FAAM Glossary
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Here is a handy guide to many of the terms
you may hear at FAAM and within MPS.
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Alabama History Project - FAAM 4th graders complete this yearlong project as they learn Alabama history. This is the most famous FAAM project, also sometimes called the "Portfolio".
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AR - Accelerated Reader - All FAAM students participate in the Accelerated Reader program by reading books on their grade level, taking quizzes on the books, and collecting points. Your child's teacher will inform you each nine weeks of your child's AR goal. This is the number of points that your child should collect to earn the AR reward for the nine weeks. Most grade levels give an extra 100 major grade for reaching the AR goal at a 90% or higher level of accuracy. Please confirm this with your child's teacher. Students may take tests in their classrooms or in the library. Awards are given at the end of each semester to the students collecting the most points. Kindergarten students usually do not start participating in AR until the second or third nine weeks.
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Broadway - The FAAM 2nd Grade performs a broadway revue each year at the March PTA meeting.
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Day of Service - This is a day on the calendar when MPS is not closed but students and some staff may be out of school for the day and encouraged to spend it giving back to our local community.
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ELL - English Language Learner
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ESL - English as a Second Language
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FAAM - Forest Avenue Academic Magnet
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iNOW - The online system used by MPS where parents can check their students' attendance and grades. See the school office for a login and password.
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Lottery - Students are chosen for open slots at Forest Avenue through the MPS Magnet Lottery. All students who score high enough on the admissions test are entered in the lottery and selected at random.
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Magnet - Magnet schools are
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MPS- Montgomery Public Schools. The website is http://mps.k12.al.us/.
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Parent Chat - Each grade level hosts a night in late August or early September for teachers to review classroom policies and answer parent questions. Watch the Facebook page and calendar for the dates of these events. Chats are for parents only. Students should not attend.
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PD - Professional Development. This term is used to refer to a day when the students are not in school but our staff and teachers are.
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PTA - The Brentwood Parent-Teacher Association advocates for our children and helps parents get involved. PTA supports our school through fundraising for equipment and other things our teachers need, organizing volunteers and hosting special events such as the Fall Carnival.
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PTA Performance - Each grade level performs at one PTA meeting during the year.
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Spirit Night - FAAM PTA partners with restaurants around the city to host nights that benefit the PTA. Spirit Nights are usually held once a month.
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Spirit Store - The PTA-run store that sells FAAM merchandise. Shop the store online or at school on Thursday mornings.
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TAW - Teacher Appreciation Week - Held in May
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Title I -
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Benchmarks: AISD assessments to check students’ progress in the district curriculum for grades 2 through 5. Teachers share results with
Parents/Guardians. Benchmarks are done three times a year:
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BOY – Beginning of the year
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MOY – Middle of the year
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EOY – End of the year
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GT: Gifted and Talented Program. Contact Ms. Stewart, the counselor, for information.
IPG: Instructional Planning Guides list what children should learn in each grade based on the AISD curriculum. You can find IPGs on the AISD website, www.austinisd.org.
ISIP: istation’s Indicators of Progress, Early Reading (ISIP Early Reading) is a sophisticated, web- delivered Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) system that provides Continuous Progress Monitoring (CPM) by frequently assessing and reporting student ability in critical domains of reading throughout the academic years.
LEP: Limited English Proficient
Mentoring: Volunteer mentors have a 30-minute lunch each week with a student who can benefit from a valuable, consistent and stable adult relationship.
NAEP: The National Assessment of Educational Progress is the nation’s report card on education. You can find this information at https://nationsreportcard.gov/
Partners in Education: Our school benefits a great deal from the support of local businesses and professional support. Donations of time, money and materials enrich our educational program. If you are interested in being a Partner, please contact the PTA.
PBS: The Positive Behavior Support System is a school-wide program to define, teach and support appropriate student behaviors to create a positive school environment. PBS guidelines are used in the classroom as well as in the hallways and restrooms and outside. For more information, go to www.austinisd.org/academics/sss/pbs/
RIF: Reading Is Fundamental is a nationally recognized program that encourages reading. Students participate in a read-a-thon and collect pledges linked to how many books they read.
Room Parent: Volunteer room parents help organize classroom parties and special events, and they collect money for teacher gifts. They might also be asked to cover the classroom while a teacher is occupied with another task. Please see your child’s teacher if you are interested.
Safety Patrol: 4th and 5th graders help students get to and from school more safely by using flags to stop traffic at crosswalks.
School Report Card: State law requires that these reports be given to the parent or guardian of every student in AISD. They report the school’s accountability rating and TAKS passing rates. For more information, contact the principal or go to www.tea.state.tx.us.
SEL: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is a process for helping children and adults develop fundamental skills for life effectiveness. SEL teaches the skills we all need to handle ourselves, our relationships, and our work effectively and ethically. These skills include recognizing and managing our emotions, developing caring and concern for others, establishing positive relationships, making responsible decisions, and handling challenging situations constructively and ethically.
STAAR: The State of Texas Assessments Academic Readiness program includes annual assessments for reading and math (grades 3-8), writing (at grades 4 & 7), and science (at grades 5 & 8), and is given in March/April/May. STAAR results become the basis of the school’s report card on student progress. Visitors and volunteers are not allowed at school during the week of testing. For more information on STAAR, see the TEA website at www.tea.state.tx.us.
TEA: The Texas Education Agency oversees all school activity in the state. www.tea.state.tx.us.
TPRI: The Texas Primary Reading Inventory identifies the reading level of children in Kindergarten and 1st and 2nd Grades. These are taken at the beginning of the school year, in January and in May.
WOW: Work Out for Wellness provides time for structured physical activity during class to help meet state requirements.