Alt Ed Week December 19, 2011

This is just a quick note for a short week as we are all hustling and bustling to wrap up 2011. Winter Break is a mere two days away so I want to take this moment to wish you all a merry Christmas, happy Chanukah and joyful break however your family and friends celebrate this time of year.  

Thank you those who came to our holiday party, it was another festive event in this busiest of times, and a pleasure to see you for some holiday cheer last week!

Don’t forget to teach up to the end (Dec 20) or at least until final festivities begin. Both sites are hosting a little celebration for students and families near the end of the day. On Tuesday make sure your rooms are locked up tight for the break and seasonal decorations and lighting come down for safety.

The Weeks Ahead…

This will be the last Alt Ed Week of the year. Because our new year return week is also a short one, and begins mid week, the Welcome Back edition will be published on an off date (January 3^rd or 4^th).

I am including my schedule for the next few weeks so you will know my whereabouts through the break. Please remember that last staff day December 20^th. All staff report back to your respective schools on January 4^th at your normal start time. (Please don’t confuse my schedule with your schedule!)  

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
New Start/CHOICE	Last Day of Classes	CHOICE/New Start	Off	Off
Dec 19	Dec 20	Dec 21	Dec 22	Dec 23
NS Moring Meeting NS Advisory Presentation CH In Classrooms District PBIS Meeting	CH Holiday Event NS Holiday Event PALS Seahawk Event @ New Start	CH Office Woodside Principals Meeting NS Office	Winter Break	Winter Break
Winter Break Week (Dec 26 – 30)
Off	New Start/CHOICE	Classes Resume	ERAC / CHOICE	Cascade / NS
Jan 2	Jan 3	Jan 4	Jan 5	Jan 6
Winter Break	NS Office CH Office	NS Session Four Opening/Schedule CH SOC Meeting	District Principal Team CH Parent Meeting	CMS Learning Walk Ns  Student Re-Entry Meeting NS Mascot  Committee NS & CHOICE PCT: PBIS Tier II Class @ SPU

May your next few weeks be be filled will joy and happiness. I’m still hoping for snow but it doesn’t seem likely with our recent weather. Here is my cry to the snow misers with hopes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yon2YuXssvo  

So here is wishing you and your family a most wonderful holiday season. Watch some movies, celebrate around the tree, and stay warm with the ones you love. Exchange many gifts, smiles and hugs. Those of you traveling, do so safely. Rest and relax from the hard you put in everyday for our students. Enjoy the break! From my family to yours we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Cheers – Mike

Alt Ed Week December 12, 2011

This week marks our last full week in December and for calendar year 2011.  With that, I am pleased to announce the arrival of our Alt Ed Van! Our new(ish) 2004 Chevy Astro is clean, green and ready for our exclusive use in any of our programs. Contact me if you want to know how to access our van. A thank you to King County for the grant, and district transportation for the making our new van a reality. 

Bravo Zulu!  Speaking of grants, this week’s Bravo Zulu goes to Beverly Mowrer, and a big thank you, once again, to the Highline Schools Foundation. Bev has landed a Mad Grant for $1000 at New Start to be spent on a public art project in conjunction with the City of Burien. The funds will be used to enhance the Salmon Creek Campus while increasing student awareness and appreciation for the arts in our community. Beverly, the grant and project which will include collaboration with students, the City of Burien, PSSC and other district departments should offer mentorship and senor project opportunities for our seniors. More importantly, Bev’s efforts and enthusiasm once again reflects the collaborative nature and innovative thinking inherent to our New Start staff. Congratulations on the grant Bev, and thank you for a job well done!

F-Project intervention Plan & Fridays
Thank you for your ideas to provide intervention above and beyond what we normally do to identify and support our students at risk of failing this session or semester. As we’ve discussed, the district sponsored F-Project is releasing funds to provide temporary and interim supports to turn the tide of very disappointing quarterly grades across the district by our secondary students. Fortunately, quarter grades are a progress report and not lasting on the student transcript. We can turn this around for our kids with a surge of support.

At New Start we will request a temporary student family liaison to communicate and case manage our identified students in need. Funds will resource the extra-adult in student’s lives that will get them to school. Attendance and student class failure are strongly correlated at New Start. Our hope is to bring this person on board for session four students to help keep them coming and passing their classes. The case management, advisory and student supervision models (caring adults) work, and with added intensity should help our students pass our classes this session.

At CHOICE we are proposing a surge with in-classroom support. A temporary para-educator will be brought on board through the end of the semester with the charge of changing direction for targeted 9^th and 10^th graders who are failing this semester. Again, a caring adult, focused on particular kids is our model.

Stay tuned for next steps in getting our interventions rolling at each site. It is a “surge of support” of sorts and a wise investment for the district if they have funds available. If we are successful in our interventions we won’t have to be figuring out recovery strategies later.

Speaking about intervention, I want to share my excitement that both sites have organically, and at nearly the same time, begun talking about how we may use our Fridays differently. The less-structured Friday interventions for our struggling students do not seem to be yielding the results our kids need. I am very proud that each of you has been open to re-thinking Fridays. I will discuss this with our Alt Ed leadership team this week. There will be more to follow as we continue to teach and support all of our kids to higher achievement.  

