Alice ISD - ISC Curriculum Gazette
Back to School 2019
The 2019-2020 School Year
I don't know about you, but summer flew by and these first two weeks went by in a flash. I have heard that it was generally a pretty smooth start to the year. I attribute that to all of our AISD employees and things they do to make positive impacts on the lives of our students!
Take a few minutes to read this Gazette. It is published once a month by the Curriculum Department and serves to highlight instructional happenings and communicate things about to take place.
In this first issue you will see some of the highlights from new teacher training and staff development as well as information about upcoming trainings.
This is an exciting time to be in A.I.S.D. We have some great new initiatives and continue our work to... "Provide a quality educational experience and comprehensive support system that focuses on rigor, relevance and relationships to promote high levels of success for all students."
Alice Initiatives
Code to the Future PK-4
Creators of America’s First Computer Science Immersion Schools to Bring Renowned Program to Local Students
Alice, TX -- Alice Independent School District is pleased to announce its partnership with Code To The Future, the nation’s leader in Computer Science Immersion schools. District officials will launch the program at all five elementary campuses: Hillcrest, Noonan, Saenz, Salazar, and Schallert. Students at these campuses will have the exciting opportunity to learn the fundamentals of computer coding as an integrated part of their daily curriculum. Through this 21st century digital literacy, students will develop critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration skills.
Through the partnership with Code To The Future, teachers will be able to engage students in new and creative ways with block-based coding, text-based coding, and robotics. Students will learn to apply logic, problem solving, team building, and presentation skills as they collaborate and share their thinking process with peers.
“This partnership is designed to provide access to computer science for ALL elementary students within the district,” said Andrew Svehaug, CEO of Code To The Future. “Together we will endeavor to provide students with a solid foundation for both their academic and future careers.”
Computer Science Immersion at all Alice ISD elementary schools launched in August, 2019. These schools will continue to offer the same, outstanding instruction in Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, Music, and PE, all of which are foundational content to these campuses. Coding is now an exciting, integrated enhancement to the excellent education students already receive.
Capturing Kids Hearts
- absenteeism goes down ,
- discipline referrals go down,
- students are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors, and
- academic performance improves.
To help Alice ISD students be more connected, we have partnered with Capturing Kids Hearts by the Flippen Group.
In August staff from Dubose, Memorial, WAMS, and AHS participated in two days of training for Capturing Kids Hearts. There were wonderful connections made between staff members and to the importance of this program to our students' social-emotional and academic education.
You may hear a teacher asking:
- "What are you doing?"
- "What are you supposed to be doing?"
- "Are you doing it?"
- "What are you going to do about it?"
All across the district, teachers were greeting students at the door, developing Social Contracts, and creating Affirmation Folders or bags. Now is the time to keep that momentum going.
Teachers are working to EXCEL:
E-Engage
X -Xplore
C-Communicate
E- Empower
L- Launch
We are proud of our initiative to build positive relationships to connect with students and look forward to the future with this program.
To read more about Capturing Kids Hearts click the link below:
Unit Resource Guides
We were fortunate to have some folks agree to write these units. They dissected the standards by DOK, plugged in resources that were vetted by Learning List and created sample anchor charts. Hopefully this will help teachers in planning.
URGs were created for:
- ELA in grades 2-8
- Math in grades 2-8
- Science in grades 5, 7, 8
- Social Studies in grades 7 and 8
URGs for the first semester were created and the writing will continue.We plan on widening the scope of these URGs to include other grades and contents. If you are interested in helping contact Marta Salazar (marta.salazar@aliceisd.net) or Vanessa Snyder (vanessa.synder @aliceisd.net).
Portrait of a Graduate
These competencies outline what our students should be like and be able to do at the end of their school career in Alice ISD. As you can see it goes beyond academics to life beyond school. The skills in this Learner Profile will help our students be successful whether they enter college or the workforce.
Our next step is getting posters printed so teachers can refer to them in the classroom and in their interactions with students. By pointing out what these competencies mean, and letting students know when they are exhibiting them, we will be making the competencies more real for them.
