October 30, 2020

Parent-teacher conferences can be a challenge even at the best of times. Adding technology to a virtual conference can feel like a blessing or a curse—or both. The good news is, the general purpose of a conference remains the same. You and the parents are both there to help create the best possible outcomes for the student. It’s just the format that’s a little different. We’ve put together answers to some of the biggest questions teachers have about conducting virtual parent-teacher conferences. Take a look, and remember: You’ve got this! CLICK HERE to read more. 

https://www.hollyclark.org/2020/10/13/how-to-use-jamboard-10-ideas-to-get-you-jammin/

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There:  Janice thank you so much for your support and guidance with our point based grade book. 

Play:  How are you keeping it fun during distance learning? 

Choose your attitude: Your attitude can decide how you will feel for the rest of the day- EVERY DAY!!

Make Their Day:   Thank you Carlos for cleaning up our campus after our windy days on Monday and Tuesday.  

October 24, 2020

No matter how many times a student tells you they don’t care about school or whether they succeed, remember that no child wants to be a failure. Some will try and convince you otherwise, but it is in those moments that they need you most. Believe in all kids and believe in your own ability to influence them. 

Some feedback from student leader meeting: 

• Students still struggle asking for help even with open office hours

• Knowing which students are struggling reach out to them and make an appointment with them during office hours instead of waiting for them to make an appointment- this was a suggestion from a student

• Students feel overwhelmed with too much busy work

• Make sure you are giving a 2 to 3 minute break to get water or stretch, even for our upper grade students

• Send feedback surveys to students and see what they have to say

Some helpful distance learning platforms. Thank you Colleen

Distance Learning Toolbelt PPT

Just a friendly reminder that our 1st Trimester Report Card Window is from October 28th to November 20th, 2020. Start date for Parent visibility in Illuminate, is November 15th.

If you are a teacher who will be getting a new computer- MAKE SURE you back up any of your Microsoft word documents because your new computer will NOT have that software on it. 

Dress Up Days next week - send me pics so I can put them on Instagram

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There:  Thank you to several grade levels that did supply pick ups this week. 

Play:  How are you keeping it fun during distance learning? 

Choose your attitude: Your attitude can decide how you will feel for the rest of the day- EVERY DAY!!

Make Their Day:   Thank you Kristin and Vicky for keeping our front office running smoothly every day!! 

October 16, 2020

Thank you for the Boss's day gifts :) They made my day :)

Walking around campus yesterday it really hit me- I MISS the kids and you guys. It has been nice to pop into classrooms this week. All I have to say is WOW!! So impressed by the lessons you have created and the unique strategies you are using to get the students involved and motivated!!

NO EXCUSES UNIVERSITY – INTERVENTIONS

Culture of Universal Achievement

Collaboration

Standards Alignment

Assessment Plan

Data Analysis

Interventions

“Once children are taught what they need to learn and then assessed for their levels of proficiency, there needs to be appropriate, data-driven academic interventions to help students who are not on track to be proficient by the end of the year.  There also needs to be similar social interventions, because children who are emotionally well adjusted are much more likely to be academically successful.”

During our Academic Conferences at our staff meeting we discussed interventions for our students.  In reviewing the data, we have moved past the excuses and how we can help them at school :)

When we review data, we focus on what the students don’t know and how we are going to provide interventions to support the students learning.

We have now completed MAP assessments or formal/informal data you are collecting.  What are you doing with the data?  What interventions have you put in place?  Here is an example:

If your student scores have low RIT score.   You are able to drill down into the results to determine on which standards the students need support in.  As an example in Math, when one drills down further into the data,  you may notice that the majority of the students struggled with expressions and equations.  A smaller number also struggled with use functions to model relationships. Then the teacher is able to develop very targeted lessons that can be delivered in a small group setting.  The teacher does not have to re-teach the entire class.  Targeted, immediate intervention will have a positive impact on student achievement.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There:  Thank you for sending out surveys to your families so you can adjust distance learning to meet their needs. 

Play:  How are you keeping it fun during distance learning? 

Choose your attitude: Your attitude can decide how you will feel for the rest of the day- EVERY DAY!!

Make Their Day:   THANK you for making my day for Boss's Day!! It made my day!! 

October 8, 2020

During my home visits one thing that was very apparent is that parents and students are overwhelmed with distance learning. Parents did NOT know their student's grades and have not been logging in to check on them. Just because they are not signing in does not mean they don't care. It was very clear they DO care and appreciated the home visit. We came up with plans to help their child while they are at home. As a No Excuses school it is our job to step in and make sure we follow up in different ways. What is another way to let a parent know how their child is doing? Every visit was very emotional and students WANT to do better, they are just lost in this digital platform. 

Please take a deep breath and be okay with the fact that you are NOT going to cover the same amount of material or projects or assignments that you would in a normal year. We are NOT in a normal year!

That being said, TRULY take a look at what you are assigning and whether it is TRULY needed/effective/important/meaningful. There is no need to have so many assignments given. There is no prize for the teacher who assigns the most! Let's not stress our students out! Keep in mind if a student has mastered a concept and our report cards are standards based should their grade go down because they didn't finish the assignments????

