[School Letterhead]
Dear Dr. Urquhart,
As principal of XXX Middle School, I am excited that my campus will be part of the Immersion Model for the 2016-2017 University of Texas at Dallas Texas Regional Collaborative for Excellence in Science Teaching. As part of the Immersion Model, I am aware of the professional development training and evaluation that will take place for our 8th grade teachers.
My campus will participate as a [mathematics, science, math and science] Immersion Campus.
I am aware of and support the TRC requirements that need to be fulfilled at my school:
1. My Science/Mathematics Teacher Mentor must commit to attend the 60-hour Summer Institute during the week of July 11-22, 2016 for science teachers or July 5–August 8, 2016 for mathematics teachers and the professional development scheduled throughout the year.
2. There must be one Science/Mathematics Teacher Mentor from my 8th grade team and all other teachers in that grade and tested subject will serve as Cadre Members.
3. I authorize my teachers to take necessary time to fulfill the following professional development/turnaround hours:
a. Science/Mathematics Teacher Mentors will complete 100 hours of professional development and provide mentoring and/or professional development to Cadre Members
b. Cadre Members will receive at least 24 hours of mentoring and/or professional development during the course of the grant.
4. The TRC will have access to campus-level STAAR data for the final reports with the data for the 8th grade science STAAR: # of students who took the test, # who passed the test, and # who did not pass the test. This data will be aggregated statewide for reporting to the project funders including the US Department of Education and the Texas Education Agency.
I am confident that the quality of professional development that our teachers receive will enhance their science content knowledge and pedagogy skills, and, most important, help improve student science academic achievement.
Sincerely,
Name
Title