Grades, Updates and Next Steps -- What we know so far...

Team,

I hope you all are rested and actively practicing social distancing as a responsible citizen within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Today, I want to provide you with some information pertaining to how we are moving forward in the next couple of weeks.

At this time, we are still slated to be out of school until April 6th.  April 6th has now been turned into a non-flex professional development day that will happen remotely (we will still telecommute) and log  on to the PD site -- More info to come with this, the district is working on this format.   April 7th will start the NTI (Non-Traditional Instruction) days.  The board of education did approve the use of these days, but they are still not set in stone at this time.  If we use NTI days, this means that students will receive work through online platforms (Google Classroom), assignments turned in online, students receive feedback and returned graded assignments.   We will have to also have a process for paperwork as well, but the push is for online learning enviornments.

For families without devices at home, the district is working on a plan to distribute Chromebooks to households so that students can access instructional materials.  This plan/protocol is not fully in in place at this time, but is a work in progress.

Changes in pay/job functions have not been shared yet.  At this time, we should assume everyone is returning to work in some capacity.

In the meantime, please be prepared in the following ways:

• Grades are due for the third grading cycle.  The window is currently open for you to post grades.  Technically, the date they are due is four working days after returning to work -- so this would ideally be April 9th, but please go ahead and get this completed.

• If you are not familiar with using Google Classroom -- start building your proficiency - this will be the format of online learning.  Create this environment and practice uploading information and linking assignments and providing directions for turning in assignments.  I do know that Nik, Haley, Allison, Sarah, Jessalyn, Mark, and Irena use Google Classroom regularly and may be able to answer a question or two.  If I left off your name, please let me know -- I'm working from memory over here.  I have also reached out to Kathleen (Zone 2) to provide some additional resources for learning how to use Google Classroom.

• Check in with your students -- give a call (Jones sent out information on creating a Google number) or send messages on Dojo to check on students.  It would also be a good idea to ask parents if they have a device and internet access at home.  As you talk with families, please keep track of who you've talked with and whether they have a technology at home.  Today, we are sending a School Messenger message to share some family resources from the Office of Access and Opportunity -- this will come to employees as well.

• Building Access -- Currently, the building is closed.  Our custodians are in the building working daily to clean the building.  Administrators are working from home this week and will be Monday as well.  Following the inclement weather schedule, we work Monday also and then are off through Spring Break.  To reach me, use email, text, or call me 502-303-0768.  

Take care of yourself

Implementation Checks Week 2

Team,

Thank you for taking time to check your classroom systems last week.  This week, I ask you to check the level of implementation with the following; please understand these are layers and checking our systems bit by bit allow us to pull all the pieces together aligning our mission and vision to the desk of our students.

Teaching and Learning - Pushing all students to proficiency so they believe in their own power to achieve success.

Guided Reading Groups

• Every class, every grade level must implement differentiated guided reading groups for reading instruction to support student growth.   The purpose of guided reading is to move students up reading levels; students who are below grade level should have a guided reading group everyday, in addition to their interventions (the link for guided reading is on the right side of the blog).  

• 
  All of the lesson plan forms for guided reading are in this folder. Teachers, use the templates to plan each of your guided reading groups. The lesson cards that came with the Literacy Footprints book sets are just a resource/guide. Teachers should plan the lessons to meet the needs of your students -- running records, dictated sentences, and the sight words assessments from Jan Richardson's Next Steps Forward in Guided Reading should be used as tools to guide instruction.
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  If you have questions or issues with implementation, please see Ms. Buckley or Ms. Camp immediately.

• Math

• Current focus on measurement and geometry for the next two weeks as we prepare for MAP testing.  The goal is an increase of 15% in math performance.

PBIS - The foundation for continually improving our school-wide learning environment

• Review classroom expectations, rewards (what they get or get to do when they follow the expectations and excel) and consequences (what happens when they don't follow the expectation):  These should be posted so they can be viewed by students and referred to by you when redirecting students or providing reminders.

• Feedback-- in the event you have to write a referral, be sure to check the interventions you put into place and parents should receive a phone call -- the first call they get concerning the behavior should not come from administration.  

