Conrad/Thomas Jefferson Tribune
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 4-8, 2019
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP/NORTHWEST GOALS & CORE VALUES
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Illustrious Leaders,
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 teachers, CIC to AP and AP to Principal, your lens on continuous learning has definitely been infectious.
A big take away is that as a Northwest Cluster, we still have a winning chance of being one of the best clusters in the district!
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".
"WE ARE IN IT TO WIN IT...GO FOR THE GOLD!!
Here is to a productive week of teaching, learning, growing and leading!
Ms. Torres
Emmett Conrad/Thomas Jefferson Executive Director
WEEKLY UPDATES
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Practice Lab @ Teaching Trust to work with a TT Coach-for 45 minutes(if you want a 90 min. lab, you could schedule a block for your team to attend- 5:30-8:15 p.m.
ED & ILCs campus visit @ Highland Meadows-PLCs and campus walks
ED & ILCs campus visit @ Jack Lowe-PLCs and campus walks
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5
- ED & ILCs campus visit @ McShan-PLCs and campus walks
- ED & ILCs campus visit @ Joe May-PLCs and campus walks
- Northwest Cluster SWAG @ Joe May- 4:00-6:00
- ED & ILCs campus visit @ Polk-PLCs and campus walks
- ED & ILCs campus visit @ Walnut Hill -PLCs and campus walks
- Northwest Network Day-9:00-5:00 a.m.
- Deputy Chief and ED Mtg.8-12:30
- Early Learning ED Mtg.-1:00-2:30
- ED/ILC Planning 3:00-5:00 p.m.
UNITED WAY DISTRICT CHALLENGE
The Dallas Independent School District needs your support ensuring the success of the 2019-2020 United Way Employee Giving Campaign. Each year, United Way generously funds district initiatives from pre-school preparation to college readiness and provides a variety of assistance to our students and families outside of the school setting. Maintaining this important source of support requires your help! That’s why we are asking that all Dallas ISD employees donate to the 2019 – 2020 campaign goal of $190,000.
A strong push for our cluster to show up with donations prior to November 5. It is our intention to have at-least $50K raised by then.
- There are three ways to give: Oracle, Give 360 or Cash/Check. Attached are instructions on how to give through Oracle and Give360. (SEE THE LINK BELOW!)
The suggested giving levels for administrators are listed below.
Suggested Giving Levels for Leaders:
Executive Level: $750.00
Mid-Level Management: $300.00
Administrative Level: $25-$100
The School Leadership goal for 2019 – 2020 including org numbers 862+865+923 is $6,000.
IF OUR CLUSTER IS THE WINNING CLUSTER FOR UNITED WAY DONATIONS, THERE WILL BE A PRIZE FOR THE CLUSTER AND THE PRINCIPAL WITH THE HIGHEST DONATIONS GIVEN. MAY THE BEST CAMPUS WIN!
THE LEADER IN ME
INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO RESOURCES
Thinking Maps ~ November ~ The Tree map
The Writing Progression
CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS
McShan Kindergarten Hard at Work in Learning Stations
PLC in Action at Foster
Data Tracking for Our Youngest Scholars
Small Groups and Learning Stations at Polk
Kindergarten Rocks Math at Joe May
NEW... TEI for TEACHERS.....
THE CORE 4
Dallas ISD is 20,000 staff members strong, and each one is vital to the work being accomplished in the district. Through the district’s commitment to exemplary customer service, each member is focused on serving 157,000 students and their families by delivering professional, high-quality service in everything we do.
At the heart of great customer service for each district employee are the four tenets of customer service--the Core 4: focused, fast, flexible, and friendly. These principles, also, are key to forging a positive culture within the organization as they are applied, internally, colleague to colleague, as well as to students, families, taxpayers, and the entire community.
It is a strong commitment that goes beyond the conversation about what exemplary customer service looks like becoming the norm for the way we operate in the district every day.
FUTURE IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
2020 LEADER IN ME SYMPOSIUM
BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (K-2)
SWAG NIGHTS (K-5) & Specials Teachers
SWAG SPECIALIST TEAM LEADS
PRINCIPALS OF LEARNING FOCUS
Reading ILC Corner
For years, the field of reading education has been engaged in thinking about best practices. Explicit instruction in vocabulary, rereading and using digital textbooks to motivate children's reading are among some of these updated best practices. Those in the reading community are urged to consider best practices, and how we may promote their uses, with high fidelity in classroom instruction.
