Bravo Zulu!
With a mere four or five school hours accomplished last week, my Bravo Zulu goes to all of you for showing flexibility and adaptability to the ever changing weather and work conditions last week. It is very difficult to plan and carry out mission when the most unplanned events, at such scale, intrude upon our work for students and families. You have all accepted this last week with professionalism by strong communication through our phone tree and the daily planning and rethinking for the unknown (which was a day by day occurrence last week). Bravo Zulu and thank you for a job well done.
Instructional Note: Equitable Practices in our Instructional Frame: Teaching Point and Purpose
Our Professional Collaboration Time this week is an important one. We will be focused on the Equitable Practices of our Instructional Frame in Alternative Education. I will first conduct a review of the processes we have gone through in the last two years in support of this District Priority for our students.
We will revisit the Five Dimensions of Teaching and Learning, the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching, and our own District Equitable Practices. These three bodies of work, and the sense we make of them, gives us our own instructional frame in Alternative Education (and indeed, the rest of our district)
Domain 3 (instruction) of the Danielson framework, like the Five Ds, describes the importance of communicating clearly and accurately to our students. Furthermore, the Five D’s pushes us to clearly communicate our Teaching Points and Purpose. On Friday we will look at how we do this in our classrooms and daily practice. We will discuss the ways we may, or may not, be doing this, and how we can better communicate our learning objectives to our students.
In reviewing the Danielson framework this snowy week, I was reminded why a common instructional framework is so important (and a District Priority).
(From Danielson)
The Benefits for ANY Framework for Teaching:
· Common Language
· Development of Common Understanding
· Self-Assessment and Reflection on Practice
· Structured Professional Conversation
These four ideas are the reasons (benefits) of our work to develop an instructional framework for ourselves and the district. Without a framework (or at least one in the making) we would not have the common language and understanding of our work in teaching. A framework forces professional reflections on our practice, and gives us a structure to talk about our work with each other.
I share this to set context for our professional growth on Friday. Keep these ideas in mind as the week progresses and we work toward our own professional conversation about Communicating Teaching Point and Purpose.
Mid-Year Meetings
I intended to begin our mid-year meetings last week, but those did not occur. I am now in the process of maneuvering my schedule to begin again this week. I want to share (again) the protocol for our short discussions and pre-observation meetings this week.
Mid Year Meeting Agenda:
1. Celebrations for your work this year
2. Review your progress on goals set in the Fall
3. Discuss problems to date and support needed
4. Talk about the Big Idea(s) of your teaching
5. Pre-Observation Discussion:
a. Date/Time:
b. Lesson Plan:
c. Teaching Point to look for:
d. Assessment to look for:
e. Student Talk to look for:
f. Teacher Actions to look for:
6. Review timeline for observation, observation meeting & evaluation
7. Review my expectations for second semester
Still, I look forward to our meeting this month (and maybe next month). Please come prepared to talk about your teaching and planning this year. These meetings are always inspiring to me, and reminding of the most important facet of our work, our teaching practice, and student learning. Looking forward to seeing you soon!
The Week Ahead: End of Semester news
In light of the unfortunate timing for snow and the End of Semester, Superintendent Spicciati has extended the Semester to Wednesday. Semester Two begins on Thursday. You may have received the email already, but here is the official word, and direction for semester transition this week:
· “In collaboration with HEA, a decision has been made to modify the first semester end date due to the impact of weather-related school closures.
· The first semester will be extended through Wednesday, January 25. The second semester will begin on Thursday, January 26. Teachers will have until Monday, January 30 to turn in grades. Report cards are to be sent shortly after that.
· To reduce the number of school days that need to be made up later, there will be no day off for secondary schools between semesters.
· Thank you for your flexibility throughout this weather event.”
PCT Details: Friday, January 27, 2012. For all ALL Alt Ed Teaching Staff:
“Our Instructional Frame”, at CHOICE/Woodside at 12:30 – 2:00
This Friday we meet at CHOICE at Woodside. Please come prepared with examples, artifacts or stories of how you have been Communicating Teaching Point or Purpose. Other components of the frame will be discussed also, such as new Talk Structures or Weekly Assessments that have been working for you. We will revisit some of our team instructional goals and share what we have been working on in the development of “Our Instructional Frame”.
My Schedule:
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
NS / CH / ERAC | NS / ERAC / NS | CHOICE | New Start | NS / CH / NS |
Jan 23 | Jan 24 | Jan 25 | Jan 26 | Jan 27 |
Morning Meetings CH Mid Year Meetings M/ A. Love M/ C. Jackson Present at Marvista (Evening) | NS Mid-Year Meetings M/ Tukwila SD M/ C. Jackson NS Mid Year Meetings | CH Mid Year Meetings HP Mid Year Meetings CHOICE PSO Meeting (Evening) | Avanza Meeting NS Mid Year Meetings Class Planning w/A. Magyar Registrar Interviews CH MS Info Night (Evening) | NS PBIS , MDT and Midyear Meetings PCT – Instructional Frame Woodside NS Mid Year meetings |
Well, back at it. Enough about snow and wintery weather in this note! I look forward to seeing you in the halls, classrooms and at mid-year meetings this week. Hope for rain, and make it a good one! - Mike
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