On behalf of our Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, welcome new and returning KNA families to the 2012 – 2013 school year. We sincerely hope the summer months have provided many enjoyable opportunities for you to connect and re-connect with family and friends – especially those who have left a positive imprint on you and your children. While the curtain is rapidly closing on summertime, we can hardly wait to see you and our wonderfully gifted children, as together; we continue our journey of educating our children for leadership and empowerment.

Please take time to read and discuss everything in this letter with your children as well as family members who are helping to guide, protect and raise your children. We have included important information and updates that are specific to our building facility; the revised school day and calendar; KNA dress code policy; parent workshops and much more. Thanks to your involvement, feedback and ongoing support, the Board of Trustees have approved a calendar year “jam-packed” with many changes along with incredible cultural and academic learning experiences for the entire KNA school village.

Parent Workshops: Parents have asked for some time now, when we were going to offer workshops and activities for parents and family members to learn more about African-centered education. This year, we have scheduled a series of four (4) parent workshops that you are invited and strongly urged to attend. Plan now, to attend the first Parent & Family Leader Workshop; August 18, 2012; 8:30 A.M. to 12:00 Noon at Kwame Nkrumah Academy School. Workshop registration will open at 8:00 A.M.

For your convenience, we are combining the first workshop with School Registration and enrollment for new families. Baba Chike Akua, master teacher and author of many books on African-centered education, history and culture for parents and teachers, will be our guest workshop leader. Immediately following the workshop, parent and family leader participants will enjoy a delicious brunch. For parents who need it, we will provide limited childcare services. Please RSVP as soon as you receive this information packet. We will conclude the day with registration (records update); uniform ordering; and an opportunity to complete school enrollment for the upcoming year. Room assignments will also be posted. To avoid a long wait, we encourage you to complete, in advance, all of the school forms enclosed with this information packet. We look forward to seeing you, Saturday, August 18th.

Building facility: The KNA Board of Trustees has made the decision to remain in our current location. They are working diligently and actively seeking space to provide for the continued growth of our school village. We are in the process of completing plans to accommodate our needs for the 2012-2013 school year. More about this later -stay tuned!

Restructured School Schedule: Since opening in 2008, KNA had operated on an extended day schedule because we believe that more time on task creates greater opportunities for learning. This year, we will be following a modified calendar and school day for the 2012-2013 school year (see attached). Students report for the first day of school on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. The school day will begin with our village circle each morning at 8:00am. Students will be considered tardy if not present in the circle at 8am and issued a tardy slip. Students will be dismissed at 3:45pm Monday through Thursday. Student dismissal on Fridays will be @ 1pm to provide ongoing professional development for our instructional and support staff. Research shows and we believe as we improve our teaching practice, student learning outcomes will continue to improve. We are grateful that our visionary KNA Board of Trustees supports this investment of time for targeted, sustained teacher professional development. More institutions are moving toward this model.

The ½ Friday schedule will provide time for staff to study student work, learn and share best practices; analyze student data, monitor student progress; and provide time for planning and adjustment of instruction in order to accelerate student learning. Your support and encouragement is needed and greatly valued as we move forward to implement this new schedule.

Accommodating your needs: We realize that our re-scheduled Friday represents a major change and may pose some childcare challenges-especially for our returning families. To assist you in adjusting to this new schedule, we have arranged through partnerships with Chicago State University and other organizations, to offer fee-based after school childcare, at KNA, on Fridays from 1pm – 3:45pm. We will continue providing our current fee-based afterschool childcare, Monday – Thursday from 3:45pm-5:30pm.

KNA Dress Code: We have enclosed a copy of KNA’s Student Uniform Policy. Remember to discuss this policy with your children so they understand that we (school and home) are speaking with one voice on this matter.

I look forward to seeing you Saturday, August 18 at the KNA Parent/Family Leader Workshop. We are all eager to see the smiling, beautiful faces of our children; on time; in uniform and ready for learning, September 4th, at 8:00 A.M. To quote many of our Elders, “It’s time to get up and get ready for school!”

Service with love and gratitude,

Mama Monique Whittington

Monique M. Whittington,
Principal