Thomas Jefferson Tribune
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 12-16, 2018
FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH
MISSION, VISION & CORE VALUES
MISSION:
The TJ Feeder schools embrace high quality learning opportunities which honor the unique strengths and diverse needs of all Scholars.
VISION:
The TJ feeder schools will be the premier feeder to attract and educate all Scholars to positively impact our community and world.
CORE VALUES:
Innovation, Collaboration, Excellence and Integrity
THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER PRIORITY GOALS
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION
CLIMATE AND CULTURE
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR..........
Distinguished Leaders,
This upcoming week will mark the week of 4th Six Week Common Assessments. Can you believe we are 5 weeks away from our first STAAR examination? Common Assessments this week will again give us invaluable data to make critical decisions for the remainder of the school year. My, how time flies by. Decisions and implementation are paramount at this time.
Think about the remaining days we have until STAAR testing. Make sure each day is filled with engaging, data driven, differentiated, rigorous, and powerful instruction. Our students deserve it!
What is the importance of fostering 'Grit' regarding our scholars?
'Grit' is defined as the fortitude and determination (strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage). As we are preparing for the upcoming STAAR examinations, think about how our scholars must show academic achievement and growth. Have we as educators fully prepared ALL of our scholars to read, write and problem solve? Have we fully prepared them to be successful in school? Have we prepared ALL scholars for the real world? In order to accomplish this we must ensure that we not ONLY have Grit but that we TEACH 'GRIT'!
Educators need grit which means to do whatever it takes to turn education around, and that starts with hard work and our own modern version of true grit. Teaching it and living it should be in the front and center in all our education conversations. We MUST ensure that we help ALL scholars build the skills they need to succeed in school and in life. Do you have grit? Does our campus staff have grit? If not, what will you as the campus leader do to teach grit?
As always, I look forward to seeing academic changes in your instructional programs to ensure our scholars are being successful.
Have an awesome week LEADING, COACHING, TEACHING ,LEARNING AND MAKING ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENTS!
THE TJ FEEDER IS IN IT TO WIN IT!
Ms. Torres
Thomas Jefferson Executive Director
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
Monday, February 12, 2018
- Elementary Feeder Principal meeting @ Joe May 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- District wide 4th Six Weeks Common Assessments
- Tom Field Campus visit w/ED and AF's
- Cary MS-Data Meeting Campus visit @ 9:30 a.m.
- Joe May Campus visit w/ED and AF's
- Jiv Daya Meeting @ 5:00 p.m. w/Dr. Jain-Jain Investments-Lincoln Tower-ED
- Thomas Jefferson Spring Feeder Pattern meeting-Haskell Building 1st floor 8:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
- Master scoring exercise @ 2:30 p.m.-Ms. Torres and Dr. Sotelo
- Sudie Williams Campus visit w/AF's
- Thomas Jefferson ECHS P-Tech Campus visit w/AF's
- Text Set PD @ Cary MS-w/AF's- 3:45 p.m.
- Stephen Foster Campus visit w/ED and AF's
- TJ Campus visit w/Alumni-Ms. Torres
- Medrano Campus visit w/ED and AF"s
- Hotchkiss Campus visit w/TJ ED/Conrad ED
- MANDATORY Power School Elementary Principal Training 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.-NCX
Thursday, February 15, 2018
- Happy Birthday Mrs. Massey!
- K. B Polk Campus visit w/ED and AF's
- Cigarroa campus visit w/AF's
- United to Learn Network Meeting @ Cabell Elementary-11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.- w/Executive Director & Thomas Jefferson Elementary Principals
- 'Treats for Our Sweets' CIC Feeder Planning @ Cigarroa 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.-( ALL CIC'S REQUIRED TO ATTEND!)
- Office Manager and Financial Clerk meeting @ DCS
- Deputy Chief/ED Meeting @ 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.-Haskell 2nd Floor
- ED Meeting w/K. B. Polk @ 12:15 p.m.
