Conrad/Thomas Jefferson Tribune
WEEK OF AUGUST 20-24, 2018
VISION, MISSION & CORE VALUES
CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER PRIORITY GOALS
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Advance teacher effectiveness and improve the quality of instruction through research-based professional learning practices
QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION
Close achievement gaps through effective data practices and alignment of core content curriculum.
CLIMATE AND CULTURE
Develop and sustain a positive and supportive climate and culture of high expectations through effective communication, inclusive practices and leadership development.
3 SCHOOL LEADERSHIP PRIORITIES
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
BALANCED LITERACY
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Illustrious Leaders,
This week was packed with empowering Professional Development from the campuses both principal and teacher led. It was evident how powerful the messages on each campus was. Thank you principals for your leadership in ensuring ALL staff had a wonderful week of powerful learning.
As an Elementary Northwest Network, we also collaborated with our Campus Instructional Coaches, Instructional Leadership Coaches and both ED's to ensure to provide powerful visioning for our Campus Coaches. This is evidence of a powerful Northwest Network start of the Year!
Monday, our halls will be filled with eager and excited scholars whom parents entrust us to educate. In what other profession does someone get the opportunity to positively impact so many lives on a daily basis; the lives of the scholars who will be our future leaders of tomorrow?
Please be reminded that on day one ALL teachers are expected to teach Good First Instruction. No testing should occur other than BOY Reading Assessment/Inventory. Data points used for RTI and small group instruction should be the STAAR/EOC and Terra Nova/Supera as your starting data points.
Reminder that campus enrollment counts from August 20th to September 7th should be verified by the principal by 10:00 a.m. Please ensure that you follow the attendance plan you provided in your Google Docs campus folders so that your campus and our cluster has accurate counts each day. Take time to read the procedures for enrollment counts that you were sent by Ms. Leslie Stephens.
Additionally, you and your staff's action and interactions on day one will impact the expectations and perceptions of the culture for your campuses and set the tone for the remainder of the year. What will be the perception? What type of experience will your campus provide our customers? Ensure systems are in place to address common questions and concerns associated with the first day/week of school. Customer service is key; keep in mind 'THE CORE FOUR.'
Each of you have the knowledge, skills and power to lead your campuses to great SUCCESS. this year!
Every child deserves to be a CHAMPION and to become who they want to be. As adults, we are the ones who can make or break their spirits. As leaders, what type of exemplar will you be for your staff? Teachers for our scholars? Staff for our Learning Community? Be that Leader who makes the difference and begins with day #1!
Here's to a STRONG start to the new academic year! When you start STRONG, you finish STRONG!
"WE ARE IN IT TO WIN IT...GO FOR THE GOLD!"
Ms. Torres
Emmett Conrad/Thomas Jefferson Executive Director
2018 STAAR Distinction Designations for the TJ Feeder
This pas year was exciting. Out of 12 campuses, 11 of our campuses came out with Distinction Designations. I am so proud of our campuses as this is the first time to have had that many campuses show such growth. Next year, our goal is to have 3 or more distinctions for ALL campuses.
Awesome job on great year!
WEEKLY UPDATES
MONDAY, August 20
- First Day of School!
- Operation Come back begins!
- Enrollment Counts due by 10:30 a.m. no later than 10:45 a.m.
- ED/ILC campus visit to Highland Meadows
- ED/ILC campus visit to Jill Stone
- ED/ILC various campus visits
- Backman Lake Together Board of Directors Mtg.-Ms. Torres-12:00-1:30 p.m.-Sevy's Grill in Preston Center w/ Allison Salas Fasy
TUESDAY, August 21
- Enrollment Counts due by 10:30 a.m. no later than 10:45 a.m.
- Beginning of the Year - APEI, SCEI, Librarian, Balanced Scorecard Planning Conferences
- ED/ILC campus visit to Polk Elementary
- ED/ILC campus visit to Foster Elementary
- ED/ILC campus visit to Joe May Elementary
WEDNESDAY, August 22
- Enrollment Counts due by 10:30 a.m. no later than 10:45 a.m.
- PEI Checkpoint #1-Joe May @ Joe May-1:00-2:30 p.m.
- PEI Checkpoint #1-Walnut Hill @ Joe May-2:45-4:15 p.m.
- Campus Administrators begin SLO's with teachers
- ED/ILC campus visit to Tom Field Elementary
- ED/ILC campus visit to Cigarroa Elementary
- ILC campus visit to Saldviar Elementary
THURSDAY, August 23
- Enrollment Counts due by 10:30 a.m. no later than 10:45 a.m.
- Principals must assign evaluators & update Cornerstone by Aug. 31st.
