Thomas Jefferson Tribune
WEEK OF MARCH 19-23, 2018
MISSION, VISION & CORE VALUES
MISSION:
The TJ Feeder schools embrace high quality learning opportunities which honor the unique strengths and diverse needs of all Scholars.
VISION:
The TJ feeder schools will be the premier feeder to attract and educate all Scholars to positively impact our community and world.
CORE VALUES:
Innovation, Collaboration, Excellence and Integrity
THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER PRIORITY GOALS
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION
CLIMATE AND CULTURE
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR..........
Distinguished Leaders,
I hope that each and everyone of you have a relaxing Spring Break. It is imperative that you relax your mind and rejuvenate so that you will be ready to come back 200% for our scholars. It is important to take care of yourselves because everyone relies on your COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP.
As always, have an awesome week LEADING, COACHING, TEACHING ,LEARNING AND MAKING ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENTS FOR SCHOLAR SUCCESS!
THE TJ FEEDER IS IN IT TO WIN IT!
Ms. Torres
Thomas Jefferson Executive Director
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
Monday, March 19, 2018
- Think Tank Mtg. w/Deputy Chiefs-Ms. Torres-8:00 a.m.
- Cigarroa Data Mtg. Campus visit w/ED
- Joe May Data Mtg. Campus visit w/ED
- Cluster Meeting Work session-Ms. Torres & Ms. Massey @ 1:00 p.m.
- ED Meeting w/Deputy Chief Lusk-3:00 p.m.
- Cary MS Math AF Support (A.M.)
- Tom Field ES w/Reading AF Support
- Foster ES w/Reading AF Support
- Cigarroa ES Math AF Support
- Cary MS Math AF Support (P.M.)
- Cigarroa ES w/Reading AF Support
- Medrano MS Data Mtg. Campus visit w/ED
- Cary MS Data Mtg. Campus visit w/ED
- AIA Leadership Team Meeting w/Deputy Superintendent Mr. Cordero-NCX 13th floor-1:30 p.m.-Ms. Torres
- ED/Designated Principal ONLY Meeting w/Deputy Chief Lusk-3:00 p.m.
- Cigarroa ES w/ Math and Reading AF Support
- Joe May ES Math AF Support
- Medrano MS Math AF visit/support
- Cary MS w/ Reading AF support
- Cigarroa (return) w/Reading AF Support
- Walnut Hill Campus visit w/ED
- Stephen Foster Campus visit w/ED
- Lead cluster Meeting w/N. Dallas/W.T. White/TJ @ TJ ECHS @ 1:30 p.m.-Mrs. Massey and Ms. Torres-@ TJ ECHS
- Cigarroa ES Math AF Support
- Medrano w/ Reading AF Support
- Joe May ES w/ Math and Reading AF Support
- Cary & Medrano MS 7th Gr. Math Planning w/AF & Admin
- Tom Field Campus visit w/ED
- Sudie Williams Campus visit w/ED
- Sudie Williams Interdepartmental meeting-10:30 a.m.-@ Sudie Williams
- K.B. Polk Campus visit w/ED
- Saldivar Campus visit w/ED
- Tom Field Math AF Support
- Cary MS w/ Reading AF Support
- Foster Math AF Support
- Cary MS Math AF Support
- Joe May ES w/ Reading AF Support
- Deputy Chiefs/ED meeting @ 8:00 a.m.- School Leadership 'A' & 'B'
- ED Meeting w/Ms. Castro-@ 12:00
- Deputy Chiefs/ED meeting for School Leadership 'B' only @ 1:30 p.m.
- Special Revenue Services Mtg. w/Mr. Wilkerson @ 2:15 p.m.
- K.B. Polk Math AF Support
- Cary MS w/ Reading AF Support
- Cary MS Math AF Support
- ED/AF planning time
THOMAS JEFFERSON PEIMS SPRING REVIEW INFORMATION
All schools are to work on their PID (demo data mismatch) and PET (duplicate enrollment) errors and secondary schools are to also begin researching current-year dropouts.
Below is a summary of the PID and PET errors for all our feeder schools. When a school has zero errors in either category, a send a certificate to celebrate your efforts will be sent to you. There are times when a school has an error which is caused by another school where the student was previously enrolled; have registrars and data controllers check to see if that’s the case with their only error, and if this is the case, then you will receive a certificate.
Please make it every effort to correct the PID's ASAP! The PEIMS smapshot WAIP memo link is below for reference.
BRIDGE PLAN FOR OUR FEEDER
Below is chart that shows us a cohort based enrollment comparison (last year’s 3rd grade to this year’s 4th grade) rather than comparing same grade to same grade year over year (e.g., last year’s 4th grade to this year’s 4th grade).
This is from a daily snapshot in mid-February. This better reflects the data point for the “retain” part of the plan.
