OSP Connected
April 2020-Office for School Performance-Volume 38
Message from Dayle
I was teaching 6th grade when this new thing called PowerPoint came out. We had training on it as a staff and I enjoyed playing around with it. After working in journalism as a student, having all of the photos and text and graphs easily manipulated on line was a dream! After playing for about a week I boastfully decided to share my new skill with students and introduce our new science unit with a PowerPoint presentation.
It took about thirty seconds before I realized that the speed of the slides was set too fast and the few sounds I had imported were on autoplay. It was a mess of a presentation yet these eager 12 year olds were thrilled with the possibility. They wanted to learn all about it.
The following week we had computer lab time (yes, back when we had labs!) and I showed them the basics of getting on and gave them a simple assignment to write about their growth that year as a student and a person. The questions started coming and I was sweating. Log on steps were on the board. No, I wasn't sure why that link didn’t work. Yes, it was cool that photos could be included and not just clip art. Actually I wasn’t sure how to move the slides around.
Half way through the class the questions were beyond me. Ethan had included two sounds on one slide. How did he do that? And Oscar changed his background color. No clue on that either. And in seconds I just stepped to the side and started to connect them to each other. Part of teaching with technology was about learning from each other and not from the teacher in my case.
I share this story because some of you are going to feel this way this week. Google classroom and all the tools are awesome. You will also not be the expert in all areas or be able to answer all questions. Step forward as a team- teachers, students, parents and the Google search engine. We can figure this out!
HSD Focus 2019-2020
INSTRUCTION: Distance Learning Pathway
As we move into distance learning for all we are grateful for your patience. We are in the final stages of developing our plan for distance learning and the goal is to have it available by Tuesday, April 7th. We understand that having to adjust to a whole new way of teaching takes time and effort. In the meantime, we encourage you to continue to:
Connect with your students and families and focus on student belonging, care, connection, well-being, and mental and social-emotional health.
Learn and engage with digital learning platforms such as google classroom, google meets, screencastify, seesaw, etc., etc., in order to identify specific opportunities for growth.
Post supplemental activities for your students.
Be flexible. Allow yourself the time to learn and grow along with your students and families. Don’t hesitate to ask questions or reach out for support.
CLIMATE AND CULTURE: Maintaining Positive Relationships & Self Care
As we shift from face to face learning and teaching to distance learning it is more important than ever that we work to build and maintain positive relationships with our students and families and that they know how to reach us if needed. We must also take care of ourselves by getting enough rest, eating nutritious foods, and enjoying time with those we love (following social distancing). Check out these resources for ideas of how to best support yourself and your students during this time of transition.
A Trauma Informed Approach to Teaching Through the Coronavirus
Managing Anxiety Around COVID-19
Speaking Up Against Racism During the New Coronavirus
CAREER & COLLEGE READY: Big News from Oregon Public Universities (OPU)!
Oregon’s seven public universities (noted below) announced on March 25, 2020 that standardized testing is no longer a requirement for freshman admission. The announcement stated no standardized testing score, such as the SAT and ACT, will be required for any freshman applicants to be considered for admission at any of the universities, beginning in the fall of 2021 (our current High School Juniors). Moving forward, any undergraduate applicant will have the option to submit their scores. This decision follows the example of 1,000 4-year colleges across the nation, all of which give the option to submit scores or have abandoned standardized testing completely. The hope from the OPUs is that this can relieve some stress in this time of uncertainty due to the coronavirus outbreak. Please share this good news with your students and families.
List of universities applying the change: Eastern Oregon University, Portland State University, Oregon State University, Oregon Institute of Technology, Southern Oregon University, University of Oregon, Western Oregon University and the change will also benefit applicants applying to undergraduate nursing programs offered by OHSU.
Typically at this time of year, our dual credit teachers are hard at work registering students for Spring term and finishing curriculum for their year long classes. We also start connecting with our admins around planning for next year, and examining who might need to be invited into dual credit to equitably serve our students and expand opportunities for next year. However, we are not having a typical year, are we? Our dual credit teachers have been on the front line of innovating and advocating for all of their students. We have been working with our post-secondary partners to negotiate flexibility for students where it might be needed and have accomplished some adjustments around registration extensions, registration procedures, and drop deadlines. We also have the support of our college partners to transition curriculum and assessment online. With ODE’s new guidance, and the anticipated move to distance learning coming up, our teachers are hard at work adapting their college curriculum into virtual learning experiences. It is impressive how quickly our teachers, partners, and systems are pivoting to ensure best outcomes for students. It is not without challenges though. Due to the loss of instructional time or the nature of some of our hands-on and lab based courses, there will be some instances where dual credit opportunities will not be able to transition into distance learning. We will be making these decisions in the coming weeks, and working to message changes out to impacted students and families. One thing that hasn’t changed in this season of uncertainty is our focus on students. All decisions are made from a student centered perspective. This work is not easy, but we are doing our best to quickly negotiate change. Please check out our CCP Site for the latest updates, and contact Raya Nichols, Dual Credit TOSA, with your questions, concerns, and ideas!
Elementary Language Arts Adoption
Tech Teach Grow
Our Purpose
This digital magazine is intended to support educators with technology integration in the classroom. Our hope is to provide HSD staff with tech integration ideas, info and updates via quick digital media easily accessible at your convenience. Everything we share should work with your current HSD tech.
Want a different result? Try something new!
Your Digital Support for Distance Learning
Follow this link to a new (1.7) #TechForward>> digital magazine focused on Google Classroom, google meet and screencastify.
Coffee Conversations - Community Transition Services (CTS) (Episode # 16)
Google Professional Development Opportunity
G Suite Fundamentals - Fast Track PD
We are excited to announce our district’s participation in Google for Education’s new PD initiative: G Suite Fundamentals - Fast Track PD. If you’re interested in learning how to use Google tools in the classroom, and/or if you want to become a Google Certified Educator Level 1, sign up for the program here.
What can you expect if you register?
Over the course of 6 weeks, you’ll receive an email each Monday morning from the Google for Education team highlighting content from the Teacher Center, and sharing exam preparation tips and hints.
This condensed PD program will help you:
- get familiar with G Suite for Education tools and their classroom application
- understand how Google tools can make your life easier
- prepare for the Google Certified Educator Level 1 exam