The Alton School District accepts the responsibility that students will perform at a high level of academic achievement by mastering the district curriculum. Analysis of assessment data will determine the level of mastery. Research-based interventions, delivered by
highly-qualified staff, will promote academic success.

ALTON SCHOOLS CONTINUE TO WEATHER ROUGH WINTER

By: Kenneth Spells- Alton Schools Superintendent

It seems as though winter is not quite ready to release us from its mighty grip. Life in the Midwest offers many rewards yet some challenges.

A challenge for school districts, during winter weather situations, is determining when it is safe for students to attend school. As the Alton Superintendent, it is imperative for me to ensure that our streets, sidewalks, bus stops, parking lots and temperatures are safe for students to attend school.

When they are not, we must cancel school. In making these difficult decisions, student safety is and will continue to be my first priority.

With that said, we also know when students are not in school, they are missing valuable instructional time. To date this year, we have already canceled school 10 days due to inclement weather. In any given year, 10 days is a significant amount of time.

Illinois districts are required to build five emergency days into our calendar each year and thus, students will still attend five of those 10 days at a later time in the year. The remaining five are approved as “Act of God” days by the State and are no longer required as student attendance days.

As a result, the last day of school for our students will be May 29 this year with Alton High Graduation still taking place on May 23.

Even with the significant number of days lost to weather, teachers are working hard to modify instructional pacing so that students are still exposed, at the deepest possible level, to all components of the curriculum. This is critical in a year where we have experienced so many weather related events.

On a final note, the testing dates for this year’s Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) are also changing as a result of weather and days missed by students. Our 3^rd through 8^th grade students will now take the ISAT during the window of March 10-21. As always, we ask parents to ensure your child gets plenty of sleep and eat a healthy breakfast prior to school as this will aid in giving their best performance on the ISAT.

Distinguished Alumni of Alton High School Award

The Alton Community Unit School District is proud to announce an award which will recognize those outstanding AHS alumni who have contributed to their community or society, have achieved exceptional lifetime achievements and/or have exhibited extraordinary leadership. Most of you might be familiar with the AHS Wall of Fame. The Distinguished Alumni Award will recognize only those who have graduated from AHS while the Wall of Fame recognizes many community members who have contributed to the school district but may not have graduated from AHS. The committee’s goal is to send the message that dreams are achievable when the individual has a determined work ethic, behaves with integrity, and demonstrates strength of character. In order to be eligible for nomination, candidates must have graduated from Alton High School and meet one or more of the following criteria:

Achieved exceptional lifetime achievements
Exhibited extraordinary leadership
Contributed to their community or society

The Nomination Process

Candidates may be self-nominated or may be nominated by any member of the public by April 14, 2014.
The Distinguished Alumni form which is posted on the website can be used for nomination purposes and must include the sponsor’s information - Name, address, contact information (phone and email, if available)

The Selection Process

Nomination information submitted will be reviewed by the committee members for verification of information provided by the sponsor.
The committee members will discuss the potential candidates and a vote will be taken on each candidate.
The four candidates receiving the highest vote totals will be inducted as “Distinguished Alumni of Alton High School”.

All applications will be considered for two consecutive years. After that time, the candidate could be resubmitted for consideration.

Click the Link below to nominate an alumni.

Nomination Form

AHS College Planning Night

February 27, 2014

5:30 p.m.

AHS Library

Open to all Sophomores and Juniors