Principal's Message

Dear Future Trailblazers,

It is with great pride and a profound sense of privilege that we welcome our very first class to Alma Farrell Innovation Academy. As your founding principal, I am deeply committed to cultivating an environment of creativity, collaboration, and forward-thinking excellence.

To achieve this, we believe in meeting our students exactly where they are, while holding them to the highest of standards, because when we expect excellence, our students will always rise to the challenge!

At Alma Farrell Innovation Academy, our dedicated team is launching a new era of education—one purposely designed to spark curiosity and inspire students to explore the world around them, all while maintaining a rigorous academic focus. Together, as Trailblazers, we will make this inaugural year a remarkable success and set the standard for the future. 

Our Instructional Houses: A Team Approach to Success
To provide the most personalized support possible, Alma Farrell Innovation Academy uses an innovative Instructional House model:

• Community: Every student joins a specific "House" with its own unique name and team color.

• Team Support: Your child will be wrapped in support by a collaborative core team of educators and specialists.

• Deep Connections: Beyond Kindergarten, Houses bridge two grade levels. Students stay for up to two years, allowing staff to truly know and nurture your child's strengths over time.

• Clear Communication: While all teachers will be supporting your student, one educator will be designated as the primary point of contact for their instructional house. 

By teaching as a team, we ensure your child is deeply known, supported, and set up for success!

 

Connecting Learning to Life: Work-Based Learning at Alma Farrell 

Our vision for Work-Based Learning is simple: connect classroom learning to real life. By weaving academics, essential skills, and the world of work together, we spark a lifelong sense of wonder in our students as they progress through three powerful phases: Awareness, Exploration, and Engagement.

Throughout their journey, students dive into our 6 Major Career Clusters:
🤝Connecting & Supporting Success
🩺Caring for Community
🌱Cultivating Resources
📈Investing in the Future
🎨Creating & Experiencing
🏗️Building & Moving

Here is how our Trailblazers grow into their future over time:

• Kindergarten – 2nd Grade (Awareness Phase): Our youngest learners explore all six clusters to build vocabulary, discover new interests, and ignite their natural curiosity about the world around them.
• 3rd Grade – 4th Grade (Exploration Phase): As students grow, they dive deeper into the clusters to match their personal interests with the career cluster groupings and the "Four Futures": Enrollment, Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Enlistment. 
• Middle School (Engagement Phase): Students actively engage with the clusters by choosing industry-relevant electives, getting hands-on experience in fields they are passionate about. 

By aligning their education with real-world paths, we ensure every student is equipped with the mindset and skills to thrive in the workforce of tomorrow! 

General School Operations & Safety

School Communication & ParentVue

• ParentSquare & Website: Open communication is essential to our success. We use ParentSquare as our primary tool for classroom and school-wide updates. 
• ParentVue: This is an excellent tool for tracking your child’s grades and academic progress. If you do not yet have an account set up, you can email a copy of your ID to afiarecords@musd20.org and an activation key will be sent to you. 

Campus Security & Visitor Policy

To ensure a secure learning environment

• Students must wear school-issued IDs and lanyards daily. Initial sets will be provided early in the term; replacements are available for a fee at the front office.
• All visitors must report directly to the front office to sign in through Visitor Aware and receive a visitor badge before entering any other part of the building. Visitors must also return to the front office to sign out prior to leaving campus. 
• Classroom visits must be prearranged with the teacher and administration. Visitor forms can be obtained from the front office. 
• Special deliveries for students are not permitted.

Attendance & Punctuality

We strongly encourage students to be at school, on time, every single day. When students miss school or arrive late, they miss crucial instructional opportunities. Please help us reinforce the importance of strong attendance and minimize scheduling appointments during school hours whenever possible.

Student Supplies

All necessary instructional materials—including textbooks, technology, and basic classroom supplies (pencils, paper, notebooks, etc.)—will be provided at no cost. Students are responsible for the care of their assigned devices, textbooks and supplies.

Maker Space Donations Needed!  We would greatly appreciate any extra supply donations to help stock our creative Maker Space areas! We are looking for clean, everyday recyclables such as paper towel/toilet paper rolls, egg cartons, old magazines, reusable shopping bags, recycled bottles/caps, and small cardboard boxes (like cereal or shoe boxes). Donations can be dropped off to our front office. 

Show Your School Spirit! 
Our instructional houses are the heart of our school community, and each is known by its unique name and designated color. Here is our house lineup:

• Discovery House (Kindergarten): Yellow
• Inquiry House (1st/2nd): Blue
• Exploration House (3rd/4th): Green
• CARE Academy (5th/6th): Red
• IDEA Academy (7th/8th): Orange 
• Studio House (Self Contained K-8): Purple

Weekly Spirit Traditions

Let’s show our pride! We invite everyone to participate in our recurring weekly spirit days:

• Spirit Wednesdays: Wear your team’s house color or shirt (Team shirts will be on sale through our school store) 
• Spirit Fridays: Wear your favorite school shirt or our official school colors, Navy, Red and Cream. 

Gear Up at Meet the Teacher Night! Need to stock up on gear? Our school store will be open for orders during Meet the Teacher Night! Please note that all orders will arrive after the ordering window officially closes. 

Cell Phone & Technology Expectations

To maintain a focused and safe learning environment, our District enforces a Student Code of Conduct regarding wireless communication devices (including cell phones, smartwatches, tablets, headphones, and laptops).

Devices must be turned off/silent and stored out of sight (e.g., in a backpack) during the entire school day. They may only be used before and after school in designated common areas, or during class if explicitly permitted by a teacher for educational purposes. 

Contacting Your Student During the Instructional Day: If you need to reach your student during the school day, please contact the front office. Students may only contact parents/guardians during the day if they receive express permission from a teacher or staff member. 

Non-Compliance of Cell Phone & Technology Expectations: Please note that violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action and/or confiscation of the device, which will require a parent/legal guardian to pick it up. The District is not responsible for any lost, damaged, or stolen personal devices.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep our classrooms focused on learning! 

 

Important Schedules & Logistics

• Daily School Hours: School starts at 8:35am and ends at 3:35pm. Students can arrive no earlier than 8:05am. There is no supervision for students prior to 8:05 am. 
• Wednesday Early Release: Every Wednesday and the last day of every quarter, we follow an early dismissal schedule, releasing at 1:35 pm. 
• Breakfast and Lunch Program: Breakfast is available for all students for $1.00. Lunch cost are now $4.00 per student.  Students who qualify for free and reduced breakfast/ lunch will continue to receive breakfast at no charge. As a reminder, families must reapply for free and reduced meals annual, please see information below regarding Link Connect.

End of Day Dismissal Protocols

A current Dismissal Form must be on file for every student. If your child needs to go home a different way, please notify the front office via a written note or email. 

• To minimize disruptions and keep students safe, please avoid signing your child out through the front office during the final 30 minutes of the school day. Please meet them at their designated dismissal location instead.
• Any student who is not using their default (tagged) method of dismissal for the day is required to be picked up in the front office at dismissal time 
• As a reminder, temporary dismissal changes should only be made in the event of an emergency and must be communicated in writing to the front office staff (AFIArecords@musd20.org) by noon on the day requesting the change. 

I look forward to a fantastic, innovative, and deeply rewarding school year collaborating with you and your student. Thank you in advance for your partnership and support!

Sincerely,
Ms. Allison