OSP Connected
April 2021-Office for School Performance-Volume 48
Message from Dayle
Over fifteen years ago I read a book called “Choice Words: How our Language Affects Student Learning” and it has messed up my thinking- in a good way- ever since. Johnston, the author, challenges the reader to think about the words they use, and he offers many suggestions to help teachers choose words that enable students to be in a safe learning space.
I have been thinking about this book in light of the pandemic and the words we use to describe our situation. It has been rough, ridiculous, scary, isolating and at times catastrophic to some of our families who have lost loved ones, jobs, homes and relationships. I do not want to minimize that impact. But as we bring students back, I think it’s important for us to analyze our language and think about who is receiving the messages we are sharing.
Our littlest friends, who have missed a lot of time for foundational skill building, could be seen as “non readers” or better yet “ready for learning." Our students who are behind on credits in high school could be “off track” or “in need of targeted support to earn credits.” Our middle school students could be “so far behind” or “at school and engaged." How we describe the situation tells our students what we think of them. So how do you think of the return to school with students? What do you believe they have learned and where they are as scholars?
Try these two things (sincerely, write them down!):
Start with yourself. What have you learned these last twelve months? I have learned mad tech skills, how to paint walls and trim work, skills for equity leadership, that my daughter is disciplined and insightful, how to write a paper APA style, and how to cook more vegetarian meals (and bread- aye bread and the sweatpants). This has not been lost time. What have our kids learned?
What words do you use to describe the return to school with your students? Are they behind, In need of credit recovery, didn’t do any work, wasted their time with video games, have no chance of graduating in June, or “like a kinder in second grade?"
OR are they resilient, survivors, responsible to their families, ready for learning, deserving of our creative problem solving, persistent and strategic, in need of credit attainment opportunities, full of potential? Write down the words that you are thinking right now and choose a more positive alternative if you need to!
I am sincere when I say words have power. As we move back to school, we also move into a time where our students are taking a big risk. They know what has happened in their lives this last year and can predict how the adults at school will feel about them and how they may be seen. Who will they find? I know you can each be a beacon of hope and support for our students that return. We are that kind of district. You are that kind of person! I believe in you and I’m so thankful to have the staff we have to serve our very deserving students as our doors open this month and welcome them back!
Oregon Department of Education also put out a nice resource called “Student Learning: Unfinished, Not Lost” that you may find very helpful.
HSD Focus 2020-2021
INSTRUCTION: Planning for Simultaneous and Hybrid Learning
As we embark in the Hybrid learning journey, we continue to focus our attention on the dimension of Purpose from the 5D’s. The WHAT of what we are teaching stays the same but the shift happens in the HOW it is learned simultaneously based on where the learning is taking place (virtually or in-person). Corwin just offered a 1 hour webinar on this topic:
Simultaneous and Hybrid Teaching: Roomies and Zoomies Learning Together based on the newly published Fisher and Frey book: The Quick Guide to Simultaneous, Hybrid and Blended Learning. They emphasize the importance of clarity through student response of these well known reflective questions:
What am I learning today? (learning intentions or goals)
Why am I learning it? (relevance)
How will I know that I learned it? (success criteria)
In addition, they offered these teacher reflective questions as essential for planning simultaneous and Hybrid learning:
How will I foster community between both sets of students?
What aspects of learning are best suited for asynchronous learning?
What aspects of learning are best suited for synchronous learning?
How will I scaffold teaching and learning to ensure learners are appropriately challenged?
How will I encourage feedback from my distance learners?
Finally, how will I monitor student learning in my face-to-face learners simultaneously with my distance learners?
One important aspect of this shift is to accept that it will take some time for staff and students to master this new strategy AND we need to celebrate the amazing examples of successful simultaneous learning happening this week as PK-2 have started Hybrid learning in HSD. We encourage you to review these resources and think about taking it one step at a time. Which reflective question will you challenge yourself in responding and learning more about?
Watch the video below to see how a teacher builds community in a simultaneous Hybrid teaching model through collaborative learning with the right virtual tools.
CLIMATE AND CULTURE: Culturally Responsive Mindfulness
Mindfulness is important because it is “a core concept used to help individuals reframe and reinterpret unfamiliar behavior or ways of communicating to understand rather than to judge” (Dray & Wisneski, 2011, p. 31). It is essential when offering mindfulness opportunities to do so in a culturally responsive way. Mindfulness practices provide staff with the tools to reflect critically on their own cultural lens and how this may be attributing or misattributing meaning to students’ behavior. Additionally, mindfulness provides students with the tools to reflect critically on their experiences, fostering agency and independence. The practice of mindfulness is powerful both for students and staff and can positively impact the climate and culture of a classroom environment when implemented with intention on acknowledging and incorporating students values and identities.
To help guide you on bringing mindfulness into your current teaching practices, consider the following:
- Practice it yourself.
- Debrief and validate students’ experiences.
- Set students up for success.
