Conrad/Thomas Jefferson Tribune
WEEK OF MARCH 18-22, 2019
SPRING BREAK -MARCH 11-16, 2019
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Advance teacher effectiveness and improve the quality of instruction through research-based professional learning practices
QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION
Close achievement gaps through effective data practices and alignment of core content curriculum.
CLIMATE AND CULTURE
Develop and sustain a positive and supportive climate and culture of high expectations through effective communication, inclusive practices and leadership development.
CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER PRIORITY GOALS
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Distinguished Leaders,
I hope that each and everyone of you have a relaxing Spring Break. It is imperative that you relax your mind and rejuvenate so that you will be ready to come back 200% for our scholars. It is important to take care of yourselves because everyone relies on your COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP.
"WE ARE IN IT TO WIN IT...GO FOR THE GOLD!!
Ms. Torres
Emmett Conrad/Thomas Jefferson Executive Director
WEEKLY UPDATES
MONDAY, MARCH 18
- Campus visit w/ED and ILCs @ Polk
- Campus visit w/ED and ILCs @ Highland Meadows
- Gretchen Barnebi Communities of Foundation of Texas 9:00- 3:00 p.m.- (Mrs. McLaughlin, selected school teachers and administrators)
TUESDAY, MARCH 19
- Parent Meeting w/Special Ed. department -(Browne, Corrales, De La Guardia, & Torres) @ 8:30 a.m.-Foster Elementary
- Accountability Traning @ NCX Rm. 580 from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Jill Stone, Polk and McShan, ED & ILCs)
- ED Collaborative Session-2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m@ Ben Miliam
- Campus visit w/ILC , Joe May CICs @Jill Stone
- Campus visit w/ ILCs @ McShan
- Conrad/TJ ALL Tier 3 teachers PD @ Jack Lowe ES-2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. (1 Principal, AP or CIC must attend with their campus teachers.)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20
- Campus visit w/ED and ILCs @ Jill Stone
- Campus visit w/ED and ILCs@Jack Lowe
- Campus visit w/ED and ILCs @ Foster
- Campus visit w/ILCs @ Polk
THURSDAY, MARCH 21
- CIP Training day for Principals and EDs-9:00-12:00 p.m.- NCX Rm. 583-Ms. Torres
- Campus visit w/ED and ILC @ Jill Stone
- Campus visit w/ED and ILC @ McShan
- ALL Principals Test Bank training and Discipline Training-1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.@ Burnet
- Conrad/TJ ALL Tier 3 teachers PD @ Jack Lowe ES-2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. (1 Principal, AP or CIC must attend with their campus teachers.)
FRIDAY, MARCH 22
- Campus visit w/ED and ILCs @ Saldivar
- Campus visit w/ED and ILCs & New Principal ED Support @ Saldivar-9:00 a.m.
- Campus visit w/ED and ILCs @ Burnet
- Campus visit w/ ILCs@ Field
- SLB Leadership Team Meeting w/Deputy Chief @3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.-Ms. Torres-NCX Rm. 580
- Level Up Campus Rallies for grades 3-5 (Meets & Masters) @ 2:40-3:00 pm
CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON CLUSTER KUDOS!
CONGRATULATIONS TO JACK LOWE ES, OWLS GO FACEBOOK LIVE FOR "BEST SCHOOLS IN DALLAS!"
CIGARROA ES LEVELING UP TO MEETS & MASTERS WITH INTENTIONAL SMALL GROUP LEARNING ACTIVITIES
DALLAS ISD CAMPUS INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES CONFERENCE @ THOMAS EDISON LEARNING CENTER
ED/TEACHER SUPPORT
STEPHEN C. FOSTER STUDENTS WORKING TOWARDS THEIR GOALS
JILL STONE FOURTH GRADERS WORKING ON WRITING
Teacher Support PD @ Lee McShan
Saturday School 2019 @ Lee McShan ES
Pre-K Projects @ Cigarroa ES...STEM Ready!
CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON CIP TIMELINE
Thomas Jefferson 'Scholar' Level Up' Celebrations Across the Cluster!
