Welcome to December. I want to begin by welcoming aboard a new colleague to our district programming. Welcome Siri Quigley, our new Truancy Officer for this year. You may have met Siri last year. She was a social work intern in our district while completing her MSW at UW. Siri also has a JD from Willamette University in Salem, OR. Her commitment is to help keep our students in schools and out of court altogether. Please send her an email or call to welcome her to our team.
Celebration Points:
This week we will celebrate grants. I want to congratulate Mrs. Kelsie Maney, at New Start, for applying for and receiving her first $1000.00 installment of a three year $3K grant from the Armed Forces Continuing Education Association (AFCEA). I gave Kelsie her check at Friday PCT and we will give her a BIG check in front of students at Brag Day this week. Clap, clap, clap!
More information about this grant is at: http://www.afcea.org/education/scholarships/undergraduate/TeachersScholarship.asp Next deadline for application is April 1, 2013.
In addition, I have been told we have grant recipients from the Highline Schools Foundation at both New Start and CHOICE. Announcements will be made this week at CHOICE Staff meeting and the Brag Day Assembly.
Instructional Point:
Last week we shared in collaborative learning about the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Effective Teaching. The Classroom Environment, Domain 2, had focus as we learned about Components and Elements which make up the structure of the framework. We looked at components in Domain 2: The Classroom Environment. It should be no surprise that I, again, want to give emphasis to Component 2A, “Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport”. In November’s Monday Point s I asked you to think about 2A as it applies to you. The elements in this component are “Teacher Interaction with students” and “Student interaction with students.” And, yes have seen evidence of respect and positive rapport in our programs and classrooms. But I can’t seem to let this one rest because it seems so foundational to me.
Students supporting other students, in small group work while completing an assignment, shows that our kids can work and communicate well with each other. This contributes to the respect for peers, the teacher and learning in general. “Respect” tops the list of our PBIS universal traits at New Start, HIPP and CHOICE. A positive rapport between students and teacher come out of a mutual respect for all involved in the teaching and learning relationship. It is disheartening in those few times that respect is lost, and a good rapport is in breakdown. Though these lapses when teacher and students are not fully working with each other, toward a greater learning goal are few and far between, we must still work to avoid complacency at all costs.
Clear expectations, accountability and follow through are pillars of respect between individuals, and indeed foster strong relationships. Even what seem to be the most minor strategies, like greeting students by name, or checking individually for understanding conveys care and concern for a child. You do this every day, a hundred times a day. My point this week is to make sure you are aware building respect and rapport is a best practice recognized in the framework. In my observations I am looking for clear evidence of your efforts, and words, toward making better connections with our students. Keep building that respect and rapport in your classroom. It’s in the framework, and yes, I am always looking for it.
Data Points:
After first quarter report to you leadership team, I am pleased to report that our data collection tools are growing. We still have a ways to go but we are well on our way to being able to regularly collect school, department and classroom level data about student academic performance. In Literacy we have a reading screener that has been administered to most New Start students. Math has created their own as well. At CHOICE we are using the Math Benchmark Assessments accessing Data Director to get data at school and grade levels. We are further exploring the use of MBA’s into other subject discipline such as using RBA (for reading) or developing other benchmark assessments around science and social studies standards. MAPs testing will be returning to New Start for the mid-year window, and has been at CHOICE for many years now. Also, the difficult work to develop a common rubric for the evaluation of student work in writing and presentation has begun at New Start and CHOICE, respectively. Math at New Start has received PD and access to ST Math which is an online math assessment an intervention. CHOICE will be getting ST Math soon.
Data Teams are making good progress and I am proud of you. I predict by third quarter we will be awash, from multiple sources, with informative and multi-leveled data. From school, to classroom, to individual student, we will soon mostly have what we need to begin action planning our practice for student and school improvement. THough, I suspect some of you have enough now to inform practice immediately!
Professional Growth Points:
Pedagogy of Confidence: You should be wrapping up Chapter Three this week. Our first PCT to collaborate around the ideas of this book will be Friday. This first section of Pedagogy of Confidence is titled “The Belief”, and sets context for the practice described in the remaining sections. Please come prepared to PCT with an understanding of the big ideas in our first three chapters. Our hope is a brief group discussion will help us all make some meaning, and perhaps some application to our students, their lives and what it is we are trying to engage.
PCT Point: December 7, 2012: The Pedagogy of Confidence
This will be our last full group PCT of the calendar year. As described above our Instructional Growth Planning Team will conduct some professional learning on chapters 1-3 of The Pedagogy of Confidence by Dr. Yvette Jackson. Please have read through Chapter Three by Friday. Meet at Salmon Creek at 1:00.
By the way, If you attended last week’s PCT on the Charlotte Danielson Framework please take a minute to complete an evaluation. It is online and really short. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5MXNBYF Thank you.
Mike’s Schedule:
Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Dec 3
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Dec 4
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Dec 5
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Dec 6
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Dec 7
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HR Meeting
Student Meeting
Student Appeal
Professional Growth Team Meeting
District PBIS Meeting
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At CHOICE
In Classrooms
Observation
ALE Policy review at ERAC
Home School Meeting
Options Presentation Planning Team
CHOICE Staff Meeting
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HEA Update
In Classrooms
Observation
Project Time
Student Enrichment Team
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Math Data Team
In Classrooms
Brag Day Assembly
Session Transition Meeting
Sped Meeting
New Start Key Club Fundraiser
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Project Time
Weekly Admin Meeting
PCT
Write Monday Notes
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Staff Meeting at CHOICE and Brag Day at New Start this week. Key Club fundraiser at New Start on Thursday night. Much to celebration ahead, let’s have a good one…
Mike
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