ELAR Update on Unit Assessments
As many of you know, the ELAR standards have been revised, and thus we are adjusting to the limited number of assessment items in the TEKS R US item bank for now. We received the following information on August 29th regarding the development of the unit assessments.
Grade 2 will not have any passages or items until Unit 5 (end of the first semester). Students at the beginning of Grade 2 are still learning how to read which is why we created units that are focused around specific comprehension strategies for the first semester. The Performance Assessments included on the Instructional Focus Documents will provide the best data as to where students are in their progress towards mastery of the new TEKS in the first semester.
For Grade 2 Unit 5, we will provide a fictional passage, an informational passage, and a poem. Questions for these passages will be focused on basic comprehension of the passages to assess if students are using the comprehension strategies that they learned in Units 2-5. Beginning with Unit 6A, we will have passages and items that are focused on the genre being highlighted in each unit.
Grades 3-8
Unit 1 does not include any passages. Therefore, the Performance Assessments included on the IFD will provide the best data for you to measure student mastery of the skills in Unit 1.
For Units 2A/2B/2C there will be three passages aligned to all 3 units. There is a fictional passage, an informational passage, and a poem. Each passage includes questions that align to the focus of each unit. So for 2A the questions are about author’s purpose and message; 2B has questions related to text structure and organization; and 2C has questions related to the author’s use of language. Teacher/districts can choose to give one or more passages with the specific unit-aligned questions at the end of each unit (then students would reread the passages in the other units, but have different questions). OR teachers/districts can choose to wait until the end of all three units and give one or more passage with all the questions relating to all three units. More information is forthcoming regarding the district's decision in rolling out the assessment for 2A,2B and 2C.
Eventually in future assessment development, the TEKS Resource System intends to add more passages in other genres (e.g., persuasive, drama, literary nonfiction, etc.) so there will be even more choice for districts.
As far as Revising and Editing passages, these will start with Unit 2B.
- Writing prompts will not start until Unit 3A. This will give students time to establish routines with the writing process and focus their writing around their purpose and message.
- Prompts will start once we get into the genre units.
Starting with Unit 2A, all assessment passages and items will align with the genre focus of the unit. In multi-genre units, there will be passages in a variety of genres.
Hello NEW ELAR TEKS!
This summer Alice ISD hosted two sessions covering the new ELAR Standards. One of the major objectives of the sessions was to help teachers understand that reading, writing, listening, and speaking should be interconnected. Although each strand (and substrand) in the new ELAR TEKS represents a distinct literacy focus, the strands are not intended to be taught separately.
Four literacy principles drove the direction of writing the new ELAR TEKS. As teachers become more knowledgeable in the new standards, the integration of the reading, writing, listening and speaking skills will take shape. Instructional delivery of the content standards should result in meaningful literacy experiences for students. Understanding the following principles will aid teachers in planning effective instruction and will expand their knowledge base about what their students should know and be able to do:
- Literacy Principle #1: The interconnected nature of listening, speaking, reading, and writing must be central and explicit so that the skills central to literacy development are taught as both integrated and recursive.
- Literacy Principle #2: Every strand must include thinking, since the development of literacy skills is dependent on students’ ability to think clearly, coherently, and flexibly about what they are reading, writing, viewing, listening to, and discussing.
- Literacy Principle #3: The role of text complexity in literacy development (and in the differentiation of certain skills from grade to grade) must be central and explicit.
- Literacy Principle #4: The alignment of knowledge and skills must make sense vertically—from grade to grade within a strand—so that the curricular structure on which instruction is based is purposeful, coherent, and appropriately scaffolded.
