New Heights School, 614 W. Mulberry Street, Stillwater, MN 55082
Phone: 651-439-1962      Fax: 651-439-0716
 
 
 
 
August 20, 2009
 
 
 
 
Dear Parents,
 
As you may know, all public school systems in the state of Minnesota are 
required to make certain academic benchmarks established in the No Child 
Left Behind legislation passed under the Bush Administration, and also in 
Minnesota state standards as identified in the Minnesota Comprehensive 
Assessment tests. From time-to-time, schools may have great success in 
these measurements, but schools may also fail to meet the predetermined 
guidelines for a variety of reasons. In the past year, New Heights School, 
as one of many on a long list, did not make satisfactory progress regarding 
test scores of all students in the area of Mathematics. Therefore, New Heights 
School has been identified as a school in need of improvement. As a result of 
this distinction, I am obligated to inform you that you have choices in the 
schools you enroll your children in. Although we would like to continue serving 
as your school of choice, you are free to exercise your right to enroll your 
child in the public school assigned to your child based on your home address, 
or you may seek out other public school options in your surrounding communities.
 
We are committed to providing all of the students enrolled at New Heights School 
with the level of education they are entitled to. You have already selected our 
school based on your research of schools in the area. You need only know at this 
time that if you are dissatisfied with the level of education your child is 
receiving at New Heights, than you are free to consider other enrollment options. 
 
In order to address the “deficiency” in the core academic area of mathematics, we 
have increased the size of the teaching staff. We have added new sections/classes 
to the secondary math department schedule, as well as adding one full-time teacher 
in the elementary (K-6) section of the building. This addition of staff will 
ultimately result in smaller class sizes for your children, and will also allow 
for us to create more learning opportunities for students of various learning 
abilities by allowing for more levels of instruction to all students. In addition 
to the increase in teaching staff, we have committed to providing half of our 
classrooms with Smart Board technology to enhance instruction, including 
interactive Smart Boards in all elementary classrooms, and in both secondary math 
classrooms. Finally, we want you to know that we have redesigned our special 
education department so that it can more effectively meet the needs of our special 
education students. In all, we are proud and excited about all of the changes 
mentioned. I am confident you will notice an enhancement to your child’s school 
experience, and you should expect to see a rise in standardized test scores in the 
upcoming year, especially in those students that have been enrolled at New Heights 
for at least two consecutive years.
 
If you have questions about this notification, I would be happy to schedule a time 
to visit with you at school, or simply speak with on the phone and answer any 
questions you may have about the school’s AYP status or about your student’s 
particular circumstances.
 
Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
 
Sincerely
 
 
 
 
Thomas M. Kearney-Principal