- Incorporate students’ cultural values.
For additional information, check out the full article HERE.
CAREER & COLLEGE READY: CCP Increasing Awareness
CAREER & COLLEGE READY: CTE in Middle Schools
Thanks in part to High School Success funds, during February 2021 HSD Middle School students had the opportunity to explore Career and Technical Education (CTE) in virtual after school programs run by their feeder high schools. High school students involved in the CTE programs did the planning and facilitating of these programs under the supervision of the lead CTE teacher for each program. These CTE programs gave middle school students hands on opportunities, through take home kits, to explore the career pathway options they have at the high school level as well as find out what areas of academics and career learning they are interested in.
CAREER & COLLEGE READY: Local Career Guest Speakers are Only a Click Away
The Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce’s School to Career program has a rich archive of local career guest speakers that any HSD staff, student or family can access. Our intention is to increase the familiarity of our strong CCP systems, structures, and coursework PK-12, so that they can make choices that match with their interests. Please help to communicate and utilize the great resources that we have in the Hillsboro School District. To explore the video archive please go: https://hillsborochamberor.com/stc/stcevents/academy-videos/.
Leading Change in HSD: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Distinctions of Equity
People talk about equity as if it has just one dimension (or distinction), in an either-or way: it’s this, or it’s that. But in reality, equity is multifaceted and complex. The National Equity Project’s definition of educational, or instructional, equity states “reducing the predictability of who succeeds and who fails, interrupting reproductive practices that negatively impact students, and cultivating the gifts and talents of every student”.
The problem with defining equity as if it had only one dimension (or distinction) is similar to the story of the six blind men describing an elephant. As each man describes the one part of the animal that he is touching—a tail, an ear, a trunk, a leg, and so on—each arrives at a significantly different description of what an elephant is. Each man is accurately describing the part he’s touching, and yet each description on its own is incomplete and even misleading.
Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) and the Brain, states that to make progress in educational equity, we need leaders, teachers, and other stakeholders to understand the different aspects of equity and how, when put together, they create more equitable outcomes for children.
Hammond created the Distinctions of Equity chart. It has three main dimensions (or distinctions). She explains the importance of distinguishing between the three key areas when engaged in equity work. We often confuse their particular purposes. As a result, we use them interchangeably when they are not. The chart is NOT a continuum. As educators, we shouldn’t use this chart in the hopes to move from one category to the next. Rather, it is about looking for intersectionality while holding students accountable for high, rigorous instruction through culturally responsive teaching practices. CRT focuses on the cognitive development of under-served students. Multicultural and social justice education have more of a social supporting role.
I would encourage you to read the linked article as well as dive into the chart for further understanding of the distinctions of equity.
Commemoration Months Project: Autism Awareness
The journey continues! HSD has increased the options centered around Black History, Women's History, the intersectionality between the two, and Autism Awareness. Dedicating effort, time, and collaboration around commemorations is one way we, as educators, can do better for our PreK-12 students! It is an intended purpose that specific commemorations do not solely “live” in the particular months of the year. This is one reason all previously organized Black History and Women's History commemoration lessons are still being refined and elaborated to improve effectiveness with students. We are excited to offer lessons rooted with student voice in this new release for Autism Awareness! For example, you will bask in hearing from a current HSD high schooler's perspective regarding her experience with Autism in today's world.
Feel free to join the open invitation to broaden our students' perspectives and insights by implementing these sources and/or continuing dialogue by emailing Kellie Petrick, Standards Alignment & Curriculum TOSA, directly.
Dual Language Corner
Please visit our HSD Dual Website if you want to learn more about our PK-12 Dual Language program or need to find the research supporting it. You will notice that the website is structured by the 7 strands of the Guiding Principles of Dual Language and provides information on how those strands are being implemented in HSD.
Coffee Conversations: Overview of Special Education
This month's Coffee Conversation is a brief overview of special education, using a tool we created for parents which includes the steps in the process, an FAQ, and common terms and acronyms.
Key takeaways:
3 things are required for special education eligibility: (1) a disability that (2) impacts education and (3) requires specially designed instruction.
In HSD, 16% of students are eligible for special education. This is high. As a district, we are working to shore up our SSP steps PK-12, ensuring our eligibility decisions are culturally responsive, and exiting students when they no longer qualify.
If you would like to see other Coffee Conversations on a variety of topics, please visit this site. Reach out to a building case manager, a support specialist, or a student services administrator at any time for more information.
Tech Teach Grow
Our Purpose
This digital magazine is intended to support educators with technology integration in the classroom. Our hope is to provide HSD staff with tech integration ideas, info and updates via quick digital media easily accessible at your convenience. Everything we share works with current HSD tech.
Want a different result? Try something new!
Learn What’s Next…
Follow this link to a new (2.7) #TechForward>> digital magazine focused on what’s new in Google Classroom & Google Workspace for Education (formerly known as G Suite for Education).