Edison Monthly Newsletter - October 2025
Sally Whitelock, Principal
Samanta Armijo, Assistant Principal
A message from the Principal and AP State of the School Address In the fall of each school year all schools in Colorado receive CMAS data and schools are “graded” with a state report called the School Performance Framework (SPF). Though educators at Edison understand the importance of high stakes tests like the CMAS and use this data to support our curriculum and instructional decision making, we use a variety of student achievement data to help us with instruction and differentiation in the classroom. At Edison, we give assessments throughout the year to measure student growth including: instructional reading levels, DIBELS, STAR reading, Accelerated Reader, written assignments, interim assessments, STAR math and math unit assessments. We also rely on the daily work of students to assess the needs of our students and ensure quality instruction for all students. We are very proud of the achievement of Edison’s students and would like to share this information with you. The Colorado Department of Education released the results of the 2024-25 Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) testing in late August. In April 2025, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students across the state took the CMAS test to determine their academic achievement in reading, math and science (5th grade only).
On the Colorado Department of Education School Performance Framework (SPF), Edison is rated “Exceeds” on Academic Achievement and “Meets” on Academic Growth. Edison also monitors the achievement level and growth of each student in grades 1-5 throughout the year with STAR reading and STAR math assessments. Individual reading and math goals are set for each student. Following are the percent of students who ended the 2024-25 school year at grade level according to STAR data:
The staff at Edison sets goals each year to ensure continual improvement. We have an intense focus on increasing achievement for our students of color and students who have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). In our school Unified Improvement Plan (UIP), we have identified the follow strategies, which we believe will work to positively impact this data:
In addition to our intentional focus on achievement, school culture and community engagement are keys to our success at Edison. We believe that all students at Edison need to enjoy learning, participate in project-based learning and engage in collaborative learning opportunities. We value all of our families and recognize that “it takes a village to raise a child.” We also value collaborative decision making between the school and the community and want to formally invite caregivers to attend our CSC meetings and PTA meetings. We encourage caregivers to volunteer in classrooms, participate in community events and join us for student celebrations of projects. Lastly, please check the Edison website for updated information, read the Edison and classroom newsletters and share ideas with us through email or face-to-face visits. Thank you for partnering with us. Sincerely, Sally Whitelock, Principal, Samantha Armijo, Assistant Principal |
Mark Your Calendars October 2 CSC meeting at 4:00 in conference room (with virtual link) October 2 PTA meeting, Edison Auditorium, at 5:00 October 3 Spirit Friday - Dress up day October 3 School Tour for prospective families at 9:00 AM October 8 & 9 Scholastic Book Fair October 8 & 9 Family-teacher conferences at 3:45-7:45 PM (no after school Enrichment Clubs) October 13 No School October 17 School Tour for prospective families at 9:00 AM October 23 PTA/Family Book club at 8:45 AM - Book, The Anxious Generation October 24 Fall Festival - after school October 28 Picture Make-up day October 29 Edison night at Skate City October 31 No School for students November 3 After-school Enrichment registration begins (through 11/14) November 3 No school for Edison students November 3-7 Last week of Fall Enrichment Clubs (makeups if needed) November 6 CSC meeting at 4:00 PM November 6 PTA meeting, Edison Auditorium, at 5:00 PM November 7 Spirit Friday dress up day November 14 2nd grade performance in the auditorium at 2:45 November 17 First day of Winter After School Enrichment clubs November 20 Thanksgiving Lunch in the cafeteria - caregivers invited…more to come November 21 School Tour for prospective families at 9:00 AM November 24-28 No school - Happy Thanksgiving December 2 DPS school choice round 1 opens December 3 Reading is Fundamental - PTA gives each student one book to take home December 5 Spirit Friday dress up day December 5 Science Fair during the school day December 12 School Tour @ 9:00 AM December 12 Bagels and Books from 8:00-9:00 AM in classrooms December 18 Kindergarten Performance in the auditorium at 2:00 December 19 Read-a-thon kick off and PJ day December 19 School Tour @ 9:00 AM Dec 23 - Jan 6 Winter Break6 School lunch menus can be found at: https://www.schoolcafe.com/dps
DPS 2025-26 School year calendar can be found at: https://www.dpsk12.org/page/calendars
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Upcoming Edison Events Family-Teacher Conferences Please sign up for a family-teacher conference on either October 8 or 9, between 3:45 and 7:45 PM. This is a great time to find out how your child(ren) is doing in school, celebrate success and set academic and work habit goals for your child. We strongly believe that teachers and caregivers must work together, as a team, to ensure the educational success of children. We value these opportunities to collaborate with you and are looking forward to our one-on-one conferences. Please watch for sign up forms coming from your child’s teacher. Scholastic Book Fair Please stop by the book fair during family/teacher conferences! You will find all your favorite books to keep your students reading. The book fair will be open in the Edison Auditorium:
