Culture of High Expectations

Team,

This week, we will take a deeper dive into our instructional practices, beginning with core instruction.  In every classroom, we are using the Classroom Instructional Framework (CIF) to frame our lessons.

An updated copy of the CIF will be emailed as part of this blog so that you can save it as a word document and use/reference the document when planning lessons.

Clarity with each step in the CIF will be obvious to any staff member or peer that is visiting your classroom.  Student engagement is twofold: (1) students are actively engaged by participating with the lesson/activity and (2) students are intellectually engaged by being asked challenging questions that push them to analyze, critique, and defend their thinking.

The Lesson Frame:

• Start of the lesson --- student writes the learning target in their agenda/set the goal for this lesson's learning
• Anticipatory set -- teacher explains the "why" students are learning the concept or skill - makes learning relevant to students
• Teaching and Learning -- "I do" -- teacher models the new knowledge & skills -mini lesson
• Guided Practice -- "We do" -- students practice the new concept/skill and teacher monitors and supports -- providing immediate feedback
• Independent practice -- "You do" -- students engage in independent practice to reinforce skills and knowledge (if you have students who need additional support, pull them into a small guided group for independent practice with your support).
• Daily formative check -- quick, formative assessment so you know who got it and who didn't
• Students moving to learning centers -- they are practicing the same skill/concept presented in the lesson, but participating with a hands on project (application of skill)

Don't Forget to Specifically Include:

• Content vocabulary -- with definitions
• Higher order questions -- write them down, so you are ready with challenging questions

Data:

Digital Backpack  --  We are up to 60 students with at least one artifact in their digital backpack of our 373 students who are enrolled at King.  If you have questions, please see resources on the teacher backpack page or consult our backpack team (Ms. Gamble, Mrs. Lamb, Mr. Handley)

SRT Calls -   We had 49 calls last week, this is down from 55 the previous week!  Hooray!!!  This is evidence of students increasing ownership and staff members setting clear expectations.  This week, take a few minutes to review your lesson plan for evidence of engagement, remind yourself of our restorative questions, set clear expectations with the morning meeting circle and encourage students to set a daily goal.  

Attendance -- We have had another week of 95 and 96% student attendance days -- please continue to encourage daily attendance.  As a staff, we are not hitting 95%, we have a short week, let's all be present.  Remember, there is not substitute for you.

This Week:

• Monday ---NWEA representative will be at King for embedded PD -- SA in library, others in 312 -- topic is goal setting -- be prepared with your class growth report
• Monday -- PGPs are due -- turn in to Perkins
• Tuesday -- PLC collaborative meetings -- paper copies of minutes/products to Mrs. Perkins by 9AM Wednesday morning - no exceptions
• Tuesday -- Faculty meeting -- bring a paper copy of a lesson plan you have taught or plan to teach this week.
• Friday is a flexible PD day -- be sure you have 12 hours or the allotted hours needed to be off for the day -- otherwise, you need to attend PD sessions.

Great Things Continue to Happen at King!

Media Event

Wednesday, September 25th, the Coach Mack Foundation will visit King Elementary.  We have been chosen by the foundation to receive 1000 new library books and be the newest edition to Coach Mack's Corner.  Chris Mack is the coach for the University of Louisville Men's Basketball Team.  We will have a section of our library redecorated and the dedication ceremony is Wednesday beginning at 9:30 AM.  This is another exciting opportunity for our students.  We will have students from Mr. Williams' class participate with the ceremony.  If you have a U of L shirt, Wednesday is a great day to wear it!

We will have Coach Mack, his wife Christi, Dr. Pollio, other district staff and members of the media.

The article below is from their visit to Crums Lane Elementary last year.  

https://www.wlky.com/article/mack-family-foundation-creates-space-for-kids-to-read-in-local-elementary-school/27497709

Professional Growth Planning (PGP)

All certified  and classified staff will submit professional growth plans by September 30, 2019.  Below is the link to the Kentucky Department of Education Website that has resources for completing your PGP.  A paper copy of your professional growth plan must be turned in on an E-2 form (certified) and a conference summary (classified), with your signature.    Please turn these in to Mrs. Perkins by end of the day September 30th.  At minimum each question below must be thoughtfully answered.  Be sure to include the baseline data/information on which your PGP is based. This will be discussed and referenced throughout the evaluation process.  You will provide a midpoint check (December) and provide final results (April) and reflection. 