Therefore, please ensure that you are celebrating your scholars every Friday. The following dates are:
March 8
March 22
March 29
April 5
This assembly should be conducted from 2:40 to 3:00 p.m.
I am excited to receive ALL the campus pictures of your celebrations!
Northwest Network High School Ranking
ACHIEVE 3000 FEBRUARY DATA REPORT
Teacher Job Fair
9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
This event will be promoted for teachers and all other campus based positions such as: Campus Instructional Coach, Media Specialist, Counselor, Paraprofessional, etc.
AGENDA
* 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.: Principal Check-In
* 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.: Candidate Check-In
* 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Candidate Entry
* 12:00 p.m.: Conclusion of Job Fair
STAAR COUNTDOWN
TEI News for Teachers
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR NORTHWEST ELEMENTARY CLUSTER
DISTRICT-WIDE ADMINISTRATOR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
DISTRICT-WIDE CIC & TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
COACHING CONNECTION CENTER
Working Unrealistically for Success!!!
Reading/Language Arts
In support of the progression for literacy in grades 3-5, there will be weekly quizzes generated by our wonderful CICs. The goals is to ensure that all 12 campuses have access to quality quizzes that will yield to gains for student achievement. Each quiz will come with an exemplar for the teacher so that all students can excel using the best strategies for specific skills.
Mathematics
Conrad and Jefferson ES students will complete the same a formal writing sample each week in math from January 31-March 7. Please be sure teachers follow the Three Part Lesson Format with the students prior to students completing the math writing samples.
SCIENCE
COMMON ASSESSMENT WINDOW
MARCH
29-Open Transfer period ends
APRIL
1-19-STAAR ALT 2
3-AP Meeting w/ED @ Highland Meadows @ 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
5-Last day to test for CEFA
8-12-Common Assessments #5 begin
9-STAAR 4th Writing/5th Math
10-STAAR Reading 5th
13-Job Fair @ Conrad HS-9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
19-New Principal Check In's w/ Executive Director-Highland Meadows
22-26-Student Surveys given
23-26-Terra Nova/Supera-K-2
23-Terra Nova/Supera Testing Reading K-2
24-Terra Nova/Supera Testing Math K-2
25-25-Terra Nova/Supera Testing Make-ups K-2
MAY
1-31-ISIP Reading Inventory K-2
10-New Principal Check In's w/ Executive Director-KB Polk
13-STAAR Math-3rd -4th
14-STAAR Reading-3rd -4th & 5th Retest
15-STAAR Science-5th
23-29-ACP Testing
30-ACP Testing Make-ups
MARSHALL MEMO #746
A New Way of Brainstorming, Using Questions
In this Harvard Business Review article, Hal Gregersen describes leading an unproductive brainstorming session 20 years ago in one of his MIT Sloan School business classes. He felt like they were “wading through oatmeal… After a lot of discussion, the energy level in the room was approaching nil.” Frustrated, Gregersen suggested that students come up with some questionsthey might ask about the problem. “To my surprise,” he says, “the room was quickly energized. At the end of the session, people left talking excitedly about a few of the questions that had emerged – those that challenged basic assumptions we had been making.”
What was so unusual about this class is that students are rarely asked to generate questions. Teachers and professors ask questions, students answer them. Young children are bubbling with curiosity, says Gregersen, but as they move through school, “they’ve been conditioned not to ask questions… Questioning is an innate human behavior that’s actively subverted and systematically shut down.” All too often in classrooms, there’s a cursory, “Any questions?” and instructors quickly move on. Questions come to be seen as a waste of time and a sign of cluelessness; students stop asking them because of negative reactions from teachers and classmates. They learn to repeat back well-rehearsed answers to keep things moving and get good grades.
Reflecting on what happened in his classroom that day, Gregersen realized that he’d stumbled on a new way of brainstorming that truly opened the door to student questions. He’s been using and refining this approach ever since, both in university classes and advising business clients on how to tackle stubborn problems. The key, he says, is that “fresh questions often beget novel – even transformative – insights… Brainstorming for questions rather than answers makes it easier to push past cognitive biases and venture into uncharted territory… It helps people adopt a more creative habit of thinking and, when they’re looking for breakthroughs, gives them a sense of control. There’s actually something they can do other than sit and wait for a bolt from the blue.”
