9709 - 60th Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98118 *** phone: 206-252-7100 fax: 206-252-7101

Dear Families and Community Friends: Emerson Elementary School was named after Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) who was a famous American poet, essayist, orator, and philosopher. He is quoted as saying, "Your mind is a sacred enclosure, into which nothing harmful can enter except by your permission." We as a staff not only instill this disposition in our young scholars but also strive to radiate a joy for learning and teaching so that all scholars will meet and exceed high academic standards. Each year Emerson's staff and parent representation engage in the development of a Transformation Plan. Within this plan, our goals include the following: 1) All scholars will increase reading fluency and comprehension skills at and above standards 2) All scholars will increase their ability to apply core concepts and principles of mathematics at and above standards 3) All scholars will increase their sentence fluency and improve conventions to 100% accuracy Scholars are involved in a 90 minute reading block everyday using balanced reading with literature and phonics. Writing is integrated through math journals, daily oral language, content area projects, and utilization of the six traits of writing. Emerson's teaching corp, via study groups, grade level planning, and examining student work, have aligned the curriculum with standards so that the flow of learning in each content area will move the scholars through expected learning in each grade level. The Student Intervention Team (SIT) and teachers engage in examining test data school wide three times a year in what is called our SIT Marathon . This process assists staff in monitoring and adjusting what is needed academically, socially, and behaviorally for Emerson's scholars. Emerson is a uniform school and has full day kindergarten, choir, a Community Learning Center , before and after school age childcare, bilingual education program, community partnerships, a family support worker, counselor, tutors, special education department, team teaching, inquiry based science, a speech language pathologist and Internet access in every classroom. Emerson is a fantastic school and we hope to see you soon! Sincerely, Mrs. Cook-Weaver