- PEI Checkpoint #1-Burnet @ Joe May-8:00-10:00 a.m.
- PEI Checkpoint #1-Cigarroa @ Joe May-10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
- PEI Checkpoint #1-Tom Field @ Joe May-1:30-3:00 p.m.
- ILC campus visit to McShan Elementary
- ILC campus visit to Jill Stone Elementary
- ILC campus visit to Highland Meadows Elementary
FRIDAY, August 24
- Enrollment Counts due by 10:30 a.m. no later than 10:45 a.m.
- ED Meeting & School Leadership 'B' ED Meeting-Ms. Torres-8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
- PLC Network Meeting @ 3:00 p.m.-ED's
- Northwest Network ED Meeting w/Mr. Lusk-4:15 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR CLUSTER?
Jefferson Feeder Elementary Campuses "Leader in Me" Professional Development
SALDIVAR AND STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF @ SALDIVAR
WALNUT HILL, K. B. POLK & SUDIE WILLIAMS @ WALNUT HILL
Joe May & Cigarroa engage in The Leader in Me Activity on : Think Win-Win
"WE ARE IN IT TO WIN IT... GO FOR THE GOLD!!!!"
K.B. Polk ES Back to School Bash!!!
Saldivar ES Professors: Modeled, Practiced and Shared Feedback for Scholar Success!
Cigarroa ES PD: Establishing Protocols for Instructional Alignment
Jill Stone ES PD: Jill Stone is Driven By Data
Jack Lowe ES PD: Collaborating to Build Strong Relationships and Positive Culture
McShan Making a Difference during Neighborhood Walks
Jefferson Feeder ES Teachers & CICs Kickoff the Year with Blended Learning Kindle Fire
2018-2019 JIV DAYA GRANT RECIPIENTS
Northwest Network CIC Meet and Greet
MEET THE ILLUSTRIOUS ELEMENTARY NORTHWEST CLUSTER TEAM
Left to Right-Conrad/TJ Cluster Leaders
Ms. Jenni Jones-Reading ILC
Ms. Tamieka Porter-Math ILC
Ms. Torres-Executive Director
Right to Left-Hillcrest/W.T. White Cluster Leaders
Ms. Elyse Moore-Reading ILC
Ms. Karrisa Alderson-Math ILC
Mrs. Roshanda Clayton Brown-Executive Director
WALNUT HILL ELEMENTARY TO BE FEATURED IN DALLAS CHILD MAGAZINE IN SEPTEMBER
The readership of Dallas Child Magazine hovers right in the midst of the “Private School Corridor,” which is primarily made up of women and moms, and is an effective communication channel to reach our target market. The Marketing Team secured this buy and Dallas ISD is so excited to promote Walnut Hill.
Congratulations to Walnut Hill! Go Northwest Network Campuses!!!
FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL ARRIVAL
FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL DISMISSAL
ALL Principals MUST text me, Ms. Torres to give me the ‘ALL CLEAR’ that ALL students have been sent home safely and they are accounted for. It is imperative that you review with your staff how students will be getting home. We do NOT need any of our students getting lost or to wind up on the local/national news due to us not following proper protocols in regards to missing students. Every adult on your campus should be assisting with dismissal the first week of school for smooth dismissal.
SUBSTITUTES
Substitutes, whether it is due to a vacancy OR a person pending certification, can take daily attendance in PowerSchool. HOWEVER, they cannot enter grades. Please make arrangements for these personnel (anyone classified as a substitute) on a method to take grades.
In the case of pending certification, as soon as they are certified it is an easy process to make them the teacher of record and they can go back and enter grades.
In the case of a vacancy with a substitute, please make sure grades are kept in paper form and submitted to the data controller for entry.
THE LEADER IN ME SYMPOSIUM 2019
Experience The Leader in Me Symposium
Just a reminder that the Leader in Me Symposium will be held February 7-8 in Irving, Texas at the Irving Convention Center. Please ensure that you register to attend as we are attending as a cluster. Information on the symposium will be upcoming.
Join educators at the all-new 2018-201p Leader in Me Symposium. Together, we are transforming paradigms in education by empowering students and staff to model 21st-century leadership skills in order to achieve their full potential.
The Leader in Me Symposium is the most influential and inspiring event series for educators. This year Symposium will be coming to over 20 locations to inspire thousands of educators across North America. New enhancements have been made to the featured sessions, school tours, and networking experience. In addition, participants can now attend either a full two-day or a condensed one-day version of Symposium.
At The Leader in Me Symposium, you will
- Share innovative ideas with other administrators, superintendents, directors, principals, and teachers.
- Develop new skills and principle-centered effectiveness with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People® training.