Our new ELAR TEKS are organized into 7 new strands:
- Foundational language skills
- Comprehension skills
- Response skills
- Multiple genres
- Author's purpose & craft
- Composition
- Inquiry and research
Lead4Ward ELAR TEKS Side by Side Documents
Elementary Grades K - 5 Side by Side
Middle School Grades 6 - 8 Side by Side
https://lead4ward.com/docs/resources/instructional_tools/elar_sbs_ms.pdf
Social Studies UPDATE: Lead4Ward Side by Side Documents
With the many shifts and changes found within the Social Studies TEKS, teachers will need to be proactive as they move towards the implementation year. The team at Lead4ward is committed to supporting leaders and teachers during this time of change.They have designed tools that will allow instructional leaders to become more knowledgeable of the changes in the Social Studies TEKS and assist in a smoother transition period. The following links will take you to the Side by Side Documents that will help with implementing the "Streamlined SS TEKS". If teachers have questions about how to utilize these documents while planning instruction please reach out to Marta Salazar for assistance.
Middle School Grades 6 - 8 Side by Sides
https://lead4ward.com/docs/resources/instructional_tools/ss_sbs_ms.pdf
High School Side by Sides:
World Geography
World History
U.S. History
U.S. Government
Economics
https://lead4ward.com/docs/resources/instructional_tools/ss_sbs_hs.pdf
TEKS R US Social Studies
The site creators wanted to help educators understand the updates in the "streamlined" TEKS, provide guidance in navigating to particular resources found in the system, and they also thought it would be a great way to share newly discovered instructional websites that could help with improving student engagement and learning in the classroom.
Click on the link below and subscribe to the newest instructional support site created to assist social studies teachers - TEKS R US Social Studies website. Hopefully you will find the site to be enlightening and helpful. Share the information so that others can subscribe. And don’t forget to also keep up with them on twitter.
Performance Tasks Differentiated
Struggling with Rigor
I really didn’t like that r-word, rigor. In my experience many educators couldn’t clearly define what rigor was or what it looked like. Rigor seemed to get misapplied. Assign more work. Be inflexible with deadlines. Read text that was too difficult. Or my favorite I saw a lot of times, just make students write essays. Fortunately, I stumbled across a video with Larry Rosenstock founder of High Tech High Schools. (Skip to 12:10 in the video if you want just the definition part.) These were some of the first schools to implement project based learning. Rosenstock’s definition of rigor spoke to me. I’m paraphrasing but basically, rigor is when passionate adults bring students along to engage in inquiry like adult practitioners. How do we know rigor when we see it?
For the rest of the article click here:
http://teksrusss.edublogs.org/2019/09/05/performance-tasks-differentiated/
Need Professional Development and/or Resources ?
There are quite a few courses in the system including courses on CTE, dyslexia, math TEKS, Science, ELA...
Here is the link: https://www.texasgateway.org/
Sign up and check out the different offerings.
There are also free resources!
Need Assistance?
If you are having issues with Eduphoria, please follow the chart below to see who you should contact for assistance.
Summer Professional Development Huge Success
Alice ISD Gifted and Talented Program
Gifted and Talented FAQ (tea.texas.gov)
Who is required to have professional development in G/T education?
Teachers who provide instruction and services that are a part of the district’s defined G/T services are required to receive a minimum of 30 clock hours of professional development prior to their assignment to provide G/T services and instruction. This
30-hour training must include nature and needs of G/T students, identification and assessment of G/T students’ needs, and curriculum and instruction for G/T students. Teachers without required training must complete the 30-hour training within one semester of assignment to provide G/T services and instruction. Teachers must also receive a minimum of six hours annually of professional development in G/T education (TAC §89.2(1), (2) and (3); State Plan 4.1.1.C, 4.1.2.C and 4.2C).
If a teacher completed the 30-hour foundational G/T training several years ago and has not continued with the 6-hour annual G/T professional development updates, must he/she retake the 30-hour training to be considered a G/T trained teacher in Texas?
There is no such requirement in law or rule; however local district policies may include this requirement. Alice ISD procedures require that staff turn in a certificate to central office if he/she has previously completed the 30-hour training (e.g. while with another district). Otherwise, staff members are expected to repeat the 30-hour initial training.
Must all teachers complete the annual six-hour G/T professional development update?
All teachers who provide instruction and services that are a part of the district’s defined gifted/talented services program for G/T students must receive a minimum of six hours annually of professional development in G/T education that is related to state teacher education standards(TAC §89.2(3); TAC §233.1; State Plan 4.2C).
