A Message from our Family Engagement Specialist

Hello Families,

My name is Lexi Lundberg and I am the PreK-5 Family Literacy Specialist for Moorhead Area Public Schools. This month you will have the opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher at family-teacher conferences October 18th, 19th and 20th. Conferences allow teachers and families to: 

  • Build Relationships

  • Share Progress

  • Set Goals 

As a parent you are an equal partner in your child’s education. You are a supporter, encourager, monitor, and advocate for your child and may have certain questions or topics you would like to discuss during conferences. Teachers welcome questions and want to learn more about your family, your child’s interests, and challenges. This information helps teachers to support your child and create a positive school experience.  Below you will find four questions you can ask to better understand your child’s school experience this fall and how you can support them at home.  

Do you think my child is making adequate academic gains at this time of year? 

Is my child learning and following classroom routines and procedures? 


How does my child interact socially with classmates? Do you see my child making friends and building relationships with others? 


What can I do at home to support my child at school? 

During your conference you might hear your child’s teacher use words or terms you may not be familiar with. Below you will find common terms and definitions that can support your understanding of your child’s progress.

Text Level

Books marked A-Z range

Based on types of words and length of text

Benchmark

The goal for students in this grade at specific times throughout the school year, usually fall, winter, spring

Phonics

Using letter sounds to make words; some letters make more than one sound

Phonemic Awareness

Knowing that sounds go together to make a word 

Sound Spelling

Spelling a word based only on the sounds the child hears (Ex. kat = cat, ugen = again)

Sight Words/

High-Frequency Words

Words that are used a lot in reading and writing. (Ex. said, is, can, it, from)

Fluency

Reading that matches talking. This includes pace, emotions and saying words smoothly.

aimswebPlus

An online literacy and math assessment used three times per year in the fall, winter, and spring. 

Read Well Summary Report

Federally mandated document shared with families two times per year to share literacy assessment results and small group intervention if applicable. 

AVMR 

Add+VantageMR® (AVMR) assessments are given to students in grades K-5 to measure students' understanding of numeracy. The AVMR assessments evaluate the following:

  • counting forwards

  • counting backwards

  • identifying numbers

  • addition and subtraction

  • place value

  • multiplication and division

Families are a child’s first and best teachers. We want to support you and your family to have a great fall family-teacher conference! 

Kindly, 

Lexi Lundberg, Family Literacy Specialist 

Phone: (218) 284-6376 Email: alundberg@moorheadschools.org