- Learn best practices from experts in a variety of featured sessions.
- Discover how Leader in Me Schools are achieving success on a local school tour (two-day Symposium only).
- Gain inspiration from thought leaders during keynote presentations.
Pre-K Enrollment Update
We are in the home stretch – one week to the start of school!
We have seen increases in both PreK and Kinder, as all enrollment for the district is increasing as we get closer to the start of school.
Mass media will be going out soon – mailers and billboards. We also have done some school messenger calls. Early Learning is also going back out for “Pressing the Pavement” next Friday, the 17th. The campuses chosen for next Friday were based on lower enrollment at this point.
Kinder Registration Update
Kinder enrollment is climbing faster now, adding 500 students since last week.
CORNERSTONE FOR TEI
All TEI tasks will be entered in Corner Stone. Attached is a document with links to Quick Reference Guides and videos on how to submit TEI tasks in Cornerstone. All administrators should review these short instructional videos and Quick Reference Guides no later than August 20th to be prepared for the new school year. If necessary, TEI is available to schedule a short training session for networks to review this new platform. For additional information, please contact Jamie Luellen (jluellen@dallasisd.org) or TEI (972-749-5712) TEI@dallasisd.org .
PEI CHECKPOINT #1
PEI Check Point 1 launch in Corner Stone on Monday, August 6th. It is important that time is dedicated during Check Point 1 to review the 2018-2019 PEI Overview with each of you to highlight and discuss the addition of the Recruitment and Retention metric. The window to complete PEI Check Point 1 is August 31. (It has been extended from Aug. 24 to ensure that we have a meaningful discussion and time for the discussion). Please refer to the schedule below and the weekly updates that were sent on Friday.
Campus Fire Drills
Fire drills MUST BE conducted between August 20th – 31st in order to be in compliance.
New Online Platform for TEI
Cornerstone has replaced Schoolnet as the system of record for all Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI) documentation and teacher Professional and Digital Learning registration. A Cornerstone resources section has been added to the TEI website here.
Student Learning Objective (SLO) and PDP
The Fall Student Learning Objective (SLO) Goal-Setting window is August 27 – October 2, 2018. Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) are measures of student growth during the year based on teacher-made assessments. Other standardized assessments that are already included in a TEI achievement template cannot be used for the SLO.
Teachers will receive email notification on August 27th when the SLO Goal-Setting Task is available in Cornerstone. Additional resources are available here.
Professional Development Plans will be kept locally on campuses by primary evaluators; teachers have no action to take online for the PDP this year.
MyData Portal
MyData Portal is an online resource with secure access to assessment data and analyses at the student and school levels, and also provides users with TEI resources including Student Experience Survey results, TEI Achievement reports, and Teacher Roster Verification. 2017-18 Student Experience Survey results are available now, and TEI Achievement Reports will be released in September.
You can access these updates from the TEI Resources box on your MyData Portal homepage, http://mydata.dallasisd.org/index.jsp, or under the tab Improve > Local Accountability. For more information, contact Evaluation and Assessment’s Office of Institutional Research (OIR) at oir@dallasisd.org or (972) 925-6446.
DATA ON THE HORIZON
COMMON ASSESSMENT WINDOW
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AUGUST
27-Think Tank-Ms. Torres
27-SLO Goal-Setting Task available in Cornerstone
27-PEI Checkpoint #1-Jill Stone, Highland Meadows & Jack Lowe
28-PEI Checkpoint #1-Stephen Foster & Saldivar
29-PEI Checkpoint #1-K.B. Polk & McShan
30-Conrad/TJ Cluster Principal Meeting @ Walnut Hill 1:30-4:30 p.m.( Safety Training, Principal Handbook, PEI)
30-Compliance Video Training Deadline is TODAY!
SEPTEMBER
3-Labor Day Holiday-NO SCHOOL!
14- 2017-2018-TEI Scorecards available in Oracle
17- TEI Scorecard Rebuttal Window begins
28-TEI Scorecard Rebuttal Window ends
28- DTR Round 1 Application opens
OCTOBER
2-Deadline to complete Fall SLO Goal-Setting and goal -setting conference
FEBRUARY
7-8-The Leader in Me Symposium-Irving Convention Center
MARSHALL MEMO #746
Effective Teacher Coaching
The failure of traditional PD programming to improve instruction and achievement has generated calls for research to identify specific conditions under which PD programs might produce more favorable outcomes,” say Matthew Kraft and Dylan Hogan (Brown University) and David Blazar (University of Maryland) in this Review of Educational Research article. They summarize a growing consensus that effective professional development needs to be job-embedded, intense, sustained, focused on discrete skills, and actively involve educators. Given these desiderata, teacher coaching would seem to be a promising avenue for improving instructors’ knowledge and classroom skills, hence boosting student achievement.