Your campuses are charged with enrolling 20 new students per campus. As a feeder, we will have to come up with a Bridge Plan to ensure we
UNITED 2 LEARN (U2L) COMMUNITY PROJECT DAYS
SUMMER 2018 OVERVIEW
June Programs:
SSI: 5th & 8th Grade Math and Reading, 9 Instructional Days, M-Th June 11-25; Testing June 26-27
EOC: All EOC Subjects, 8 Instructional Days, M-Th June 11-21; Testing June 25-28
READINESS: 1st-8th Grade Students Not Meeting Promotion Criteria, 8 Instructional Days, M-Th June 11-21
Transition Camps
Campuses should be in the process of planning for the following grade level transitions:
PK to Kinder (Elementary Responsibility)
Fifth to Sixth (Middle School Responsibility)
Eighth to Ninth (High School Responsibility)
Additional information will be forthcoming. I can tell you, however, that it makes the most sense to host the PK to Kinder transitions in conjunction with your upcoming PK/K roundup programs. Additionally, the transition campus for secondary schools should include some of the following characteristics:
1. A practice "day in the life" in the new grade level. This could include traveling through mock class periods with teachers.
2. Lunch in the cafeteria to get familiar with the lines and format of a secondary lunch.
3. Overview of the main content areas that students will experience. (ELAR, MATH, SCI, SS)
Work with your teams to plan for a day of activities with students. For now, begin the stand alone application.
Summer Stand-Alone Programs, Transition Camps & Summer Hiring Process
All principals should have received an email from extendedlearning@dallasisd.org providing instructions and a passcode to initiate a Stand-Alone Application. To start an application, please have your passcode and follow the link www.dallasisd.org/summer2018 to locate application and training videos. CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR THIS as it was already sent out. If you still cannot find the email, reach out to ramiller@dallasisd.org or ejuarez@dallasisd.org.
The last day to START an application for a stand alone program is MARCH 9th. The last day to FINISH/COMPLETE the application for a stand alone program is April 13th.
If the stand alone program will require Special Revenue Funds, the deadline passed on February 23rd.
Although additional details will be forthcoming concerning Transition Camps, please begin a stand alone application at this time for these programs.
SUMMER HIRING TOOLS
As we progress through the summer hiring process, we have tools to assist School Leadership in monitoring campus progress.
The following link https://sites.google.com/dallasisd.org/summer2018 provides access to:
The Stand Alone Application and Training Videos
· June Hiring Google Docs by Campus
· ED Hiring Summaries for June
The June Hiring Google Docs that are used to identify SSI/EOC/Summer Readiness staff is accessible by the office manager, principal and executive director over each school. Additional access can be requested by emailing ramiller@dallasisd.org or ejuarez@dallasisd.org.
All Credit Recovery principals have been identified and assistant principals are currently being identified. Similar Google Docs and ED Summaries will be created and available by Tuesday, February 27th.
If you have any questions, please contact the Extended Learning Opportunities department (extendedlearning@dallasisd.org) or Jamie Luellen (jluellen@dallasisd.org).
CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN CHECKPOINT DATES
******THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER PATTERN KUDOS******
TJ Feeder Collaborative Planning Night!
Kudos to Cary MS & Medrano MS Math Teams!
Principal Shoutouts!
Deep dialogue about elementary reading levels and text sets
Deeply engaged in elementary readling levels and text sets.
Upstairs are opportunities for COLLABORATION
T.J Feeder 4th Grade Writing
"What is in a name?"
3rd Grade Reading through the Lens of Texts Sets
Cary & Medrano Middle School Feeder Collaborative Planning Night!
DAVID G. BURNET
THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI MENTOR OUR SCHOLARS
T.J. P-Tech Gear Ready!
"Kids, don't try this at home." T.J. P-Tech Toothpaste Challenge
Crest or Colgate? It doesn't really matter in this activity.
ANALYZE FOR A PLAN!
ACCUMULATE YOUR RESOURCES!
ACTION!
Small Group Support at Tom Field!
Shared Reading
T.J. Feeder AF
Model Reading
T.J. Feeder AF
Close Reading
T.J. Feeder AF
WHATACLASSROOM! Do You Have a Classroom You Would Like to Nominate?
If you have an exceptional classroom on your campus, send your pictures to Mrs. Maia and you might get the next WHATACLASSROOM Shout Out!