Are Pre-AP/AP or IB teachers required to complete the 30-hour foundational G/T training? If so, can their Pre-AP/AP or IB training count toward G/T training requirements?
If Pre-AP/AP or IB classes serve as the mode of delivery for services to G/T students, teachers must have the required 30-hour foundational G/T training. Substitutions from the College Board five-day summer institute or IBO training may be made for the curriculum and instruction component of the 30-hour foundational G/T training, but the teacher would still require training in the nature and needs of G/T students and identification and assessment of G/T students’ needs.
Once again for the 2019-20 school year, Alice ISD is partnering with the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT) to provide online resources for both educators and parents to meet the unique needs of gifted and talented students from every cultural background. TAGT is the nation’s largest advocacy group of its kind, providing more than 3,000 members a forum for exchanging ideas and information about the education of GT students. Any principal, counselor, and core-area teacher, K-12, with GT students currently on their roster and needing the 6-hour update or the 30-hour initial training, will utilize the TAGT Learning on-Demand District. If you are uncertain if you are serving students in our GT program, please contact your campus administrator or counselor.
GT Teacher Resources
Destination Imagination (DI) is a creative problem-solving organization that encourages teams to blend research with a chosen challenge. Teams may choose from challenges that range from fine arts to engineering. Each team will also have to solve an Instant Challenge that is worth one-third of the team’s total score. Teams present their challenge solutions to audiences (except for Instant Challenge) and are awarded points for completing required and team-chosen elements. It’s academic, artistic, problem-solving fun, all rolled into one!
Our Advanced Academics Department will host a DI Interest Meeting on Thursday, September 12th, from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at central office. If you are a professional and are interested in managing a team this year, please join us for this informational meeting.
Federal and Special Programs
ESSA
ESL Program
What's Been Happening With Technology?
Clever SSO
Student Single Sign On (SSO) via Clever is in full swing this school year! We have experienced many hiccups at the start of the school year but we managed to remain calm and work out the kinks. It should all be smooth sailing from this point forward.
Students will be able to login to Clever from home the same way they login to Clever at school but they will need to have an integrated camera on their computer device to be able to scan their badge. Extra badges can be printed and I have shared the student badges with certain individuals from your campuses so they can access and print up as needed. Students come and go so if a badge is missing for one of your students, contact Yolanda Abrigo in Technology to get the student’s badge.
As we implemented Clever, we had to integrate it with our student information system. So now, Clever is pulling whatever data is in TxEIS so data entry is vital to ensure that student information, teacher information, and roster information is entered correctly and accurately so that all data gets pushed out to Clever. From Clever, we have data being shared to specific programs such as Istation, Dreambox, Remind, and other third party programs.
With that said, Clever only supports rostering with certain third party programs. What this means is since we are integrated with TxEIS, classes are automatically created in the following programs:
· Istation
· Dreambox
· Remind
· Mentoring Minds
· Learning without Tears
· Reading Plus
· Typing.com
All other third party software, such as Brainchild, McGraw Hill Connect, HMH, Pearson MyLab, Pearson SuccessNet, Prodigy, Renaissance Place, Scratch, Starfall, Stemscopes, Tumblebook Library, Apex Learning, and e-Hallpass. Student accounts and teacher classrooms will need to be created via these third party programs. Normally, teachers or campus technicians add the students to these programs. Additional support can and will be provided by Technology if needed so don’t hesitate to reach out.
Educator's Handbook
Educator’s Handbook is our new discipline program that has been purchased to use across the district. Click here to see how easy it is to compose an incident within Educator’s Handbook. You can also access the Teacher Quick Reference Guide by clicking this link.
New Student Devices
Alice ISD Curriculum Department
Our Kids...Our Future
Experience Excellence
Email: anna.holmgreen@aliceisd.net
Website: aliceisd.net
Location: 2 Coyote Trail, Alice, TX, USA
Phone: 361-664-0981
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AliceISD/
Twitter: @alice