Thomas Jefferson Tribune
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 19-23, 2018
MISSION, VISION & CORE VALUES
MISSION:
The TJ Feeder schools embrace high quality learning opportunities which honor the unique strengths and diverse needs of all Scholars.
VISION:
The TJ feeder schools will be the premier feeder to attract and educate all Scholars to positively impact our community and world.
CORE VALUES:
Innovation, Collaboration, Excellence and Integrity
THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER PRIORITY GOALS
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION
CLIMATE AND CULTURE
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR..........
Distinguished Leaders,
As I visited campuses this week, it is apparent that principal leaders are focusing on what is important, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT! Continue to keep your focus in each classroom and coaching your leadership team on what good instruction looks like and sounds like. Also ensure that you are monitoring the feedback conversations that your CIC’s and AP’s are providing the teachers.
· What type of tasks are being done by scholars?
· Are they high level tasks?
· What is the teacher doing?
· What is the scholar/scholars doing?
· Are the teachers being coached by CIC’s and AP’s effectively?
· Are the CIC’s and AP’s identifying the highest leverage piece of the lesson to make the most difference in student achievement? If not, what will you do as the Instructional Leader responsible for your campus to improve this practice?
As we continue to embark on our first round of STAAR exams and EOC, please use the most recent common assessment and classroom data to target scholar misconceptions through small group and RTI.
- How is small group instruction monitored and success being measured?
- How are the PLC's used to provide instructional support, i.e., targeted professional development?
- What strategic moves are teachers making to ensure student success regarding critical standards?
Progress Measure tools should continue to be used as an additional resource in holding your expectations high. Scholar achievement is the indicator of scholar success. Whether this is in the form of meeting or exceeding expected progress, upward movement is the goal.
Principals and the leadership teams have a great opportunity this upcoming Monday to get in front of teachers for Professional Development day. Be sure to structure this day around the HIGHEST leverage points that will assist in moving the instruction for each of your campuses. Exceeding targets should be everyone's focus and the goal can only be done if EVERYONE is focused on the HIGHEST leverage points of the individual campus.
I look forward to visiting your campuses on Monday.
Please ensure that you inform me of when your data meetings will be by inputting your times and dates on the GOOGLE form sent by Ms. Porter, so that I can create and schedule accordingly.
As always, have an awesome week LEADING, COACHING, TEACHING ,LEARNING AND MAKING ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENTS!
THE TJ FEEDER IS IN IT TO WIN IT!
Ms. Torres
Thomas Jefferson Executive Director
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
Monday, February 19, 2018
- Think Tank ED Meeting w/Deputy Chiefs-Haskell 3rd floor@ 8:00 a.m.-Ms. Torres
- Sudie Williams Tag Magnet Community Panel interviews 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
- Principal Meeting w/ED @ 1:30 p.m.
- Achieve 3000 Mid-Year ED Meeting @ 3:00 p.m.-w/Mr. Ellis
- Medrano MS Campus visit w/ AF's
- Cary Ms Campus visit w/AF"s
- Deputy Chief and ED Campus Instructional visit @ Joe May-8:30 a.m.
- Deputy Chief and ED Campus Instructional visit @ Stephen Foster 10:30 a.m.
- Chief/Deputy Chief/ED Meeting @ 1:20 p.m.-Haskell 3rd floor
- AIA Leadership Team Meeting @ NCX 9400 w/Mr. Cordero-@ 1:30 p.m.-Ms. Torres
- Sudie Tag Magnet Informational Night 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.-Ms. Torres/AF's and Elementary Principals
- TEI Re-certification Training Reading AF
- Medrano MS campus visit with Math AF
- Joe May ES campus visit with Math AFs
- Burnett ES campus visit w/ED
- Saldivar ES campus visit w/ED
- TEI Re-certification Training Reading AF
- Medrano MS campus visit Math AF
- Joe May ES campus visit Math AF
Thursday, February 22, 2018
- Cary MS campus visit with ED & AF's
- Foster ES campus visit with ED & Math AF
- Cigorrao ES campus visit with Reading AF
- Sudie Tag Magnet Informational Night 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.-Ms. Torres/AF's and Elementary Prncipals
- Tom Field ES campus visit with Math AF
- Cary campus visit with AFs
- Joe May Campus visit w/ED
- TJ HS Parent Meeting-Ms. Torres-2nd floor Haskell @ 10:30 a.m.
