Leaders Leading Learners
Curriculum & Instruction Newsletter March 27, 2015
Ambassadors
“In your life’s journey, there will be excitement and fulfillment, boredom and routine, and even the occasional train wreck . . . But when you have picked a dream that is bigger than you personally, that truly reflects the ideals that you cherish, and that can positively affect others, then you will always have another reason for carrying on.”
- Pamela Melroy
Action Items
Core Content Area News
All PRINCIPALS:
3/27/2015: Friday IC PLC Agenda & Notes
New Information
2015-2016 State Assessment Calendar: TEA announced significant changes to the student assessment calendar for the 2015-16 school year. The administration dates for STAAR grades 3, 4, 6, and 7 math and reading, grades 5 and 8 science, and grade 8 social studies assessments will be scheduled for May 9–13. See the revised calendar and the letter to administrators.
Irlen's Screening: Based on direct conversations with TEA, The American Academy of Ophthalmology, and other notable sources the Dyslexia Department will no longer administer Irlen’s screening. However, please make a notation that the utilization of colored overlays is a Type 1 accommodation, meaning it can be given to any student for assignments and assessments without a diagnosis. This update will also be added to our Dyslexia Handbook. If you have any questions please feel free to contact, the Dyslexia/RTI Coordinator, Kenya Mitchell at (979) 209-1071.
Reminders:
IC Schedule: Instructional Coaches will be on their home campus on 4/17 and 4/24 and in May on 5/8 & 5/15. Curriculum Writing will begin 5/18 and continue through 6/12.
Instructional Coach Pool: An Instructional Coach generic job posting is now listed on the BISD website. This posting has been created to allow for an Instructional Coach job pool. The C&I department will interview Instructional Coach applicants from the pool. If an IC opening occurs at a campus, selections can be made from the IC pool.
TEKSbank Teacher Instructions: Information about the TEKSbank test bank in AWARE was shared in January. If teachers need a refresher on how to access the test bank and create teacher-made assessments, please click here.
GT Testing Timelines:
1, 2, 3 & 4: February 9 - April 17
6, 7, & 8: February 9 - April 17 (the middle school timeline has been extended to April 17)
Elementary Principals
Curriculum Trainings for Principals: Please come for a review of the ELA/SLA curriculum and training on best practice for language arts. This training will help you better support your teachers in their lesson planning and classroom instruction.
- 4/2 3:45 - 4:45 Writer's Workshop
- 4/9 3:45 - 4:45 Word Work (This is a date change due to a meeting on 4/16 for New Principals that was previously scheduled.)
- Location: Fannin Elementary Library
Summer School Preliminary List: The preliminary summer school list will be sent to principals by April 3. These lists will be based on Middle of the Year Testing data and will change.
2. If a student has enrolled at the school and has a DRA/EDL level that is at the summer school cut offs, please send their names to JoLyn Bricker and add them to your list. Refer to the lists to see the DRA/EDL levels.
3. Campuses will then designate a person to enter these students as summer school attendees in eSchool by April 28. Transportation is running their lists on April 29 to start making the summer school routes so campuses must have their information entered by April 28. Please have the person responsible for entering the information email JoLyn Bricker when it is complete.
Elementary Summer School: Elementary Summer School will be held June 9-25, 2015 at the following campuses. Students will be selected for summer school based on DRA/EDL scores. Students attending summer school will receive instruction for half a day on Monday through Fridays in ELA and Math.
- Navarro will be facilitated by Sara Rueda with students from Bonham, Navarro, Kemp and Houston attending.
- Henderson will be facilitated by Gloria Rhodes with students from Henderson, Fannin, Mowen, Mitchell and Neal.
- Milam will be facilitated by Becky Ryberg with students from Jones and Milam attending.
- Crockett will be faciliated by Katrina Horace with students from Crockett, Branch, Johnson, and Ross attending.
MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPALS:
Edgenuity Passwords: On April 10, 2015, Edgenuity will improve user account security by implementing a password encryption enhancement. This change will ensure Edgenuity is compliant with new state laws and district policies and increase security for all our partners. A self-service password retrieval feature will allow both students and teachers to have a password reset link e-mailed to them as long as they have a valid e-mail address stored in Edgenuity. Check your profile now, and make sure your e-mail address is correct! Passwords for teachers and students will no longer be visible to educators and administrators. Instead, a password reset feature will allow educators and administrators to generate a temporary password, which the system will prompt users to change upon next login.
Middle School Summer School: Middle School Summer School will be held at Rayburn and Long from June 9-25, 2015. Students who are behind in reading and participating in Read 180 will be invited to attend the half day, Monday through Friday, sessions.
Students from Davila and Rayburn will attend summer school at Rayburn. Students from SFA and Long will attend summer school at Long.
Read 180/System 44 Link: A link for student access to Read 180/System 44 has been added to each of your home pages under the STUDENT tab. This will allow students easier access to software and eReads from any device.
HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS:
Edgenuity Passwords: On April 10, 2015, Edgenuity will improve user account security by implementing a password encryption enhancement. This change will ensure Edgenuity is compliant with new state laws and district policies and increase security for all our partners. A self-service password retrieval feature will allow both students and teachers to have a password reset link e-mailed to them as long as they have a valid e-mail address stored in Edgenuity. Check your profile now, and make sure your e-mail address is correct! Passwords for teachers and students will no longer be visible to educators and administrators. Instead, a password reset feature will allow educators and administrators to generate a temporary password, which the system will prompt users to change upon next login.
High School Summer School: Summer School for Advancement, Credit Recovery and EOC Acceleration will occur June 9-July 1, 2015 at Rudder High School. Watch for applications coming to your campus soon.
Read 180/System 44 Link: A link for student access to Read 180/System 44 has been added to each of your home pages under the STUDENT tab. This will allow students easier access to software and eReads from any device.
Professional Development News
Summer Professional Development: Summer Professional Development Opportunities will be available in Eduphoria April 15-- more information will be sent out district wide.
Bilingual/ESL News
All Principals
Thanks to all the campuses for getting in LPAC documentation. We appreciate your diligence!
Upcoming SIOP: Opportunities are available for teachers and new instructional coaches to attend SIOP training.
- April 26, May 2, and 9 at Rayburn ($100/day paid to participants - no TE credit)
- June 8, 9, 10 at Bryan HS (TE credit only)
- August 6, 7, 8 Crockett Elementary (TE credit only)
Training is open to 35 participants at each location. Participants must attend all three days for credit and/or payment.
Elementary Principals
Calendar: The week of March 30 is a "B" week.
Special Education News
All Principals
Special Education Training for Teachers: Special Education staff members will be meeting with all special education teachers on April 7th after school in the Rayburn seminar room. Please encourage all special education teachers to attend. We will begin introducing the new worksheet teachers will be required to use to prepare for ARDS next year.
LRE Support Committee Documentation for District Staffing:
In order to provide each campus with the necessary support and to insure that we as a district are doing what we can to support students in the least restrictive environment, we will begin a new procedures for the district. When it appears that there needs to be a significant change in a student’s placement, the district will review campus documentation to determine how best to support both the campus and the student.
Meetings are scheduled on Fridays and the campus personnel will bring documentation to the committee to review. At these meetings, all possible supports will be considered.
When the campus feels that a student needs to be reviewed at the district level, the assessment person will need to contact Cathy Burgin so she can schedule a time.
The assessment person assigned to the campus will need to bring the following documentation to the LRE committee staffing.
A copy of the behavior intervention plan (BIP), if applicable.
A copy of the reinforcement system currently in place, if applicable.
IEP updates
Work samples
Teacher observations/input
Attendance
Discipline
Report cards
Other information
Curriculum & Instruction Department
Email: kammi.green@bryanisd.org
Website: www.bryanisd.org
Phone: 979-209-1049