Warm and Authentic Welcoming Classrooom Environment
Representation of History in Present Writing
7th Grade STAAR Writing... No worries in this class
'UNITED TO LEARN' FULL NETWORK MEETINGS FOR TJ ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS
TEI NEWS
April --Student survey administration
Students in grades 3-12 complete surveys during one class period
MAY -JUNE-- Mid May Teacher roster verification process
Teachers verify students to be included in calculation of student achievement metrics
May 11th--Teachers submit SLO GoalAccomplishment in Schoolnet
Administrator approves, scores, and completes by May 18th
May 18th-- Last day to enter extended observations, summatives, and SLO scores into Schoolnet
Summatives may be completed after a minimum number of spot observations and the extended observation are conducted May 21st – June 4th
Spring Break Camp at Jose Joe May!
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
6TH 6 WEEK'S RLA CURRICULAR RESOURCES ARE NOW AVAILABLE!
STEM DEPARTMENT TRAININGS/STAAR ACADEMIES
Dallas ISD STEM Science Professional Development Calendar
Grades 3-5
The STEM Math Elementary team invites teachers and CICs to collaborate and participate in the 2018 Spring Professional Development for third through fifth grades. Sessions are going to be held at the H. B. Bell Building from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. STAAR sessions are repeated and not divided into parts so no need to come to both.
Grades 6 – Algebra I
The STEM Math Secondary team invites teachers, CICs, and AFs to collaborate and participate in the 2018 Spring Professional Development for grades six through Algebra 1. Sessions are held at the H. B. Bell Building from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Each session will examine the TEKS through the lens of the 2017 STAAR Released Items divided by reporting categories; come to one or the entire series.
The google link provides a flyer with the topics and session codes. For additional information, please contact Antoinese Leake (Elementary Curriculum Coordinator) at APride@dallasisd.org.
Google Link
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11HFObFhq7FJlbgW_od1U-3y_YRZFO2M4DzLFNh5FYAM/edit?usp=sharing
Click on the calendar link above to access the PD dates.
INSTRUCTIONAL COUNTDOWN TO STAAR
2017-2018 DALLAS ISD DISTRICT-WIDE TESTING CALENDAR
Dallas ISD Year At a Glance Testing Schedule
UPCOMING DATES & REMINDERS
MARCH
20-2018-2019-Elementary Computer Science Cohort Meeting for Elementary Principals @ Bucker Building from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Rm. 309-ALL ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND IN OUR FEEDER!
27-Math AF TOT for CIC Content Training
29-Reading AF TOT for CIC Content Training
APRIL
20-CHECKPOINT #1 FOR CIP DUE TO MS. TORRES BY COB
MAY
4-CHECKPOINT #2 FOR CIP DUE TO MS. TORRES BY COB
18-CHECKPOINT #3 FOR CIP DUE TO MS. TORRES BY COB
21-ALL CIP'S DUE TO MS. TORRES
JUNE
1-ALL CIP'S DUE TO MS. STEPHENS FROM ED
MARSHALL MEMO #726
A New Way of Brainstorming, Using Questions
In this Harvard Business Review article, Hal Gregersen describes leading an unproductive brainstorming session 20 years ago in one of his MIT Sloan School business classes. He felt like they were “wading through oatmeal… After a lot of discussion, the energy level in the room was approaching nil.” Frustrated, Gregersen suggested that students come up with some questions they might ask about the problem. “To my surprise,” he says, “the room was quickly energized. At the end of the session, people left talking excitedly about a few of the questions that had emerged – those that challenged basic assumptions we had been making.”
What was so unusual about this class is that students are rarely asked to generate questions. Teachers and professors ask questions, students answer them. Young children are bubbling with curiosity, says Gregersen, but as they move through school, “they’ve been conditioned not to ask questions… Questioning is an innate human behavior that’s actively subverted and systematically shut down.” All too often in classrooms, there’s a cursory, “Any questions?” and instructors quickly move on. Questions come to be seen as a waste of time and a sign of cluelessness; students stop asking them because of negative reactions from teachers and classmates. They learn to repeat back well-rehearsed answers to keep things moving and get good grades.
Reflecting on what happened in his classroom that day, Gregersen realized that he’d stumbled on a new way of brainstorming that truly opened the door to student questions. He’s been using and refining this approach ever since, both in university classes and advising business clients on how to tackle stubborn problems. The key, he says, is that “fresh questions often beget novel – even transformative – insights… Brainstorming for questions rather than answers makes it easier to push past cognitive biases and venture into uncharted territory… It helps people adopt a more creative habit of thinking and, when they’re looking for breakthroughs, gives them a sense of control. There’s actually something they can do other than sit and wait for a bolt from the blue.”
Gregersen has fine-tuned the “question burst” approach over time, experimenting with different group sizes, time allotments, number of questions, degree of structure, ways to capture ideas, and coaching. Here is his latest thinking on how to proceed:
• Set the stage. For starters, choose a challenge you care deeply about, something that will command your full attention – and that others should be thinking about too. Then convene a few colleagues, preferably people who have no direct experience with the problem and whose cognitive style or worldview is different from your own. “They will come up with surprising, compelling questions that you would not,” says Gregersen, “because they have no practiced ways of thinking about the problem and no investment in the status quo. They’re more likely to ask third-rail questions and point to elephants in the room – they don’t know not to.” Kick off the discussion with a very brief description of the problem – under two minutes – so people won’t be bogged down with details: just the highlights, how things would change for the better if the problem were solved, and why it hasn’t been solved up to now.