For classified staff, this is the first year you will complete this formal step, but it is crucial for us all to set goals to increase our collective efficacy.

https://education.ky.gov/teachers/PGES/TPGES/Pages/TPGES-Self-Reflection-and-Professional-Growth-Planning.aspx

Questions to guide your reflection and planning:

• Based upon available evidence, what do I want to change about my practices that will positively impact student learning and achievement in my classroom/role group?
• Based upon educational research, what improvements to my instructional design process and/or classroom practice will most positively impact the targeted learning needs?
• What do I need to learn in order to create a workable and meaningful plan for professional growth?
• What action plan will best address my professional learning needs?
• How will I know if/when I have accomplished my goal?  What interim markers will indicate progress along the way? 

Student Agendas

Last week students received their personal agendas.  The purpose of agendas is to build organizational skills (there are many reference pages included for students to utilize -- be sure to show these and teach students how to use them), communicate with families, and have students track learning targets, assignments, and progress (student agency).

Be sure to impress upon students the importance of keeping up with the agenda and using it as a tool.  Replacement agendas are $5.00 each.  Remember if you stress the importance, it becomes important to students.  I suggest daily responsibility points for using it each day.

Data Sharing

SRT data   -- We had 55 SRT calls last week -- Remember, SRT is the last step -- what routines/procedures need to be reinforced or adjusted to meet the needs of the class?  All need to utilize buddy rooms and team input to strategize problematic behaviors.

Walkthroughs from CCV  -- Be explicit with connecting relevance to lessons that capitalize on student funds of knowledge -- give examples and reasoning your students can connect with to anchor their learning to previous concepts and new learning.  Feedback was that students can explain "what" they are doing, but were not sure of the "why."  Why is the day's learning important and impactful.

School-Wide MAP Data -- Results to come -- all students (except 1 and EL students who were exempt) have completed testing.  Across the school this data will tell us how many students are meeting grade level benchmarks -- remember the goal is always academic proficiency.

Attendance -- We were at or above 95% each day.  This is great news and we will keep pushing to 100%.  Talk up attendance with your class, make it part of your classroom community.

Backpack Artifacts (2019-20) - total number of students with an artifact from this school year

• Kindergarten -- 0
• First Grade - 11
• Second Grade -- 1 
• Third Grade -- 1
• Fourth Grade -- 1
• Fifth Grade - 0

Please add backpack artifacts to your PLC discussion this week -- Incorporate artifact worthy projects in your planning and instruction.

Resources:

Teacher Backpack -- Planning resources, list of standards, ideas for project based learning

https://sites.google.com/jefferson.kyschools.us/jcps-teacher-bp/home?pli=1&authuser=6

Showcasing Our School

Team,

This week we have two opportunities to showcase the great work students are doing in our classrooms and throughout the building.   Open House is an excellent chance to network with families, have students lead discussions with family members and show parents their progress thus far.  The Culture and Curriculum Visit highlights the instructional environment and practices in place to support.

Open House - Tuesday, September 17, 2019 (5:30 - 7:00 PM)

• If you attended the back to school orientation, you will be paid to attend Open House -- all must sign in when you arrive (it will be a separate sheet).  All are expected to attend.
• Please make sure you have a clean, presentable copy of your class schedule hanging outside your classroom door (some have evidence of wear and tear).
• All rooms must be clutter free, clean and have current student work displayed.  Bulletin boards should be up to date with the standard or learning target posted.
• Talk with students about what they will share with families when they visit, let them know you expect them to introduce you to their families.
• Talking points for families should include:
• Current units of study -- what are students working on?
• Class dojo -- this is a great time to model how this works for students and as a communication tool -- this is how we are able to provide praise and immediate feedback to all students (individually and collectively).
• Goals for the class this year -- what is your plan to ensure student academic success this year so that students are transition ready?

Culture and Climate Visit (CCV) -- Thursday, September 19, 2019 (9:30 - 11:00 AM)

• This is a visit from district staff (assistant superintendent, executive administrator, resource staff) to view the following areas:
• Six Systems review with principal (presentation) the rest is observation
• Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports -- school wide common area and classroom expectations and implementation of Restorative Practices
• Racial Equity, Backpack of Success Skills (conversation on student voice and choice in artifact creation, Culture of High Expectations (positive feedback and adult/student interaction, positive corrections), Instructional Frameworks, ECE (corrective action plan -- meet with Implementation Coach)
• Your classroom doors have to remain locked and closed during the school day, so visitors will use master keys to access classrooms.
• That said, I will need to collect some staff master keys for the visit

Please remember to check the living calendar and daily updates.  I look forward to seeing the first round of common formative assessment results at each grade level.

No faculty meeting Tuesday -- we have Open House

Have an awesome week!

