We have now hit the halfway mark of the school year! As a faculty and staff, we would like to thank the Lakeview community for the support we feel. We recently completed a successful red ribbon week and are grateful for our PTA and all of the work they do. We are also thankful for the support we receive from each of you and the work you do with your children.

I wanted to share a couple of things that are new at Lakeview this year. We have recently implemented a literacy intervention program. Each year the state requires us to give a test called DIBELS – Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. Based on each student’s scores, it is determined if a student may need some extra help. At Lakeview, those students that need extra help are being placed in a 30-minute intervention program called the 95% intervention group (https://www.95percentgroup.com). This program targets specific areas that might be a weakness. Our staff is receiving continuous training on the program and we are already seeing good progress. We are excited to see our students learning and growing!

A second thing that is new this year is our Life Skills Room, commonly called the LSR. This room is a place where a student goes when there might be a behavior issue. Our teachers do a great job of classroom management. They typically handle any issues in their own classroom and do so with professional expertise. Occasionally, a teacher might have concerns about a student that is having repeated incidents of behavior problems. This student is sent to the LSR room where Mrs. Thompson works with him/her. She helps the student evaluate their behavior and make a plan to overcome the challenges they are facing. She will also call home whenever a student has been in the LSR. We always want overcoming any behavior issues to be a team effort between home and school. Mrs. Thompson has been a great addition to our school and has already helped several students improve their behavior. Our goal is to keep our students in the classroom where they can learn and grow.

As we start the second semester, I hope you will take the time to set some goals with your students for the remainder of the year. Also I wanted to remind everyone that SEP conferences are coming up on Feb. 6-8. This is a great time to meet with teachers and monitor the progress your student is making. Let’s make it a great second half of the year!

• Mr. Barker
• Mikeba@provo.edu