November/December 2015 Newsletter

It’s been a pleasure to conduct professional development sessions this year.  You have been so wonderful and thoughtful in your questions and implementation of strategies learned!  Let’s stay on this roll!  Please continue to let me know if there is an area you would like to get more PD.

Congratulations to Elko and Hungary Creek Middle Schools!  Both schools had the highest number of staff at the November 11th professional development session.  The school will receive a tote full of classroom activities and treats.  We will start training prizes up again after break! 

Did you miss training this month?

Make sure you get back on track by exploring what you missed:

Focus on Data!  (Just a restatement of last month–we want to be ahead of the game)

NWEA–Testing is done!  Make sure you use the data to determine your small groups and remediation plans.  Here are the two reports that are most useful as you look to differentiate learning:

Class Report–See where your students are overall and by domain (as compared with others in their grade level).

Learning Continuum–Look at the specific domains that were assessed…

Then, drill down in each domain to create stations/small groups.

SOLs–Remediation and Recovery–In September your were advised to have a list, highlights on your roll, etc. of students in your class who failed the previous year’s SOL and are eligible to count twice in your numbers when they pass the SOL this year!  Make sure to keep referring to this list as you develop and change your small groups.

Learning Probes–The probes are formative items to see how well students are learning the concepts you present in class.  There are currently three probes in IA for each SOL course.  Middle schools are up and running with them. Please make sure you are being proactive and providing remediation for weak skills now so that you are not overwhelmed come spring.  Here are the numbers for those who have completed the probes so far:

What does this tell me?

1. We are moving closer to the mark with each assessment.
2. Close reading and strategies are important
3. We need to make sure students are exposed to the question stems
4. We need to make sure students are using scrap paper and doing the same strategies we have taught them in class

Make sure that when you create small groups and stations that you remediate the students not at the mark for the items we have already probed.

Non-negotiables and Tier I activities–At the beginning of the year, I asked you  to review the English non-negotiables and Tier 1 RTI activities while doing the self evaluation (highlight the areas you do often in green, the items you sometimes do in yellow and the items you rarely do in red).  Remember to repeat this activity at the end of this nine-week so that you can continue to address the areas in which you are not at the top of your game!

Lesson planning–Are you digging into your resources?

You should have your pacing guides, curriculum frameworks and resources close at hand.  Make sure to reach out to the specialist, literacy coaches, chair and ITRT if you are stuck.  Don’t forget about using the English lesson plan guide to create your lesson plans!

Now, let’s keep moving toward increased student achievement and success.  Here are some go-to resources you may want to explore this month:

Online Sites to Explore This month’s focus—webinars of note. How and How Not To Get Higher Reading Scores Reading Skills for Students in Grades 5-8 Classroom Management for Differentiating Instruction and Collaborative Practice

Upcoming Training and Other Dates to Know!

Have a great year of teaching and learning!