- Saldivar Campus visit w/AF's
- TEI Master Scoring Meeting-Ms. Torres @ 1:30- Haskell 2nd Floor
- Burnet Campus visit w/AF's
- ED & AF Planning Session-PM
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDAS
CAMPUS NEEDS ASSESSMENT
THOMAS JEFFERSON SPRING BUDGET MEETINGS-FEBRUARY 13, 2018
UNCF DALLAS ISD KICK OFF
The UNCF/Dallas ISD Kick-off Rally will be held at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, February, 15, 2018, at the Center for Community Cooperation - Oak Corner Building, 2900 Live Oak St., Dallas. All schools and departments are urged to send a representative to the rally to receive campaign information. Representatives should register via Schoolnet at http://disd.schoolnet.com for Activity #100010358 by Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018.
Each year, Dallas ISD supports the United Negro College Fund through a workplace campaign to raise funds for scholarships for deserving college-bound students. Annually, UNCF, the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, provides scholarships to 60,000 students to help them pursue higher education and become productive citizens for our nation.
Funds raised through our UNCF workplace campaign will be awarded as scholarships to Dallas ISD seniors of all races who plan to attend a historically black college or university (HBCU) or any other four-year accredited U.S. college or university in fall 2018.
The workplace campaign runs from Feb. 16 to April 16, 2018, and students, staff, and community members are welcome to donate. Contact Keitha Shelby at 972-925-8929 or email kshaw@dallasisd.org with questions.
POWER SCHOOL TRAINING
As you are aware, we are moving to Power School system where we will be able to do so many things and use one system instead of many to find information, data, create student scheduling, etc. CRC’s, Instructional Coaches, AP’s, teachers, and Principals will need to be trained on the system. This system will be used to schedule students when returning from summer vacation in July. Chancery will NOT be used for this purpose, therefore, if your CRC’s/Data Controllers are not attending trainings to be well versed in the system, your campus will be having difficulty with enrolling. I highly recommend that you inform your teams of the upcoming trainings being held at NCX Building.
There is Mandatory Elementary Principal training upcoming that must be attended based on the feeder day. Please refer to the table below. Registration through Cornerstone is required.
THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER PATTTERN KUDOS
PRINCIPAL SPOTLIGHT
Pre K-12 Language, Literacy and Social Studies Curriculum Writing.......... APPLY NOW!!!!!!!
Dallas ISD Early Childhood and Language, Literacy and Social Studies Departments are in search of teachers and instructional coaches to write new curriculum for the upcoming school year, 2018-2019. For those interested in this wonderful opportunity, please follow the steps below. Contact Derek Little for further details via email, delittle@dallasisd.org or by phone (985) 561-4358.
Fransico Medrano's Date Night Professional Development
A-Amore` Accommodations
T-Technology Tools You & Your Students Will Love
E-Engaged with MRS
MRS
Accommodations
Technology
Cary unpacking the TEKS with their staff!
T. J. Feeder Community Invested in Our Scholars
Upgrades for Campus Basketball Courts
Master Leadership Conference 2018
Smirks of Empowered Future Leadership
Walnut Hill Elementary School
"This morning I had the privilege to read the book "We're All Wonders" to Aiden's class and talk about how we are all unqiue yet loved. In a time when culture is leaning so much towards making everyone the same, it's refreshing to celebrate our differences and stand out."
Nada Ruddock- PTECH at Thomas Jefferson
'UNITED TO LEARN' FULL NETWORK MEETINGS FOR TJ ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS
TEI NEWS
April --Student survey administration
Students in grades 3-12 complete surveys during one class period
MAY -JUNE-- Mid May Teacher roster verification process
Teachers verify students to be included in calculation of student achievement metrics
May 11th--Teachers submit SLO GoalAccomplishment in Schoolnet
Administrator approves, scores, and completes by May 18th
May 18th-- Last day to enter extended observations, summatives, and SLO scores into Schoolnet
Summatives may be completed after a minimum number of spot observations and the extended observation are conducted May 21st – June 4th
THOMAS JEFFERSON ACHIEVE 3000 UPDATES
Below is the Achieve 3000 progress data for Thomas Jefferson as of this Monday, February 5th.
On this report, the ending columns allow you monitor the student’s activity completion toward their 40 activity goal for the campus. Remember that our district deadline for the MOY was Feb. 9th.
COMMON ASSESSMENTS
As we approach the testing week, there are few updates and reminders for the upcoming administration. The 4th Six Weeks Common Assessment administration dates are scheduled for February 12th – February 16th.
