Conrad/Thomas Jefferson Tribune
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 12-16, 2018
NEW SCHOOL LEADERSHIP MISSION
WE WILL CULTIVATE LEADERSHIP THAT INSPIRES AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT FOR EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS TO ENSURE ALL STUDENTS ARE COLLEGE AND CAREER STRONG.
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 'B' GOALS
- INSPIRING CULTURE
- DATA MASTERY
- EFFECTIVE PLCs
- AGGRESSIVE MONITORING
VISION, MISSION & CORE VALUES
CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER PRIORITY GOALS
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.
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Illustrious Leaders,
We have made it to our final week before Thanksgiving Break! I appreciate all of the hard work that you have put in during this first stretch of the school year. You are staying true to your plans . Now it is time to start seeing the results.
I have been re-energized by the continuous learning that has been transpiring among all of the leaders in our Elementary Cluster. From CIC to AP and AP to Principal, your lens on continuous learning has definitely been infectious. I would like to give a HUGE SHOUT OUT to the following CIC's for their continuous growth mindset and leadership; Mr. Bazan, Mr. Churchwell, Mrs. Goudy, Ms. Lopez, Mr. Hight, Mr. Haddock, and Ms. Ramos. Thank you CIC's for your support on the campuses.
Big take away is that as a Northwest Cluster, we still have a winning chance of being the number one cluster.
Please ensure that our scholars get the BEST 'First Instruction' ever this upcoming week! Monitor classrooms closely and hold teachers accountable for teaching until the last day before Thanksgiving break! :) Think WIN WIN- Habit # 4- Win/Win. "Win/Win is a belief in the third alternative. It's not your way or my way; it's a BETTER way, a HIGHER way".
Here is to a productive week of teaching, learning, growing and leading!
"WE ARE IN IT TO WIN IT...GO FOR THE GOLD!!
Ms. Torres
Emmett Conrad/Thomas Jefferson Executive Director
WEEKLY UPDATES
MONDAY, November 12
- ELT Meeting w/Dr. Hinojosa-Ms. Torres @ 8:37 a.m.-16th floor
- Campus visit w/ED & Math ILC @ McShan
- Unscheduled Campus visits
- Report Cards Issued TODAY
- Aggressive Monitoring PD w/Principals & CIC's @ Highland Meadows -8:30 a.m.-Ms. Torres
- MLK Campus visit w/ED/Principals/CIC's on Aggressive Monitoring in PM-Ms. Torres
- Walnut HIll Leader in Me Event w/Trustee Flores-5:30 p.m.-Ms. Torres and Math ILC
WEDNESDAY, November 14
- District-Wide AP meeting @ Edison-8:00 a.m.
- Math K-2 Common Assessment
- ALL CIC's @ Joe May for 'A' Accountability Data Training-MANDATORY per ED-8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- Unscheduled Campus visits
- 2nd Grade Reading Common Assessment
- School Leadership ED Meeting 8:30 a.m.-12:30
- Math ILC PD w/Teaching and Learning
UNITED WAY
The Kick-off for United Way campaign for 2018-19 will be November 1. The window of opportunity to contribute to United Way is Nov. 1-Dec. 14. This year the District goal is $200,000.
BLENDED LEARNING FOLLOW UP TRAINING
Core 4 Family Friendly Climate Campus Visits Tips
The Purpose
The District’s Student Recruitment and Retention Taskforce is announcing a new initiative, The Core 4 Family Friendly Climate Campus Visits. The goal of these visits is to help principals to get feedback on the Core 4 customer service given by their campus staff and to understand a visitor’s experience. Visits will begin taking place in November.
Resources
To make your campus stand out as a shining star and as a campus that is family friendly, please check out the following resources:
- The Principal’s Handbook: Dallas ISD has outlined tips for how to create a welcoming environment for your visitors in the principal’s handbook which is available at this link. Review pages 42-44 from the handbook with your staff.
- Core 4 Podcast: The Communications department has a podcast available at this link. Please send this link to your staff and review the importance of providing excellent customer service and establishing relationships.
- The Five Step Model for Exceptional Customer Service: Meet with your office staff and other personnel who are responsible for welcoming visitors and review the Five Step Model for Exceptional Customer Service. Role play how visitors should be greeted and served.
Preparation
During the next few weeks, we will share various resources and tips for creating a family-friendly environment. Please check out the attached list of suggestions. Also, customer service training is available by reaching out to Tunisia Wallace at core4@dallasisd.org.
STAAR AND COMMON ASSESSMENT TESTING CONSIDERATIONS
COMMON ASSESSMENT WINDOW
ACHIEVE 3000 USAGE & PROFICIENCY REPORT
See below usage and proficiency report for work completed in Achieve3000 on your campuses so far this school year. You will be receiving this report monthly for the remainder of the school year. This report is designed to give a high-level view of how students are progressing toward their 40-activity goal, as well as the average score students are achieving on their lessons. This report gives additional information than the one that you have received previously with Lexile completion rates. I have included an explanation of each of the additional columns below:
Avg. First-Try Activity Score - This is the average first-try score for all activities completed by all students on the campus (cumulative for the entire school year). Our goal is for students to reach 75% proficiency or higher to increase their Lexile level. 75% is the goal because the activities are at the student’s just-right reading level. The score will appear in red when it is considered too low to achieve Lexile growth.