Kraft, Hogan, and Blazar report on their meta-analysis of 60 studies of teacher coaching, finding average effect sizes of 0.49 standard deviations on classroom instruction and 0.18 standard deviations on student achievement. These impact figures compare favorably to almost all other forms of professional development and schoolwide interventions. Although coaching is expensive (one estimate is $3,300 to $5,200 per teacher), if support is focused on the teachers most in need of improvement, the authors believe it’s more cost-effective than providing conventional PD to all teachers.
However, the researchers noticed that the impact of coaching was much more positive in initiatives with around 50 teachers, a small number of coaches, and teachers volunteering to take part. Larger-scale initiatives – 100 or more teachers, more coaches, and teachers with mixed levels of interest – had much less impact. Kraft, Hogan, and Blazar note two key considerations in taking coaching to scale:
• The quality of coaching – Building a corps of capable coaches whose expertise is well matched to the diverse needs of teachers in the school or district is essential. Some districts recruit highly effective local teachers as coaches, which can subtract from the amount of good teaching in classrooms. One solution is to make coaching only part-time. Pairing teachers with different strengths and weaknesses and encouraging them to coach each other is a promising strategy. Some districts are adding coaching to the evaluation duties of administrators, but this can undercut the trusting relationship necessary for coaching to be successful, and may also result in infrequent and superficial coaching if evaluators aren’t trained and supported. Web-based virtual coaching using video technology can maximize the impact of high-quality coaches and cut down on travel time and expense; surprisingly, studies have found little difference in the impact of virtual and in-person coaching.
• Teacher buy-in – “No matter the expertise or enthusiasm of a coach,” say Kraft, Hogan, and Blazar, “coaching is unlikely to impact instructional practice if the teachers themselves are not invested in the coaching process… Coaching requires teachers to be willing to open themselves to critique and recognize personal weaknesses. This openness on the part of teachers is facilitated both by a school culture committed to continuous improvement and by strong relational trust among administrators and staff members.”
“The Effect of Teacher Coaching on Instruction and Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of the Causal Evidence” by Matthew Kraft, David Blazar, and Dylan Hogan in Review of Educational Research, August 2018 (Vol. 88, #4, p. 547-588), https://bit.ly/2v3iKST; Kraft can be reached at mkraft@brown.edu.
EMMETT J. CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
- Jack Lowe Elementary: Principal, Sandra Barrios
- Jill Stone : Principal, Rosalinda Pratt
- Highland Meadows: Principal, Julian Davis
- David G. Burnet Elementary: Principal, Sonia Loskot
- Leonides Cigarroa Elementary : Principal, Douglas Burak
- Tom W. Field Elementary: Principal, Selena Deboskie
- Stephen C. Foster Elementary: Principal, Irma De La Guardia
- Joe May Elementary: Principal, Israel Rivera
- K.B. Polk Elementary: Principal, Kourtnei Billups
- Julian T. Saldivar: Principal, Edgar Jaramillo
- Walnut Hill Elementary: Principal, Robert 'Chase' McLaurin
- McShan Elementary: Principal, Cecilia Criner
MEET OUR ILLUSTRIOUS CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON LEADERSHIP TEAM
JACK LOWE SR. ELEMENTARY
JILL STONE ELEMENTARY
HIGHLAND MEADOWS ELEMENTARY
DAVID G. BURNET ELEMENTARY
LEONIDES CIGARROA ELEMENTARY
TOM FIELD
STEPHEN C. FOSTER
JOSE 'JOE' MAY
K.B. POLK CENTER FOR THE ACADEMICALLY TALENTED & GIFTED
JOE T. SALDIVAR
WALNUT HILL DUAL LANGUAGE GIFTED & TALENTED
MCSHAN ELEMENTARY
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP COACHES
OUR BOARD TRUSTEES REPRESENTING OUR NETWORK
EDWIN FLORES
DISTRICT # 1, Northwest Dallas, Addison, parts of Carrollton and Farmers Branch
Walnut Hill
DUSTIN MARSHALL
District #2 North and Near East Dallas
K. B. Polk
DAN Micciche
DISTRICT #3 Northeast Dallas
Highland Meadows, Jack Lowe Sr., Lee A. McShan Jr, Jill Stone at Vickery Meadow
MIGUEL SOLIS
DISTRICT # 8 Love Field, Northwest Dallas, and Central Dallas
David G. Burnet, Leonides Gonzalez Cigarroa, Tom Field, Stephen C. Foster, Jose "Joe" May, Julian T. Saldivar