Updates:
All assessments have been posted to the TRS and Assessment websites. Please be sure to print the tests from one of these websites. Several grades and subjects will be taking the 2017 STAAR Released tests this six weeks. Please do not print these tests from the TEA website as we have made modifications to streamline the All In Learning scanning process.
Important Note:
When downloading the STAAR Released tests, please ensure that the test does not contain extra symbols or characters that are randomly placed throughout the test. If this has occurred, please ensure you have the most current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or use another computer to download the assessment in proper format.
Test Revisions:
Several Common Assessments have undergone revisions and have been reposted online. These assessments are as follows:
- Grade 3 Math (English and Spanish)
- Grade 4 Math (English and Spanish)
- Grade 6 Math PAP
- Grade 7 Math (Answer key only)
- Grade 3 Reading
All tests that have been revised have a red “Revised” date on the cover page of the assessment and/or answer key. If there is not a revision date on the cover page, this is the most current version of the assessment. Please ensure that your school prints the most current copy of the assessments and answer keys.
Common Assessment Answer Keys:
Answer keys will be distributed by Local Assessment to teachers on February 2nd.
Do not make your own answer keys in the All In Learning system. If an answer key is created internally (by the school) and is used by teachers, the data will not be included with the district data. If this occurs, student bubble sheets will need to be rescored using the answer key distributed by Local Assessment.
Rubric Scoring for Writing Compositions:
Teachers will hand score the student’s composition using the appropriate rubric. Rubric scores will then need to be entered on the last item of the Revising and Editing answer keys in All In Learning. Currently, the rubric score is defaulted to the maximum score of 4. Teachers are to adjust this score to reflect the actual score the student received. It is imperative that this is completed to ensure accurate scores for each student. Each composition has a weighted percentage on the answer keys in All In Learning. These percentages were set as close as possible to the STAAR percentages set by TEA.
The weighting percentages are as follows:
- Grade 4 (English and Spanish) – 24%
- Grade 7 – 34.78%
- English I and II – 23.53%
Please use the link below as an additional resource to help with the Common Assessment scoring process.
If a teacher does not have access to an answer key or if you have any questions regarding Common Assessments, please contact Local Assessment at 972-925-8940 or by email at LocalAssessment@dallasisd.org.
Suggested Testing Time Limits:
Below are the suggested testing time limits for the 4th six weeks Common Assessment administration.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
GET YOUR 5th SIX WEEKS RLA CURRICULAR RESOURCES HOT OFF THE PRESSES!
Great news!! All 5th six weeks curricular documents have been posted on TRS and Curriculum Central. You can also access them on the 2017-18 Suggested Curricular Resources document linked here. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way. Spread the word!
STAAR ELAR PD Available!
2018 Spring Professional Development for RLA Grades 3–12
bit.ly/spring18RLAPD
Feb. 12 5:00–7:00- MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND!
Just in Time for the 5th Six Weeks
Feb. 15 5:00–7:00
Supporting Students with Conclusions and Inferences on STAAR
Feb. 19*8:30–11:30
Close Reading as a Scaffold for STAAR
Feb. 19* 1:00–4:00
Supporting Students on STAAR: Active Reading Strategies & Inferences
STEM MATH ELEMENTARY PD
STEM MATH SECONDARY PD
DALLAS ISD STEM SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR
Click on the calendar link above to access the PD dates.
WEEKLY WAIP
2017-2018 DALLAS ISD DISTRICT-WIDE TESTING CALENDAR
Dallas ISD Year At a Glance Testing Schedule
UPCOMING DATES & REMINDERS
FEBRUARY
23-Title I Requisitions due today
28-Dialogue with School Leadership @ 7:30 a.m.-Joe May Elementary
28- Deadline to allocate Title I budget for positions is TODAY no later than 5 p.m.