Gregersen has fine-tuned the “question burst” approach over time, experimenting with different group sizes, time allotments, number of questions, degree of structure, ways to capture ideas, and coaching. Here is his latest thinking on how to proceed:
• Set the stage. For starters, choose a challenge you care deeply about, something that will command your full attention – and that others should be thinking about too. Then convene a few colleagues, preferably people who have no direct experience with the problem and whose cognitive style or worldview is different from your own. “They will come up with surprising, compelling questions that you would not,” says Gregersen, “because they have no practiced ways of thinking about the problem and no investment in the status quo. They’re more likely to ask third-rail questions and point to elephants in the room – they don’t know not to.” Kick off the discussion with a very brief description of the problem – under two minutes – so people won’t be bogged down with details: just the highlights, how things would change for the better if the problem were solved, and why it hasn’t been solved up to now.
• Brainstorm questions. Set a timer and spend the next four minutes collectively generating as many questions about the challenge as possible, the more surprising and provocative, the better. Try for 15 questions. The time and quantity pressure helps get people’s juices flowing and prevents overthinking. Don’t allow pushback or discussion, and immediately redirect any attempts to offer solutions. This is important, since many people find it excruciating not to solve problems raised by the questions. Gregersen recommends getting all the questions down verbatim on paper, a laptop, or tablet – not a whiteboard (which will be erased). “As you’re recording,” he suggests, “add your own questions to the mix. That will often reveal patterns in how you have habitually framed a problem (and might have unknowingly perpetuated it).”
When the timer goes off, he recommends doing a quick check on everyone’s emotional state about the issue. Are we more positive? Often after question brainstorming, people feel better, but if not, consider repeating the process after a break, or the next day with a different group. Gregersen has found that it often takes three question bursts to get to the heart of the matter. Even with three rounds, the time taken is minimal, and once people get the hang of it, they become more proficient at generating helpful questions.
• Identify a solution and follow up. On your own, Gregersen recommends, study the list of questions, looking for those that suggest new approaches to the problem. “About 80% of the time,” he says, “this exercise produces at least one question that usefully reframes the problem and provides a new angle for solving it.” It’s often helpful to follow up with the “Five whys” strategy. “By better understanding why a question really matters and what obstacles you might face in addressing it, you deepen your resolve and ability to do something about it and further broaden the territory of possible solutions.” Finally, decide on one new pathway, write an action plan – the concrete actions you will personally take in the next three weeks to solve the problem – and commit to following through. “Few things are more annoying than a colleague who only asks questions,” says Gregersen. “People must take responsibility for exploring the pathways those questions open up and discovering valuable answers. This is especially true for leaders.”
• Shape the culture. People develop as questioners “in organizational cultures where they feel safe doggedly pursuing the truth,” concludes Gregersen, “no matter where it takes them. “To create such cultures, MIT’s Ed Schein says, leaders must show humility, vulnerability, and trust, and they must empower others and treat them equitably. When these conditions aren’t present, questions tend to be constrained or, worse, crushed.”
EMMETT J. CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
- Jack Lowe Elementary: Principal, Sandra Barrios
- Jill Stone : Principal, Rosalinda Pratt
- Highland Meadows: Principal, JoAnna Bahena
- David G. Burnet Elementary: Principal, Sonia Loskot
- Leonides Cigarroa Elementary : Principal, Douglas Burak
- Tom W. Field Elementary: Principal, Selena Deboskie
- Stephen C. Foster Elementary: Principal, Irma De La Guardia
- Joe May Elementary: Principal, Israel Rivera
- K.B. Polk Elementary: Principal, Kourtnei Billups
- Julian T. Saldivar: Principal, Edgar Jaramillo
- Walnut Hill Elementary: Principal, Phillip Potter
- McShan Elementary: Principal, Cecilia Criner