Curriculum & Instruction Newsletter
Elementary School Edition
Welcome Back
Happy New Year, Teachers and Instructional Staff!
I was asked earlier what we have learned from virtual instruction this past semester, and I was able to reflect on the many things that have been accomplished thus far, and think about what we've yet set out to do. You have definitely faced hard challenges during this COVID-19 school year, but you have always kept the student and community needs as your number one priority. You redesigned your classrooms and immediately pivoted to develop virtual instruction to continue to provide education for ALL students. Then, as schools were allowed to reopen, you collaborated on creating instruction that met the needs of both virtual and in-person learners. In retrospect, this pandemic has kindled the creativity, innovation, and collaborative spirit of all of our educators.
And yet we continue to learn new things. We have learned that meeting varied needs of all student populations takes time. Doing this to meet both learning modalities, in person and remote learning, requires even more teacher planning to design targeted lessons for both learners. In order to help you continue to provide the best education possible for all students this coming semester, our school board approved monthly planning and preparation days for teachers to design instruction focused on meeting the individual needs of their on-campus and virtual students. I hope the following tools shared below can help you with instructional design, and know that the C&I Team is here to help you deliver the best instruction to your students.
Warm Wishes,
Ceci Davis
Assistant Superintendent of C&I
Pre/Post Tests Suspended for the Remaining of the School Year
Just before Christmas break, TEA notified school districts that they will be offering a T-TESS/T-PESS evaluation waiver for 2020-2021. Our School Board provided approval that includes all employee effective immediately. Since the Pre and Post Tests were part of the employee appraisals, these will be suspended immediately. We hope this news brings some relief to you and focus solely on just providing the best instruction using Benchmark data instead.
Meet our Director of Accountability and Assessment, Elba Contreras
MOY Universal Screener Window Opens Month of January
The MOY assessment window is the entire month of January. All teachers should have received a welcome back email from Jennifer Johnson, Director of Early Learning, outlining the MOY assessment expectations for PreKinder through 2nd grade. Below is a summary for primary grade levels. Please direct any questions to Ms. Johnson regarding the universal screener for grades PreK - 2nd.
- PreK3 will update the checklist.
- PreK4 will administer Wave 2 of Circle in CLI Engage.
- Kindergarten will administer Wave 2 of TX-KEA in CLI Engage.
- First and Second grade will administer Amplify.
- Additionally, dyslexia teachers will administer the extra Amplify assessments required for the state dyslexia screener for first grade.
- PreK4-2nd grade teachers will record assessment data in Eduphoria and should expect more information regarding how to input data later in January.
For Grades 3-5, we use Galileo for Reading and Imagine Math Universal Screener. Ms. Lucia West has sent emails with specific instructions to Galileo Reading Universal Screener. Mr. Gary West has provided instructions for the math portion, and Ms. Aida Pena has provided the instructions for the bilingual teachers for all elementary grades. Please email these specialists directly if you have any questions regarding providing the assessment. Please note the following for math grades 3-5:
- The universal screener for math from Imagine Learning requires teachers to assign the test. This cannot be done at the district level. Mr. West has provided the PDF attachment below for the Imagine Math grade 3-5 screener.
Canvas Updates
- New students and Canvas: A new process has been implemented that will expedite new student access to Canvas and online courses. New students who are enrolled by 9 AM and who have a schedule of classes by noon will now have Canvas access by 1:30 PM. If a student is not enrolled by 9 AM, it is recommended that their information is not submitted until the following day before 9 AM.
- New Hire Canvas Supplemental Support training sessions will be offered monthly. These sessions are intended to be an extension of the initial trainings provided by subject area coordinators and/or campus Canvas trainers. New hires are encouraged to attend as many sessions as needed to learn new Canvas tools and skills and ask any questions that they may have about this resource. Register via Eduphoria. Dates and times are as follows:
- January 19, 4:30-6:00 PM
- February 16, 4:30-6:00 PM
- March 16, 4:30-6:00 PM
- April 13, 4:30-6:00 PM
Questions??? Call or email Randy Rogers, Director of Instructional Technology!
Judson Assessment Tools Tutorial Video
- Calculator Tools
- Speak Option Tools
- Color Theme
- Zoom In and Out
- Add Note
- Choice Eliminator
- Flagging a question
- Highlighting
- Question Guide
Professional Learning for the Month of January - Via Zoom
Below is a friendly reminder of the upcoming Virtual Professional Learning Sessions sponsored by the C & I Department. Remember that we are also part of the Professional Learning Cohort from R20 and can attend many free sessions through Region 20, too! If you have any questions, Ms. Maricela Maldonado, Professional Learning Specialist, can provide you the support you need.
January PD for Elementary Teachers
January 5th
3:30 - 4:45
It’s Lit Reading: Planning for the Next Units (3-5)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=22114
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82948347744?pwd=LzkyaDU0bnA3RjgxRVN4RmswR1U2dz09
Meeting ID: 829 4834 7744 Passcode 044183
January 6th
3:30 - 4:30
Bilingual Literacy Stations (K-2)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=22117
Participants registered in Eduphoria will receive the Zoom Link.
January 11th
3:45 - 4:45
Fluency (K-2)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=22070
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86550563368
January 12th
3:30 - 4:45
It’s Lit Writing:
Planning for the Next Units (3-5)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=22120
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82948347744?pwd=LzkyaDU0bnA3RjgxRVN4RmswR1U2dz09
Meeting ID: 829 4834 7744 Passcode 044183
January 12th
3:30 - 4:45
It All Adds Up! Planning for the Next Units (2-5)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=22136
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89041320034?pwd=dGozYjVvdkZlNkUxYzBxQlJKNExwdz09
Meeting ID: 890 4132 0034 Passcode: 059236
January 12th
3:30 - 4:30
GIST Support/Testing Accommodations
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=22077
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88333473520?pwd=MHNOT29VNFpNVFJ0c0c5WlMrN1o5UT09
January 13th
4:30 - 5:30
Eduphoria Online Assessments
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=22229
Participants registered in Eduphoria will receive the Zoom Link.
January 14th
3:00 - 4:00
Polish Instruction with Padlet (3-5)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=22168
Participants registered in Eduphoria will receive the Zoom Link.
January 19th
3:30 - 4:30
League of Extraordinary Science Teachers (K-2)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=21985
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86873818366?pwd=dUx0b3c4eHNJbk9mUFZNSGtFSFJpQT09
January 19th
4:30 - 5:30
League of Extraordinary Science Teachers (3-5)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=21994
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81176968832?pwd=dlZuN0h2RGQzWk1uQXZLTFE5QnpWdz09
January 20th
3:30 - 4:30
Bilingual Literacy Stations (3-5)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=22123
Participants registered in Eduphoria will receive the Zoom Link.
January 23rd
9:00 – 3:30
Sheltered Instruction in Action
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=22409
Participants registered in Eduphoria will receive the Zoom Link.
January 29th
3:30 – 4:15
Reading Academy Recharge (3rd & Academic Leaders)
https://judson.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=22420
Participants registered in Eduphoria will receive the Zoom Link.