MARCH
3-Transfer Period begins
5- Thomas Jefferson Feeder Teacher Collaborative Planning (Gr. 3-8 and 9th Algebra I) @ Cary 3:30-5:30 pm
9-Drill log for the Spring Semester is due TODAY via email submission to the Office of Emergency Management
27-Math AF TOT for CIC Content Training
29-Reading AF TOT for CIC Content Training
MARSHALL MEMO #722
Using Games to Check for Student Understanding
(Originally titled “Playing Games with Formative Assessment”)
In this Educational Leadership article, California school curriculum director Jonathan Cassie sings the praises of “gamified” assessments that provide low-stakes, engaging ways for teachers to measure student learning in real time. “[I]t is not uncommon for students to feel confident that they have mastered a body of knowledge and skills before they go into an assessment,” says Cassie, “only to be dismayed by a poor performance revealing that their sense of control over content and skills was much weaker than they realized… A well-designed game or gamified lesson is a customizable, persistence-reinforcing, socially stimulating, democratic, meritocratic, playful, and flow-aligned experience.” The trick is creating a “magic circle” where students enjoy a metaphorical separation between the real world and the game space.
Cassie distinguishes between game-based learning – for example, a third-grade teacher getting students playing Machi Koro and building an ideal community by “buying” items like a family restaurant and a convenience store – and gamified learning – for example,
students playing the game 7 Wonders and taking on the role of leaders of ancient civilizations building one of the seven wonders of the world. Well-designed games are effective when they empower students to own their learning, are at the Goldilocks level of difficulty, help students persist when confronted with new obstacles, and encourage them to see mistakes and failures as feedback for improvement.
Cassie recommends that teachers look for games in online communities like Board Game Geek and Game Level Learn, matching games to classroom needs. He suggests the following:
- Codenames – A board game in which teams try to make contacts with their “secret agents” through word clues, suitable for any subject where recognizing patterns is key;
- Letters from Whitechapel – Students take on the role of Scotland Yard detectives tracking and arresting Jack the Ripper; the game measures and reinforces skills like collaboration and communication;
- Zendo – Can be used to tap students’ critical thinking capacity;
- Socrative (free and paid options) – Provides games and other activities and collects granular data on student learning;
- Kahoot! (free and paid options) – Allows teachers to construct homework assignments almost as though they were video game-type quests;
- Quizlet www.quizlet.com – Allows teachers to convert data-gathering into a gamified form to check for student mastery;
- Quizizz– Lets teachers monitor the results of students’ work as they do it;
- Quizalize (free and paid options) – Provides the same kinds of quizzes and assessments as other tools, but also lets teachers track the work of individual students;
- Plickers – Students hold up QR codes, orienting them to four different answer choices, which are then read by the teacher’s smartphone.
THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
- Thomas Jefferson High School: Principal, Sandi Massey
- Francisco Medrano Middle School : Principal, Theresa Sigurdson
- Edward Cary Middle School: Principal, Ben Dickerson
- David G. Burnet Elementary: Principal, Sonia Loskot
- Leonides Cigarroa Elementary : Principal, Douglas Burak
- Tom W. Field Elementary: Principal, Shondula Whitfield
- Stephen C. Foster Elementary: Principal, Irma De La Guardia
- Joe May Elementary: Principal, Israel Rivera
- K.B. Polk Elementary: Principal, Misty Rathermund
- Julian T. Saldivar: Principal, Chaundra Macklin
- Walnut Hill Elementary: Principal, Robert 'Chase'McLaurin
- Sudie Williams Elementary: Principal, Michael Jackson
Thomas Jefferson High School
Franscisco Medrano Middle School
Edward Cary Middle School
David G. Burnet Elementary
Leonides Cigarroa Elementary
Tom W. Field Elementary
Stephen C. Foster Elementary
Joe May Elementary
K. B. Polk Elementary
Julian T. Saldivar Elementary
Walnut Hill Elementary
Sudie L. Williams Elementary
Tamieka Porter
Lisa Maia
Erica Rosas
Trustee Edwin Flores District 1
Trustee Dustin Marshall District 2
Trustee Miguel Solis District 8
DISD GOALS
- All students will exhibit Satisfactory or above performance on State assessments. Students below Satisfactory performance will demonstrate more than one year of academic growth
- Dallas ISD schools will be the primary choice for families in the district
- The achievement gap by race, ethnicity and social economic status will be no greater than 10 percentage points on all academic measures
- 95% of students will graduate. Of the graduates, 90% have qualifying scores for community college, college, military, or industry certification
- 95% of entering kindergarten students are school-ready on a multidimensional assessment
- All students will participate in at least one extracurricular or co-curricular activity each year.