• Brainstorm questions. Set a timer and spend the next four minutes collectively generating as many questions about the challenge as possible, the more surprising and provocative, the better. Try for 15 questions. The time and quantity pressure helps get people’s juices flowing and prevents overthinking. Don’t allow pushback or discussion, and immediately redirect any attempts to offer solutions. This is important, since many people find it excruciating not to solve problems raised by the questions. Gregersen recommends getting all the questions down verbatim on paper, a laptop, or tablet – not a whiteboard (which will be erased). “As you’re recording,” he suggests, “add your own questions to the mix. That will often reveal patterns in how you have habitually framed a problem (and might have unknowingly perpetuated it).”
When the timer goes off, he recommends doing a quick check on everyone’s emotional state about the issue. Are we more positive? Often after question brainstorming, people feel better, but if not, consider repeating the process after a break, or the next day with a different group. Gregersen has found that it often takes three question bursts to get to the heart of the matter. Even with three rounds, the time taken is minimal, and once people get the hang of it, they become more proficient at generating helpful questions.
• Identify a solution and follow up. On your own, Gregersen recommends, study the list of questions, looking for those that suggest new approaches to the problem. “About 80% of the time,” he says, “this exercise produces at least one question that usefully reframes the problem and provides a new angle for solving it.” It’s often helpful to follow up with the “Five whys” strategy. “By better understanding why a question really matters and what obstacles you might face in addressing it, you deepen your resolve and ability to do something about it and further broaden the territory of possible solutions.” Finally, decide on one new pathway, write an action plan – the concrete actions you will personally take in the next three weeks to solve the problem – and commit to following through. “Few things are more annoying than a colleague who only asks questions,” says Gregersen. “People must take responsibility for exploring the pathways those questions open up and discovering valuable answers. This is especially true for leaders.”
• Shape the culture. People develop as questioners “in organizational cultures where they feel safe doggedly pursuing the truth,” concludes Gregersen, “no matter where it takes them. “To create such cultures, MIT’s Ed Schein says, leaders must show humility, vulnerability, and trust, and they must empower others and treat them equitably. When these conditions aren’t present, questions tend to be constrained or, worse, crushed.”
“Better Brainstorming” by Hal Gregersen in Harvard Business Review, March-April 2018 (Vol. 96, #2, p. 64-71), https://hbr.org/2018/03/better-brainstorming; Gregersen can be reached at hbg@mit.edu.
THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
- Thomas Jefferson High School: Principal, Sandi Massey
- Francisco Medrano Middle School : Principal, Theresa Sigurdson
- Edward Cary Middle School: Principal, Ben Dickerson
- David G. Burnet Elementary: Principal, Sonia Loskot
- Leonides Cigarroa Elementary : Principal, Douglas Burak
- Tom W. Field Elementary: Principal, Shondula Whitfield
- Stephen C. Foster Elementary: Principal, Irma De La Guardia
- Joe May Elementary: Principal, Israel Rivera
- K.B. Polk Elementary: Principal, Misty Rathermund
- Julian T. Saldivar: Principal, Chaundra Macklin
- Walnut Hill Elementary: Principal, Robert 'Chase'McLaurin
- Sudie Williams Elementary: Principal, Michael Jackson
LEADERS OF THE FEEDER
Thomas Jefferson High School
Franscisco Medrano Middle School
Edward Cary Middle School
David G. Burnet Elementary
Leonides Cigarroa Elementary
Tom W. Field Elementary
Stephen C. Foster Elementary
Joe May Elementary
K. B. Polk Elementary
Julian T. Saldivar Elementary
Walnut Hill Elementary
Sudie L. Williams Elementary
Tamieka Porter
Lisa Maia
Erica Rosas
Trustee Edwin Flores District 1
Trustee Dustin Marshall District 2
Trustee Miguel Solis District 8
DISD GOALS
- All students will exhibit Satisfactory or above performance on State assessments. Students below Satisfactory performance will demonstrate more than one year of academic growth
- Dallas ISD schools will be the primary choice for families in the district
- The achievement gap by race, ethnicity and social economic status will be no greater than 10 percentage points on all academic measures
- 95% of students will graduate. Of the graduates, 90% have qualifying scores for community college, college, military, or industry certification
- 95% of entering kindergarten students are school-ready on a multidimensional assessment
- All students will participate in at least one extracurricular or co-curricular activity each year.