NO EXCUSES UNIVERSITY – DATA ANALYSIS

Culture of Universal Achievement

Collaboration

Standards Alignment

Assessment Plan

Data Analysis

Interventions

“It is one thing to have a sophisticated system of regular, formative assessments, but if that assessment data is not collected, disaggregated and reported in a timely and user-friendly manner, it becomes almost unusable.  We believe data must be easily accessible, openly shared, and deliberately arranged.”

There are three main components to data management:

#11. Easily accessible

#  2. Openly shared

#  3. Deliberately arranged

Easily accessible:  We are so fortunate to have two data systems that provide us with on-the-spot data about our students, our schools, and our district.  If you have not become proficient on MAP, you are missing out on valuable tools that will help guide your conversations and actions.  The best part of MAP and Illuminate is that both systems are accessible to our staff.

Openly shared:  During our collaborative time with grade levels, we have shared multiple data sets that include district and site-level academic achievement.  We should currently be working with our school’s formative (or MAP) data and providing intervention now.  

Deliberately arranged:  Over the last few weeks, we have been hearing lots of thoughts about student achievement – reasons for increases or decreases.  One of our commitments is to be specific when we talk about student achievement.  Student achievement data is readily available and we need to use it to describe academic progress.  Furthermore, as you look to each data set, make certain you drill down to the student level.  Don’t just look at the data from the 30,000 foot view.  Remember…data doesn’t always answer questions.  More often than not, it raises questions. AND DATA BELONGS TO THE STUDENT!

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Make some time to connect with a student. It will make a difference.

Play:  Make sure you take some time to RELAX.

 Choose your attitude: BE POSITIVE!!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you Carlos for your hard work to keep our campus beautiful!

October 2, 2020

Did you write the most amazing lesson? Have the cutest bitmoji classroom? You worked hard and planned every second but you have students not turning in assignments, not showing up to class? This is frustrating but there is a way - build relationships to where they want to attend your class, they want to turn in the assignment because they have built a relationship with you- they don't want to let you down. Here is a great podcast to get some ideas during distance learning: PODCAST I know it is frustrating and YOU are exhausted but these extra steps will pay off so you see more students and more students completing work :) Now more than ever they need us! 

Read this Anti-Racist Grading article. Below is some information from it.

If the ultimate goal is more equitable grading, where can teachers start?

If I were to give teachers a starter kit, it would be to examine the ideologies that you bring into classrooms—the bad code, to repeat the computer metaphor. Three particularly pernicious ideologies show up in grading. The first is the ideology of should know. There's this false belief that if a 2nd grader walked into my classroom, there are certain things she should know. Rather, it's our job as teachers to discern what students do know and then move them forward.

The second thing I would eliminate is the ideology of transactional gratitude. In most academic spaces, there is a silent pact that teachers make with students: I will agree to teach you well if you demonstrate to me that you are thankful for it. And if you do not demonstrate to me that you are thankful for it, I will withhold quality teaching from you. A teacher will be in the lounge and say something like, "You know, I've done everything to make sure that McKibben kid understands how to add. But all she does is yell. She's not thankful. So I'm not doing it no more." Or, "Can you believe I stayed after school for two hours to help Sarah with her essay and she still didn't turn it in? That kid can forget about it from me." We expect students to show up with gratitude because we do our jobs.

The third is the ideology of deservedness. Even though grading is about proficiency, it often gets conflated with behavior. You can have a student who is proficient at calculus, but if the teacher doesn't like the fact that they are consistently late to class, that kid gets marked down. Again, there's an unspoken pact teachers have with their children: I will agree to teach you well if you demonstrate to me that you deserve it.

If teachers start by examining—and eliminating—those three ideologies, then the grading that will come out on the other end of the system will be far better for children.

NO EXCUSES UNIVERSITY

Culture of Universal Achievement

Collaboration

Standards Alignment

Assessment Plan

Data Analysis

Interventions

“We spend time at our Institute distinguishing between formative and summative assessments and how grade level teams can take responsibility for gathering or creating formative assessments that make sense for them.  We emphasize the importance of this work as a support to teachers, because this allows teachers to track those students who are not making adequate academic progress towards proficiency, and then identify specific content areas that require intervention.”

There are some key topics to consider when implementing an assessment plan:

#1:  Assessment is NOT about the teacher, it’s about the student

#2:  Balance between of and for learning assessments

#3:  Scheduling, benchmarks for growth, and continuous improvement are crucial

Assessment is NOT about the teacher, it’s about the student:  One of my favorite quotes from the summer institute was that data does not belong to the teachers.  It was on loan from the students.  In order to help students achieve proficiency, we must support the teacher in analyzing the data and making the necessary adjustments.

Balance between of and for learning assessments:  There needs to be a balance between formative and summative assessments.  Think about the teachers on your campus.  What percentage of the instructional time is dedicated to formative assessment?  What percentage of the instructional time is dedicated to summative assessment?  In a NEU school, both assessments are equally important.

Scheduling, benchmarks, and continuous improvement are crucial:  When you get your data…what do you do about it?  Is it used as a learning opportunity to better understand what your students know and don’t know? Everything we do should be about providing opportunities for continuous improvement.  Do we have systems in place that allow for such a process?

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: The amount of time and energy you are putting into your lessons is not going unnoticed. I know you are working 500% more. I just want you to know that I appreciate it.

Play:  Make sure you take some time to RELAX.

 Choose your attitude: BE POSITIVE!!!

Make Their Day:  Lunch with the Principal is on Monday. Please choose one student for me to have lunch with :)