Families

Welcome Ursa Minor Families!

We are so happy to welcome you back for the 2026–2027 school year!

I am thrilled to be beginning my 18th year in education and my 6th year as the principal of Ursa Minor Elementary. It is truly an honor to serve this incredible community alongside our students, families, and team.

Communication and collaboration are essential to a successful partnership between home and school. My goal is to keep families informed through monthly newsletters and regular communication throughout the school year.

We also warmly welcome parents and family members into our school and greatly appreciate our volunteers. Please note that all volunteers must complete a volunteer application and be approved before volunteering in classrooms, at recess, or on field trips. The approval process typically takes 3–5 days, so please contact the office if you would like to check on the status of your application.

Volunteer Application: 

https://www.asdk12.org/departments/administrative-services/dei-community-engagement/volunteer-opportunities-with-asd

A Few Important Things to Know About Ursa Minor:

This year, we are especially excited to begin our first year of implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).

In simple terms, PBIS helps create a shared understanding of behavioral expectations across our school. It provides consistent language and expectations for conduct in common areas, while teachers continue to establish and teach expectations that fit the unique needs of their classrooms. Additional information about PBIS is included below as an introduction to this important work.

As we begin this implementation, we want families to know that we are committed to maintaining clear, consistent, and supportive expectations for all students. Children are learning and growing every day, and there will be times when expectations are not met. When that happens, we take time to remind students of the expectations, re-teach and practice the expected behavior, students' reflect on their actions and family communication is made if appropriate for the situation. We restore by problem solving, repairing harm, and/or making a plan, and administrative intervention is made to determine appropriate consequences when needed.

We understand that consequences can sometimes be difficult, especially when a behavior is occurring for the first time. However, we also know that accountability is an important part of the learning and development process. We ask for your partnership in reinforcing expectations at home so that, together, we can maximize learning opportunities academically, socially, emotionally and behaviorally.

Guiding Principles

At Ursa Minor, we believe In:

• Teaching expectations first.
• Assuming positive intent while maintaining high expectations.
• Responding consistently and fairly.
• Matching consequences to the behavior.
• Focusing on repairing harm and rebuilding relationships.
• Celebrating positive choices more often than correcting mistakes.

We are excited for the year ahead and look forward to partnering with you to make this a successful, engaging, and memorable school year for every student.

Kindly,

Tina Bartlett
Principal, Ursa Minor Elementary