"Graduating students as critical thinkers and self-directed learners who are prepared for success in college,

meaningful careers, community involvement and family life."

5496 North 72nd St., Milwaukee, WI 53218| p: 414.837-4000 | f: 414.837-3990 | www.carmenhighschool.org | Twitter: @CarmenEagles

September 15, 2014
Dear Families:
Welcome back! We are so excited about how the second year is going at Carmen Northwest. I
want to take a moment to share information about some important upcoming events and our
growing staff.

Back To School Night, Thursday, September 25

We would like to see all of our parents at Back To School Night on September 25 so that you can
experience your childs school day first hand.

Middle School parents will attend with their children and learn about the Earn, Celebrate, Grow
model and the academic curriclum. The middle school event will begin at 4:00 p.m. and end at
5:15 p.m. A separate flier will be sent home with details.

High School parents will attend without their children. The high school event will begin at 5:30
p.m. and end at 7:00 p.m. Parents will go through their childs daily schedule of classes, meet
each teacher, and learn about some of the educational software used to supplement the
curriculum, such as Achieve 3000 and ALEKS, and how to use Power School to monitor a
students progress with course work and grades. More details will be sent home with your child.

Parent/Teacher Conferences, Thursday, October 23 and Friday, October 24

At Carmen Schools, all students attend teacher conferences with their parents. Parents will have
the choice of attending conferences this year on either Thursday evening, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00
p.m., or Friday morning, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Look for sign up sheets for Parent/Teacher
Conferences to come home in early October. Our expectation this year is 100% participation.

Carmen Northwest has nearly doubled in size this year, with new classes of 6th and 9th grade
students joining last years students who are now in 7th and 10th grades. We have a growing
administrative leadership team including two Co-Principals of the middle school and additional
support at the high school.

Kaylee Jackson and Kris MacDonald, who introduced themselves in an earlier letter to middle
school parents, are the energetic and talented leaders of the Middle School. They worked all
summer to continue defining the program to get ready for the addition of a 7th grade, and spent
two weeks in training and planning with their new middle school faculty team before the
students came back in August. We are also thrilled with the experienced and diverse middle
school faculty team we have brought together at Carmen Middle School. In response to feedback
from our families, we have worked hard to build a truly separate educational program for the
middle school that focuses on character development and readiness for a college preparatory
high school program, but honors the unique needs of early adolescents. Middle school parents

"Graduating students as critical thinkers and self-directed learners who are prepared for success in college,
meaningful careers, community involvement and family life."

5496 North 72nd St., Milwaukee, WI 53218| p: 414.837-4000 | f: 414.837-3990 | www.carmenhighschool.org | Twitter: @CarmenEagles


will notice a new type of after school program, with a mix of academics, sports and other
activities in which students have expressed a special interest.

Mr. Meuler, a long-time Milwaukee-based school leader who was the Northwest Campus
Director last year, is cutting back his work at Carmen this year to focus on his family and begin
thinking about retirement. He will be working half-time at with our 10th graders, helping them to
begin planning for college. Dr. Hoben, who helped launch the Northwest Campus last year, will
serve as the high school director this year to ensure the Carmen educational model developed so
successfully at the South Campus continues to develop at Carmen Northwest. She is supported
by a very strong administrative team, including Jim Young and Liz Hein, Deans of Students and
School Culture, Amanda Mehr, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Humanities and Kyra
VandeBunte, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics. All of the high school teachers from last years school launch returned this year,
and are joined by a new, very experienced and diverse group of teachers to serve the nearly 280
high school students now attending Carmen Northwest. The Office Hours after school academic
support program began this week, where students receive academic support directly from their
teacher in a structured environment.

Our school social workers, Ms. Mitchell and Ms. Redmond are planning a series of valuable
workshops for parents, on issues and topics identified by our families last year. Ms. Kelley is
also planning some fun activities for parents, such as zumba classes, volleyball and basketball
leagues with informal dinners at the school. Again, look for more information soon and please
keep us posted on your ideas.

Please feel free to schedule a visit with me as needed or call me at (414) 837-4000 ext. 124. I
look forward to seeing all of the parents of our new and returning students on September 25.

Sincerely yours,





Patricia J. Hoben, Ph.D.
Head of Schools
Carmen Northwest Campus Director