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February 8, 2011

Dear Parents/Guardians/Students:

As you know, this has been a winter of record-breaking snow, which resulted in

eight snow days to date. Many of these snow days fell during a time when teachers

and students are reviewing and preparing for midterm exams. The lack ofinstructional continuity most certainly impacts student performance and we do not

want to penalize students for the poorly timed inclement weather. In an effort to

ensure that all stakeholders understand what transpired, here is a timeline of events:

On January 28th, a School Messenger alert was sent to notify families thatexams were still being held and that the test would be graded on a curve and count

for 10% of the semester grade (as opposed to the usual 20%).

Two additional snow days and a late start then occurred which caused furtherdisruption to the review process and necessitated a revisiting of the exam weight.The decision was revised so that the midterm exam would be counted as 20% of the

semester grade if it would help the student. If the exam grade lowered the semester

average, then the final averages from Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 were used to calculatethe exam grade. Students who skipped the exam received an F. This information

was not shared with students prior to the exams as it was critically important that

everyone tried their best.

Teachers will be reviewing the actual exam results with students so that waythey receive feedback based on their actual performance. Parents and guardians are

encouraged to contact teachers for actual exam results if there are questions on how

the student performed.

Canceling the exams was not an option because Danbury Public Schools are

mandated to report student progress to the Connecticut State Department of

Education, as is required of all districts that have been identified as being in need ofimprovement. Additionally, school and district leaders need to analyze student

performance on the common exams to monitor the progress of the school redesign

process that began last fall. Please note that final examinations will count as 20%of Semester 2 grades.

This has been a challenging winter and I know that we are all ready for warmer

months. Thank you for your support as we work to make decisions that are in thebest interest of students.

Sincerely,

Bob Rossi, Ed.D.

Querido Padre/estudiante: Si usted necesita esta informacin en espaol, por favor,

visite el sitio webwww.danbury.k12.ct.uso llame al consejero/a la consejera de su

estudiante.

Danbury High School

43 Clapboard Ridge Rd.

Danbury, CT 06811

203-797-4800-Phone

203-797-4730-Fax

Dr. Bob Rossi, Principal

203-797-4808rossib@danbury.k12.ct.us

Dr. Meghan Martins,

Associate Principal of

Instruction,

Secondary Schools

203-797-4802

martime@danbury.k12.ct.us

Gary Bocaccio,

Asst. Principal

Senior Class

203-797-4836

bocacg@danbury.k12.ct.us

Jessie Ballenger,

Asst. Principal

Junior Class

203-797-4824

ballej@danbury.k12.ct.us

Michael Clarke,

Asst. Principal

Sophomore Class

203-790-2870

clarkm@danbury.k12.ct.us

Dan Donovan

Asst. Principal

Freshman Class

203-797-4844donovd@danbury.k12.ct.us

Daniel Scavone

Athletic Director

203-797-4853

scavod@danbury.k12.ct.us

http://www.danbury.k12.ct.us/http://www.danbury.k12.ct.us/http://www.danbury.k12.ct.us/mailto:rossib@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:rossib@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:martime@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:martime@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:bocacg@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:bocacg@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:ballej@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:ballej@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:clarkm@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:clarkm@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:donovd@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:donovd@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:scavod@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:scavod@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:scavod@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:donovd@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:clarkm@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:ballej@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:bocacg@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:martime@danbury.k12.ct.usmailto:rossib@danbury.k12.ct.ushttp://www.danbury.k12.ct.us/