Jan 18 Superintendent Updates Graphic

January 18th, 2023 

Good Afternoon and Happy 2023 Warren Students, Families, and Staff,

We have a couple of important announcements for the week of January 18th. 

The High Ability Program Parent Recommendation Form for the 2023-2024 school year is now available through March 26th. Students are identified for the high-ability program based on state and District criteria, which may include achievement test scores, student academic ability, and parent and teacher recommendation. Parent recommendations are considered but are not guarantee placement in the High Ability Program. For placement consideration for students in grades 1st through 8th, please submit a parent recommendation form linked here.

MSD Warren Township School Board will be hosting its Annual Legislative Forum on Saturday, January 28th, from 9:00 - 11:00 am. This event will be held at the Warren Education and Community Center at 975 North Post Road. Parents, staff, and community members are invited to attend to engage with District and school board leaders, local legislators, and our community on topics related to public education in the current legislative session. No registration is required. Linked here is a flier of the legislators that will be participating. 

As you know, school attendance has been a priority for us this school year. Our goal in Warren Township is 97% student attendance, which is equivalent to missing one week of school. Based on feedback from our schools and the community, we want to share with you the adjustments we are making for the second semester. Attached to this email is a summary of those changes. 

Every day in our classrooms, on our buses, and in our schools, we have hundreds of success stories thanks to the outstanding work of our Warren employees. I am encouraging our students, our families, and our staff to start recognizing our employees who are making a difference, going above and beyond, and who have demonstrated their #WarrenWill. We have created a #WarrenWill form which is linked here and is a tab on our main District website. Looking forward to reading your story! 

Thank you for your continued support and investment in Warren students, schools, and staff! 

Together…#WarrenWill grow our students! 

Monthly Attendance Awareness

Beginning in January, all families/caregivers will receive a monthly attendance update that will communicate any days missed. Every MSD Warren Township family will receive this, and it will be sent through our Raawee attendance system. The purpose of this calendar is to keep track of your student’s attendance throughout the school year. If you have more than one student in Warren, you will receive a separate calendar for each student. Linked here is an example of the attendance calendar.

Communicating Absences

We have made it easier for families to communicate student absences by creating two systems to report absences to your child’s school. We have created attendance hotlines to report absences at all our schools. If you know your child is going to be absent, please call the school’s main line, and select the attendance hotline option to report the absence. Another way to report student absences is by replying to the ParentSquare absence notification with the reason for the student's absence. We appreciate your communication when your child is absent from school.

Updated Attendance Steps

If a student has continued absences during the school year, the school will reach out through phone calls and letters to identify if there are family or student needs we can support. We have adjusted the frequency of these communications for the second semester. There may be some overlap between our old and new steps. We appreciate your understanding as we make these adjustments for improvement in the second semester. Below are the steps and the school’s actions.

We know with the winter months that cold and flu seasons are at their peak. Please continue to talk with your child about covering their cough, practice good hand washing, and of course, keep your child home if they are sick. If you have any barriers impacting your child from regularly attending school, please reach out to your school’s Family Engagement Liaison, School Counselor, or Administrator. We appreciate you working with us to increase student attendance. 

Dr. Tim Hanson, Superintendent of Schools for MSD Warren Township