Superhero Tuesday Times
Elite 11 Portfolio, Dalia Denise Flores - ILD
September 8th, 2015
Did you know?
107 years ago, in April of 1908, Oklahoma's first governor Charles N. Haskell proclaimed Labor Day a legal holiday? Labor Day is often referred to as the "Workingman's Holiday". On Labor Day we recognize the social and economic achievements of American workers, and celebrate their contributions in strengthening our country.
Labor Day Traditions
Traditionally, my family celebrates Labor Day by taking the boat out for one last weekend on the lake. Water sports and grilling with family and friends is how we usually chose to spend this day off. This Labor Day, however, we spent the weekend in Chicago baptizing our 6 month old niece Olivia. It was both an extreme pleasure and honor to be a part of this very special day in her life.
Hearts United
A strong, supportive and committed family is one of the greatest blessings in life. In fact, they are what is needed to make it through rough times. I am beyond grateful, proud and honored to be a part of the Elite 11 family who, in a moment's notice, were ready to support by sending helping hands to Springdale and Owen!
Additionally, I've added a folder in our Elite 11 Superhero Academy Binder documents located in the Google drive. The folder is titled "Information for Students and Staff regarding Grief and Death". Please take a moment to review the items in this folder so that you are aware of the tools and resources available should you ever have to guide your school through this process. Having personally experienced the sudden death of a close family member, I can appreciate seeing tools such as these in advance of needing them. These documents were shared with us courtesy of Stephanie Andrews. Thank you Stephanie!!
What you'll find:
- Information regarding how age and development impact how a student responds to death.
- Guidelines to support teachers in dealing with death in the classroom. These tools can be helpful in various circumstances both when the death is of a friends/loved one in the school but also outside the school in their family or community.
- TPS Guidelines for dealing with death which provide you with procedures as well as the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders during this difficult time.
- A sample letter to send home to the families of your school.
- Information regarding the Employee Connect Program which is a 24/7, confidential hotline of support to employees.
- Additional crisis specific information for school leaders and teachers.
All of these tools can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1ACtNj_iDpbV1F1eGEtZGVZYVk&usp=sharing
Is it the 13th day of school already???
This week at-a-glance:
Monday: Labor Day holiday
Tuesday: 30 minute allocation conversations, check your calendar for your time slot. Please have your most up-to-date enrollment numbers and staffing plan with you for this call. School Board Meeting (anyone is always welcome to attend these meetings).
Thursday: LDD Day 1
Friday: LDD Day 2, Site-level re-balancing conversations begin. Please revisit the email from Barbara Penrose titled "Rebalance" sent on 9/3 at 2:15 p.m. which outlines the process and contains critical documents.
**Update: the McREL 2nd Order Change Goal deadline has been extended to Friday, September 25th in order to accommodate for the re-balancing process.
Year To Date Attendance
95% and above - Green (Meets/Exceeds the goal)
93% - 94.99% - Yellow (Progressing towards meeting the goal)
Below 93% - Red (On the rise towards the goal)
September - Attendance Awareness Month
Have you heard of Attendance Works?
http://www.attendanceworks.org/
Check out their website for wonderful articles, tools and resources regarding attendance. I found this article online (http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/AW-Incentives-two-pager-1-4-11.pdf ) and found the Issues to Consider as well as Tips and Ideas simple, doable and effective.
DATA INFORMED INSTRUCTION
At this week's LDD session you will receive our first text, Driven By Data written by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo. In this text he shares Four Key Principals of Data Informed Instruction:
- Assessment: Engage in rigorous assessments that provide meaningful data.
- Analysis: Examine the results of assessment to identify the causes of both strengths and shortcomings.
- Action: Teach effectively what students most need to learn.
- Culture: Create an environment in which data-driven instruction can survive and thrive.
These are critical items to reflect on as we engage in the beginning-of-year testing window. What will analysis and action look like at your school?
This is the last week for SRI/SMI testing. If you're still testing, please be sure to connect with your teachers today in order to ensure that this week's testing schedule will allow students and teachers enough time to complete this assessment.
The 12 day MAP/MPG testing window begins today.
Dates to remember:
- 8/20-9/11 SRI/SMI Testing Window
- 8/20-9/25 PreK Early Childhood Inventory Assessment Window
- 9/8-9/23 3rd grade MAP and K-2 MPG Testing Window
SCHOOL CULTURE
Reminder - we have two more weeks remaining in the beginning-of-year window to complete the full site walk-through. If we don't keep a tight pulse on culture and ensure that we are defining it; it will define itself.
Dates to Remember:
- 8/31-9/18 BOY Site Walk-through Window
- 9/21-9/25 BOY Data Reflection Window
- 9/28-10/2 BOY Response Planning Window
What about staff culture???
Have you ever heard of the book "Feed the Teachers or They'll Eat the Students? This is a wonderful, short read which provides practical tips to improve school climate, communicate with parents and students, and make a difference in student's lives.
Love the following quote in this text:
"The best teacher is one who never forgets what it's like to be a student, and the best administrator is one who never forgets what it's like to be a teacher."
-Neila A. Connors
Visit the following link to access the full pdf of this text:
http://www.schoodoodle.com/shop/images/Feed_the_Teachers.pdf
Guided Reading Implementation
Balanced Literacy Self-Assessment, pg. 3-4
Balanced Literacy "Look Fors", pg. 4
Book Room Check-Out Ideas (1 pager)
All found in the Google drive at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1ACtNj_iDpbbXdydDJ6SUxFWXc/view?usp=sharing
September Site-Visits, Week 3 Pre-Work
Next week will be week 3 of September, of which we will be focusing on School Culture and the Professional Learning Cycle.
- School Culture - We will review the progress on the beginning of year school culture walk-through process, results and planning. We will also engage in a mini walk-through together and discuss what we see.
- Professional Learning - We will spend some time reviewing and refining your Professional Learning plans for staff as they relate to your 2nd order change goal and other levers for the year.
Upcoming Dates:
- 9/8 - Human Capital Hiring Survey Due (email link to come)
- 9/8 - 30 minute Allocation conversations with ILD and Barbara Penrose (see calendar)
- 9/11 - Site Homeless & Parent Involvement Liaison names due (online)
- 9/10, 11 - Principal LDD Days
- 9/11 - Re-balancing site level conversations begin
- 9/22, 23 - Assistant Principal LDD Days
Please download the September My Learning Plan Calendar for a detailed list of learning opportunities for the month of September:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1ACtNj_iDpbMUFRWVZ6Q19MVjQ/view?usp=sharing