Panther Press

Empathy and Engagement

PPO overview

We're close to our first PPO of the year, and communication from administration often becomes a bit harried as we anticipate Superintendent Louissant's first visit.

Similar to your formal observations, the PPO is mine. The district looks for evidence of effective assessment used to drive instruction, smart and cohesive curricular choices, a strong focus on literacy, stakeholder input and engagement, parent outreach, and a focus on improved student attendance. Similar to Advance, I am rated on a rubric of five domains, with indicators ranging from ineffective to highly effective.

The PPO should never be performative- we should always be ready to demonstrate the best practices and systems we have in place- SANDI data, the IEP tracker, the Transition Info Hub, Literacy plan, schedule team, etc. Many of our adminstrative emails surrounding the PPO are reminders (albeit somewhat forceful ones) about our deadlines and the presentation of that data we have been collecting. The heart of the principal's evaluation is to determine if we are serving our students with special needs effectively. Are we giving them access to resources and instruction similar to that of their gen ed peers? Are we monitoring their progress and reporting it to colleagues and parents? Are we adjusting instruction when needed?

As your instructional leader, it is my job to make sure this is happening, and that we can demonstrate our success to the district. But this is not work done in isolation. Our mission is student growth and independence. The only way we can achieve it is by working together.

I've attached my PPO rubric- review at your own risk. It is lengthy and often redundant. However, it's important that you all see how our school is rated, and have a chance to ask clarifying questions about the process.

data tracker

Please input student information and goals in your IEP tracker by October 31. Your class tracker can be found in the DOE Shared Drive titled "23-24 IEP Goal Progress Tracking," here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0AFWYLI2Ia5BoUk9PVA


Below are instructions for setting up your tracker. If you have any questions or need help, please reach out to Kelly Williams, Andrew Chung, Jon Hunt, or Lily Lamb-Atkinson.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RAC1Er4V6eqW4we0rtdZZikd7oVCg3Ug/view?usp=sharing

Breast Cancer Awareness

Big picture

Advance deck

Take a look at this overview of the Advance/Danielson observation process- this outlines IPCs, formals, informals, feedback, and how you can challenge a rating.

spirit week

Big picture
Big picture
Big picture
Big picture
Big picture

Upcoming Events/To Do

October 10 to 27- Initial Planning Conferences

October 23rd- Hispanic Heritage Month culminating projects due

October 25th- Hispanic Heritage YouTube Live event

October 27th- SANDI closes

October 27th- Masquerade Ball

Big picture

Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration

waiting
Big picture
IMG 2696
IMG 2703
IMG 2705
IMG 2709
salsa

mckinney hallway social

hallway social
Big picture
Big picture
Big picture

Medgar event

This Wednesday, Medgar Evers Transition has the privilege of meeting with Principal Akbar Cook. His accomplishments and community dedication is deeply inspiring. Principal Cook's community programs, like the "Lights On" program and the school's laundry room exemplify the impact one person can have on a community. His emphasis on leadership, resilience, and community involvement have become motivation to all. Principal Cook shared his story and showed class W01 the impact helping others in the community can have. His story has been shared with millions on Ellen- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1P6oZjfR54 -and by million on social media. This was a very interesting and inspiring seminar for our students and staff.
Big picture
Big picture
Big picture

Shout Out

To the McKinney hallway social team, from Mr. McGlone:

Special Thanks to Ms. Thelem for scheduling and logistics, Ms. Laird for treats and flag making, Ms. Bridget Hamilton for organizing supplies and student helpers, Ms. Nimmons as our awesome DJ and Mr. Sidney for creating an epic playlist.

Special-Special Thanks to Shavon Gaddy for all her work putting together McKinney school spirit week together and coming up with the idea of a hallway social.


To our staff at the main who coordinated a fantastic Hispanic Heritage Month event!

Short story of the Week

Ray Bradbury wrote All Summer in a Day in 1954, originally for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Whenever it rains incessantly, I think of this story. Set in a dystopian future, humans have moved from earth to Venus, where it rains non stop and the sun only comes out once every seven years. Margot, a 9 year old, is the most recent migrant from earth, and she remembers the sun. Unfortunately, her peers don't believe her, and lock in her a closet. Then the sun comes out. An allegory of the importance of caring for our natural resources and the casual cruelty of children, this story resonates more today than Bradbury ever could have anticipated.

Song of the Week

Jungle is an electronic neo-soul band known for their expansive one take videos in collaboration with Ghetto Funk Collective. I'm always fascinated by their work, and their most recent concept album, Volcano, and its first video, Back on 74, are incredible. The setting, the cinematography, the lighting, the wardrobe. While Volcano speaks to pursuing a lost love, I think this video is just pure joy.
Jungle - Back On 74 (Official Video)