Secondary English & Reading
August 2020
Welcome Back!
It is with excitement that I welcome you back for the 2020-21 school year! I would like to extend an extra warm welcome to all of our new teachers. To our veteran teachers, you were missed and I am thrilled you are back as well! This will be a year of unprecedented changes, and I am proud to take on those challenges alongside all of you. Our goal for #PascoLiteracy is to work together to provide our students with a rich learning environment that encourages their literary growth and fosters a lifelong appreciation for literacy.
Our vision is to provide all students access to four key resources: grade-appropriate assignments, strong instruction, deep engagement, and teachers who hold high expectations. In a collaborative effort, we want our educators and students to thrive in all ways possible.
Student success is attributed to the deep engagement and relationships we build within the classroom community. This will prove to be MOST important now more than ever. It truly does take a village and at Pasco County Schools we value this sentiment as a team member and collaborator! Team #PascoLiteracy greatly appreciates you guiding students through strong instruction using grade appropriate assignments so that each student meets their learning goals. Without your dedication and high expectations, we would not have many of the successes and programs that make Pasco so strong in our student instruction programs.
As we plan for a beginning like no other we have experienced, our focus is to still ensure that:
- every child, every day is finding a way to feel connected,
- every child, every day is being challenged by new learnings and experiences,
- every child, every day knows they have a champion they can turn to.
Please share the amazing work happening within your classrooms and tweet about it using the #PascoLiteracy tag. If you have information or a highlight you'd like me to share in an upcoming newsletter (or you're interested in being a guest columnist!), don't hesitate to reach out via email.
Cassie Hernandez, Sr. Specialist, Secondary Literacy
Welcome to #PascoLiteracy! I am a true Florida native, born and raised in Tampa, and now a proud Pasco transplant and resident. My early college years at the University of South Florida (Go Bulls!) resulted in a bachelor’s degree in English Education and a master’s degree in Reading Education. I have since added a master’s in Educational Leadership. My instructional career started 15 years ago in Hillsborough county as a middle school teacher at a Title 1 school. There I had an opportunity to teach a variety of literacy courses and grade levels before transitioning into the role of Literacy Coach at another Hillsborough county school. After coaching across content areas for 4 years, I transitioned to a district-based role supporting literacy in grades 4-12. In 2016 I transitioned to Pasco county as an ELA Specialist where I focused on supporting teachers, leaders, and ELA curriculum implementation in secondary Title I and priority schools across our county. Currently, I have the privilege of serving as your Senior Specialist for Secondary Literacy. I believe that great power to create sustainable change lies in connecting with, challenging, and championing for each student.
I love spending time with my husband and four children doing anything fun! My husband and I met our first-year teaching while coaching the school's STEP and Dance teams and were engaged and married within a year. We have three beautiful girls and welcomed our fourth baby (It’s a boy!) two years ago.
Five adjectives that best describe me are organized, passionate, dedicated, attentive, and flexible. I am dedicated to pursuing my passion of impacting student achievement through leading and learning. I am an organizer and attentive to detail and relationships. However, in life one must be flexible as there is no way to plan for all possibilities.
I look forward to getting to know you all a bit more through our literacy endeavors!
Tressa Lima, Literacy Curriculum Specialist, 9-12
Damien Cabrera, Literacy Curriculum Specialist, 6-8
Damien Cabrera, our MS Specialist, grew up on Long Island. He attended New School University in Manhattan, where he earned a BA in Film Studies with a focus on Screenwriting. While in pursuit of his dream to become a writer, Damien earned a Master’s Degree in Adolescent English Education at Adelphi University, and spent the first 8 years of his teaching career at MS 448 in the South Bronx. During this time, Damien worked his way up to serve in several leadership capacities, including as a model teacher and instructional coach. Damien moved to Pasco County with his wife and two children in 2017 and immediately joined Paul R. Smith MS as an 8th grade ELA teacher, where he served in that role for two years. After a quick stint at Thomas E. Weightman MS, Damien joined OLL as a school-based ELA Specialist for Fivay High School. As the new MS Specialist for Pasco County, Damien is looking forward to continuing his support of Pasco’s great literacy educators.
Connected- Challenged- Champion
English and Intensive Reading Core Curriculum for 20-21
All Curriculum and Instruction, Assessment, and PD Resources for 2020-21 can be found here.
Screencasts of Course Information
Prerecorded Professional Learning/ Onboarding Sessions
Secondary ELA Overview: Materials here
English 4: CCR Overview: Materials here
Secondary Reading Overview: Materials here
English General Paper 101 and Deeper Dive: Materials here for both sessions
Additional Webinars to Support Literacy view linked webinars here
Tuesday AM
Bi-weekly until 9/30
7:10-7:50
https://pasco-k12.zoom.us/j/86527098025?pwd=NFpYcGRWKy80TjVNcXhRbkcrTm1Mdz09&from=msft
password: 541049
Tuesday PM
Weekly until 9/5, then bi-weekly
3:30-4:15
https://pasco-k12.zoom.us/j/87151236978?pwd=bmJUcXVZdXRPTDV4NHhDSkdZK2tkUT09&from=msft
password: 140919
Achieve3000 Pre LevelSet Assessment
All students in Intensive Reading as well as ALL students in grades 9 and 10 will take the Pre LevelSet assessment between 8/26-9/8.
