Greetings Prospective Parents, welcome to the Lotus School for Excellence!
As the new enrollment season begins, I would like to explain the importance of making the right school choice for your child. Providing your child with the best possible education is your responsibility, and it is indeed the most important factor that will shape your child’s future and happiness.
Lotus School for Excellence has been established with a vision of equipping children with the skills necessary to thrive and be successful in today’s dynamic world. The world is changing faster than ever in this Technology Era while becoming more and more like a global village. Therefore, you have to consider the changing needs and challenges to best prepare your children so that they will not struggle but rather be prepared when they face the real life.
Lotus is a Math, Science, and Technology charter school, which means that in all curricular activities we emphasize the integration of technology into education. This does not mean that we ignore other areas such as language arts or social sciences, but rather that we utilize state-of-the art technology in order to help children grow successfully in all areas, including Math, Science, Technology, Language Arts, Liberal Arts, Social Sciences, and Physical Education.
The answer to the question of choosing Lotus is a simple one. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a 2.2 million increase in science and engineering jobs. (Read more here: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c3/c3s1.htm.) Another survey proves that Computer and Mathematics jobs are the second highest paid positions after management, and Engineering jobs are the third highest paid positions. (Read more at http://www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm.) Moreover, according to a survey by Manpower, Inc., engineers have the second most difficult skill set to find in the U.S. This talent shortage has created a lot of competition for the best engineers. These facts very well justify the existence and mission of Lotus. When you choose Lotus, you make a critical decision for a successful career for your child knowing that the skills your child is acquiring at Lotus are the most desired skills dictated by the advanced technology society.
At Lotus, we prepare students with a rigorous and intensive curriculum in Math, Science, and Technology. We are helping them to establish a sound background to continue their education in colleges with a science and engineering emphasis. I would like to reiterate that the children will gain the skills needed to pursue their careers in any major, but the sound math/science/technology background will contribute greatly to their success should they choose to pursue a career in science and engineering majors.
We challenge every student at the level best suited to him or her by utilizing individualized learning plans. We are a pioneer in using the renowned Renaissance Learning (http://www.renlearn.com) programs Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math that allow us to accurately assess and improve the Reading and Math abilities of the students. Accelerated Math tracks each student and generates individualized Math practice for each student to challenge him/her at the appropriate level. Similarly through the use of Accelerated Reader, students are encouraged to read more and more via an incentive-based system and their comprehension is tested thoroughly in the process. For English Learners we utilize the Read Now Power Up series which provides just the right vocabulary and language complexity for the children to improve their language skills. Parents have access to all of this data through the internet and can track their child’s academic development very closely, allowing them to oversee and intervene when necessary.
We understand that discipline is a main ingredient in creating an optimal learning environment. That’s why we developed the in-house Discipline Record System (DRS) exclusively used in Lotus. This is a web-based interactive system that records and tracks the discipline record for each student. Students are rewarded for their good behavior through some incentive whereas students with low discipline scores are subject to some unpleasant restrictions. Parents get a discipline statement each month summarizing the full discipline activity for their child. This gives an opportunity for them to work with their children to correct their behavior or reward the good behavior with some incentive from the family.
We have extended tutoring for kids who need a little push in order to catch up to the classroom level. Through weekdays and Saturday tutoring, our dedicated teachers are helping students to improve their skills in their weaker subjects. With the numerous clubs and extracurricular activities, we make sure that they grow socially in a multi-disciplined global environment.
There is just too much to tell here what is going on at Lotus to create an optimal and individualized learning environment for each student. When you make a decision to choose Lotus, you can rest assured knowing that your child is getting the best possible individual attention s/he needs to succeed. I encourage every parent to visit the school to observe the culture and environment. You really need to see it to believe it.
At Lotus, we are truly redefining excellence in education; now is your chance to be a part of this exciting change and to contribute as a responsible parent.
Nurzhan Ustemirov, MS
Lotus School for Excellence
"Redefining Excellence in Education"
e-mail: president at lotusschool dot org