OSP Connected
June 2022-Office for School Performance-Volume 60
Message from Dayle
Both of my children are at UO and last weekend they invited me down for the day. We had breakfast and went on a stroll around the river and walked around campus a bit. At the end of the day, as I rode the elevator with my daughter to take things up to her dorm room and prepared to drive home, a “noticing” I had that day started to jell. Whether we were in an open space outdoors, in the cafeteria area, or passing by a study spot, most students were not interacting with each other. Many had headphones in or were using their computers or just simply on their phones. And the elevator full of students was silent.
Driving home I reflected on this phenomenon and acknowledged that we also see this in our schools. It’s a real, troubling pattern. The disconnection between people is harmful and research says that being ignored or neglected is as harmful as other types of abuse. I challenge all of us to consider that the anxiety, drug use, and depression that our kids are experiencing may be a response to this disconnect.
So, what do we do?
There are a lot of things that work to connect students and help them build the skills of social interaction and relationship building. There are exemplars in your schools! Last week I was in a class where the students were doing a hands-on activity in groups with assigned roles and no one was using tech but very engaged with each other. A group of high school students told me recently that the best things about coming back to school were the clubs – including a new one – and sports they were involved in. Tracking that each student has a “thing” is a good use of DCA and an impactful activity for us. Recently, I also talked to a teacher who told me that she is teaching students the language of interaction and problem solving. She is bringing out those old sentence frames of “I respectfully disagree…” and “I’d like to build on ____’s idea and add….” Those skills need to be explicitly taught and expected in class instruction.
Finally, and importantly, students need to know you see each of them and know them and celebrate them. One of the findings of the ACEs research concluded that a mitigating factor for childhood trauma was each child having one caring, stable adult in their lives. That could be any one of us! (And each child deserves at least one!)
As we end this year, let students know how much you enjoy and appreciate them one by one. Your little notes or celebrations can fuel them for years. Spend the time helping students make connections with classmates and find ways to stay connected with others over the summer. There are many ways to do this; finding a place to work a summer job, join a summer program, become part of the read-a-thon at the local library, spend time outdoors with kids on your street, or join a community class. Getting connected to others and being truly seen is important to our students’ health and wellness!
Instruction: Summer 2022
As the school year comes to a close, we wanted to acknowledge all the amazing dedication and flexibility that our HSD educators have displayed this school year. With yet another unpredictable school year that threw us twists and turns, we continued to welcome our students everyday and provide rigorous and meaningful instruction. Thank you for everything you do to support our students, families, and community.
We hope that you all take some time this summer to rest and recharge…and maybe take that trip you’ve had to put off the last couple of years. If you are interested in some summer reading, here is a Summer 2022 list of some education related books, blogs, and articles that you may find interesting. Additionally, we will be offering some professional development opportunities throughout the summer - check out our Summer 2022 PD Menu. Please be aware that we are still making some updates to this list.
Once again, we will be offering an HSD Summer Summit at Century High School on August 24. This is a conference style professional development with sessions offered by district teachers and staff members! Dr. Muhammad Khalifa, the author of Culturally Responsive School Leadership, will be our keynote speaker this year.
Showcasing HSD CCP Student Talents
Working jointly with the HIllsboro community, the Hillsboro School District is creating relevant, viable pathways for PK-12 students in order to unlock their passion, talent and potential. May brings an exciting time of year for showcasing our programs and connecting students to hands on learning opportunities. Here are some events to lookout for this month.
Communicating the "Learning" in Social Emotional Learning
In a recent collaboration with HSD Wellness Center Instructors we examined ways to communicate SEL and Wellness learning to students. Topics of frontloading, practicing, engagement, language, structures, and processes elevated the conversation. With our HSD intentional focus on the 5 CASEL Competencies we must consider how this learning will be communicated to all of our HSD community. Not only has SEL become politicized and questioned on the basis of its use to promote equity in schools, but it has also been questioned on its capacity to support academic success. A study completed by the Fordham Institute tells us “that we should not frame SEL and academics as an either/or choice and that we need to help parents understand the inextricable connection between the two.” To this degree, SEL should be framed as “both/and,” not relegated to a set of practices that excludes or dismisses any individual or group. SEL is individualized and collective, internal and external, safety and risk-taking, silent and loud. It is the bridge between the heart and the head, pointing each in the direction of the other. It should live throughout a student’s experiences at school, woven throughout practice and pedagogy by teachers with intentionality, and evident in the climate and culture of the school.