In order to prepare students to do their best on the LevelSet, see the recorded video with some important information and link to the latest LevelSet FAQ document.
LevelSet Informational Recording for Teachers
Student Tutorials TeenBiz (MS) and Empower3000 (HS)
August 18th: Pre-Planning Week Secondary Literacy Office Hours
8:00-8:45
Meeting URL: https://pasco-k12.zoom.us/j/85682519640?pwd=bVJxSFJxZnlHY0xKUWwxdm1sKys4Zz09
Meeting ID: 856 8251 9640
Passcode: 461376
12:30-1:30
Meeting URL: https://pasco-k12.zoom.us/j/88162256960?pwd=S1FEZGJBZVh2RVJZTWtCNU0yenR0QT09
Meeting ID: 881 6225 6960
Passcode: 217274
ReOpening 2020 Notebook
mySchool Online Video
Here is a short video to illustrate to parents the mySchool online daily experience. Please contact Tonia Shook with questions.
Canvas Support
During pre-planning week office hours will be available for teachers who need additional assistance.
· Aug 17, 2020 08:30-9:30 AM Eastern Time
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89569168351
· Aug 18, 2020 09:30-10:30 AM Eastern Time
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85751825342
· Aug 19, 2020 11:30-12:30 PM Eastern Time
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87325917692
· Aug 20, 2020 02:00-3:00 PM Eastern Time
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88469983175
· Aug 21, 2020 03:00-4:00 PM Eastern Time
30 Days to Improving Instruction
Dr. Doug Fisher is a renowned literacy expert, teacher leader, and author. Achieve3000 works with thought leaders like Dr. Fisher to give teachers access to the best and brightest ideas about effective literacy instruction through this innovative professional learning series.
Designed for teachers of all subject areas, the 30 Days to Improving Instruction series is a great way to enhance your school’s or district’s instructional approach to developing students’ literacy growth, critical thinking skills, and student collaboration.
Prepare for this active professional learning experience by creating a system for taking notes during the session, keeping a journal to reflect on your own classroom practices, and keep track of what you’ve learned so far. Begin the adventure to improving instruction by clicking here.
ELA Adoption Information
Professional Learning Opportunities for English and Intensive Reading Teachers for 20-21
#PascoStudentsSpeak
The Office for Leading and Learning is hosting the first official #PascoStudentsSpeak event for all students, tentatively on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at the Center for the Arts at River Ridge. In addition, we invite all schools and students to showcase their speeches, projects, and positivity from May 4th until May 8th via school related events and social media. The theme for the year is Contributing to a Better Society.
See this link for #PascoStudentsSpeak Lesson Guide for Research and Speech Writing.
Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education 2020-2021 Information
Print copies
Teachers can request free copies of the Tampa Bay Times for their classroom through the Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education (NIE) program. Print deliveries will begin on September 9, 2020. At the present time, we are taking print requests for Wednesday and Sunday newspapers only.
To request free copies of the Times for your classroom, go to tampabay.com/nie, and click Sign up here on the homepage.
o Fill out the online request form completely.
o It is important to double check that the school address and email address you have entered is correct.
o If you had an order for the 2019-2020 school year, you must verify that order before placing a new order.
The minimum daily order for print newspapers is five copies per day. Based on our auditor guidelines five print copies is considered a class set. Newspapers are for classroom use only.
Digital edition
The digital edition of the Times is an exact replica of the printed paper. It can be accessed on any computer with Internet access, eReader device, electronic tablet or smart phone. The digital edition can be used in your classroom, media center, computer lab or at home. You will be assigned one user name and password to share with the students in your classes. The number of licenses you order should correspond to the number of students who will be accessing the newspaper at the same time.
We encourage all teachers to supplement the use of the print edition with the digital edition. It is a great classroom and homework tool.
Digital delivery schedule: The electronic edition will be accessible from the first day of school through the last day of school, depending on your school calendar. The digital edition is accessible Monday through Sunday.
#PascoSummerReads
What We're Reading and Watching
Jim Burke's 9 Ways Online Teaching Should be Different from Face to Face
Reopening Schools with a Focus on Equity
Dr. Pedro Noguera explains the need for change and adaptation, specifically, how to keep equity at the forefront of reopening schools in his compelling article.
Contact Us
Cassie Hernandez
Secondary Literacy
Email: crhernan@pasco.k12.fl.us
Twitter: @herncas22
Tressa Lima
9-12
Email: tlima@pasco.k12.fl.us
Twitter: @tressalima