Curriculum and Instruction News
October 2017
Foster Care Youth Services
Fall PEPs
Need Grade Book Help?
ACT for all Juniors on February 27th, 2018
On July 7th of this year DESE announced that they would accommodate a $4 million cut to the assessment budget by eliminating funding for the statewide ACT. At the Board of Education meeting on October 3rd, 2017, the Fox C-6 School Board approved the purchase of the ACT for all juniors in the district. This decision by the school board reflects the district’s on-going commitment to our students. When DESE decided to fund the ACT for all Juniors three years ago, doors were opened for students all across the state. We want to make sure that we keep that door open. Committing to a junior year test keeps our focus on ensuring that we have a college and career readiness plan for all students. ALthough the ACT is only one test on one day, it is a good way to measure our success in preparing students for life after high school. We need to ensure that students and their families get good information while there is still time to respond.
When we keep our eyes on college and career readiness for all students, we maintain our focus on ensuring that every student graduates as an expert in something that they love. The information from the ACT helps us determine if we are meeting that measure for some of the essential skills and knowledge that students will need whether they are going to a two-year college, a four-year college, a career field, or the military.
Before the announcement from DESE, we had already committed to providing the ACT Aspire for students 3rd through 9th grade and the Practice ACT for 10th-grade. We don’t want to over-assess our students, but gathering good information about how our students have grown each year is important. Comparing our students’ growth to others all across the country, and to the benchmark for college and career readiness, is important for everyone who wants reassurance that we are continuously doing what is best for all kids, all the time.
Parents, students, and community members may have questions about this decision. Here are some ideas that may help you answer those questions: Importance of the ACT and ACT Aspire.
Professional Development
PD Update
We had an amazing Summer of Learning this year! We had over 550 registrations for our summer PD offerings. Teachers learned about a variety of topics to help improve student achievement and also supported our curriculum work and our evaluation system. Some of these topics include:
Balanced Literacy
Technology integration through Chrome Academy
Early Childhood literacy and math
Critical thinking in mathematics
Student engagement through Kagan structures
Best practices in co-teaching
RTI and PLC
STEM TQ
As we look to the PD for this school year, we were able to kick-off with a strong start with our August PD days. Buildings built on the summer learning of their teachers and started conversations around RTI and what is looks like in the individual buildings. We also discussed more balanced literacy in the elementary schools and emphasized the importance of rigor in our secondary schools. With our first ½ day PD on October 26, teachers continued to build on this learning and had time to work with their PLC to ensure that they are meeting the needs of all learners.
Please remember to complete the PD survey after each PD day to ensure that we can continue to plan professional development that meets your individual needs. Please click below to take the Oct. 26 PD Survey if you have not already done so. This link is for all Fox C-6 staff members.
Literacy
Fox C-6 Lending Library
Did you know our district has a lending library with multiple copies of select book titles? If you are interested in implementing book clubs or literature circles and do not have multiple copies of enough texts, you may want to check out our 181 title collection of literature sets we have on loan! Click here to preview and request the titles we have available.
Podcast PD
It is often difficult to find the time to keep up with all of the latest professional readings! Have you considered receiving your professional learning through podcasts? A podcast is a pre-recorded Internet radio show that can be downloaded to your phone, computer, or tablet to listen to at your convenience. You can also subscribe to podcasts to get a show’s newest episodes sent right to your phone as soon as they are released. Podcasts can make your long drive home or those boring household chores a little more entertaining.
A colleague recently suggested Re: Teaching. This podcast is part of teacherlearningsessions.com. Archived podcasts feature some of the top names in literacy such as: Penny Kittle, Meenoo Rami, Steven Anderson, Donalyn Miller, and Jennifer Seravallo. Each session lasts a brief 20-30 minutes. Do you already listen to podcasts as part of your personal professional development? If so, consider sharing out some of your favorite podcasts through twitter with @teacherpodcasts or join the Facebook group The Teacher Learning Sessions.
