Curriculum and Instruction News
October 15, 2015
Welcome to the C&I News Bulletin. We will publish this bulletin once a month with the hope that it will become a consistent place for you to find information and resources that support teaching and learning across the district. This monthly collection of announcements, articles, and links will be an easy place for you to see highlighted tools, resources, and opportunities that support your work. Our goal is to extend the impact of the learning people are doing across the district. There are so many Fox C-6 classrooms in which teachers are doing innovative work, we need a showcase that will give others a glimpse and allow them to learn more. When one teacher or one team finds a resource or develops a strategy that is working for students, we need to share what made it work.
This bulletin and the archives of previous months should become a familiar resource where you can find information about:
professional development opportunities
tools and resources available for use in your classroom
curriculum development and PD events across the district
If you have suggestions about information you’d like to see included here please email me (fitzpatrickd@fox.k12.mo.us) or JP Prezzavento (prezzavento@foxc6.org).
BYOD Expectations
Online Professional Development Requests
Need Gradebook Help?
Curriculum
State Standards Update from Dr. Wipke
Teachers,
In working with our Curriculum and Instruction Department, I wanted to share the latest information in regards to the new development of state standards.
We have recently learned DESE has shared the work of the committees assembled to develop new standards for ELA, Math, Social Studies, and Science. You can view these documents here: HB 1490 Work Group Documents.
These proposals still have to be reviewed by the Missouri State School Board and by academic researchers before March 2016. Final standards will not be adopted and disseminated to school districts until May 2016. You can see more information on this time-line: HB 1490 Timeline.
Whether these standards are accepted as is or are substantially different by the time they are adopted, new standardized assessments will not be in effect until Spring of 2018.
This change in standards and assessment systems presents us with the opportunity to fine tune our practices and will not cause any pause or hesitation in our curriculum work as a district. As we move forward in curriculum writing and implementation, we do so with the understanding that we will remain flexible to incorporate changes from the state; however, we will move forward in designing curriculum that is rigorous and meets the needs of our students in the Fox School District.
We will continue to hold high standards for Fox students as we learn together about research-based, best-practice instruction. Inside the framework of PLC’s, we will develop strong formative assessments that will direct student learning alongside common summative assessments that will mark progress on essential learning standards. Our focus and internal collaboration will keep the district on an even keel despite the waves of updates and revisions at the state level.
The ability of our educators to adapt is what leads our students to brighter opportunities. I want to thank you for your resiliency and dedication to students both inside and outside of the classroom. As we continue to explore more ways to better provide for our students, I am grateful for your input, support, and collaboration.
Dr. Jim Wipke
Superintendent
Fox School District
636-296-8000 x7138 / fax 636-282-2216Changes to the K-2 Report Card
Professional Development
Professional Development Update
On September 28th over 850 teachers and staff members participated in our first full Professional Development Day of the 2015-2016 school year. It was a great day of learning in the Fox C-6 District! We had over 500 responses to the district survey, with approximately 90% of the responses stating the day was well prepared, effectively presented and helpful for next steps in the learning process.
As we look to our next Professional Development Day on November 6th, we ask that each building Professional Development Committee (PDC) have reflective conversations based on individual building survey results as well as teacher’s thoughts. These conversations will help each building develop their PD goals for the year, as well as prioritize the learning that will need to take place on November 6th in each building. The November 6th day will be similarly structured, with building-led learning in the morning and PLC time to discuss and plan implementation of the learning in the afternoon.
On another note, the online PD request form is up and running with only a few minor hiccups. I want to thank everyone who has utilized this form to help improve our efficiency and effectiveness in the Curriculum and Instruction Department. As with all new things, we are learning as we go. Click here for some friendly reminders/suggestions regarding the form.
Instructional Technology
Digitally Schedule Parent/Teacher Conferences with Calendly
College and Career Readiness
What's new with CCR?
Federal Programs
Title Programs Update
Literacy
Literacy Learning Opportunities
Contact C&I
- Declan FitzPatrick, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction: fitzpatrickd@fox.k12.mo.us
- Luke Heitert, Director of Data and Information: heitertl@fox.k12.mo.us
- Amy Zielinski, Director of Professional Development: zielinskia@fox.k12.mo.us
- Angie Baker, Federal Programs Coordinator: bakera@fox.k12.mo.us
- JP Prezzavento, Coordinator of Instructional Technology: prezzavento@fox.k12.mo.us
- Tina Risse, Coordinator of Literacy: risset@fox.k12.mo.us
- Maria Scopino, Coordinator of CCR: scopino@fox.k12.mo.us