- ED P-TECH/ECHS Update Meeting-3rd Floor Haskell @ 3:00 p.m.-Ms. Torres
CAMPUS NEEDS ASSESSMENT DUE ON MARCH 5, 2018
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHECKING CNA'S
Verify Agendas for CNA (detailed with data topics)
____ Verify Sign In Sheets for Data Review Meetings for CNA
_____ Verify Minutes from Data Review Meetings for CNA
_____ Verify that all these documents are uploaded to the campus Virtual Notebook
_____ Complete checklist regarding CNA, edits, revisions, etc.
_____ Verify that complete and correct CNA is inputted into the Google Drive
_____ Sign off and submit the final CNA checklist for each school
CAMPUS INCIDENT REPORTS
An “Incident” is any Injury, exposure, act of violence, safety concern or situation involving students, parents, visitors, or volunteers, or any loss, damage, theft, vandalism, safety concern or situation involving Dallas ISD schools, facilities, equipment, and events. An incident is NOT an employee injury.
Please continue to notify me via call or text prior to submitting the actual report. When this is done, I can assess the situation and help you with next steps that should be taken. The email notification should not be the first point of notification for an Incident taking place on your campus.
For more information on reporting campus incidents, please call the Risk Management Services Department at 972-925-4050 or refer to the department webpage at https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/26559.
SUMMER SCHOOL STAND ALONE SUMMER PROGRAMS
All principals should have received an email from extendedlearning@dallasisd.org providing instructions and a passcode to initiate a Stand-Alone Application. To start an application, please have your passcode and follow the link www.dallasisd.org/summer2018 to locate application and training videos. Please be aware of the following deadlines:
- Purchasing deadline: February 23rd
- Deadline to initiate an application that does not require funding March 9th
- Final application deadline: April 13th
If you have any questions, please contact the Extended Learning Opportunities department (extendedlearning@dallasisd.org) or Jamie Luellen (jluellen@dallasisd.org).
POWER SCHOOL TRAINING
As you are aware, we are moving to Power School system where we will be able to do so many things and use one system instead of many to find information, data, create student scheduling, etc. CRC’s, Instructional Coaches, AP’s, teachers, and Principals will need to be trained on the system. This system will be used to schedule students when returning from summer vacation in July. Chancery will NOT be used for this purpose, therefore, if your CRC’s/Data Controllers are not attending trainings to be well versed in the system, your campus will be having difficulty with enrolling. I highly recommend that you inform your teams of the upcoming trainings being held at NCX Building.
There is Mandatory Elementary Principal training upcoming that must be attended based on the feeder day. Please refer to the table below. Registration through Cornerstone is required.
THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER PATTERN CELEBRATED THE 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL
"I AM 100 DAYS SMARTER!"
"WE ARE 100 DAYS SMARTER!"
"THEY ARE OLD & TIRED, 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL CELEBRATION"
THOMAS JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS FOCUSED ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH 'UNITED TO LEARN' NETWORK MEETING & HEARD FROM MR. MCLAURIN
'TREATS FOR SWEETS'......THOMAS JEFFERSON CAMPUS INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES COLLABORATIVE PLANNING
What's Trending in T.J. Feeder?
February 15, 2018
Teamwork for Success!!!
February 15, 2018
Continuing to Identify & Tackling Trends
February 15, 2018
Inflating Success with SEL!
February 15, 2018
Key Note Inspirational Speaker: Mr. Burack, a former T.J. Feeder CIC
CIC Collaborative Planning
February 15, 2018
Doing What It Takes for Success!
February 15, 2018
THOMAS JEFFERSON P-TECH WRITING PROJECT; LOVE LETTERS FROM A BOOK CHARACTER'S POINT OF VIEW
My heart belongs to reading!
My heart belongs to writing!
My heart belongs to learning!
Joe May kicked off African American History month!