Fox Federal Programs and Home School Partnerships
Title I News
The Fox C6 Title I Department will be hosting an educational family engagement night on November 9, 2017 from 6-8 p.m. at the Fox C6 Service Center for Title I A. students and their families. Invitations were sent home with the students who are receiving Title I services in math and/or reading. The theme of the event is centered around Star Wars STEM activities that foster the application of important science, technology, engineering, mathematics and reading skills in a fun way that families can replicate at home. The event is federally funded through the Title I A. Grant. Click Here for a Copy of the Invitation for Title I Students and Families
The Title I Staff is excited to add Rockport Heights Elementary School as a recipient of Title I services for the 2017-2018 school year. We are excited to provide added support for the students and families at Rockport in addition to the other 7 Title I schools in our district.
The 2017-2018 Title I Schools In the Fox C6 School District: (*denotes School-wide Title I Schools)
Clyde Hamrick Elementary*
Meramec Heights Elementary*
Fox Elementary*
Sherwood Elementary*
Guffey Elementary
Simpson Elementary
Hodge Elementary
Rockport Heights Elementary
English Language Learners News
Do you have students who are currently learning the English language or students who have family members that you’d like to be able to provide translated text for?
If so, please click here CLICK HERE to see how easy it is to download a free google translator app right to your google toolbar. The app will allow you to translate selected typed text or most web pages. It is fast and easy to use and could really be helpful as you engage with English language learners and their families.Instructional Technology
Teacher Laptop Deployment
For the past two years, the Fox C-6 Edtech Advisory Team along with the Technology Department has been discussing, researching, and piloting a number of solutions to replace teacher desktop computers with a more mobile classroom instructional technology package. After two rounds of piloting laptops, the Board of Education has approved the purchase of 660 teacher laptops to ensure that all full time certified teachers in the District will have a 24/7 teacher laptop to utilize in class during the day and take home at night. The laptops that were purchased will supplement the approximately 150 teacher laptops that have already been deployed throughout the pilot process.
The Technology Department is working hard to prepare to deploy laptops to teachers. As soon as the laptops are delivered, the Technology Department will prepare them for deployment and issue laptops to teachers one school at a time as quickly as possible. Once laptops are delivered, teachers will have the opportunity to attend before and after school face-to-face training and have access to online resources to help them transition from using a desktop with the Windows 7 operating system to using a touchscreen laptop with the Windows 10 operating system.
When a teacher is issued a laptop, the teacher will also receive a docking station that will connect the laptop to the classroom projection system and other external components such as a document camera or external keyboard. Additionally, teachers will have the option to keep the keyboard, mouse, and monitor that is being utilized with the teacher desktop computer currently in the classroom.
Laptops are intended to be teachers’ primary school-issued computer. Once a teacher is issued a laptop, the Technology Department will reclaim the teacher’s desktop computer and, after a waiting period, reset the computer and re-deploy it to a lab or recycle it.
If you have any questions about the teacher laptop deployment, feel free to ask your building’s Edtech Advisory Team representative or contact JP Prezzavento.
College and Career Readiness
Tyler Student Information System
Parent Help: Viewing Grade Book Comments
Occasionally, parents report that they can’t see comments from their student’s teacher on a particular assignment and the teacher knows they have entered those comments in their grade book. In situations like this, the parent may need to be coached to find those comments. It’s possible to view the portal for a student on the Contact Summary Info screen so you can tell the parent how to view that information, because you can see the same thing they would see in that area.
When you have a student in view, go to Actions > View Portal for Student, then click on the Assignments block. You can view the information under By Course; select the subject in the View: menu, then click the plus sign (+) under More for the assignment where the comment was entered by the teacher. You should see a screen similar to the picture below. The comment by the teacher will appear under Comments.
If you have any questions about the Tyler program or need help with any aspect of that program, help is just an email away. Send your comments/questions/requests to sisk12help@fox.k12.mo.us or call Lu Wiethop at extension 2252 for assistance.
Contact C&I
- Declan FitzPatrick, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction: fitzpatrickd@foxc6.org
- Luke Heitert, Director of Technology and Information: heitertl@foxc6.org
- Amy Zielinski, Director of Professional Development: zielinskia@foxc6.org
- Angie Baker, Federal Programs Coordinator: bakera@foxc6.org
- JP Prezzavento, Instructional Technology Coordinator: prezzavento@foxc6.org
- Tina Risse, District Literacy Coordinator: risset@foxc6.org
- Maria Scopino,CCR Coordinator: scopino@foxc6.org
- Ashley Berding, C&I Secretary: berdinga@foxc6.org
- Gradebook help: sisk12help@fox.k12.mo.us