About ME

An important program working to lift the voices of ME students is the Building Relationships And Valuing Experiences (BRAVE) Ambassador program. Alicea Wortham, a 4th grade English as a second language (ESL) teacher at Mason Elementary School, serves as the Building Leader of the BRAVE program.

The program provides space for young learners to take on leadership roles and proactively integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into our school and our community. 

As ambassadors for the BRAVE program, 3rd and 4th grade students are encouraged to put their own ideas into action by forming committees. Fifteen Mason Elementary staff members also volunteer their time and help facilitate the work of the committee groups. The committees meet regularly so the ambassadors can collaborate and plan activities. 

“They have spread inspiring messages to the student body and personalized tokens of appreciation for our students and staff members,” Wortham says. “Beyond that, our committees have worked on projects that shine a light on our essential care workers, spread kindness to elders in the community, provide care packages to the homeless, and help keep our area parks clean.”

Alicea says being a facilitator for a student-led program has been a dream of hers for years.

“Sometimes, we as adults have to step aside and listen to the thoughts, ideas, passions and concerns our children have about the world around them,” Alicea says. “When we give them an opportunity to act on it; the end result is something quite beautiful.”

Mason Elementary School Cell Phone Policy

We have many guidelines in place to ensure that students are able to access information and develop content that supports students’ personal learning goals. Our school is committed to helping students set healthy boundaries for themselves when it comes to technology, personal accessibility, and screen time. 

Students’ cell phones and other personal communication devices are unwelcome at school Cell phones should remain on airplane mode/Do Not Disturb or turned completely off - and should be kept in students’ backpacks or lockers only.

If a staff member sees a cell phone is out without permission–even if the device is only in-hand, the cell phone will be confiscated and safely stored on the teachers’ desk or in the front office at Mason Elementary School, where students can collect them at the end of the day.

The consequence of not following the cell phone policy is losing access to the device for the duration of the day. If repeated non-compliance occurs (more than 3 times), teachers and administrators may work with families to intervene differently so that the student can be more successful moving forward.

• Lauren Joyce - joycel@masonohioschool.com
• Shannon Hannah - hannahs@masonohioschools.com
• Michelle Krugh - krughm@masonohioschools.com
• Shannon Tipton - tiptons@masonohioschools.com

School counselors help children grow to become competent and confident learners! ME counselors loop with students for two years. Through classroom lessons, small group opportunities, and individual support as needed, our goals are to help children:

• Learn healthy ways of expressing their feelings
• Build and maintain positive friendships
• Strengthen problem solving skills

The ME Library/Dream Center reopened in 2024 with a redesign to meet the needs and interests of today’s learners.  Our Library/Dream Center is the hub of learning within our school community and is designed to meet the needs of children growing up in a world in which literacy in all of its forms is critical. With that in mind, we created a space in which children had the opportunity to learn, wonder, create, and explore, while learning the skills of collaboration, critical thinking, and communication.  

Within this space, students in third and fourth grade engage in STEAM experiences as part of their Specials Rotation.  During this time, they have the opportunity to explore learning in coding and robotics, building and engineering, creating and making, and producing (video and print production).   

The library section of the space is filled with engaging literature that pulls students into the world of reading.  Students can check out an extensive variety of fiction and non-fiction books.  We promote books and encourage reading every day through displays, book talks, and recommendations.  Our computers allow students access to the online catalog in order to search, discover, and locate all the books the library has to offer.

You can visit the Library Catalogs online -- select ME/MI Media Center.

Reading and writing workshops is a framework designed to offer a simple and predictable environment so that the teacher can focus on the complex work of observing students' progress and teaching into their needs.

• Each session begins with a minilesson. Kids sit with a long-term partner while in the minilesson.
• The minilesson ends with the kids being sent off to their own independent work.
• As students work, the teacher confers with them and leads small groups.
• Partway through independent work time, the teacher stands and delivers a mid-workshop teaching point.
• The workshop ends with a share.

What is the Responsive Classroom approach?

It is a way of teaching that creates a safe, challenging, and joyful classroom and schoolwide climate for all students. Teachers who use the Responsive Classroom approach understand that all of students’ needs—academic, social, emotional, and physical—are important. Elementary and middle school teachers create an environment that responds to all of those needs so that your child can do his or her best learning.

The Responsive Classroom approach develops teachers’ competencies in four key areas:

•  Engaging Academics—Teachers create learning tasks that are active, interactive, appropriately challenging, purposeful, and connected to students’ interests. 
• Positive Community—Teachers nurture a sense of belonging, significance, and emotional safety so that students feel comfortable taking risks and working with a variety of peers.
• Effective Management—Teachers create a calm, orderly environment that promotes autonomy and allows students to focus on learning.
• Developmentally Responsive Teaching—Teachers use knowledge of child development, along with observations of students, to create a developmentally appropriate learning environment.

