Success Guide

2025-2026 Success Guide for Mrs. Williford

I usually check my email regularly and strive to respond within 24 hours during the school week.  If a phone call or in-person meeting would be preferred, please send a request via email so we can arrange a time. 

Rachael Williford                Room#       M1/412          Email: rwilliford@c2e.org

I usually check my email regularly and strive to respond within 24 hours during the school week.  If a phone call or in-person meeting would be preferred, please send a request via email so we can arrange a time.  I am also encouraging parents to sign up for the Remind app to receive text message communications.

Welcome to Math Class!

Welcome to a year of being a mathematician, critical thinker, problem-solver, innovator, and collaborator.  I love teaching kids the beauty and power of the language of mathematics and helping them to see the world through a mathematical lens.

I was originally going to call this a “survival” guide, but I want you to do more than survive this class. I want you to succeed and to thrive in math class this year! It’s a brand new year, a chance to begin again. You see, your success is really up to you.  Your parents and I want you to succeed, but unless you want success also, there’s not much we can do to help (although we are sure going to try). This is a joint venture.  Here are some general suggestions to help you out:

• Complete your work each day. Don’t let yourself fall behind.

• Ask questions when you are not sure of something.

• Make up work as soon as possible after an absence.

• Ask questions if you don’t understand instructions.

• Don’t wait until the last minute to complete assignments.

• Ask questions if you don’t know how to solve a problem.

• Take complete math notes.

• Ask questions even if you are embarrassed to ask questions (find a way to ask me privately, like email ).

• Make corrections on your homework as we go over it in class.

• Ask questions even if you have to come in for extra help.

• Complete test and quiz corrections if you receive a D or an F!

Let’s have a great year! Let me know what I can do to help you.

-Mrs Williford

Curriculum:  Maneuvering the Middle & Delta Math

Maneuvering the Middle curriculum will be used. At the start of each new unit students will be given a packet that must be kept in their 2-Pocket folder for that quarter. Notes and some homework will be completed in the packet and must be brought to class every day. Delta Math will also be used for weekly Mammoth Math Spiral Review assignments.  Optional extra practice assignments for each unit will also be provided in Delta Math.

 At the beginning of each unit, a Parent Letter will be emailed home that will include  a list of important standards and concepts covered in the unit, assessment dates for the unit, and additional practice resources that can be found online at www.deltamath.com and in the HMH Into Math Workbook (optional provided at the email request of the parent).

All topics covered will be aligned to the Colorado Academic Standards for Mathematics.

• Standard 1: Number Sense, Properties, and Operations 

• Standard 2: Patterns, Functions, and Algebraic Structures 

• Standard 3: Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability

• Standard 4: Shape, Dimension, and Geometric Relationships  

Grading Scale:

A=100-90%      B=89%-80%

C=79%-70%     D=69%-60%

F=59% or Below

Extra Credit is not offered to individual students!  

If extra credit is offered, all students will be given the same opportunity!

Behavior:

Students are expected to enter and exit the classroom in an orderly fashion. Once you enter the class, you are expected to find your seat, get your homework out, organize your supplies for the day, and begin working on the warm-up. Once inside our classroom,  we show respect to each other by following the Golden Rule: “If what you are doing interferes with learning, hurts someone’s heart, or prevents you from being your best self, you need to make a better choice!"

🚽 Bathroom Policy: At the beginning of each quarter, a student will be given 3 bathroom/emergency passes (unused passes can be turned in at the end of the year for a prize). If a student has any medical conditions that require an exception to this policy, please communicate this with me so I can provide the necessary accommodations. 

📵 Cell Phone Policy:

Cell phones must be turned off and remain in the student's locker or backpack at ALL times. See Parent Student Handbook for the cell phone policy.  If a student is found to have a cell phone in class, it will be taken from the student and given to the front office for the parent to pick up at the end of the school day. 

Make-Up Policy: 

Students are given 2 days for every day of an EXCUSED absence to make up their work. Check google classroom and google calendar for missing assignment details. When you return from being absent, any papers that were passed out can be found in the absent work filing crate. If you are here when it was assigned, it is due when you return!

Please feel free to email me with any questions. 

Late Work Policy

To encourage responsibility and ensure timely feedback, late assignments will be subject to the following grade deductions:

• 10% deduction for work submitted 1 day late

• 20% deduction for work submitted 2 days late

• 30% deduction for work submitted 3 days late

• 40% deduction for work submitted 4 days late

• 50% deduction for work submitted 5 or more days late

Important:
Late work will not be accepted after the unit has ended, regardless of how many days late it is. It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of deadlines and communicate in advance if there are extenuating circumstances. (Weekend days will be counted as days late for the Weekly Mammoth Math Spiral Review assignments!)  All Late work must have a parent signature acknowledging that the parents are aware the assignment is being turned in late.  Students must also attach a completed late slip. If turning in a digital/online assignment late, you must EMAIL Mrs. Williford to inform her that you are turning in the assignment so she knows it is ready to be graded! I do not get notifications so you MUST EMAIL me or it will go ungraded until the proper procedures are followed!

🧰 Tools for Success: Bring the following materials to math class every day!

