Eatonville School District
Teaching & Learning
March 12, 2021
Dear Staff,
Here we are getting ready for students back in the buildings 5 days a week. This is such an amazing feat. It has been through hard work by all departments and people in the Eatonville School District that we are ready to move to this next level.
It is also the time I have been waiting for patiently. As I began this new position I had so many plans and ideas to implement. However, COVID and the safety of students and staff took center stage. I still have all my plans and ideas and am ready to shift our energy to the most important part of our work........ Teaching and Learning.
The principals and district admin have been working hard to make sure that we are ready to transition to face to face teaching. I am here, as is Travis, to support you and help you in any way we can. I plan on being in the buildings to see all of the amazing teaching that is happening. When I drop in, share with me what you are doing or ignore that fact there will be visitors. Whatever works for your teaching. I want to be a support.
Spring is Coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Diane
Thoughts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From Krestin Bahr
In twenty years time...
People will not ask the children of 2020 if they caught up with their studies.
They will not ask them what grades they made, despite the year off school.
They will ask them with wonder ‘what was it like?’
They will ask them ‘how did you cope?’
‘How did you feel?’
‘What do you remember of those days?”
They will listen in awe to the tales of clapping on doorsteps for the medical workers.
They will sit open-mouthed to hear of daily walks being the only life we saw and how much we missed human contact and gatherings.
They will be amazed to know about empty supermarkets, online concerts, birthdays spent on a screen and a life lived inside.
They will listen, then sit back with amazement and say, ‘Wow. You went through so much.’
So think about what you would like your children to take away from this whole year.
Tell them they are not behind.
Tell them they are not missing out.
Tell them they are extremely special indeed and they will be forever made stronger by this unique time.
Tell them catching up is not even a thing because they have grown so much in so many other ways.
Remind them too of the fun stuff, the family jigsaws, the window rainbows, the zoom bingo.
The feeling of safety and togetherness amidst the chaos.
Let them take that thought with them through life.
Change the narrative now and it will travel far.
Tell the children they are not behind.
They are special.
They are special.
Donna Ashworth
From History Will Remember
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
Winston Churchill
Covid can not be the new truth for low expectations.~ anonymous
The art of teaching is circling back to the gaps while still driving content and standards.
I've noticed that strong teachers don't just have high expectations for their students; they have high expectations for themselves. I think that is one of their secrets.--Danny Steele
Toxic positivity is forced, false positivity.
It may sound innocuous on the surface, but when you share something difficult with someone and they insist that you turn it into a positive, what they are really saying is, My comfort is more important than your reality.
"The ability to reflect is crucial for understanding and processing. It is also essential to our ability to move forward and create something from what we have learned." George Couros, Innovate Inside the Box
Equity is.......
Removing the predictability of success and failure that currently correlates with race or any social/cultural factor.
Interrupting inequitable practices, examining biases, and creating inclusive school environments for all students, especially our historically marginalized ones.
Discovering and cultivating the unique gifts, talents and interests that every human possesses, especially our historically marginalized ones.
Racial Equity in Education
Definition
Raising the achievement of all students while eliminating the gap between the highest and lowest performing students and eliminating the racial predictability and disproportionality of which student groups occupy the highest and lowest achievement categories.
Diane
Travis Rush Technology Education Lead
I know we all have a lot of change and work on our plate at this moment. I would like to keep you all updated as to what is happening with technology education, and teaching and learning. Many of the plans that we are putting into place will be “launched” in the fall, we are currently in the planning stages of creating exciting opportunities for learning. I want to take this time to thank the BLTT (Blended Learning Teacher Team). We have been meeting and talking about their role in the following year.
THE TEAM
EHS- Alex Christensen, Travis Collins, Geoff Olson, Kaiya Burgess, Brittany Thorpe
EES- Kim Davidson, Catherine Golden, Riley Helbig, Haley Hancock
WES- Robyn Johnson, Jordan Nylander
CCA- Rich Wind, Angie Gendreau
EMS- Carol Green, Robin Brown, Allison Meines
This team and I will be conducting PD’s on personalized and blended learning. These PD’s will include teaching tools and strategies that best reflect UDL practices. The goal is that scheduled training will support the understanding of UDL and give practical tools to staff.
They have volunteered for this and I can not be more grateful for their time. I will also be reaching out to the paraeducators for representation. This group works with many of our students who have even more need for differentiation.
Another project in the works has been an organization of Digital Citizenship opportunities for students who violate computer protocols or need support in proper use. The tools we have at our disposal have been presented and are being organized to support a MTSS system.
This work is all focused and culminates to the return of students in a 1:1 environment. Google Classroom, Google Meets, Jamboard and more are critical in the classroom and should be used even upon student return. It is our goal to provide students with the most engaging, supportive, and targeted instruction at every grade level.
If you have not had the opportunity, please check out these resources that do a great job of illustrating the potential of technology in the classroom with targeted instruction.
https://www.edutopia.org/topic/blended-learning
https://www.edutopia.org/blended-learning-resources
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me!
360-879-1043
Cheers!
Hi Team!
Collaboration Recalibration
5 Jamboard Templates
Click below to learn more about Jill Harrison Bergs Educational Journey
Enjoy Jeff Utecht's weekly podcast below
Three Ways to Leverage Jamboard by Jeff Utecht's
Hi Team!
If you've been playing around with the free tool Jamboard, I bet we can agree that it is an incredible resource for collaboration and building community.
That's why I wanted to share three of our latest Jamboard templates with you. Click below to make a copy, and you are ready to roll them out with your peers or students.
Love numberless math problems? We do too! Check out our jamboard template below and get your students collaborating on one!
Collecting gratitude or perspective? Click below to make your copy of templates to do both!
https://jamboard.google.com/u/1/d/1laCDr05chejSWsXoYJsOH1_yJFpMHkM40SQNOIrLrko/copy
https://jamboard.google.com/u/1/d/1pkKYXWzaUvCH0UirjsDq0J8O17mWE0BUM3c5x5WKPsU/copy
https://jamboard.google.com/d/16aFsH4R8V8sCiJxVjihJ3HXCGUdYIJlISNq4UlFTLLk/copy
Take care,
Jeff Utecht
Ready to Go Lessons Available
Important training available for Eatonville Staff. Please find the Since Time Immemorial Training Schedule from OSPI in the link bellow. All Sessions are Zoom and free clock hours available.
Additional Clock Hours
https://www.psesd.org/professional-learning-clock-hours/clock-hours
Click Below for EHS Resources
Welcome to the Podcast
Inclusionary Practices Project
Inclusionary Practices Project
WEA Inclusionary Practices Asynchronous Canvas Courses
The Washington Education Association (WEA) has created a number of asynchronous learning modules on a wide range of topics, but all with the central focus of increasing a school’s capacity to provide inclusion for ALL students.
Clock hours are available. You do not need to be a WEA member to access the courses. These courses are free and can be completed at your own pace. See link below.
WEA Inclusionary Practices Zoom Webinars
Starting this month and running through March, the Washington Education Association (WEA) will be hosting professional development webinars. Topics include IEP transition, special education law, SEL and many more!
Clock hours are available. You do not need to be a WEA member to view these webinars. These are free offerings. See link below.
*please note: while some dates have passed there are several upcoming
https://www.washingtonea.org/file_viewer.php?id=41746
https://www.washingtonea.org/file_viewer.php?id=41751