'UNITED TO LEARN' FULL NETWORK MEETINGS FOR TJ ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS
'UNITED TO LEARN' HOME VISIT PROJECT UPDATES FOR THOMAS JEFFERSON FEEDER
United to Learn need our assistance to recruit participants for a research study regarding the impact of home visits. Please read the information about the project and share with your teachers and have them apply.
The goal is to increase the number of participants at each school. The study is ONLY open to teachers who have not previously participated in the Home Visit Project. Teachers and staff currently participating in the Home Visit Project will continue next year if they wish, just not as a part of the research study.
I am so excited about our participation and look forward to our numbers excelling under your leadership.
Principals please reach out to Stacey Hodge for additional information or to me via email for additional information.
TEI NEWS
April --Student survey administration
Students in grades 3-12 complete surveys during one class period
MAY -JUNE-- Mid May Teacher roster verification process
Teachers verify students to be included in calculation of student achievement metrics
May 11th--Teachers submit SLO GoalAccomplishment in Schoolnet
Administrator approves, scores, and completes by May 18th
May 18th-- Last day to enter extended observations, summatives, and SLO scores into Schoolnet
Summatives may be completed after a minimum number of spot observations and the extended observation are conducted May 21st – June 4th
INSTRUCTIONAL COUNTDOWN TO STAAR
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
GET READY MARCH MADNESS IS COMING!!!!!
TEACHER CURRICULUM WRITERS NEEDED-APPLY NOW!
The guiding principle for the new curriculum is, as much as possible, it should be "created by teachers, for teachers." To that end, the application to be a curriculum writer is now open!
- Applicant pool: teachers and campus instructional coaches only
- Application link (must be logged into Dallas ISD google account): www.tiny.cc/curriculumwriter1
- Application deadline: Friday, February 16, 2018
- Interview time frame: Wednesday, February 21 - Friday, February 23
Principals will receive an email for each applicant from their school. This will be a super easy reference where you only need to reply if you do not think that applicant should be considered.
Please share this application and encourage your teachers and coaches to apply!
GET YOUR 5th SIX WEEKS RLA CURRICULAR RESOURCES HOT OFF THE PRESSES!
Great news!! All 5th six weeks curricular documents have been posted on TRS and Curriculum Central. You can also access them on the 2017-18 Suggested Curricular Resources document linked here. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way. Spread the word!
STAAR ELAR PD Available!
2018 Spring Professional Development for RLA Grades 3–12
bit.ly/spring18RLAPD
Feb. 19*8:30–11:30
Close Reading as a Scaffold for STAAR
Feb. 19* 1:00–4:00
Supporting Students on STAAR: Active Reading Strategies & Inferences
STEM MATH ELEMENTARY PD
STEM MATH SECONDARY PD
DALLAS ISD STEM SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR
Click on the calendar link above to access the PD dates.
WEEKLY WAIP
The February 15, 2018 WAIP has been posted.
https://sites.google.com/a/dallasisd.org/weekly-administrative-information-packet/
2017-2018 DALLAS ISD DISTRICT-WIDE TESTING CALENDAR
Dallas ISD Year At a Glance Testing Schedule
UPCOMING DATES & REMINDERS
FEBRUARY
23-Title I Requisitions due today
28-Dialogue with School Leadership @ 7:30 a.m.-Joe May Elementary
28- Deadline to allocate Title I budget for positions is TODAY no later than 5 p.m.
MARCH
3-Transfer Period begins
3-CNA DUE TO MS. TORRES
5- Thomas Jefferson Feeder Teacher Collaborative Planning (Gr. 3-8 and 9th Algebra I) @ Cary 3:30-5:30 pm
9-Drill log for the Spring Semester is due TODAY via email submission to the Office of Emergency Management
27-Math AF TOT for CIC Content Training
29-Reading AF TOT for CIC Content Training
MAY
11-ALL CIP'S DUE TO MS. TORRES
JUNE
1-ALL CIP'S DUE TO MS. STEPHENS FROM ED
MARSHALL MEMO #723
Questions to Ask About Classroom Rigor
“Regrettably, most schools and districts still have systems for ‘sorting’ students, which are often rooted in tracking legacies associated with race, income, ethnicity, gender, and language status,” say consultants Robin Avelar La Salle and Ruth Johnson (Principal’s Exchange) in this article in Education Week. They cite a recent finding that there are 98 different pathways to a high-school diploma across nine states – only 47 of which would lead to truly college-and-career-ready diplomas. “A disproportionate share of the less-rigorous diplomas were earned by students of color and low-income groups,” say La Salle and Johnson.
