Welcome to Desert Wind Middle School, Home of the Tigers! Our middle school is located in Maricopa, Arizona, a supportive community located just south of Phoenix.

We are pleased to announce that this year we will be hosting student-led conferences beginning in October. For those of you who may be new to this procedure, the student-led conference process empowers our students to direct and report their progress at school. Student-led conferences are a research-based practice used in many exemplary middle schools. Our teachers are being trained to assist, direct, and support our students throughout the preparation process. They are coaching, critiquing, and evaluating our students in order to have them ready to present to you.

During the conference process our students will report on academic progress, articulate goals, report on assessment data when appropriate, and share examples of their course work. They will present samples of schoolwork from all of their classes.

Student-led conferences:

• Opens up communication between school and home
• Practices real life skills (communication, organization, leadership, etc.)
• Teaches self-evaluation and self-reflection skills
• Focuses on learning
• Accommodates scheduling

We believe that the student-led conference process puts the responsibility for reporting learning where it needs to be and that is with the student. However, individual parent-teacher conferences may be scheduled at any time during the course of the year. At Desert Wind Middle School, we have a vision of excellence, and our students are eager to present their progress to you. We thank you for working with them in this journey.

Welcome students, parents, and staff to the 2010 - 2011 school year. As the principal of Desert Wind Middle School, I am privileged and honored to serve all of you. I am pleased to announce that we have maintained Performing Plus status while meeting our Annual Yearly Progress for the second consecutive year. I congratulate the efforts of our students and staff for their diligence and dedication to student achievement.

As we continue to Inspire, Educate, Empower, and Challenge, we encourage everyone to implement concrete ways to enhance learning for our students. Desert Wind Middle School welcomes and embraces parents as active partners in facilitating student achievement. Please stop by to see how you can get involved. Welcome to the Home of the Tigers!

Respectfully,

Mr. Joe Veres
Principal