📔  Spiral Quad Notebook (Graph Paper Spiral Notebook)

Pencils with erasers     Pen for Grading (Any color, Red Preferred)

📂 2 Pocket Folder with Prongs (You will need 4 of these, 1 for each Quarter, any Color) 

💻 Chromebook                           Scientific Calculator (2nd Quarter)

Wired Headphones                       Dry Erase Markers and Eraser

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Pencil is the most preferred writing utensil in math class for all assignments, notes, and tests! Color-coding can be a powerful tool, so a 4-color pen and/or highlighters may be needed at times. 

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Mammoth Math Weekly Spiral Review Homework:

Each week students will be assigned a spiral review homework assignment on Delta Math.  Students are expected to complete the weekly assignment by Friday at 3:00 pm. If the assignment is not done Friday at 3:00 pm late credit will be deducted per the late work policy and include weekends as days late.  (i.e. if it is not completed until Monday it is 20% off) Delta math provides students instructional videos they can watch if they need to review the concept. 

Notes:

EVERY student is expected to take notes.  Notes are taken in the unit packet that must be kept in a 2-pocket folder with prongs for that quarter.  Packets may be used for some tests/quizzes, so taking good notes is strongly recommended! It is highly recommended that you save all packets for the entire year to help with the final exam that will be given at the end of the year!

Homework: (40% of the Letter Grade)

Daily homework will be posted on google classroom and on my whiteboard.  Homework will either be checked for completion (no grade given) or graded for accuracy and recorded in the gradebook.  Homework will always be checked as a class and student questions will be answered by the teacher. Students are expected to correct mistakes with a pen. An assignment is considered INCOMPLETE if I don’t see your process or work.                      NO WORK = NO CREDIT 

If a student is not doing the homework they will not have the necessary notes and practice to be prepared for the tests and quizzes.  

Flipped Classroom: I run a flipped classroom so most nights the homework is to watch a video lesson and fill in the guided notes along with the video. Students are expected to watch and LISTEN to the video lesson and take notes before the lesson is presented in class on the due date. We go over the key concepts again via direct instruction and students will then practice the concept in class.  If a student does not watch the videos, they will not be prepared for class and will not have completed notes. This will impact their ability to complete test/quiz corrections.

Quizzes, Test, and Projects: (60% of the Letter Grade)(Test Corrections Policy)

Each unit will include at least one quiz and a Unit Test. Quizzes are worth 50 points and Tests are worth 100. Students are required to show their work on all problems to receive full credit and therefore enable me to give partial credit.

These assessments are worth a large part of the overall grade, so if a student receives a D or an F they have the option to complete test corrections to earn partial credit back up to a max score of 70%. Test corrections are not required, but are highly recommended. If a student would like to complete test/quiz corrections, they need to see me before period 1 or after period 7 to check out their test/quiz. Test corrections can be completed with the help of a parent or tutor to ensure maximum points are earned back. Students who have questions can email the teacher to schedule a time to receive help before school from 7:40-8:00.  Test corrections must be signed by a parent or guardian to be accepted. 

**** If a student has any missing assignments, quiz/test corrections will NOT  be accepted until ALL missing work is completed.  If a student is regularly not watching the assigned videos and taking notes they will not be allowed to complete test corrections!!!****

Classwork:(40% of the Letter Grade)

Students will be given classwork assignments to complete independently or in small groups.  Each student will be responsible for completing their own copy of the classwork and will be graded on their own work. 

Parent-Teacher Communication

This year, in addition to Google Classroom and email, I will be utilizing the Remind App to communicate with parents and students via text messages.  Parents should expect a Unit Letter at the beginning of each new Unit that will outline the important concepts, assessment dates, and where to find extra practice!  One of the extra practice options is the HMH student workbook, I will not be passing these out to every student.  If a parent would like to request the workbook they may email me to request a copy and I will send it home with their student.  (I have a limited supply,  therefore these will be provided on a first come first served basis.)

Academic Integrity/Cheating

It is important to note that academic integrity is expected from each student attending Challenge To Excellence. It is expected that students complete and turn in their own original work for all assignments and assessments.

Cheating of any sort is academic dishonesty and will have direct and indirect consequences. A direct consequence of cheating will be a score of “zero” on that assignment for ANY student involved and may result in a referral to the Dean.  Indirectly, cheating will hinder a student’s success on subsequent assignments and in future math courses. 

Cheating includes, but is not limited to:

• Sending a picture of your completed work to another student

• Submitting somebody else’s work as your own

• Sharing problems and/or answers on homework or  an assessment with another student who has yet to take the same assessment or complete the assignment.

• Pre-programming a calculator to contain answers or other unauthorized information for assessments

• Taking an assessment for another person or having someone take an assessment for you

• Using unauthorized material, prepared answers, written notes, or concealed information during an assessment

• Talking during a quiz or test to anyone other than the teacher

Students may help each other with homework; however, it is academic dishonesty for one student to completely do the work for another student. All assignments must be submitted in the student’s own handwriting. If a student is absent, he/she may ask another student to record missed notes, but no student may copy anything else from another student’s work.

Consequences may include, but are not limited to: 

• A parent-student-teacher-administrator conference. 

• A lowering of the grade or receiving a 0% F for the assignment. 

• An alternative assignment or re-completion of the original assignment.