Fall Festival Join us for our annual Fall Festival on Friday, October 24 from 3:30-5:30 on Edison’s parking lot and playground. Students may wear their costumes to school that day and after school (please no masks or fake weapons). At 3:30, the festivities will begin with trunk-or-treat and fun games. We appreciate donations of prizes/treats, as well as volunteers (for each classroom trunk/game) to support this fun event. Please communicate with your student’s lead volunteer classroom caregiver to help decorate a vehicle/trunk or run a game. PTA will be selling tickets for $1 each for games & concessions. Spirit Fridays The first Friday of each month is Spirit Friday! Please watch for the dress up theme for each month or students can always wear their Edison colors/t-shirt to school. Read-a-thon – COMING SOON! Mr. Carter will be getting kids jazzed about reading and the upcoming Read-A-Thon starting in November. Between the Scholastic Book Fairs and the Read-A-Thon, we raised about $10,000 for books and literacy supplies last year! Eagle Readers read over 237,000 minutes last year during Winter Break! We're hoping to break that record this year in our 9th Annual Read-A-Thon! The reader who reads the most minutes per grade will receive a prize! Plus, Eagle Readers who read the minimum amount suggested per grade will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win fantastic prizes! This year, our goal is to raise at least $10,000 for more books. Our library, book room, and classroom libraries constantly need to be refreshed. Please watch for more information regarding how to set goals, get pledges and donate. Mark your calendars:
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New: Important Information Eagle Run AND Direct Ask Campaign We hope everyone had an amazing time at the Eagle Run! This year the Eagle Run is raising money to pay for instructional paraprofessionals for the 2026-2027 school year. These important staff members support students and teachers in grades K-5. We would love to raise $90,000 (which equals about $180 per student) this year for this very important fundraiser to help out our teachers and students at Edison. Students were sent home with their lap number and can now collect pledges in cash, check or online until October 17 when all pledge sheets are due back to school. To contribute directly to our fundraising efforts, you can give through any of these convenient methods:
Edison Elementary Science Fair! December 4 – December 5, 2025 The Science Fair is open to all students ECE-5th grade. Students can participate by doing a traditional Scientific Method project or a STEM (engineering) project. If your child would like to be a part of Science Fair, please complete the Project Intent form (available through classroom teachers) by 10/25/19. Science Fair packets will be sent home or emailed to families that return the Intent Form.
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Reminders: Important Information Volunteering at Edison If you wish to volunteer for Edison this school year - with the PTA, for an event, in the classroom or for chaperoning a field trip - you must complete the volunteer application (Edison Code: e9x8to9). https://app.sterlingvolunteers.com/en/Candidates/Account/Register Community Service Projects 2025–2026: The PTA will be organizing service projects for families to get involved and give back to our community and school.
DPS App and Rooms - Thank you to everyone who has gotten connected on the new DPS communication app. We know some of you may still be experiencing issues logging in. Please see the attached step by step how to to assist you in getting logged in. If you are still struggling, there is a DPS contact at the bottom for you to reach out to for further assistance. Thrillshare How To (https://apptegy-alerts-attachments-production.s3.amazonaws.com/12f51e4f-81c8-44f8-945a-bbc7e2f552d9/Thrillshare%20How-To.pdf ) My School Bucks We would like to encourage all caregivers to sign up with MySchoolBucks through your Parent Portal account. It is easier than ever to pay for field trips, class fees and ECE tuition online with MySchoolBucks. Don’t have a Parent Portal account? Go to: https://payonline.dpsk12.org/myschoolbucks-user-guide/#1512664218979-7b61e933-6f42 for steps to create one. Traffic and Parking Safety is our first priority at Edison and this starts with drop off and pick up of students. In order to make sure that all students are safe and accounted for at all times, please keep the following in mind:
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Supporting the Whole Child at Edison Mental Health Minute Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS): As part of our commitment to supporting the whole child, Edison will be conducting a Universal Behavioral and Emotional Health screening for all students. The BESS data provides the school staff with insights into various aspects of a student’s behavior and emotional state. This screening is a proactive and systemic way to assess students’ social and emotional development, identify areas where support is needed, and determine appropriate supports for students. Edison’s mental health team will be using the data to evaluate and enhance tiered social-emotional and mental health supports to all students with caregiver consent.