Progress Monitoring- Tracking and monitoring student progress towards proficient and distinguished performance

• Daily formative assessment aligned to learning target for each lesson

• Track each student's progress towards mastering the learning target

Announcements

• MTSS progress monitoring sheets were due to Camp Friday, please give math to her  and reading to Buckley by noon tomorrow.

• Marsha Ross joins us this week as our new behavior coach, she starts Monday

• Olexus Porter is now a full time employee at King as a Permanent Auxiliary Teacher

• Job postings are up to replace April Johnson and Georgana Windley (resigned their positions).  If you know anyone who may be interested, please encourage them to apply, the posting closes March 20, 2020.

• Faculty Meeting will discuss grading procedures and the upcoming MAP assessment

• ILT meeting (team leaders) will be Wednesday, March 11th.  All teams will report out on the number of students scoring proficient on the last round of learning checks _- please be prepared to discuss how you all have adjusted instructional strategies based on learning results.

• Be sure to check your professional development hours, March 27th is a flexible PD day

Implementation Check

Team,

I hope everyone had a chance to get outside and enjoy the sunshine yesterday, being in the sun is always a plus for me and this time of year, we are in the long stretch to Spring Break.  That being said, please remember staff members who are present each day from now until the end of the year get $100 added to your 2020-21 supply budget.

Implementation Checks

This week, take a few moments each day to check the level of implementation of the following three areas:

• Teaching and Learning --  Pushing all students to proficiency so they believe in their own power to achieve success
• Daily use of the classroom instructional framework for teaching, learning targets are posted, stated, and referred to throughout the lesson. 
• Use Journeys for reading and Envision for math instruction
• Students engage in rigorous work products -- what are they expected to do each day?
• There is daily formative assessment (exit slips) so that teachers can make instructional decisions for the next lesson.  
• Students receive timely feedback on how to improve their work.
• Current focus on measurement and geometry for the next three weeks.

• PBIS -- The foundation for continually improving our school-wide learning environment 
• Expectations for learning and behavior are set and reinforced with students daily -- you know it's in place when students are able to self-monitor and participate in a respectful environment, focused on learning goals and outcomes. 
• Daily use of Class Dojo -- school wide agreement
• You are able to maximize instructional time due to efficient transitions.
• Students know how to use the cool down area.

• Progress Monitoring -- Tracking and monitoring student progress towards proficient and distinguished performance
• Daily formative assessment aligned to learning target for each lesson
• Check assessments, provide feedback to tell students how to improve, make instructional adjustments to increase student learning
• Track each student's progress towards mastering the learning target
• Current focus on measurement and geometry for the next three weeks.

Announcements

• We hired a new behavior coach -- Marsha Ross will begin next at King next Monday 3/9.
• KPREP field tests continue this week for students with accommodations and those needing make up tests.
• No Faculty Meeting this week, please come to Literacy Night -- Tuesday, March 3rd, 5:00 - 6:30 PM
• Bookfair is open through the end of the week
• ILT meeting is next Wednesday, 3/11

Just Do Your Job

Good morning Team,

We have a new baby to celebrate in our King Family -- Nora Kelly Lamb was born last Thursday!

 Mrs. Lamb and the baby are doing well.


This week, I am keeping it short, we all know what we need to do.  If everyone does their job, we will have a productive week.

Field Tests - We will begin KPREP field tests for grades 3-5 on Tuesday and will test throughout the week.  Mrs. Mozier has sent/is sending information and updates.


Staff Meeting:  Bring a copy of your MAP class breakdown report by GOAL, laptops, and Envision Volume 1 -- we will discuss covered math standards thus far and preparing for the end of the year and KPREP testing.

Staff Incentive:  All staff who are present each school day from March 2nd - May 28th, will have $100 added to your supply money for next school year!

Feedback and Parent Communication

Team,

Thank you for attending Gold Day and participating with our activities.  So far, 17 staff members have completed the feedback survey.  Please click on this link and complete it if you have not already done so. This information is crucial to support our efforts moving forward.

