Twenty-One and Seven

Team King,

I read an article in the Courier Journal yesterday written by education researchers Kannapel and Belin from the Prichard Committee.  They researched schools in Kentucky and identified eight schools in 2005 that had transformed from chronically low performing to high performing schools.  In their findings they reported three key items that made the difference:

• The principal and staff had ongoing, honest conversation about their low performing status and engaged in collaborative, intensive self study to support improvement.
• Schools were led by collaborative principals and the staff collaboratively addressed problems
• School climate was the single most distinguishing feature -- impacted most by high expectations for everyone (not just students).

Moving forward, they suggested the following four promising practices to eliminate chronically low performing schools:

• Learn from and build upon success
• Support school-led efforts -- we must have staff, parent, and student buy-in
• Engage the students in change efforts
• Focus on climate

At Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary, we are having conversations around our school data and low performing status.  Professional learning communities provide the collaborative framework to discuss our performance and growth needs.  Utilizing MAP testing is assisting us with uncovering what our students know and how to plan to best support their learning and growth.  We have been working to change and grow our learning culture for adults, parents, and students.   We must continue this collaborative work.  WE are on the path and I encourage you all to trust the process as we challenge ourselves to do purposeful work and engage our students in meaningful instruction.  I thank you for your commitment to King and your work for students.  I challenge us to think about our progress, celebrate, and begin to plan next steps for individual and collective growth in our processes and expectations for learning.  WE will be successful!

View the article here:  https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/solutions/2018/04/26/kentucky-failing-schools-state-takeover-jcps/520430002/

Notes and Reminders

• Student progress reports go home today in Monday folders
• Ms. Jones is unavailable moving forward as she coordinates K-PREP testing.  If you need anything, see me, Harlan, Mays, or Parks.
• Provide ACTIVE supervision in classrooms, common areas, and during arrival and dismissal.
• Tuesday, we will have a faculty meeting -- reviewing items and the schedule for K-PREP
• Thursday -- PLCs will be on grade level teams --discussing student progress and learning results.
• Be sure to check your PD hours for the upcoming flexible PD day Friday -- you need 18 hours to have the day off.
• Check the living calendar and daily updates

Twenty Six and Twelve

With 26 instructional days left with students and 12 instructional days until K-PREP testing for students in grades 3-5, please continue to push instruction.  Students should be reminded or taught test taking strategies to support their efforts.

Check to be sure you have calculators for each student in your classroom, this is a great time to practice calculator use -- be sure all students know how to use them.  Fifth grade teachers, please check the number of dictionary and thesauri you have available in your classroom, students should also be adept at using these tools.

MAP Assessment Begins This  Week

Classroom teachers and resource staff will proctor testing, the schedule can be found here.  Since we are using Chromebooks, please plan according for daily instruction as all Chromebooks will be in use during testing times.  Please take time to review previous results with students and remind them of the importance of MAP and giving their best effort.

Faculty Meeting --K-PREP information and training

PLC --  Lesson Analysis forms and discussion Topic Assessment

K-PREP Assessments -- Thursday 5/10/18 – Wednesday  5/16/18

JCPS Student Backpack Video Series #7

School Lunch Hero Week 4/23-4/27

This week cafeteria staff are being recognized across the district.  Please take time to thank our nutrition staff for supporting our students and preparing daily nutritious meals.

Shout out to Mrs. Martin and Ms. Williams for planning a wonderful Mother/Son & Father/Daughter Dance.  Families had a great time and it was a beautiful event.  Thank you to all volunteers who helped set up, clean up, take tickets, serve food, park cars, and chaperone.

Professional Development Reminder:  Please be mindful to check you professional development hours -- there are PD days on May 4th and May 22nd.  You need to have 18 hours to be off on May 4th and 24 hours to be off on May 22nd. You are required to have 24 hours completed each school year.

Please check the living calendar and daily updates

Data Reviews and Next Steps

Data meetings with each teacher are in progress.  I met with several teachers last week to review classroom level data and the work will continue this week.  This work is important so that we know how our students are progressing and we are able to be purposeful with planning next steps.  We have 31 student days of school left and approximately 17 days until our annual K-PREP testing.  We have added additional support to 3rd-5th grade classes with Special Area teachers and assistants from K and 1.  As always, it is imperative that remaining instructional days are used to hone skills, practice calculator use, and improve upon reading stamina and test taking strategies.

