Secondary Spotlight
October 11, 2015
Rejuvenated...Rested...Ready to Roll!
As we enter a new nine weeks, take a look at your school's benchmark scores. How do the results compare to your SMART goals? What worked well? What needs to be tweaked? What are your celebrations? Have you identified teachers to serve as mentors to other teachers who may need support? Consider having each teacher in your school conduct a "peer visit" and encourage your teachers to visit another class subject. This affords teachers the opportunity to add additional tools to their toolkit! I will attach a sample Peer Visit form to this email. Feel free to use this if you would like.
I have scheduled 1:1 data meetings. Please make sure to complete your PLP. We will discuss your goals as well as your action steps. One goal should be dedicated to Cultural Diversity, which is indicator 4.
- Please also be prepared to discuss your SMART goals and update to your SMART goals based on your data. You should have your site data slides October 19th. We will look over the slides at this meeting as well.
- Please be prepared to discuss your data and next steps.
- Please identify teachers who need support. Based on your schoolnet date, we have generated a list of teachers who may need support. We will cross reference teacher support lists at our 1:1 meeting. How are you supporting these teachers and how can we assist with this support?
I am also attaching an article that discusses cultural awareness and affirmation through writing. It is a very interesting read. As you read the article, ask yourself:
- Does each subject in my school use reflective writing prompts?
- Are writing prompts and journaling isolated to just English courses?
- How can my school implement "self affirmations" through writing across the curriculum?"
- How does your school ensure writing takes place daily and in each class period?
- Do you have a comprehensive writing plan?
- What does it look like?
- How can you implement a writing plan in your school? This should be a discussion with your leadership team to determine next steps.
Writing was the lowest score on the ACT Aspire test across grade levels. The only way to improve writing is actually writing- everyday.
Have a great week! I look forward to hearing your next steps at our 1:1 meeting.
Christie
REMINDERS
PST and STUDENTS WITH FAILING GRADES- please make sure you look at the number of failures for the first nine weeks. Parent contact and conferences should be made by teachers. Students should have a PST plan as well as a student support plan.
BLOCK SCHEDULE MEETING FOR HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS (October 20, 3:30)- during this meeting, high school principals will decide one schedule that all school will follow. Currently, there are 3 different bell schedules. We must all be on the same page. We are running into issues because of the different schedules.
Honors and AP Recruitment should begin now- We will begin the registration process in a few months. It is important to take a look at students who are successful in regular courses and begin recruiting for honors and AP next year. Here are some ideas:
- Have students in regular courses sit in a honors or AP course toward the end of this semester
- Have your honors and AP teachers talk with students that are in regular courses
- Share/ communicate AP news in your parent emails and constant contact newsletters
- Start a "LUNCH BUNCH with the PRINCIPAL" that focuses on college and career opportunities. Within the LUNCH BUNCH, include current honors or AP students and invite students who are under represented to attend.
RECRUITING STARTS NOW! If you have recruiting ideas, please share! Also, please remember the new students you recruited in honors and AP. It is equally important to celebrate their accomplishments. We want to retain these students in our AP programs.
I have created an Edmodo group for you to share your recruiting ideas! Group code is if5t6i
PLC and DATA Meeting Agenda
Upcoming Dates
October 12 and 15- AP and TOSA meetings
October 13- SELF MONITORING PLAN DUE!!!!!
Community night at Grissom 6:00
October 14- PSAT!!!!
October 15 Board Meeting; Community Night at Johnson 6:00
October 15- 8th grade day at Monaco
October 16 - Principals Meeting Equity Training
October 19- Report Cards go home
October 20- High School Principal Round Table Meeting - block schedule 3:30-4:30
October 20- PLPs completed
October 22 and 23 - Principal 1:1 data meetings with Mrs. Finley
October 23 - Half day for students
OCTOBER 26-30 Site data meetings
November 2-6 I Applied to College Week
November 3 Principal Meeting