The 53
October 2016 Edition of the Academic Services Newsletter
Inspire Invest Innovate
The focus of "The 53" is to highlight monthly updates from the Academic Services Team. Please visit Inside Liberty or Liberty for Staff for additional document links throughout the month, and give the team a call as questions, comments or concerns arise. Our goal is to serve the LPS staff through improvements and innovations!
Character Trait Recognition
@the53DAS
Thank You Liberty Officers
Elementary Education
The Elementary Team is focusing on next steps to PBL implementation and conversations around data sharing through grade level teams. The team will be meeting in October to discuss system-wide MAP data through a design process protocol from the d.school at Stanford. http://dschool.stanford.edu/. In addition, the Elementary Team is preparing for the fall Elementary Advisory Team meeting on November 10th. The Elementary Advisory Team is a representative team of students, staff, parents, and community members focused on the shared goal of improving our elementary schools by providing an elementary voice in decision-making and presenting the interests of stakeholder groups to district administration.
Secondary Education
Special Programs
Parents as Teachers had successful implementation of Parent/Child Learning Groups during the month of September. PAT Parent/Child Learning Groups are designed for families with children ages 3-preK who are not receiving personal home visits. These groups meet monthly and are comprised of approx. 12-15 families. The intent is to provide an opportunity for families to meet with a Certified Parent Educator to learn and discuss developmental milestones, developmental centered parenting strategies and learning experiences to help families continue to be their child’s first and most influential teacher. Additionally, these PCL groups provide an opportunity for families to network, connect to resources and allow their child the opportunity to practice learning in a social setting.
Special Education
Mr. Anthony Blades, a Blind Skills Specialist affiliated with Truman State University routinely consults with our teachers who provide services to students with visual impairments. Recently, Mr. Blades met with some of the special education staff to share specific information on the assessment, evaluation, and eligibility process for these students. He also elaborated on the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) which is the knowledge and skills students with visual impairments require due to their unique disability. The ECC is taught in conjunction with the general education curriculum and is used to help plan individual goals. The ECC includes nine areas; Orientation and Mobility, Social Skills, Independent Living Skills, Recreation Skills, Career Education, Assistive Technology, Sensory Skills, and Self-Determination. In addition, Ms. Rashelle Otis, orientation and mobility specialist, shared information on the technology and innovative strategies being implemented in the district to ensure students are receiving the skills and concepts they need to travel safely and independently both at home and in the community. Thanks to consultants like Mr. Blades, our teachers of the visually impaired can ensure students have access to the most innovative strategies and latest technology.
Student Services
Liberty School-Based Social Workers recently completed additional training with regards to application of DSM5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5). As “Mental Health” concerns continue to be an area of rapid growth, further clarification on diagnosis and methods to understand treatment to various identified diagnosis continues to be an important aspect of the social worker role.
Liberty Alliance For Youth (L.A.F.Y.) has established their main goals for 2016-17 school year. There are as follow: 1.) Education of our parents with regards to current trends with drugs usage and substance abuse. 2.) The importance of peer mentoring and further exploration and implementation of a peer mentoring program 3.) Coping strategies for our students.
The LPS Office of Student Services is assessing the implementation of the student demographic “update” site and are working with Registration Gateway and other departments within LPS to further refine the process for the 2017-18 school year.
Health Services
Vision Screening Enhanced!
Liberty School Nurses are now able to screen entire classrooms for vision in under 15 minutes, thanks to the new Spot Vision Screener the Health Services Department received with a grant from the Liberty Hospital Foundation.
The screener does not require any verbal responses from the person being screened which has detected vision issues for students whose learning was impacted by poor vision. The screener is making its way around the district and we’re excited to have this technology to benefit LPS Students.
Kid's Zone
According to the Afterschool Alliance, participation on Afterschool programs has consistently increased over the past 10 years, rising by nearly 2 million children in the last 5 years alone. Today, 10.2 million children (18%) participate in an afterschool program, an increase from 2009(8.4 million, 15 percent) and 2004(6.5 million, 11 percent).
The Liberty School District Kid’s Zone program, a financially self-supporting department, currently serves 17 % of the district’s elementary children, and continues to grow each year. All Kid’s Zone programs and services are funded through participation fees.
Curriculum, Instruction & Staff Development
Elementary and Secondary Curriculum Councils met on September 27th and 28th for the first district-wide meeting for 2016-2017. The team talked through several significant topics impacting teachers in Liberty Public Schools. All Council representatives sent specific notes to their grade-level and department teams following each meeting. If you did not receive an email from your Representative(s), please contact them to let them know to add you to the mailing list. You can find out who your Curriculum Council Representative is by clicking on the following links: Elementary Curriculum Council Representatives or Secondary Curriculum Council Representatives.
The topics covered at the meeting included updates on:
· Curriculum Management and Liberty Leads: Teaching and Learning;
· State of the Schools Update from our Director of Assessment Christopher Hand;
· Dyslexia Update from Julie Shaw, Parent for Liberty Public Schools; and
Assessment
My students have taken the iReady diagnostic……Now what?