% Completed – This is the percentage of students on the campus that have completed the number of activities listed in the header of that column. For instance, if a school has 18% in the “% Completed 1-9 MC” column then 18% of the students on the campus have completed between 1 and 9 Achieve3000 activities. MC Stands for multiple choice – which is the step of the activity we monitor for activity completion and Lexile adjustments.
CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON CLUSTER KUDOS!
Walnut Hill Celebrates Native American Heritage Month
Jefferson and Conrad ES Teachers Take Charge of Student Performances on CA2
CICs Share Best Practices at the Principals' Meeting
Conrad and Jefferson Principals Collaborate with NW Network Principals
Lee McShan Art Student Wins Big!
Trustee Edwin Flores Stops by Walnut Hill ES in Support of the Mandarin Chinese Program
Taking Student Attendance to the Next Level!
CIC Juan Bazan Takes Data to a New Level at Joe May ES
Junior Achievement Day at Julian T. Saldivar ES
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Leader in Me Symposium 2019
ALL CAMPUSES SHOULD HAVE REPRESENTATION ATTENDING!
Coaching Connection Corner
SCIENCE
Connecting with Science
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1777YTOg8VqaRHSx23isFrtTQ39fBMZDrdhiiYXHNnVc/edit
Science Resources Order Form
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7ikzhyGZlutd0RUM1ljX09obDA/view
Living Resource List
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19_I2nagvT4vFaZznfJx5jIHdWCpZ-lxDHt58EmydA1s/edit
Living Resource Order Form
https://www.dallasisd.org/cms/lib/TX01001475/Centricity/Domain/96/LMC%20Request%20Form.pdf
Connecting with Math
Connect with Reading/Language Arts
Can teaching grammar benefit reading comprehension?
Is there a relationship between grammar and reading comprehension? Yes, says Timothy Shanahan on Shanahan on Literacy. In summarizing the research, Shanahan suggests "as students learn to employ more complex sentences in their oral and written language, their ability to make sense of what they read increases, too."
Specific methods for teaching grammar appear to have an effect on comprehension. Strategies that teach sentence combining, a longtime favorite within the special education literature, appears to help students understand what they read, probably because it helps students understand how sentences work. Other research suggests that being familiar with the vocabulary of grammar (noun, adjective) benefits students' understanding.
Shanahan provides a good example of a meaningful way a teacher can "untangle" a complex sentence for students, in hopes that experience with more complex sentences will help them decode them more successfully when they're reading independently. As Shanahan writes, "It is pure romanticism that assumes that children will just figure this kind of thing out without any explicit instruction (and it is even more foolish to assume that English language learners will intuit these things without more direct support)."
http://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/sounditout/teaching-grammar-reading-comprehension
NOVEMBER
19-23-Thanksgiving Break!
DECEMBER
12-19-ACP Testing
14-Last day to contribute to United Way
20-Annual Acknowledgment & Policy Review Due date
JANUARY
14-25-K-5-GT Testing Window (1-5 2nd opportunity to test)
8-22-ACP Make-up window
29-NAEP Test for 4th grade begin-Multiple subtests designated campuses only
8-31-ISIP Reading Inventory (K-2/MOY)
FEBRUARY
1-Registration deadline for CEFA
7-8-The Leader in Me Symposium-Irving Convention Center-All Principals should register to attend
18-22-Common Assessments #4 begin
25-TELPAS teacher online ratings begin
MARCH
4-CEFA testing begins
8-NAEP tests end
23-Northwest Network Super Saturday-Time TBD
APRIL
1-19-STAAR ALT 2
5-Last day to test for CEFA
8-12-Common Assessments #5 begin
9-STAAR 4th Writing/5th Math
10-STAAR Reading 5th
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
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
EMMETT J. CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
- Jack Lowe Elementary: Principal, Sandra Barrios
- Jill Stone : Principal, Rosalinda Pratt
- Highland Meadows: Principal, Julian Davis
- 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, Robert 'Chase' McLaurin
- McShan Elementary: Principal, Cecilia Criner
MEET OUR ILLUSTRIOUS CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON LEADERSHIP TEAM
JACK LOWE SR. ELEMENTARY
JILL STONE ELEMENTARY
HIGHLAND MEADOWS ELEMENTARY
DAVID G. BURNET ELEMENTARY
LEONIDES CIGARROA ELEMENTARY
TOM FIELD
STEPHEN C. FOSTER
JOSE 'JOE' MAY
K.B. POLK CENTER FOR THE ACADEMICALLY TALENTED & GIFTED
JULIAN T. SALDIVAR
WALNUT HILL DUAL LANGUAGE GIFTED & TALENTED
MCSHAN ELEMENTARY
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP COACH
OUR BOARD TRUSTEES REPRESENTING OUR NETWORK
EDWIN FLORES
DISTRICT # 1, Northwest Dallas, Addison, parts of Carrollton and Farmers Branch
Walnut Hill
DUSTIN MARSHALL
District #2 North and Near East Dallas
K. B. Polk
DAN Micciche
DISTRICT #3 Northeast Dallas
Highland Meadows, Jack Lowe Sr., Lee A. McShan Jr, Jill Stone at Vickery Meadow
MIGUEL SOLIS
DISTRICT # 8 Love Field, Northwest Dallas, and Central Dallas
David G. Burnet, Leonides Gonzalez Cigarroa, Tom Field, Stephen C. Foster, Jose "Joe" May, Julian T. Saldivar