Peak Weekly Memo
EVERY WAY EVERY DAY! 3/2/2020
MAP 80% of scholars meeting their growth goal, 100% approaches, 60% meets and 30% masters
Shoutouts
Shout out to all staff who went to Jolt. We appreciate you helping out our scholars! - Erica
Shout out to the fifth grade team for helping launch exhibition! The scholars are very excited. -Erica
Shout out to Courtney for always having schedules prepared for the team. You help us all stay on the sam page! -Erica
Shout out to Grant for rocking CA #3 testing this week and working out the kinks for next week and for STAAR! You are really getting in those steps! -Mrs. Luna
Shout out to Mrs. Buck for looking just like Abe Lincoln and also for relieving me during testing so I could run to the restroom! -Mrs. Luna
Shout out to Salazar for getting all the TELPAS writing samples taken care of and getting everything done for Verifiers to do next week! -Mrs. Luna
Shout out to 2nd and 3rd grade for letting us do TELPAS online first and working with us as we got computers, set up and combined classes to give testers the best testing environment. Your scholars did so well following instructions and asking such great questions so they could do what they needed to. Thank you for working with us! -Mrs. Luna
Shout out to Carmen, Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Salazar for covering my lunch duty. Thank you for your gift of time! ~ Diane
Shout out to Ms.Marshall for a great job with our K-2 MAP glow in the dark Party!-Leetha
Shout out to the 5th grade team for your help with the K-2 Party, we could not have done it without you!-Leetha
Shout out to Mrs. Delgado for always being the glue to hold everything together!-Leetha
Shout out to Ms. M, Carmen and Luz for your help with the EVERYTHING, classes, extra lunches etc.-Leetha
Shout out to all Team leads for being strong leaders for your teams, I am proud of your level of accountability!-Leetha
Testing Updates
IT Customer Satisfaction Survey
ELECTION DAY IS MARCH 3RD
Each party will choose its candidate for U.S. president, U.S. Senate, congressional and legislative offices, the State Board of Education, the Railroad Commission and judicial seats.
If you are interested on learning who is on the ballot, find voting locations, etc – please visit the Secretary of State’s website by visiting www.sos.state.tx.us and clicking on ELECTIONS.
DALLAS COUNTY: Voters in Dallas County can vote at any polling place during the early voting period or on Election Day.
TARRANT COUNTY: Tarrant County voters can also vote at any polling place in the county.
Retention Warnings
As I mentioned in last week’s memo, promotion in doubt meetings need to take place during these next round of parent conferences and anyone who is on your radar for retention must have a conference. Here are the parameters for retention:
- Scholar must be in SST
- Present parents with retention warning and have your next steps filled out (see attached form)
- Have parents work with you to fill out their next steps. Give parents a copy when both have signed
- Have admin present in meeting if possible (invite admin to all retention warning meetings so we know who’s on the radar and can try to attend)
- The final decisions will be made after testing in May. Admin will hold meetings with these parents to make final decisions. If a scholar does not receive a retention warning now, they are not eligible for consideration (with the exception of 5th grade SSI).
- 5th grade, any possible STAAR failure retentions will look different as per SSI, so follow that protocol as in years passed.
- If you are unsure about whether a scholar should be considered, please touch base with your coach 😊
March 6th
EVALUATION TEAM APPRECIATION WEEK
We’re excited to share that the week of 3/2/20 – 3/6/20 has been designated by the Governor of Texas as Educational Diagnosticians’ Week. As our Special Education Evaluation Team is comprised of not only Education Diagnosticians but Licensed Specialist in School Psychology, Speech Language Pathologists and Speech Language Pathology Assistants, we ask that you please take some time during this week to recognize these professionals and the enormous contribution they make in supporting Scholars. As Governor Abbott declared, “These professionals help provide our next generation of leaders with the knowledge and skills that are the building blocks of lifelong excellence by developing and recommending teaching strategies and materials.
Counseling Survey
The Student Support Services Department strives to deliver top-quality care and service to our scholars and colleagues across the Uplift network. In an effort to gather important information about current satisfaction with Social/Behavioral Counseling Services, may I ask that you please complete a very short (5 minutes or less) online survey by clicking https://goo.gl/forms/nW9xl7YatZoOs0A23. I will not have access to your ratings or feedback, and this information will be visible only to Department Administration for quality assurance purposes. You will have additional opportunities to share your thoughts and feedback about my services over the course of the year. Thank you in advance for your participation on this!