Planning for and Facilitating Instruction

We are seventeen days into the school year and off to a very productive start!  Since we began our journey with professional development this summer (Restorative Practices, Accelerated Improvement Schools PD Week) and welcoming students to our building, we have seen tremendous growth in our school culture and learning environment.  Some examples of our growth include:

• Team planning for instruction with deconstruction of learning standards and use of district curriculum maps to build unit plans
• Use of student friendly learning targets and success criteria so students understand the roadmap or trajectory for daily and weekly learning, thus increasing student agency
• Implementation of circles for morning meeting, afternoon reflection, setting expectations for upcoming activities, and resolving issues within the classroom based on our Restorative Practice Training
• Implementation of PATHS social emotional learning curriculum to directly teach social skills for all students (tier 1 instruction)
• Implementation of Class Dojo school wide and the Dojo store with the help of Mrs. Holley and Ms. Forrest's students
• Implementation of teacher-led PLCs to drive student learning and analysis of learning results.  Ongoing training and support will be provided through monthly team leader meetings.
• Setting routines and procedures for learning and behavior to support the workshop model and full implementation of guided reading groups for all classrooms with the help of push in partners, instructional assistants or bilingual associate instructors
• We have assistants in K-2 and ECE SC who provide daily support for student learning and acceleration
• We have had our first MAP implementation training to support the use of tiered response plans based on student MAP achievement data and using the Learning Continuum for differentiation

Moving forward this month, we continue to build upon our foundation to construct and maintain a culture of high expectations for providing rigorous instruction, removing barriers, and empowering students so they believe in their own power to achieve success (from our school mission).

Classroom Instructional Framework

Last week, I placed a template of the Classroom instructional Framework in all certified staff mailboxes.  The template outlines a framework from which all lessons shall derive.  You may use the template to plan your lessons explicitly or use the language of the framework within your preferred lesson template. 

• The expectation is that you have an opening activity, anticipatory set (hook for the lesson), teaching and modeling expectations (mini-lesson, I do), facilitate guided practice for students to practice how to demonstrate the process or concept (we do), independent practice for students to demonstrate understanding (you do) and formative assessment (exit slip or check of independent work).
• On the template, you are provided reminders that tie back to our collective commitments of engaging all students, building relevance, and using culturally relevant materials. 
• Cultural Text Evaluation Rubric
• Use of the Classroom Instructional Framework is the expectation for daily teaching and for use with evaluation observations (thus, it is in everyone's best interest to internalize use of this framework).
• Last, preparation is key.  As we discussed and prepared materials during AIS week for classroom use, maintain the focus of having all needed materials ready for student use.  Teaching routines and procedures so that students understand their roles and can easily attain or return materials to designated locations will make your lives easier and classrooms more efficient, minimizing loss of instructional time.

As you plan and update plans this week, be purposeful with your use of the CIF and take note of how it impacts daily learning.

We will have faculty meeting this week -- we will meet as a group for about 10 minutes, then break into committees (all will have opportunity to sign up for a committee).

Reminders...

MAP testing continues this week; Check the Living Calendar; Be sure you have your sub folder in place (with a seating chart). 

Teachers, please turn in a hard copy of the learning checks for reading and math to Flener and Camp by September 10th.  Learning checks will be administered on September 13th.

Setting the Stage for Success

Welcome back, I hope all enjoyed the long weekend.  As we move into the month of September, it is crucial for us to have crystal clear understanding of expectations for teaching and learning.  Our task over the next month is to ensure that all understand our processes and procedures for the following:

• Planning for and facilitating instruction
• Implementation of the backpack of success skills and project based learning
• Use of Classroom Instructional Framework language and workshop model
• Please keep plan books out on your desk for viewing during walkthroughs
• The PLC process and procedures for reviewing student work and data from assessments
• Using data to drive instructional practices
• Goal setting, creating acceleration plans, and progress monitoring
• Team leaders will attend monthly meetings to support teacher-led PLC implementation
• Grading across the school for the purposes of progress monitoring and reporting student grades
• Deconstructing Assessment for Grading (mentioned in faculty meeting last week)
• Consistency with behavior expectations and implementation of Restorative Practices and teaching social skills through PATHS
• Daily implementation of morning and afternoon circles -- set goals/reflection
• Daily PATHS instruction with help and collaboration of push in partner

As we endeavor to be clear and plain with expectations and procedures, please dig in to these processes and ask questions.  We have a lot to cover and we have no time to back track later.  More to come with this...

We will begin MAP testing this week, the schedule is here.  In your mailboxes, you have a copy of the student goal setting sheet for your reference (you will print these for your class).  This is used to assist students with setting goals PRIOR to MAP assessment.  

Have a great week!  We will NOT have faculty meeting this afternoon.