Please be mindful that student progress reports will go home Monday, April 30, 2018.

Backpack of Skills - video series # 6

This past week in principal meeting, we received more information on the JCPS student backpack of skills and I will share this information with you as we move forward over the next few weeks.  Please view the video below, which is part of the backpack video series.

Mayor's Give-A-Day Week

This week we will have students participating with clearing out flower beds on the back patio, front planters, and sign area preparing these spaces for planting flowers and beautification.  Our fourth grade students are doing this work as part of  ECHO as a community service project.  Additionally, students are encouraged to do something nice, provide a service to someone in the building or in their community.

Faculty Meeting this week 

Dr. Marks-John will return to provide our next social-emotional learning module.

PLCs this week

Check in --student progress on current Envision topic -- and planning next steps (room 104)

MAP testing begins next week

Thank you for providing feedback to the resource team regarding MAP testing.  For this round, we will mostly use Chromebooks to test students in classrooms.  Classroom teachers and resource staff will proctor testing, the schedule can be found here.  Since we are using Chromebooks, please plan according for daily instruction as all Chromebooks will be in use during testing times.  Please take time to review previous results with students and remind them of the importance of MAP and giving their best effort.

Have a great week, please be mindful to check you professional development hours -- there are PD days on May 4th and May 22nd.  You need to have 18 hours to be off on May 4th and 24 hours to be off on May 2nd. You are required to have 24 hours completed each school year.

Set the Tone

Welcome Back

Welcome back to King and I do hope you enjoyed your break!  Please remember students have been on break too, so they will either be sleepy or super excited to see everyone.  This is the time for BOOSTER SESSIONS, meaning you reteach and review expectations for learning and behavior.  If there was something not going well in your classroom before break, be sure to bring your adjustments and hold students accountable for their learning.

Please be sure to post your daily learning targets and formatively assess if students meet the learning target by the end of each lesson.  Using the Classroom Instructional Framework (CIF) as a lesson structure,  provide examples/models of quality work for students to see.

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) 

Monday (4/9) begins the spring MAP testing window.  The testing schedule will be communicated this week and we will begin testing the following week.  Please spend time reviewing previous results with students and discussing their progress goals.

Building Student Backpacks

 -- Part 4 and 5 -- please view in preparation for faculty meeting. 

Faculty Meeting

Cheryl Bibby from the Deeper Learning Department will come to talk with our staff about building a backpack for students and ensuring ALL students have access to learning opportunities that promote learner qualities and demonstrative skills. 

Review our brainstorming items to start to narrow and define our list.  As you review the list think about the following:

• What experiences do we provide all students that could produce outcomes (indicators)?
• How will students demonstrate these outcomes?
• How will all classrooms provide access to project based learning and authentic assessment so students are able to demonstrate their learning?
• How do we create an environment to support this type of learning?  

PLCs

Last month you had an extended planning to prepare for the current cycle.  You received information on using MAP data to plan tier 1 instruction for students and use the continuum to plan for differentiation.  Additionally, classroom data profiles were updated with district and other assessment data.  For PLCs this week, bring your groups you formed based on MAP data (3 hour planning) and using recent data, be prepared to discuss student progress and next steps for learning based on recent results.  Each teacher is meeting with White in her office.  Please click here to schedule your meeting time.  Be prompt and prepared to lead the data discussion and show supporting documentation.

Have an awesome week!

The Next Five Instructional Days

Review and Re-Teach

Over the past two weeks, students have taken assessments in reading, math, and social studies (5th).  Additionally, students completed the Envision Topic 1-8 assessment.  These data points will allow us to analyze what students know and are able to do and what students need additional support with.  We must review and use this information to push instruction this week and the rest of the school year.  If you need additional support analyzing your data and planning next steps, please see me, Jones, or members of the resource teaching staff.  There is no time to waste, our students need us.

