Alice ISD - ISC Gazette
Instructional Support Center • December 2017
Happy Holidays
As we move into our holiday break, the district wishes you:
a season of rest and reflection,
peace and prosperity,
and joy for your journey.
Thanks for ALL you do all year through.
Campus Events
Thanks to each of you who worked to make these events happen and to create a special evening for parents and children. You are wonderful!
District of Innovation
The District of Innovation concept, passed by the 84th Legislative Session in House Bill 1842, gives traditional independent school districts most of the flexibilities available to Texas’ open-enrollment charter schools.
Potential benefits of becoming a District of Innovation include:
- Local control: Districts decide which flexibilities best suit their local needs.
- Autonomy: Districts must submit a district of innovation plan to the commissioner of education, but approval is not required.
- Flexibility: Districts will have the flexibility to implement practices similar to charter schools, including exemptions from mandates such as:
- School start date (current legislation mandates a start on the fourth Monday of August)
- 90% attendance rule
- Class-size ratios
- Site-based decision-making processes
On Monday, Dec. 11th, the board approved a resolution to initiate the process. A public hearing will be held in January to consider whether the District should develop a local innovation plan for the designation of the District as a district of innovation. After that the board will decide if they want to appoint a committee to develop a local innovation plan or decline to pursue designation as a district of innovation.
New Accountability System
So it is with the state accountability system. The 85th Texas Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 22, establishing three domains for measuring the academic performance of districts and campuses: Student Achievement, School Progress, and Closing the Gaps. Districts will receive a rating of A, B, C, D, or F for overall performance, as well as for performance in each domain, beginning in August 2018. Campuses will receive A–F ratings beginning in August 2019.
Our partners at Lead4ward/Accountability Connect will present information in a webinar on Dec. 15th. More information will be shared with campuses in January.
Learning Rounds
Rounds are a collaborative process. In a learning round a team of teachers and school leaders can learn more about teaching and learning. During the round the team visits classrooms to observe and collect data around a problem of practice. For many of the campuses this problem of practice revolves around higher level questioning and student responses. Keep in mind that while we are looking for evidence of higher order questioning, the questions should be those that enhance the lesson. The idea is to deepen the knowledge of the student related to the content and to make them think at a deeper level.
Observations are part of rounds, but the richest learning takes place in the discussion after the observation when the team looks at the data and refines their understanding. After that, the team presents the information to the whole faculty and discusses next steps to take based on the data acquired.
It is generally understood that classroom instruction is the single most important factor in student achievement. Because of this, it is important to have a shared understanding of high quality, rigorous instruction. The professional development that takes place after the data analysis and discussion is vital.
By now, all campuses have had at least one learning round. Perhaps by now you have either been an observer or have been observed. Hopefully all teachers across the district will have that opportunity this year. District folks will be taking part as well and will be on hand when the information is shared so support can be given to all.
Benchmarks
Gr. 3 Reading and Math
Gr. 4 Reading, Math and Writing
Gr. 5 Reading, Math and Science
Gr. 6 Reading and Math
Gr. 7 Reading, Math and Writing
Gr. 8 Reading, Math, Science and Soc. St
Also tested will be English I and English II, Biology, Algebra I and U. S. History.
The benchmark window will be Jan. 23-Feb. 2nd. Your campus administrator will set the dates for your campus during that window.
Instructional Support and Classroom Management
Sessions will be held in the library at William Adams Middle School.
Survey Says...
The most recent survey deals with teacher knowledge and comfort level in the Eduphoria program. This survey was sent to teachers only. Please take time to answer if you received this survey.
Federal and Special Programs
Bilingual Project
Monitoring English Language Learners
A second initiative is that teachers who teach our English Language Learners should be completing a Student Progress Monitoring form on Eduphoria. This form is also used to monitor the progress of Alice ISD's migrant and special education population.
We would like to give a big thank you to all the staff involved with making sure these two initiatives are successful. Without your committment we couldn't serve our students and ensure they have great academic experiences. Thank you!!
New Name
So now when we talk about federal monies you will hear the acronym ESSA and we say until next time to NCLB.
Prekindergarten Highly Qualified
On June 12, 2017 Governor Abbott signed The General Appropriation Act, Article III, Rider 78, which was passed by the 85th Texas Legislature. “Rider 78 ensures that state-funded prekindergarten programs implement high-quality prekindergarten consistent with the High-Quality Prekindergarten program requirements in Texas Education Code (TEC) §29.167 – 29.171 and consistent with the provisions of TEC Chapters 41 and 42” (Texas Education Agency). Program implementation will focus on five areas; curriculum, progress monitoring, teacher qualifications, family engagement plan and program evaluation. What does this mean for Alice ISD? It means there will be adjustments made and new initiatives established. The first step is identifying the specific requirements of Rider 78 and collaborating with all stakeholders in creating a High Quality Prekindergarten Plan for Alice ISD. As more information is provided by TEA it will be communicated to you.
