learning as well as social and emotional development opportunities.
While Walton is a diverse, multilingual school with a focus upon reading and writing improvement, our global project-based learning opportunities well prepared to attend Lincoln-West Global Studies program or any other high quality high school of choice. Walton continues its relationship with the of the Asia Society's International Schools Studies Network as well as the Confucius Institute of Cleveland State University . The journey of future global problem solvers, thinkers, and leaders begins at Walton.
There are so many wonderful things to learn, do, and be as an A+ scholar of Walton -- Academics, Arts, Athletics and Activism.
Remember to PAWS before you Act as a Walton Wildcat.
P- Practice Safety
A- A+ Attitude
W- Work Hard
S - Show Respect
Educationally yours,
Gretchen Liggens
Principal