Again, you may access the short survey by clicking https://goo.gl/forms/nW9xl7YatZoOs0A23.
Thanks everyone,
Grades
End of Year (EOY) Evaluations
End of Year Self Review: The end of year evaluation window is now open in iShine. It is time for End-of-Year observation and evaluations. To understand all the amazing work that you have been doing in your classrooms that might not be seen by us all the time we are asking that you fill out your end-of-year professional competencies. You can find these on iShine under End-of-Year evaluations. Please take time to answer each question fully with details. Remember that a 2 is MEETING Expectations, this means you are doing everything we asked and meeting our expectations. A 3 is ABOVE Average, this means you are going over and beyond minimum expectations. You must provide verifiable evidence in the narrative if you are marking this number. A 4 is EXCELLENT, this means you are the exemplar and we should get some video of you doing this. When you mark yourself levels 3 and 4, think about what you are doing and the consistency that you are doing it in. If you are marking yourself 3 or 4, don’t forget to include verifiable evidence. Provide details in the box to help the reader understand your ratings. Your self-reflections for your performance review are due in iShine by Monday, March 16. In the next few weeks, you will be receiving a calendar invite for your full observation. Please make sure to accept the calendar invite. End of Year observations will be focused on Close Reading or Eureka .
Managing Director Transition and Campus Support:
We’ve got some more transitions happening in our support. Starting March 16th, Kaitlin McDermott will no longer be with Uplift; she is pursuing a new job. All of our primary MDs are transitioning out of their roles in March, so Aurora, will now be supporting our campus as our Managing Director. Do not be surprised if you see her popping into your classrooms! And, if you see Kaitlin in the coming week please wish her the best of luck in her new role with IDEA.
Along with Aurora’s support, you may also see some other network faces on campus in the coming months . Kim Matthewson and Leah Malone, will be here a few times. Always feel free to introduce yourself to anyone you may see. Thank you!
SST Documentation
- the reason scholar is being brought to SST
- and evidence of scholar work showing the evidence of interventions being used.
Also, please make sure that you are having conversations with parents before they are submitted to SST. This will ensure parents are aware of the process.
PANORAMA SPRING WINDOW
FEBRUARY 18-MARCH 5, 2020
The Panorama survey will be administered to all 3rd-5th grade scholars from February 18th-March 5th, 2020.
3-5 teachers, please plan to administer this assessment to your homeroom class as soon as possible. Our goal is 100% of scholars completing the survey!
Melissa will send a document that contains survey administration instructions, proctor instructions, a mini vocab lesson for scholars, FAQs, and information on next steps.
Primary Teacher Job Fair
Date: Wednesday, March 18
Location: Uplift Williams (Secondary building)
Time: 5:30pm-7:00pm
Register Here
Wednesday Scholar Shout Outs
Remember that you can now shout out your scholars in 2 ways! You can use this link to submit it electronically, or you can write it on the clipboard in the office. Shout outs will be read over the morning announcements on Wednesdays.
Internal Transfer Window:
Chrome Carts
Teacher Development Grant
The Teacher Development Grants support small teams of teachers in the formation and implementation of groundbreaking k-12 classroom instruction. The grants provide opportunities for teachers to integrate fresh strategies that encourage critical inquiry and to observe their effects on students. Teachers have the opportunity to reflect and write about their projects, as well as to share their results with other teachers. The Foundation awards grants to individuals in amounts up to $10,000 per year for a maximum of $30,000 over three years, provided the eligibility requirements continue to be met.
Duke Tip Scholars
We know that many of us have been asking how we can best meet the needs of our highest performing scholars, in order to help them reach their highest potential. One option that was presented in the past and is now an opportunity is to have eligible scholars participate in the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP). The Duke TIP program is available to 4th graders and above and provides opportunities and support for high achieving scholars.
The scholars that are eligible at Peak for the Duke TIP Program are attached.
In addition to having a master list of the eligible scholars at our school, I’ve included the link to resources on the Duke TIP website (https://tip.duke.edu/) - open in Chrome as Internet Explorer will block this site). Listed below is the general information and the eligibility requirements. The scholars attached met the eligibility using NWEA MAP or STAAR.
4th – 6th Grade Information: https://tip.duke.edu/programs/4th-6th-grade-talent-search