Gifted and Talented Magnet Eligibility (cognitive testing) Universal Screening Update: Starting this year, Universal Screening for Magnet Eligibility (also known as cognitive testing) will be administered to all students in 1st and 5th grades. The assessment is the NGAT (Naglieri General Ability Test). 5th Grade will take all three batteries (verbal, nonverbal and quantitative), 1st grade will take only the Verbal battery. Students who are already Magnet Eligible or Highly Gifted will not take this assessment. A letter of intent to test will be sent at least 1 week before testing. Testing Dates for Universal Screening:
Advance Learning Plans: The Exceptional Children’s Educational Act (ECEA) is Colorado’s primary law with requirements for the implementation of specific elements and procedures for gifted education programs. The Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) is a legal document outlining programming for identified gifted students and is used as a guide for education planning and decision-making. The development of an ALP serves as a foundation for a partnership between the gifted student, the classroom teacher, the parent/guardian, and the gifted education teacher at the school. Our goal at Edison is to have all ALP's written and provided to families before Fall Conferences, the deadline to receive your child's ALP is October 31.
GT Central Office offers a Family Series of a variety of topics in family friendly, educational and virtual sessions to celebrate gifted learners. Feel free to join a session! They are offered monthly. You can see the topics and link to join here. After School Enrichment We hope students are enjoying After School Enrichments! *As a reminder there are no after school enrichments during Family Conferences on 10/8 and 10/9. Here are upcoming winter dates you will need: Winter Session:
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A Message from our PTA… The Edison PTA has been hard at work this year! We are so proud of our community! A few things we are working on for this school year are….
PTA Meetings will be in person and virtual this year, so come and join us! Our next meeting is October 2 at 5:00 in Edison’s auditorium. You’re invited to our October PTA meeting! Please join us on Thursday, October 2 at 5:00 PM in the Edison Auditorium. Childcare will be available in the gym. Please RSVP here so we can make sure we have enough volunteers for childcare, link below. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D4FACA929A7FE3-58924440-october We look forward to seeing you there! Do you have questions or suggestions for Edison’s PTA?
Edison PTA Website: Check out our website. Sign ups for the committees are on the website. To contribute directly to our fundraising efforts, you can give through any of these convenient methods:
3350 Quitman Street Denver, CO 80212 Thank you for being a valued part of the Edison Community! Connect with us online or through social media at: Facebook – Edison Elementary Denver Instagram - @edisonelementarydenver Online - https://edisonptadenver.org/
Committee Chairs
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Opportunities to GIVE to Edison Some families are in a position to support their child’s learning at home, others can support through volunteering time, and some through financial donation. To give a sense of scope, if each Edison family were to donate $500 per student per year, Edison could fund all of our fundraising initiatives. Edison’s first fundraising event of the school year:
Additional ways to give money to Edison’s PTA:
We appreciate your continued support! |
Community Resources and Important School Information For Students
For Caregivers
Important School Information The Edison school day is 8:25-3:25
Attendance Line: 720-424-7784 (Please call and leave a message w/ student name, teacher name, reason for absence) or log absence on Parent Portal through myportal.dpsk12.org School lunch menus can be found at: https://www.dpsk12.org/o/foodservices/page/lunch-menus
Volunteer Application: If you wish to volunteer for Edison this school year, you must complete the volunteer application (Edison Code: e9x8to9). https://app.sterlingvolunteers.com/en/Candidates/Account/Register DPS 2025-26 school calendar: https://www.dpsk12.org/page/calendars Please be aware of the following dates for the 2025-26 school year:
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Edison Elementary