It is very important that students have a clear understanding that they are in charge of their own data and learning. One way to help students be in charge of their own data and to continue them on their road to be reflective learners is to share the iReady Diagnostic scores in Math and Reading in Elementary and Middle levels. The iReady reporting system for diagnostic testing has many reports for a teachers and student to use to partner in learning. i-Ready reports allow you to plan, monitor, and adjust instruction for the rest of the school year. There are five important reports for educators to look at after the Diagnostic is completed:
1. Performance by Grade and Class Reports
2. Intervention Screener Report
3. Needs Analysis by Grade Report
4. Class Profile Report
5. Instructional Grouping Profile Report
Intervention Screener Report
What this report tells you: The Intervention Screener report allows you to review school-wide Diagnostic results. It shows the distribution of all students in the school across RTI performance tiers. This report is visible to administrators only. How this report can help you: Because this report clearly displays the percentages of students that are performing on or above level, one level below, or more than one level below, you can use this report to: place students into RTI tiers and adjust instructional grouping placements.
Needs Analysis by Grade Report
What this report tells you: The Needs Analysis by Grade report gives you an overview of the domains where students struggle the most. It shows the average scale score for each domain as well as the number and percentage of students who are below grade level for each domain. How this report can help you: Because this report clearly shows the domains where students struggle the most, you can use this report to: identify areas that may need additional remediation and Provide focus for curriculum and instructional planning.
Class Profile Report
What this report tells you: The Class Profile report (available for both Math and Reading) gives teachers an overview of the instructional needs of their class. This information is presented by class, by student, and by domain. How this report can help you: View the Class Profile report to:
- Help teachers get a quick sense of which students in their class need special attention. Students who are more than one grade level below their expected performance will appear in red and students who are up to one grade level below will appear in yellow.
- Look at students’ specific domain placements to help teachers adjust their instructional groups.
The Instructional Grouping Profile Report
The Instructional Grouping Profile report (available for both Math and Reading) provides teachers with a premade set of instructional groups based on Diagnostic data as well as a detailed view of each grouping profile. It describes the specific instructional needs of each grouping profile and even gives recommended Tools for Instruction which can be downloaded and printed for offline differentiated instruction with small groups. With the data from this report as support:
- Use your own knowledge of each student’s academic history and/or personal needs to adjust instructional groups.
- Read the “Profile Priorities” section at the top of the page to help teachers create lesson plans for each instructional group.
What else you can use this report for: Teachers can quickly view the students listed under the “Students Needing Additional Differentiated Instruction” section under each instructional grouping profile to see who may benefit from one-on-one instruction time or some extra i-Ready lessons.
Important note: While the Instructional Grouping Profile is one of the most useful reports for informing your instruction, student growth may not be as evident here as it will be in your Class Profile and Student Profile reports. This is because students would need to make significant progress in two domains in a relatively short period of time to move to a different instructional group.
College/Career/Community Partnerships
Honeywell Educators at Space Academy
For math and science teachers, Honeywell Educators at Space Academy (HESA) is a dream come true! Imagine the opportunity to learn about space and science by spending five incredible days at the world’s premiere space learning center. Here is information about how you can apply for this grant: https://educators.honeywell.com/the-academy
The College and Career Guide is a new publication that will be available for all secondary parents during Parent Teacher Conferences. Articles provide information about transitions and programs at the secondary levels and movement toward college and/or career. Please look for your copy! Elementary teachers: if interested in a copy, contact cjones@liberty.k12.mo.us
High School Career Panels
The following dates are options for students to attend to hear from professionals about various careers. Please have students sign up in counseling dept:
Breakfast with the Experts-LN
10/25/2016, 11/22/2016, 3/28/2017, 4/25/2017
Career Connections-LHS
11/1/2016, 12/6/2016, 2/7/2017, 3/17/2017, 4/4/2017
PowerSchool
Looking for some assistance with PowerSchool? Please visit the LPS PowerSchool/Data Services page on Inside Liberty to find training documents, video tutorials, announcements and other resources to assist and empower you with your use and navigation of PowerSchool. We are also available by phone at x5351 and by email at PowerSchool@liberty.k12.mo.us . Please feel free to contact us for all of your PowerSchool needs!
State Reporting and Workforce
State Reporting:
The September count date was September 28th. This count date is part of the MOSIS October Cycle. This date is significant for school districts across the state because this count is used for several purposes by DESE. Usually when enrollment data is published for school districts, this count date data is used. This data is also used as a component of calculating state funding as part of the Foundation Formula.
Workforce:
Supervisors, please remember that is important to approve your timesheets each week before Noon on Tuesday . Your approval is crucial in ensuring that our non-exempt employees are paid correctly. Please contact the Kay Cox (ext.6782) or Bob Citro (ext.5307) if you need assistance with approvals.
Academic Services Staff
Executive Directors
Beth Heide, Secondary Education
Dr. Jennifer Corum, Elementary Education
Becky Gossett, Special Programs
Directors
Bob Citro, Administrative Services
Christopher Hand, Assessment, Evaluation and Testing
Dr. Jeanette Westfall, Curriculum, Instruction and Staff Development
Colleen Jones, College/Career Readiness and Community Partnerships
Dr. Kelly Saluri, Data Services
Aaron Money, Fine Arts
Debbie Ervay, Kids' Zone!
Andrea Sumy, Library Media Services
Kathy Ellermeier, Nursing Health Services
Dr. Kris Martin, Special Education
Dr. Jim Hammen, Student Services