Student Backpack of Skills (From Dr. Pollio)

The backbone of the backpack work will center on all students being transition ready.  This will mean that we will have a laser-like focus on defining readiness at every transition point. This will include K-readiness, middle school readiness, high school readiness, and college readiness.  We are committed to providing students with guidelines on what a student will have in their backpack to be transition ready at every point.  We even plan on drilling down in to what it means to be “ready” at the end of every grade.  In this way, schools can provide every student with the interventions and an individualized instructional plan to ensure every student is ready for the next grade and transition.  Please view part 3 of the "What's in Your Backpack Series"

Empowering Students

If you have turned on a TV in the past few days, you have witnessed the collective power of student engagement in real world issues.  I am moved and excited by the activism of students around the country and the global impact they are building around gun control and  civic engagement.  I am impressed with their resourcefulness, articulate explanations, and passionate arguments they have constructed around this issue.  This is the power of education in action.  Students are drawing on their skills, learning about new resources, and taking part in activities geared to bring about change in their world.  This is the goal!  As we push students to be their best, remember we are preparing them to be great and to find their voice and use it to impact our global community.  As we continue to work on our student backpack of demonstrative skills, we have to set high expectations, believe in our ability to help students succeed, and engage students in meaningful instruction.

Updates and Reminders

Due to the snow day last week, report cards will go home Tuesday, March 27th.  Teachers in grades K-2 received MAP scores in your mailbox -- these go home with students.  If you have not already sent them, please include them with report cards.  ECE teachers, be sure to upload and mail progress reports to parents.

Please be sure to view the daily updates and living calendar.  Have a great week!

Sense of Urgency

Reading P/D             Math P/D       Lang. Mech.   Social Studies     Writing
3rd    11.1%               14.8%                                   
4th    14.5%               15.9%               17.4%
5th     29.7%              14.1%                                         23.4%                  7.8%

Re-teach suggestions:  Choose one skill that students need additional exposure to and teach a mini lesson during morning work.  Add the skill to one of the daily centers for students to practice.  Leverage videos from Person Realize and Kahn Academy; students can view a video explaining the skill and have the power of pause to view the video more often if needed within the center.  Students could also have homework to practice a skill in addition to their current homework.  At the end of the week re-assess the skill and have students track their growth and progress.  A third grade example is below, you may have to copy and paste the link into the address bar.

https://www.khanacademy.org/coach/class/5741031244955648/content


SRT Calls:  Decreased by 7 for the week, going from 46 two weeks ago to 39 last week.  Please maintain high expectations for learning and behavior and create opportunities for students to show their leadership.

Bus Referrals:  We had 7 bus referrals this week.  This data is now live under the Weekly SRT Data link.  There is a tab at the bottom "Bus Referrals".

Staff Attendance:  The goal is 95% for the March.

Backpack of Skills:  Video 2

We will continue to narrow our list of skills and dispositions that all students will possess by the end of their fifth grade year.  I will send out the list we made in faculty meeting last week to gain additional input.  If you have additional input or ideas, please feel free to add to the document.

Please remember to check the living calendar and daily updates.  We have the science fair this week and trauma sensitive training -- Self Care

Grades for report cards should be entered into Infinite Campus by 3/21.  Printed report cards are due to me by the end of the day on 3/22.  Report cards go home 3/26, ECE progress reports should be mailed home,

I'm buying treats Friday for the teacher and class that can show me their self assessment sheets for tracking progress on a standard for this week.  Lunch for the teacher and a treat for the students.

King Elementary is on Twitter!  Follow us     @KingElemJCPS

Beginning With The End In Mind

Data Review  

Last year, our KPREP proficient & distinguished (P/D) results were as follows:

        Reading          Math           Language Mech   Social Studies      Writing

3rd    11.1%           14.8%
4th     14.5%          15.9%             17.4%
5th     29.7%          14.1%                                          23.4%                  7.8%

SRT Calls:  We had 46 SRT calls this past week and 40 the week before that.  Let's regroup, start tomorrow with setting learning and behavior expectations for the day, along with your Second Step lesson.  Be positive and be present!

Staff Attendance:  The month of February showed 93% teacher attendance, down from our five month high of 95%.  Please remember there is no substitute for you and I appreciate your dedication to our students.  This month, let's set a goal for 96% staff attendance.

Math:  This week, we will discuss results of the Envision Units 1-8 assessment during PLCs.  Please be prepared with your completed lesson analysis forms and student work samples.  We will use this information to gauge progression towards math standards and proficiency.


Where do we want our students to be?  JCPS is moving in the direction of ensuring students at every school have a backpack (digital portfolio) of learning and skills they have demonstrated over the years preparing for the next level -- our next level is middle school.  Below is video 1 in a series introducing the idea of a backpack of skills.  Please view and be prepared to discuss at faculty meeting Tuesday.

Please remember to check the living calendar and daily updates -- our communication doesn't work if everyone is not keeping up with school-wide information (blog).  The first and tenth person to email me will get a classroom supply surprise.

Have a great week!