How might the Responsive Classroom approach look and sound in my child’s classroom?

The Responsive Classroom approach offers practical strategies for teaching, rather than formulas telling teachers what they must do in the classroom. Teachers adapt the strategies as needed to address their students’ needs, so things may look a bit different in each classroom. But you’ll usually see and hear teachers:

• Leading a daily Morning Meeting. These routines set a positive tone and build a sense of community and belonging while giving students practice in key academic and social skills.
• Teaching students the specific skills they need to participate successfully, from how to respond to a signal for quiet to how to respectfully disagree with a classmate.
• Treating mistakes in a positive way. Teachers see mistakes (in academics and in behavior) as important steps in learning. They encourage students to learn from their mistakes and “try again.” They offer support and reteach as needed. At the same time, teachers provide clear expectations for behavior and stop misbehavior quickly so that students can focus on learning.

The Responsive Classroom® Approach

• Using positive language. Teachers choose words and tone that encourage students to work hard, enjoy learning, and persist through difficulties.
• Teaching in ways that build excitement about learning. Teachers give students some choices in their learning. They also plan active lessons (ones that get students up and moving) and interactive lessons (ones that encourage students to share their information, ideas, and questions).
• Giving students opportunities to reflect on their learning. Teachers ask students to think about what they’ve learned, both individually and as a group, because doing so helps students learn more and builds community.
• Reaching out to parents. Teachers communicate often with parents and welcome them as partners in their child’s education.

• Makenzie Arvidson - arvidsonm@masonohioschools.com
• Scott Pun - puns@masonohioschools.com

The school psychologist consults with parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, students, and community agencies to collaboratively develop interventions for supporting the individual needs of children with academic and/or behavioral concerns.  The school psychologist is also available for educational, social, emotional, and behavioral assessment.

The office phone number is 513.398.5821

The primary objective of reporting student progress in the District shall be to accurately inform the student and his or her parents of the student’s progress toward established goals.  In recognition of the fact that students learn at different rates for a variety of reasons, it is imperative that reasonable expectations be set for each student and that parents be made aware of these expectations.

Measurement of achievement must be based on reasonable expectations and on comparisons with typical standards of performance which are made on a district-wide basis. The District standards are set on the basis of sound learning theory and on national standards.  

Purposes of Grading:

• Communicate the performance of students to their parents and others
• Provide information for student self-evaluation
• Document students’ performance to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional programs
• Help guide instruction

Principles of Grades:

• Accurate
• Fair
• Specific
• Meaningful
• Timely
• Supportive of Learning

GRADING in Third & Fourth Grade Reading, Writing , Math, Social Studies

Students will receive a standards based report card.   The marking key is as follows for the areas of reading, writing and math:

• 4 = Exceeds standards and shows in-depth understanding that goes beyond what was explicitly taught
• 3 = Meets grade level standards
• 2 = Partial or inconsistent understanding of grade level standards
• 1 = Not meeting grade level standards
• NA = Not assessed at this time

GRADING in Third & Fourth Grade Special Areas

Students will receive a standards based report card. The marking key is as follows for the areas of social studies, science, behavior and special areas.

• 3 = Meets grade level standards
• 2 = Partial or inconsistent understanding of grade level standards
• 1 = Not meeting grade level standards
• NA = Not assessed at this time

Notation of curriculum modifications will be made for each graded course.

Some exceptions to the grading system described may be made in the areas of support education instruction as noted in the Individual Educational Plan. Notation of curricular modifications and/or accommodations will be made for each graded course.

Schoology - Daily Grades & Homework 

Schoology is the online platform where Mason City Schools teachers, students, and families collaborate. It allows users to create, manage, and share content. Schoology is known as a Learning Management System (LMS) that uses a cloud based storage system for managing an online classroom.

Teachers use the site to take attendance, use an online grade book, post discussion questions, homework, files, links, and other information. Students are able to access all class information, take quizzes and tests, upload files through an online dropbox, participate in class discussions, stay organized with a school calendar, download and print files from home, and much more. Families are able to observe their child’s assignments and calendars while staying involved in their education.

Schoology has the look and the feel of Facebook with many different functions that are necessary for the classroom. The site allows for teachers to facilitate collaboration among a class or group of students.

Chromebook

Every student receives a Chromebook so they can take advantage of the vast resources available to them. We recommend that students purchase a case to reduce the likelihood of damage.

Web Filter

Each Chromebook provided by the district as well as the Google Suite go through an internet filter. Therefore, even when students are at home, the Chromebook is being filtered. We know there's no way to filter out all unsavory content but the district is committed to this effort. Check with your Internet Service Provider for additional equipment (router) based filtering options.