Use the Button below to read the full article.
Math ILC Corner
Grade 3-5 Math Focus
Properties of Multiplication to Generate Strategies
Expiration Rules in Division
Science ILC Corner
FALL 2019 TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Oracle Finance Systems and Payroll classes are also available. ATS is now offering a new Open Lab for iExpense. The attached schedule of classes is on our website at: https://www.dallasisd.org/ATS.
See the WAIP 7/18/2019 for more information
IMPORTANT LINKS & INFORMATION TO READ
100% Scholar Participation in Clubs or Extracurricular Activities in Pre-K-5th Grades
NOVEMBER
19-K-2 BAS Training Part III @ Joe May-4:00-6:000 p.m.
JANUARY, 2020
9-Network Day
FEBRUARY
21-State of the District Address @ Omni Hotel-@10:00
27-Network Day
MARCH
28-United 2 Learn-Community day
APRIL
16-Network Day
JUNE
4-Network Day
10-Principal Luncheon
MARSHALL MEMO #809
Getting Better at Dealing with Microaggressions
In this article in English Journal, Texas high-school teacher Joel Garza says that over the years he’s heard thoughtful reflections on literature and profound arguments about moral and cultural values, but he’s also heard comments like these:
- Are you a US citizen?
- How did your family get here?
- Wow! You don’t speak with an accent.
“Even when I laugh it off,” says Garza, “even when I ignore it, or, in rare cases, even when I have some disarming response, these comments sting. And I’m a grown man with a comfortable job and dynamite colleagues and also a family that loves me. If these comments sting me, how much more will they sting when a young person hears something similar?”
The sad fact is that microaggressions happen in classrooms, all-school assemblies, lunch lines, faculty meetings, field trips, and elsewhere:
- A middle-school boy makes a comment about a girl’s body;
- A teacher repeatedly mixes up the names of African-American students.
- A family member challenges a young person’s faith or beliefs;
- A girl on a plane looks at a fellow first-class passenger and says to her mother, “This is not what I expected.”
Garza decided to lead a discussion on microaggressions with his students, using Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric (Graywolf Press, 2014) as a text. Students opened up about hurtful comments they’d experienced based on race, ethnicity, gender, identities, religious beliefs, disability, body image, mental health, and more.
It became clear that their in-the-moment response to a hurtful comment was often stunned silence, which can be seen as acceptance. Students discussed possible “scripts” to push back, including this one: “Dang. [dramatic pause and thoughtful head-scratching] I’m not sure what you meant by that. Wanna hear how it sounded to me?” This upstander response to verbal aggression avoids accusations or name-calling, engaging the other person in a conversation (“Wanna hear?”) and providing an opening for an apology or at least a realization that the comment was not okay. The goal is not to win the argument or put the other person down, but to call out hurtful comments in a way that leads to better understanding and increased sensitivity. It’s also a good idea to refer to shared values; Garza’s school embraces Honor, Respect, and Compassion.
For more options, he recommends a Teaching Tolerance free handbook, Speak Up in School: How to Respond to Everyday Prejudice, Bias, and Stereotypes, https://bit.ly/2BLtCuq, which includes four ways to engage a colleague, student, family member, or stranger:
- I don’t like words like that.
- Can you explain what you mean by that?
- Do you know the history of that word?
- (Echoing an upstander who has spoken up) I agree with you, Allison; that word is offensive.
EMMETT J. CONRAD/THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
- Jack Lowe Elementary: Principal, Sandra Barrios
- Jill Stone : Principals, Rosalinda Pratt & Selena Deboskie
- Highland Meadows: Principal, JoAnna Bahena
- David G. Burnet Elementary: Principal, Sonia Loskot
- Leonides Cigarroa Elementary : Principal, Douglas Burak
- Stephen C. Foster Elementary: Principal, Irma De La Guardia
- Joe May Elementary: Principal, Rosseven Nava
- K.B. Polk Elementary: Principal, Kourtnei Billups
- Julian T. Saldivar: Principal, Edgar Jaramillo
- Walnut Hill Elementary: Principal, Phillip Potter
- McShan Elementary: Principal, Joseph Medaris