Bridges Area Learning Center
Weekly Reflections, October 3rd 2016
Dear Team,
- Building Instructional Leadership Team (BILT) completed this year's school continuous improvement plan (SCIP) and presented it to our district administration. This plan includes our BIG THREE goals in reading, behavior and innovation as well as math and science goals.
- The BILT team has organized professional development opportunities working to support or SCIP and building goals. They have been well attended and received!
- Our new guidance counselor, Ms. Jenny Witt, who is with us and Edgewood has allowed additional one-on-one student support. Ms. Witt and myself will be starting senior meetings to plan for the year ahead as well as look at options after high school.
- Our Learning Team has decided on our building goal which centers on MCA reading improvement (A SCIP BIG THREE GOAL).
- All students were administered the MAP (measure of academic improvement) test to get a baseline on reading levels coming into the school year. This will be used to measure growth in reading levels (A BIG THREE GOAL) as well as provide targeted interventions.
- Our social worker, Mr. Kevin Wagner and special education teacher, Ms. Candi Jenkins, have started robust student support groups. These groups will support work we are conducting in social and emotional competencies.
- We have completely dismantled our former intervention day, Work Friday, and built a new structure using the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) process to improve our existing framework centering around structured and staff lead interventions and enrichment. We just launched our newly structured intervention day - JUMP DAY - which was part of our SCIP with much improved success!
These activities and events are among a team that shows up daily to live and fulfill our mission in their classes and work areas are many reasons why Bridges ALC is a great place to be. I know it, our staff knows it and our students see it. One month down! Looking forward to seeing what more we will accomplish - together.
Warm Regards,
Dave
Week at a Glance:
- BSAT @ 730am
- Mr. Brown @ District Innovation Team Meeting (priority work PDSA process) @ DSC @ 1pm
Tuesday:
- Mr. Brown @ District admin meeting @ DSC - am
- National Guard visit @ Lunch
Wednesday:
- Tickets and Passes updated and distributed for this week's JUMP DAY
Thursday:
- BILT team meeting @ 730am
Friday
- JUMP DAY
- Mr. Brown out - military duty
Teacher's Corner: Candi Jenkins, Special Education Teacher
Teaching is an art that needs to be challenged, honed, and shaped from moment to moment, from day to day and from school year to school year. As a Special Education teacher at Bridges ALC, I am learning and growing along with my students on a daily basis. The students show me how they learn, challenge me, and teach me. They develop grit for learning, they tackle their problems, and they overcome many obstacles, while bettering themselves in order to prepare for their post-secondary lives.
I am excited about using the new curriculum in my Transitions Seminar class this year, Success Skills: Strategies for Study and Lifelong Learning, by Abby Marks Beale, where the key areas highlight the development of successful post-secondary living skills. Already, my students are learning about how to learn, how to think creatively and critically, and how to manage their time and their tasks in a more efficient manner. Self-evaluation is on of the key components of this curriculum as well as successful test taking, improvement of concentration and memory skills, and the building of reading comprehension and fluency. Sometimes the students work in cooperative groups, doing such things as reading and researching online, project-based learning, or the gathering of information in order to write together. All this revolves around the goal of successfully preparing the students for their post-secondary careers, their colleges or technical schools, their community involvement or their independent living situations.
Congrats to all of my students who have successfully started the 2016-2017 school year with a bang! Keep on keeping on with your persistent grit for learning, your enthusiasm, and your perseverance towards the goal of graduation!
This Week @ Bridges
JUMP DAY! Students in an intervention block focusing on skill development and/or academic repair
Mr. Martin's enrichment block
Alex, Darrian and Cole working on academic repair
Mr. Lawson's enrichment block
Maggie and Jill presenting to Bridges staff gathered for a PD session on MAP data and its uses
Lunch time @ Bridges
Griffin and Jacob between classes
Blake during and others during JUMP DAY
From the Student Support Team: Jenny Witt, Guidance Counselor
There is an old saying that goes, “Out with the old and in with the new!” That is my frame of mind when I think about my transition to Bridges!
Having worked in Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools for 15 years, I am comfortable and knowledgeable about many aspects of our growing district. I served as a middle school Social Worker/School Counselor my first two years in the district and then the next nine years at PLHS as a School Counselor. As you might imagine, this opportunity gave me the privilege of working with many, many students and families, several of which I had multiple students! Then, in the fall of 2013, I was given a professional development opportunity to work with the amazing teachers and staff as a Peer Coach. I was grateful for this change, as it provided me with the opportunity to gain a new perspective on education and allowed me to contribute to the professional development and growth of those I worked with. As wonderful as this opportunity was, it did take me away from what I had known and loved for years—working with kids!
As I transitioned back to my former world of counseling, I was offered the opportunity to extend my experience to the students and staff here at Bridges. And for that, I am thankful. I was a PLHS School Counselor when Bridges was just a concept “on paper.” And as I reflect on the growth, improvement and opportunities that Bridges has provided our students these many years, I am honored to now be a part of its dedicated and committed staff. To see what this program has become instills in me a great sense of pride for our district.
My role here at Bridges is multi-faceted. My priority, first and foremost, is to partner with students and families to develop a path to success. At the end of the day, that is really the root of what we ALL want for our kids. I am able to look at and track credit progress and more importantly, assist students and families in making a plan BEYOND our walls. And yes. That is still as scary for some today as it was for us years ago! Our society is ever-changing, and it is our responsibility to meet the needs of ALL students and push them to be the best they can be!
I welcome you to reach out to me if you have questions or concerns as to how I can support your student here at Bridges. I can be reached via e-mail at jwitt@priorlake-savage.k12.mn.us or voicemail at (952) 226-0855.
Here’s to a happy, productive and successful 2016-17 School Year!