Wm. Adams Middle School
Faculty and Staff Newsletter • September 5, 2017
Faculty Meeting Tuesday - 4:00
"Alice es Buena Gente!"
I feel so fortunate to work with such amazing people. I know that WAMS es Buena Gente, too!
Dr. H
Afternoon Duty This Week - Sept. 5-8
Please be at your station from 3:45 until 4:05
If you are unable to be at your duty station, please find someone to take your place.
*The map may look rather empty. For security reasons, as this site is a public site, I decided to remove as much detail from the map as I could.
Michelle Ballard - Station 1: Flagpole
Annabell Barrera - Station 2: Outside near the gym doors that face east
Linda Bernal- Station 3: Outside near the covered walk
Mia Campos - Station 4: Outside near the covered walk
Parker Cordes- Station 5: Outside the cafeteria
Richard De Los Santos - Station 6: Outside the cafeteria
Jimmy Bassett- Station 7: Outside the gym on the south side
Richard Carrell - Station 8: Outside the gym on the south side
Jessica Chavarria - Station 9: Tree at the entrance of the campus drive way where students gather (new location)
Oralia Eberhard - Station 10: Bus Stop
Rose Flores - Station 11: Bus Stop
Denise Garcia- Station 12: East Exit
Supervision is key! Please be on time.
Required Trainings
•Food Allergies
•Child Abuse
•Suicide Prevention
Be sure you print 2 certificates so that you have one for your records and one to turn in to Bonnie in the office.
STAAR Classes
In July, when the STAAR results came in, the administrative team discussed the need for intervention from day 1 of the school year. Therefore, using raw score data from the STAAR tests for reading and math, we determined which students would be enrolled in these STAAR classes. The intent is to strengthen basic skills in reading and math. Many of these students have never passed a STAAR test. In order to accomplish this with respect to the students' schedules, some students were taken out of an elective. We did our best for 8th graders, to keep them in any "for credit class" that they had which sometimes meant removing them from their athletics class. I have talked with the coaches who support us in this endeavor and these students may still participate in athletics after school. We are not depriving them of this opportunity. We have said, for many years, "If you do not pass your STAAR test, you may lose an elective the next year." It was time to put our words into action. Please remember that while the reading and math tests are important for the Student Success Initiative and advancing to the next grade, ALL tests are important for our accountability ratings. Do not let students say to you, "I don't have to pass this test because it doesn't count."
So, what do we want from these STAAR classes?
We want high student engagement in activities that will strengthen basic skills, and improve student performance in these areas.
We DO NOT WANT worksheets and a repeat of that day's lesson.
What do we have to support you in this?
For reading help, ELAR and social studies teachers have a wonderful resource in Mrs. Mia Campos, our literacy coach. We know that comprehension is a weak area for our students.
We have another wonderful resource in Mrs. Cynthia Gutierrez, our librarian. She will assist students and you with the Accelerated Reader (AR) program which is wonderful for helping with comprehension.
For reading and math we have access to Study Island, an online program. You may schedule your classes into the available computer labs during your STAAR classes and you can even assign modules for students to complete on their own. We will be sure to get you some assistance with this program. You may even want to explore the option of assigning modules to students who are not in your STAAR classes. The power in this program will be how you monitor the students' work. (Science teachers, we also have access to the science portal in Study Island.) We will be getting instruction to the program out to you ASAP.
Finally, you have a superb resource in each other. Each of you have activities that you know work well with students and that help students grow academically and even socially. Please share them with each other!
Relationships - All Classes Are Important
Please remember that we are putting great emphasis on building strong student-teacher relationships. We know that when students feel safe in their classrooms, not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically, they will feel comfortable taking risks academically.
Emily Gallagher states, in a study posted by the NYU Department of Psychology, that "Teachers play an important role in the trajectory of students throughout the formal schooling experience (Baker, Grant, & Morlock, 2008). Although most research regarding teacher-student relationships investigate the elementary years of schooling, teachers have the unique opportunity to support students’ academic and social development at all levels of schooling (Baker et al., 2008; Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998; McCormick, Cappella, O’Connor, & McClowry, in press). Aligned with attachment theory (Ainsworth, 1982; Bowlby, 1969), positive teacher-student relationships enable students to feel safe and secure in their learning environments and provide scaffolding for important social and academic skills (Baker et al., 2008; O’Connor, Dearing, & Collins, 2011; Silver, Measelle, Armstron, & Essex, 2005). Teachers who support students in the learning environment can positively impact their social and academic outcomes, which is important for the long-term trajectory of school and eventually employment (Baker et al., 2008; O’Connor et al., 2011; Silver et al., 2005)." (A link to the entire article is found below.)
If we can capture their heart we can capture their mind. If we can capture their heart and their mind, there are no limits to what we can accomplish.
Fire Drill on Thursday
Later in the year we will have some evacuation drills where one or more of the routes are blocked. It will be important that you also discuss alternate routes with them and stress the importance of remaining calm in any emergency.
Final Accountability Results
You can see that we missed Index 1 by 4 points. We exceeded Index 2 by 5 points; Index 3 by 2 points, and Index 4 by 9 points.
Remember that each Index measures something different:
Index 1, Student Achievement, provides a snapshot of performance across subjects. It is all tests passed divided by all tests taken. The target is 60.
Index 2 measures year-to-year student progress by subject and student group. It is the percentage of tests at Met or Exceeded Progress (STAAR and ELL) plus the percentage of tests that Exceeded Progress (STAAR and ELL). For us, it is all students (Hispanic, white, Special Education and ELL) for reading and math. Our target is 30.
Index 3 tracks advanced academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students and the lowest performing racial/ethnic student groups. This is the percentage of students at Approaches Grade Level plus the percentage of students at Masters Grade Level in each subject area. The groups are Economically disadvantaged and Hispanic. Our target is 26.
Index 4 indicates how well students are prepared for success in high school. It is determined by the percentage of students who achieve "Meets Grade Level" on 2 or more subject area tests or 1 if only 1 test was taken. This is the percentage of students at Meets Grade Level standard on 2 or more tests. Our target is 13. The groups are all students, Hispanic and white.
In a nutshell, we have 4 levels of performance: Did not Meet Grade Level, Approaches Grade Level, Meets Grade Level, and Masters Grade Level. Index one looks at students who approach grade level, meets grade level, and masters grade level.
Index 3 looks at students who approach grade level and those who master grade level.
Index 4 looks at students who meet grade level.
We know there is work to be done and we are up to the challenge! Our goal should be exemplary teaching because that will yield exemplary results no matter the instrument by which students are assessed.
How are we going to accomplish this?
1. Set our goals
2. Plan our work and work our plan
3. Support and assist one another
4. Take it one day at a time, one step at at time until we reach the top.
Together, we will accomplish this and more!
--------------- Teacher PD Corner ---------------
Did you know?
Could each department, by grade level, have a Google Classroom and imbed short 10-minute videos recapping each day's lesson or at least lessons on which students had difficulty grasping the concept being taught? How powerful that would be! You may even want to have your own individual Google Classroom and do the same. Let's make this happen!