Monday is Parent-Teacher Conference Day, please ensure the following:

• Provide the front office with a copy of your schedule
• Be sure to call all parents that you do not meet with in person
• Complete the form documenting how many conferences you had (will be available in the office)
• Input the number of conferences in Infinite Campus under the "Parent-Teacher Conference" tab
• Turn in the form to the office before you leave for the day

Professional Learning Communities -- be sure to create and stick to your agenda

Faculty Meeting

• K-2 -- please bring a copy of your "Section Summary" from the last grading cycle printed from Infinite Campus for content grades (if you are not sure what this is, bring your laptop). We will discuss grading and report card grades
• 3rd - 5th -- You will meet with Mrs. Mozier to discuss the KPREP field tests

We have an Alternate Leadership Team meeting Feb. 20th at 4:15 PM in the conference room to discuss budget.  Please feel free to stop by my office Monday, 2/17, if you have budget input, questions, concerns, or feedback.

Have a productive week!

Individual Education Plans and Accommodations

Team,

In our work to support all students, we must be aware of a student's Individual Education Plan and follow the guidance of these documents to promote student success and follow federal law.  Currently, we have approximately 60 students who receive services as part of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  These students have identified disabilities that qualify them for additional services to support their success in school.

We MUST read, understand, and follow a student's IEP completely.  This means, we have to...

• Read it and understand it's contents
• Collect data to support student goals with fidelity
• Implement accommodations and special designed instruction with fidelity and provide evidence of this implementation
• Adhere to minutes of instruction for special classes and mainstream classes

Last week, Mrs. Gutterman sent a sheet to all homeroom teachers to ensure that all are aware of IEP contents and mandates.  It is the expectation that all staff who work with students with IEPs have knowledge of plans and follow the plans explicitly.

Our staff must collaborate to be certain we understand these expectations and know how to implement actions with purpose and fidelity.  If you have questions or concerns please consult the ECE teacher with which you share students and/or Mrs. Gutterman.  Please check your classroom systems to ensure you are up to date with student IEPs and how you accommodate students to meet their learning goals and needs -- what evidence do you have to support implementation within your instruction -- 

Please welcome Susan Vialpando, who begins today as our new Reading Recovery Teacher

We currently have the following positions posted on the JCPS Website -- Resource Teacher (behavior coach), 2 Instructional Assistant Positions, Permanent Auxiliary Teacher

Faculty Meeting Agenda

* PBIS Reboot

Team Leader Meeting

* Transforming to the Instructional Leadership Team

Gold Day Agenda

* PBIS rollout based on PBIS team work and feedback

* Turnaround Plan for King Elementary -- our new School Improvement Plan - draft and feedback

* Team collaboration time

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

Team,

Last week all teams had extended planning time to work on upcoming units for instruction.  This is the important work for System One of our Six Systems for a Strong Learning Climate which is to ensure we provide instruction based on  Kentucky Academic Standards.

This week, we will have meetings to review the progress of students previously identified for academic or behavior Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).  This work supports System Five which is to provide academic and behavioral supports for students, including acceleration and System Four -- progress monitoring and analysis of student work.  Please refer to the schedule Ms. Camp linked to The Living Calendar.  

It is imperative that you bring progress monitoring data and student work samples to support progress made by the student since the last meeting.  The purpose of these meetings is to ...

• Identify students who are in need of additional support/you have concerns about their progress or growth (This was done previously this year unless you are identifying a new student)

• Bring collected data and work samples for identified students to the meeting to discuss progress and next steps with a team. (If you do not have this information -- there is no point coming to the MTSS meeting -- let me know if this is your situation ahead of time) 
• 
  
• For academic students -- this would be progress monitoring data based on interventions such as running records, lessons provided for remediation, skill building results from Study Island, iRead, or other technology programs, etc.
• 
  
• For behavior students -- this would be frequency data, point sheets, evidence of interventions provided and results.

Thank you for your diligence with supporting students.  Please be sure your lesson plans are out on your desk/table and that you are using a daily exit slip that aligns to your learning target for each lesson.

Have a great week, if all certified and classified staff have completed Comprehensive School Surveys and Impact Surveys (certified only) we will NOT have faculty meeting this week.  We will check results Tuesday morning.