“Transforming systems for all students to meet higher standards is hard,” they continue, “but it is necessary and noble work. Many educators who are equity warriors are already engaged in meeting the challenge.” Here are the types of questions they are asking themselves:
• How are student subgroups performing? “High-achieving schools and districts may have pockets of underachieving students whose performance is masked by aggregate data,” say La Salle and Johnson. Multiple indicators and root-cause analysis are key.
• What are the underlying reasons for disparate results? “We all may have a lot of hunches about the underlying causes of academic disparities,” say the authors, “but everything is just a hunch until we analyze pertinent data. To bring authentic issues to light, school and district leaders must combine data from academic, discipline, and other indicators, examined from every possible angle.”
• Are we using labels that influence adult and student expectations? La Salle and Johnson worry about terms like “Title I kids,” “long-term English-learners,” and “at-risk students,” which can limit long-term possibilities: “Leaders must analyze evidence concerning proficiency and ensure an exit strategy so that students can be eventually moved out of these groups and not be defined by what should be temporary challenges.”
• What is the value of watered-down courses? Offerings like Life Science (in place of Biology), Readiness for Algebra (in place of Algebra), and Senior English (in place of English Literature) are well-intentioned efforts to give struggling students a greater chance to succeed. But such courses often have a higher failure rate than standard courses with mixed student groupings. Underachieving students stand the greatest chance of success, say La Salle and Johnson, “when they are in classes that have academic rigor, higher expectations, and higher-achieving students.”
• Why are some teachers getting much better results than others? Teacher supervision must drill down to the underlying causes of big disparities in passing rates for the same course taught by different instructors. The key variables: curriculum rigor, content coverage, teaching practices, textbooks and other materials, teacher expectations, the quality of assessments, student readiness, and grading practices. Where there are disparities, difficult conversations may be needed.
THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
- Thomas Jefferson High School: Principal, Sandi Massey
- Francisco Medrano Middle School : Principal, Theresa Sigurdson
- Edward Cary Middle School: Principal, Ben Dickerson
- David G. Burnet Elementary: Principal, Sonia Loskot
- Leonides Cigarroa Elementary : Principal, Douglas Burak
- Tom W. Field Elementary: Principal, Shondula Whitfield
- Stephen C. Foster Elementary: Principal, Irma De La Guardia
- Joe May Elementary: Principal, Israel Rivera
- K.B. Polk Elementary: Principal, Misty Rathermund
- Julian T. Saldivar: Principal, Chaundra Macklin
- Walnut Hill Elementary: Principal, Robert 'Chase'McLaurin
- Sudie Williams Elementary: Principal, Michael Jackson
Thomas Jefferson High School
Franscisco Medrano Middle School
Edward Cary Middle School
David G. Burnet Elementary
Leonides Cigarroa Elementary
Tom W. Field Elementary
Stephen C. Foster Elementary
Joe May Elementary
K. B. Polk Elementary
Julian T. Saldivar Elementary
Walnut Hill Elementary
Sudie L. Williams Elementary
Tamieka Porter
Lisa Maia
Erica Rosas
Trustee Edwin Flores District 1
Trustee Dustin Marshall District 2
Trustee Miguel Solis District 8
DISD GOALS
- All students will exhibit Satisfactory or above performance on State assessments. Students below Satisfactory performance will demonstrate more than one year of academic growth
- Dallas ISD schools will be the primary choice for families in the district
- The achievement gap by race, ethnicity and social economic status will be no greater than 10 percentage points on all academic measures
- 95% of students will graduate. Of the graduates, 90% have qualifying scores for community college, college, military, or industry certification
- 95% of entering kindergarten students are school-ready on a multidimensional assessment
- All students will participate in at least one extracurricular or co-curricular activity each year.