Westwood Way
Happenings In Panther Nation - October 2017
Panther Pride
Happy Friday!
Over the last several weeks, our administrative team has been having a discussion centered around high expectations. We all agree that high expectations are paramount to success, not only in school but life. As we continued our discussion, the conversation shifted to our expectations in the classroom.
As I reflected on these conversations, I concluded that education is missing the mark on communicating our instructional expectations. We have focused our conversations on the expectations of the teacher and their ability to deliver instruction. Our language and our actions have communicated that teaching is a non-negotiable and while this is not bad, will it truly result in all students being successful?
If our goal is for all students to be successful, then we must adjust the focus of our expectation. While we all desire to have quality instruction, we must shift our discussion to the true desired outcome: learning.
As we shift our expectation from teaching to learning, we will:
1) be relentless in our efforts to help all students feel safe and develop a sense of belonging at school
2) honor the effort required of students
3) celebrate students’ accomplishments
4) verbalize that every student can and will achieve at a high level
5) build relationships with all students and seek to understand their needs, strengths, and interests
6) access whatever support is needed for every student to be successful
7) not tolerate excuses for underachievement, including those made by students
This shift in expectations will result in our non-negotiable changing. Instead of teaching being non-negotiable, we will now have a belief that learning is non-negotiable! I look forward to working alongside you as we begin this exciting adventure!
The Challenge: Over the next three weeks, I would love to visit face to face with staff on how you are implementing these ideas and ensuring that learning is non-negotiable.
The Prize: The staff member that shares the most impactful ideas will win a $20 gift certificate from El Toro.
I look forward to continuing the conversation,
Wade
School Board Update
During the October Board Meeting, the following items came before the School Board:
Christine Bedre discussed the process that staff uses when deconstructing TEKS. The board had the opportunity to practice deconstructing TEKS and understand how this information is used in lesson preparation.
The School Board discussed the guidelines and criteria associated with the Proud Panther selection. Nomination forms are available at Central Office and are due back by December 1, 2017.
The School Board discussed the possibility of repainting the tennis backboard so that it would include spirit artwork.
The School Board discussed reformatting the superintendent evaluation so that it is aligned with the Strategic Plan.
The School Board and staff continued discussing the book Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools. The board and staff will continue this discussion over the next several months.
The School Board unanimously approved updating Policy DC (LOCAL) so that the Superintendent has final authority on employment of all contractual employees except for the employment of all campus administrators and the athletic director.
The School Board unanimously approved appointing Dr. Carolyn Booker to the vacant District 7 Board Of Trustee position.
The School Board unanimously approved for the Superintendent to act on behalf of the School Board as discussed in Executive Session.
Curriculum
Academic planning continues to evolve with the emphasis on data-driven instruction. In October, we completed the first day of department/team instructional planning. Within these meetings, authentic conversation, collaboration, and analysis of data increased across the district. The data analysis from the team meetings will begin to shift instructional practices and applications in the classrooms. A few reflection questions:
1) Are all TEKS unpacked and analyzed before planning each unit?
2) Are instructional practices and all unit activities/assignments aligned to the upcoming unit assessment?
3) How do we grow all students at every level?
Our next planning day will be November 13th with the morning session dedicated to district vertical alignment.
Our mentor leadership team continues excellent work with teachers new to the profession and central office leadership continues to also meet with these teachers to assist with first-year challenges.
This week concluded the last substitute training for the fall semester. A total of four substitute training sessions were held since mid-August. The next substitute training will be at the start of the spring 2018 semester.
Special Programs
We continue to work diligently to provide an opportunity for academic excellence in all of our students. The ESL campus coordinators met last month to prepare for the beginning of year LPAC meetings. In that meeting, they discussed the need to better track the progress of our students in the ESL program. Together, they developed a plan to carry this out on each campus. We have incorporated a process to better monitor accommodations, academic progress, and language proficiency progress throughout the school year instead of only when we meet for LPAC. Our ESL coordinators continually demonstrate a strong desire to improve our ESL program. We appreciate all of the support from teachers and staff. Not to mention, we had a very productive first ESL Parent meeting. Our next meeting is scheduled for the evening of October 30th when we will set up stations to demonstrate resources parents can use at home with their children. Feel free to come out and join us!
Westwood ISD has incorporated the use of Plan4Learning, a web-based program that is enabling us to create efficient and compliant district and campus improvement plans. Since we are using the same program for all improvement planning, our plans now have the same format, are always accessible, and are easy to edit and update when necessary. Furthermore, this program has an in-depth toolkit that guides users through the Campus Needs Assessment process. Overall, Plan4Learning allows our campus staff to spend more time implementing the plan and less time creating it!