The Week Ahead…
Our last week is a full one. I am meeting with the CHOICE PSO President and Alt Ed Senior Leadership this week. Thursday we have our Traditional Staff Holiday Party (this will be our 4^th). The week rounds out with PBIS meetings and presentation planning for the upcoming Oregon PBIS Conference in late February. Our last PCT is scheduled for Site-Based Team Time Meetings and New Start will have a number of intake conferences for the start of the new year and session.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
NS/CH/ERAC/NS	New Start/CHOICE	ERAC/NS/CH/PSSC	CHOICE	New Start
Dec 12	Dec 13	Dec 14	Dec 15	Dec 16
Open NS w/Sub NS In Classrooms CH PSO President Meeting ERAC Alt Ed Budget Meeting NS Sculpture Meeting	NS Planning Time NS Advisory Check CH in Classrooms	M/Carla Jackson NS Talk to Seniors CH Home School Planning PSSC Alt Ed Leadership Meeting	CH In classrooms Staff Party Prep Staff Holiday Party @ my house!	NS PBIS Meeting PBIS Conference Presentation Prep Weekly w/Kati S Becca Updates Weekly/ Andrea L

And don’t forget the Party!

A Season’s Greetings Soiree IV

@ Mike’s House, Thursday, December 15^th

4:00 – 6:00 pm (?) for holiday cheer, food, music and games around the tree!

v  Warm & Traditional Seasonal Beverages

v  Bring Hors d’oeurve or appetizer if you choose

o   Let Mike Know what you’re bringing (so we don’t double up)

v  Bring a Gift to Play! Our Traditional Gift Exchange Game around the tree

o   $10 limit or a re-gift

o   Festive holiday wrapping – This year a prize for best wrapping!

# Please email Mike if you would like to be on the Gift Wrap Judging Panel

o   Gift Theme: “Holiday Hitchhiker”

o   Begins at 5:30

v  As always, the Hot Chocolate Hot Tub is open!

o   (Bring your Santa suit!)

v  Double the fun - Bring your seasonal sweetheart!

Location:

Mike’s House

(Email me michael.sita@highlineschools.org if you need directions)

Have a wonderful, last full week of the year!

Alt Ed Week December 5, 2011

Happy December! As we hurl through the year at breakneck speed I look forward to these pre-holiday weeks to slow down and take stock of our progress this year. Take some time yourself to look at what is working for you, for our kids, and what is not. With what will you enter 2012, and what will you leave behind?

Bravo Zulu!

Bravo Zulu Dolly Knuth and CHOICE kids for leading the most bountiful Food Drive I have ever heard of. Last week when Dolly announced over 1900 food items collected and donated to the Burien Food Bank I about fell over. I have been involved in many Food Drives over the years at schools big and small. Only the largest schools approach a thousand food items at a time. Amazingly, Dolly’s kids, at our very own and modest CHOICE Academy far exceeded what I have ever seen before. Congratulations Dolly and Bravo Zulu for a job Well done!

Instructional Point: PBIS Universal Expectations
Advisory is one way that helps us find the time and space to connect with kids and teach them “everything else” from college and career exploration and the social skills that will allow them to be successful in life. Advisory gives us a venue to reinforce and re-teach the universal behaviors we expect of our students: Respect, Responsibility, and Dedication at New Start, and Excellence at CHOICE. Are you teaching this?

This week I remind you to touch on the Universal Expectations often. Please double check that they are prominently posted in your classroom. Then, refer to them often, every day, in some way, in every period. This can be explicit, or subtle. It can be as simple as publically telling a student, “Hey I saw that. That was very respectful how you spoke to your peer.” (Give them a ticket). Or you could lead a whole class discussion about the Responsibility of being prepared for class. However you do it, hit these expectations every day in Advisory and in regular content classes. It doesn’t take much time or effort, and with every teacher doing so, your action reinforces the importance and focus of positive behaviors at school, and in the classroom. I’ll be coming around this week looking for indicators of how you connect the Universal Expectations to your everyday teaching and Advisory.  I am looking forward to what I find.

The Week Ahead…
This week I am putting some focus on PBIS and contemplating some collegial observation structures across classrooms. As I said above, I am taking stock and investigating what is working for us this year and what to leave behind for 2012. May I suggest you do the same in the shortened tempo of the weeks before a new year?

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
New Start/CHOICE	New Start/ERAC	HCC / New Start	CHOICE	New Start
Dec 5	Dec 6	Dec 7	Dec 8	Dec 9
NS Morning Meeting Web Meeting re: edline NS In Classrooms CH Detention	Planning Time NS AP Meeting District Principal Meeting	Gateway Monitoring Visit NS Observation NS Host Equity Team Visit NS Staff Meeting	CH Native American  Presentation CH In classrooms CH Staff Meeting	Weekly w/ Kati S NS PCT ELL Weekly/ Andrea L

Have a wonderful full week!