It is critical that parents understand the role of SEL in their student’s education and school experiences. Therefore, we should provide time and opportunity to present families with the language, context, and goals of SEL in our district. Furthermore, we must acknowledge any misconceptions of SEL and then reassure parents that HSD is implementing SEL to support all of our students in reaching their full potential, both in school and out of school. Although SEL has been politicized, parents representing various political affiliations agree that, “social-emotional skills, such as goal setting, navigating social situations, empathizing with others, standing up for people of different backgrounds, responding ethically, and understanding, expressing, and controlling emotions,” are important and must be addressed and that schools have a role in supporting this learning.
Ending the School Year Strong!
We are nearing our last few days of the school year in which we have all experienced a rollercoaster of emotions and diverse learning experiences with all of our students. We know that many teachers and students might be feeling stressed and exhausted, but let’s not rush to wrap things up! Let’s not miss the opportunity to make the most out of these last days of school. “Starting strong is good, finishing strong is epic.” -Robin Sharma
Our work in equity this year has centered on the importance of discourse and reflection in order to valiantly lead our schools in the area of educational equity. Armed with understanding our policies and school goals, discourse and reflection has afforded us the opportunity to lean into the uncomfortableness of leading change. As we think of our students, we are reminded that this time of year should be a time of reflection and celebration with our students. Taking the time before we head off into summer to reflect and celebrate with our students will help us all get excited for what is to come next school year. Although it is important to reflect on moments of goodness and success, it is also important to reflect on the things that went wrong. Jack Mezirow, a pioneer in the field of adult learning and former professor at Columbia University’s Teacher College, said that “a defining condition of being human is that we have to understand the meaning of our experience.” Reflection is what takes our learning experiences and cements them as lasting impressions. It’s a practice that gives students a chance to zoom out, assess their progress, and determine where they’d like to go as learners and as people. It also allows us time to engage in discourse with our colleagues to chat about ways to improve in the year to come. “We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.” -John Dewey
Are we providing our students with plenty of opportunities for reflection? Are we continuing to create spaces where we can come together with our students to process and make sense of everything that is happening in our community? Is the discourse with staff and students allowing you the opportunity to plan for change?
Thank you teachers and staff for your commitment to our students and families. We wish you love and light and lots of energy and hope so that you can finish the year with joy and a brighter spirit.
Sources & Resources:
Commemorations: Pride
Pride Month and Pride Party
June is Pride Month, a nationally observed timeframe in which to recognize the meaningful accomplishments and contributions of LGBTQIA+ individuals throughout our community, the country, and the world. Celebrate at a free, all-ages, family-welcoming Pride Party hosted by the City of Hillsboro from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, at Jerry Willey Plaza. The festival will feature a variety of arts and crafts vendors, live music and entertainment, tasty food and beverages, community resources, and all-ages activities.
Dual Language
At our last Elementary Dual Language Collaboration, we focused on an introduction into Translanguaging Pedagogy; we also continued sharing strategies to support the program’s Three Pillars. We will be providing more opportunities for staff to continue learning about these topics next year.
On Friday, May 27, DLP elementary students finished voting on the Logo Contest. We have a winner and are in the process of finalizing details to officially announce the program’s new logo.
We are looking forward to another cohort of high school students from Hilhi who will be receiving their Oregon Biliteracy Seal and/or Hillsboro SD Bilingual Recognition. The ceremony will take place on campus on Friday May 10. Congratulations Bilingual Class of 2022!
Thank you Dual Language Family for another year of hard work and dedication supporting our students to become bilingual and biliterate, achieve academically and become socio-culturally competent!
Tech Teach Grow Team
END OF YEAR TECH TIPS: The Tech Teach Grow team has put together some guidance for end of year tech application maintenance regarding Google Classroom and it’s connection to Calendar & Drive, as well as other premium apps.
Link to Resource: End of Year Tech Guidance
Tech Tips of the Week: #27-31
Tech Tips of the Week: The Tech Teach Grow team is providing quick tech tips for staff each week through Administrator Monday Notes. The tips include updates and integration ideas that relate to the work educators do. Each tip has a brief written description, video/GIF and a way to access the tech integration TOSA team for support on digital curriculum or tech tool/app integration. Below you will find a collection of the most recent tech tips.
TeachFlix for PD Calendar & Resources
For your convenience, TeachFlix has been updated with all available 2021-22 PD resources that staff can access on demand. There is also a new PD Calendar tab that houses topics, dates, times and Meet links for upcoming PD sessions.
Thank you to those that have attended PD sessions! Please see the playlists below to learn more about them. We encourage you to attend! Extended contract is available for those engaging in PD. See your building admin for details.
Please Note:
- All of the PD resources from 2020-201 can be found under the HSD Originals tab.
- Find new TeachFlix link icon (shown above right) on MyApps
Teaching Resources: Teaching & Learning 2.0
Link to site: Teaching & Learning 2.0
Teaching Language to Access Learning
Language Central
Three Ways to Scaffold Language for Access to Learning