Business & Finance
1. We are still in the process of closing Fiscal Year 2016-2017. The auditors were here for three days reviewing all of the entries and reports for 2016-2017. All of the activity funds for each campus were reviewed for discrepancies. In the next step, the auditors will give us any entries that are used to update our financial records to reflect all transactions for the year accurately. When these adjustments are entered, we can roll over entirely into the 2017-18 school year. This year the auditors examined our internal controls to ensure that our procedures to prevent fraud or theft are effective.
2. At this time, our payroll department is initiating the new TRS reporting system. It is a new system requiring new setup and techniques. Also, they are reviewing September payroll for any issues that may have occurred.
3. In the other areas of Finance, we are continually reporting taxes as they are collected and processing the purchase orders and travel expenses as they occur.
PEIMS
Westwood ISD PEIMS department is gearing up for 2017-2018 Fall PEIMS submission. Fall PEIMS submission is based on data as of the last Friday in October. This date is considered the "snapshot" date.
With this year in full swing, we are reviewing processes in verifying data to keep our data quality standard our priority. After attending the Texas Skyward conference this month, we are encouraged that we can make adjustments and continue to improve as a department!
Food Service
1) Westwood Café Services Twitter Account is active. Follow us @WWPantherCafe!!!
2) Slushie Machines are a hit at the High School Campus, next up for High School Iced Coffees!!!!
3) The Advanced Culinary Arts students will be traveling with Mrs. Marucci to the Region 7 Food Show, to taste test new items, and share ideas with the Child Nutrition Department! Can we say “New Menus”???
Facilities Services
Current Projects:
- · Seasonal general maintenance
- · Safety and Security Audit
- · Preparations for surplus auction
- · Installation of 18 Expo boards
- · Door hardware and HVAC repairs
Completed Projects:
- · Grease traps serviced
- · Cleaned up maintenance shop
- · Intercom repairs
- · Repaired a few major water leaks
- · Installed many new exit lights and emergency ballast
Transportation
The Westwood ISD Transportation Department is proud of our two new 77 passenger buses received this week. Our bus fleet continues to improve yearly. My staff continues to do a very good job in meeting the needs of transportation for the district.
I would like to thank the administration as well as the school board for their continued support. If I can help you with your transportation needs, please contact me. My goal is to continue to do what is best for students.
Technology
The Technology Department has had a busy, but productive month. We delivered 97 new Chromebooks on carts to the High School, Junior High, and Elementary campuses. We also installed four new interactive touch panels on the High School campus.
The new website for the district went live earlier this month, and we’ve received positive feedback about it thus far. We are ready to go live with the High School website, and the Junior High, Elementary, and Primary websites will follow shortly after that.
I had the privilege of sitting through two class periods on the High School campus this month in an attempt to evaluate how well the technology currently in place in the district is working. When time permits I will try to visit more classrooms across the district. If you have feedback about technology use thus far, please let me know.
Athletics
Varsity football team is presently 1-4 with an upcoming game in Groesbeck and losing to Troup 19-14 and Elkhart 35-34, on the last plays of the game. The Panthers played a very tough #15 Whitney team losing 52-13. The JV football team is presently 2-3 playing very good and getting better each week. This is the first time in two years that the JV team has made the season. The 8th-grade football team is 2-1, and playing very good football, beating Troup and Elkhart, and losing a very close one to Teague. The 7th-grade football team is also playing very good football beating Troup and Teague, before losing a close battle with Elkhart. Both teams have been getting much better since the beginning of the season.
Boys and Girls offseasons for basketball and soccer are going very strong. Kids are working hard in the weight room and on skills in their respective areas. We are looking forward to exciting seasons in both sports as they approach.
HS Volleyball - our volleyball team is currently sitting in 3rd place in district play. They have three games remaining after this Friday night.
HS cross country- we ran the district meet on October 11, and we have three runners moving on to regionals in Huntsville on October 23rd. On the boy's side, Tomy Umanza placed 1st overall, and Brando Castillo placed 2nd. Olivia Wendell place 3rd overall in the girl's division.
Jr High CC boy and girls placed 3rd overall with Jaysa Coney winning the girl's division and Emilio Martinez placing 4th. We had great participation from our Jr High this year and looking for a better season next year.
Jr High volleyball is wrapping up next week. The highlight of the week, 7th grade A team defeated Leon, which was a great match. We are making great strides with our Jr High program.
Basketball kicks off next Wednesday, and our offseason is progressing very well, we have great energy and getting better every day!
Soccer offseason is going well with good workouts.