Wow.  Last night’s PTSA presentation on suicide prevention among adolescents provided our members with critical information on this life-or-death issue challenging our community.  Did you know that suicide is the second leading cause of death among children in middle school?  And even worse, it is on the rise.  As we have recently felt in our own community, the impact of teen suicide is devastating.  The good news to take away from last night's meeting is that youth suicide can be prevented with appropriate recognition and intervention.

Child psychologist Rebecca Resnick offered practical information on recognizing signs of suicidal risk, how to respond to protect and keep children safe, and how to talk to your children about suicide risk and prevention.  School psychologist Cheree Price explained the proactive steps that North Bethesda and MCPS are taking to openly address this health crisis, including the Signs of Suicide (“SOS”) suicide prevention program that will soon to be presented to all staff and students. 

For those who were unable to attend last night’s PTSA meeting, please find attached Dr. Resnick’s handout, “Surviving Anxiety:  Protecting our Teens in an Age of Distress.”  As those in attendance will attest, the presentation last night was outstanding.  A huge thank you to Dr. Resnick and Mrs. Price. 

The PTSA works for YOU!  Your PTSA meetings offer more than updates on PTSA events – we work to include topical and worthwhile presentations on the issues that are most relevant and important to our members and the NBMS community.  We hope you will join us!  As always, we welcome and invite your feedback.  

This month, your child took tests in reading and math, called MAP-R and MAP-M. They take these tests two or times a year. I am no expert on testing and know that standardized tests can only tell you so much. However, I have spent some time researching these tests, and here is what I found out.

MAP tests produce immediate results, unlike the PARCC, where results take months to come out. As soon as your child completes them, the results are available. Formal reports will eventually end up in the Document Library in myMCPS for your child, but that can take some time, and there is no reason to wait to get the results and find out how your teacher plans to use them. Some teachers have already posted the results in the grades section of myMCPS.

Ask for your child’s score on MAP-R and MAP-M. Each test produces an overall score, like 225.. That score should go up each time your student takes the test. Ask for the scores of your child. Compare it to the score from last spring, which you can see in the spring report in your Document Library. Did it go up? How close is it to the projected score for spring of 2019? If your child is not making adequate progress, it is something to discuss with your child’s teacher. If your child has accelerated, ask about opportunities for more challenging work.

Ask about how your child did on specific skills. MAP tests are adaptive, meaning that they respond to how well your child is doing on initial questions, giving easier or harder questions. This means that MAP identifies the upper limits of your child’s understanding. Your child may have already mastered much of the content of the current class! MAP also shows holes in knowledge, i.e., things your child studied but did not master or has forgotten. Your teacher has access to a Student Profile which shows all of this. Ask your teacher what skills MAP identified that your child still needs to work on and how your child can do that. What skills has your child already mastered, and how can your child advance?

To me, it is odd that MCPS does not proactively share MAP results. I have to assume they are viewed as valuable or MCPS would not have students take them. This means that to get full benefit from these tests, we need to be informed, communicate with teachers and advocate for our children.

I know this only scratches the surface, and I look forward to hearing additional tips from parents and guardians.

Many thanks to our principal Dr. AnneMarie Smith for talking with parents and guardians at this month’s PTSA meeting about tracking their child’s progress in school, and thanks to Dr. Smith for letting parents via email know that Interim Progress Reports are now available through myMCPS. Dr. Smith is a true partner with the PTSA!

Have you looked at the Interim Progress Reports? They are available through the myMCPS grades tab. Look at the top on the right. These reports are one of the first important measures of how well your child is doing in school this year. I am curious to hear from other parents about how to best use these reports. Here are some of my thoughts.

Discuss them with your child in a non-judgmental way. Praise your child for all the good progress they show. With your child, look at the assignment grades for each class. Pay particular attention to All Tasks/Assessments that count 80 percent. Discuss any ones where your child missed a bunch of points. Is it possible to retake any of these? Does your child understand the concepts and just had an off day? Look ahead: What All Tasks/Assessments are coming up? Does your child need any help to do well on these before the end of the quarter?

Reach out to your child’s teachers if you have questions. You can email teachers if you have questions or concerns about how your child is doing. Don’t be afraid to ask for a meeting or phone call. What thoughts does the teacher have on why your child is missing points on All Tasks/Assessments? What advice does the teacher have on how your child can improve before the end of the quarter? What advice does the teacher have on what you can do to help your child improve?

Thanks in advance for any ideas you have for me. Last year, I did not even know about these reports for a long time!

NEXT WEEK: Understanding the MAP tests in reading and math your child just took and how to make sure the results are used right away to help your child.