Character Trait for October is Caring click HERE for lesson plan ideas
Please remember we are ALL teaching a 10 minute lesson on Caring everyday.
Please read the link below on what we have committed to do as a staff
NO EXCUSES UNIVERSITY – STANDARDS ALIGNMENT
Culture of Universal Achievement
Collaboration
Standards Alignment
Assessment Plan
Data Analysis
Interventions
When a school embraces a system of Standards Alignment, there are three attributes that need to be included. As identified in the No Excuses University Schools Institute, the attributes are:
#1: Aligning standards is not something that you’ve done, it’s something that you do.
#2: Collaboration is key.
#3: It must be practiced! Skills – assessments – instructional methods – resources.
Now…before you move on, think about it. Does our staff think of “Standards Alignment” as something that is “done” when the pacing guide is complete? Or…does our staff think of “Standards Alignment” as an ongoing process and has strategies to measure how well every lesson is aligned to what the students need to learn?
Skills – assessment - instructional methods - resources: Notice that the third attribute is not “Pacing Guide.” The pacing guides document the skills, but it is just the first step in alignment. You have to have systems in place to assess the student learning, a focus on the instructional methods that ensure rigor, and allocate the resources to support the students in achieving proficiency.
Collaboration is key: Do you plan for collaboration or does it just happen? True collaboration includes bringing in data (not perceptions or hearsay) and making decisions based on the collected information. Such a process has to be planned so that the proper data can be collected and is the foundation for good decisions.
If you don’t collaborate around your students’ academic achievement data, then how do you know if you have alignment?
Writing
The District Writing Assessment window opens during the month of October. Please be sure to follow the testing window for your grade level.
- Grade 2-5 - October 8 - 26
- Grades 6-9 & 11 - October 1 - 19
- Dual Immersion Grades 2-5 - October 22 - 23 (in Spanish)
Grades 3-9 & 11 will be administered electronically throught Illuminate Education. You can access the assessments by logging into Illuminate and clicking on the Tile, "District Writing Assessments". You'll find your grade level assessment there. Here are the step-by-step instructions on the two ways to administer the assessment.
Grade 2 will be administering the assessment using paper and pencil. The materials will be sent to your site by Friday, September 28th. Teachers will need to enter the scores into the Illuminate Summary Assessment. The instructions for that process are in the link below.
In addition, there will be training provided on Thursday, September 27th from 4pm-5pm at the Central Office n the PLC. Please register online at "Go Sign Me Up".
If you need technical support at anytime during the test administration, please call the Help Desk at 399-5100.
Progress Reports are due to me today. Here is a guide on how you can share them with me. Click Here
Observable Fish Moments at SV:
Be There: Thank you for collaborating and making sure academic discourse is taking place in your classrooms.
Play: 8th graders had a great time in Yosemite!
Choose your attitude: Your attitude can decide how you will feel for the rest of the day- EVERY DAY!!
Make Their Day: THANK you Kinder team and Kami for making my day!