Science Fair
AHS Academic Decathlon
Kudos to our AHS Academic Decathlon team that placed 1st at the Sinton High School Invitational held on November 11th. The team will travel to San Antonio Holmes High School on December 8-9 to compete in their last invitational before regionals. Congratulations to all team members and sponsor George Beltran. You make Alice High School and Alice ISD proud!
Destination Imagination Spectacular Saturday, January 27th
We will be hosting Spectacular Saturday on January 27th, 2018 at AHS, from 8:30-noon. DI teams from our region will get an opportunity to participate in the latest instant challenges, get valuable feedback, and have fun at the same time! Good luck to all of our teams!
Interim Assessments
TEA is unveiling interim assessments for grades 3–8 math and reading. These online assessments are an additional tool schools can use to gauge student progress toward meeting achievement standards. The assessments will be short, computer-adaptive tests used by teachers. Assessments are intended to improve student learning by providing educators with a supplementary tool to assess and evaluate students’ instructional needs.
The initial assessment window runs from January 29-March 23. Teachers will get immediate feedback in the form of a probability score on how testers will fare on STAAR assessments. Items are fully aligned to TEKS and developed by Texas teachers. A user’s guide will be posted on TEA’s website beginning on January 9th, with a webinar to follow soon after. Please contact Laurie Lerma for more information—361-664-0981 ext. 1063 or laurie.lerma@aliceisd.net.
Family Engagement Conference Was a Huge Success
Thank You AISD Staff, Parents & Community Members
- early literacy experiences
- the mind of a teenager
- recognition/intervention on Self-harming
- Cyber Safety and Cyber Bullying
- Developing Healthy Male Identity
- Math activities
- building strong families
While parents were attending sessions children in the child-care area were playing bingo, competing in hula hoop contests, coloring, dancing, learning about fire safety and reading with CLIFFORD - The Big Red Dog!
Alice ISD administration and staff are extremely grateful to the families and community members who came to learn, listen and enjoy our wonderful presentations.
We look forward to seeing you next year at our 7th Annual Parent & Family Engagement Conference.
Thank you! Conference Sponsors!
Alice ISD Parent Outreach Meetings! Coming to a Location Near You!
On December 12th, another parent outreach meeting was held at the Alice Housing Authority- Heritage Apartment meeting room. During that presentation, parents were also treated to menudo and sandwiches. The topic for the night was on Cyber Safety and was presented by Chief Investigator Margarito Perez of the 79th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Also on hand for the presentation was District Attorney Carlos Garcia and representatives Jeremy Sirio and Daniella Gonzales from the Women's Shelter of Alice.
We will be holding our next parent outreach meeting on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at the Guadalupe Haciendas Apartment Complex. The topic to be discussed will be "Literacy in the Home".
Resources
Free Technology for Teachers - Resources for Geography and Social Studies
Educator Award
The THGC’s Steinberger Outstanding Educator Award seeks to recognize best practices in the classroom for teaching about the Holocaust and/or any of the genocides recognized by the United States; these genocides include those in Cambodia, Rwanda, the Balkans, Darfur, and the Middle East (Syria and Iraq). The award will go to one Texas classroom teacher, curriculum specialist, or librarian who works with any students in the 5th through 12th grades on Holocaust and/or modern genocides studies.
Applications are due Feb. 1, 2018. See the link below for more information and to make a nominattion.
Phishing--Protect Yourself and Others
Information Provided by the Federal Trade Commission--Consumer Information
Phishing is when a scammer uses fraudulent emails or texts, or copycat websites to get you to share valuable personal information – such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, or your login IDs and passwords. Scammers use your information to steal your money or your identity or both.
Scammers also use phishing emails to get access to your computer or network then they install programs like ransomware that can lock you out of important files on your computer.
Phishing scammers lure their targets into a false sense of security by spoofing the familiar, trusted logos of established, legitimate companies. Or they pretend to be a friend or family member.
Phishing scammers make it seem like they need your information or someone else’s, quickly – or something bad will happen. They might say your account will be frozen, you’ll fail to get a tax refund, your boss will get mad, even that a family member will be hurt or you could be arrested. They tell lies to get to you to give them information.
Be cautious about opening attachments or clicking on links in emails. Even your friend or family members’ accounts could be hacked. Files and links can contain malware that can weaken your computer's security.
Do your own typing. If a company or organization you know sends you a link or phone number, don’t click. Use your favorite search engine to look up the website or phone number yourself. Even though a link or phone number in an email may look like the real deal, scammers can hide the true destination.
Make the call if you’re not sure. Do not respond to any emails that request personal or financial information. Phishers use pressure tactics and prey on fear. If you think a company, friend or family member really does need personal information from you, pick up the phone and call them yourself using the number on their website or in your address book, not the one in the email.
Please forward suspicious emails to technology@aliceisd.net.
Alice Independent School District
Email: anna.holmgreen@aliceisd.net
Website: aliceisd.net
Location: 2 Coyote Trail, Alice, TX, United States
Phone: 361-664-0981