Pinkston Feeder Pattern
Week At A Glance - November 16, 2015
Core Beliefs
Core Beliefs
Our main purpose is to improve student academic achievement.
Effective instruction makes the most difference in student academic performance.
There is no excuse for poor quality instruction.
With our help, at risk students will achieve at the same rate as non-at risk students.
Staff members must have a commitment to children and a commitment to the pursuit of excellence.
Building School Culture for Teachers
Building School Culture for Students
Building School Culture for Staff and Students
In the News
Campus Shout Outs:
The Health & Physical Education Department is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Technology Integration Package. Jared Smith will receive 7 iPads, 7 hard cases, a charging box, and personalized training. Please help us congratulate Mr. Smith, superstar PE Teacher at Lorenzo De Zavala ES. After reviewing all of the submissions from our technology application, Mr. Smith was selected based on specific and innovative ideas to integrate technology into Physical Education classes.
Principal Meeting
Mr. Williams will hold an Imagine 2020 meeting at 11:45AM prior to the principal meeting at Hulcy, November 18th. Please place this meeting on your calendar. Several principals and I will attend the AIE conference this week in San Antonio and will not be at the principal meeting. Mr. Williams will hold another I2020 meeting for principals attending AIE. The district-wide principal meeting will begin at 1:00PM
Data Meeting
Elementary Schools - November 30th 1:00PM - 4:00PM at Carver. The topic is comparison data on 1st and 2nd six week failure rates and spot observations.
Secondary Schools - Data meeting will be combined with North Dallas secondary principals. The data meeting is scheduled December 1st 1:00PM - 4:30PM.
Assistant Principal Evaluation
The revised evaluation concept paper is in this week's Google folder. The rubric, concept paper and mid year document will be sent to principals and assistant principals Monday.
Spot Observations
The spot observation status is in this weeks Google folder for your review. The first page represents the number of TEI teachers on each campus by the number of spot observations received as of 11/13/2015. Please note that this data has been prorated based on late hires and teacher effectiveness level, therefore, some teachers (who need less than 10 spots for the school year) will show having 1 or 2 spots even though they may not have been observed yet.
The most important column on the first page is the last column representing the number of spots needed to be “on track”. The second page represents spot indicator averages for each campus. The first table represents the average of the LAST spot observation data for each teacher. The second table represents the average of ALL spots completed on the campus.
Counseling Guidance
Additional documents from the counseling training is in the Google folder. Please reach out to Tracie Brown if you need assistance with the new counselor evaluation tool.
Achieve 3000
You should have received log in information from Nicole by now. If you have not, please let me know so we can get you connected.
Campus Failure Plan:
If your campus exceeded the district threshold for the 2nd six weeks, please send your campus plan to Eliza by November 20th.
10% Elementary
15% Middle School
20% High School
If teachers exceed the threshold, please ensure they develop a plan for each student who earned below a 70%. The plans should be individualized for each student, not a duplicated plan for every student. Each teacher with a failure rate that exceeds the threshold should meet with his/her evaluator to review the plan for each student who failed a course.
Mid- Year Review
You should have received an a Mid Year Review invite along with last year's Mid Year rubrics and guidance. Once I receive the revised Mid Year guidance, I will send it to you. The content will remain the same but the timelines and dates will change. If there is a problem with the date and/or time, please let me know so I can make a change.
Community Newsletter
Information for December is due November 24th. Please send campus highlights and news to Eliza so she can design the December newsletter for the Board members and community. Great information for November! We reached trending status!
SSI
E&A prepared SSI forms for each principal/campus SSI coordinator to complete. Each form is specific to your school and provides detailed information about student failures. Any principal with a current student who failed the 5th/8th grade STAAR reading or an EOC will receive a form to complete. You should have received the documents via email last week. If you did not receive the email and documents from E&A, please let me know so we can get the documents to you.
Summative DTR Wave 2
The summative template on School Net for the wave 2 DTR teachers will be available this week.
CIC Professional Development: Reading Academy Series:
Coaching Cycles and Look Fors from our learning and re-deliveries...
ISIP Priority Reports: Early childhood teacher training on ISIP priority report
"How to utilize the reports to guide classroom instruction"
- Tuesday, November 17, 2015; After school
- Training will be delivered by Jane Moore and Georgia Thompson
Math Olympiad: Just a reminder that the window for MO is still open. You may register and submit your video by DEC 4th. Visit the Math Olympiad website for all the details.
Reasoning Mind
5th grade PLC dates:
Friday, December 4, 2015; 8 a.m. - 10 a.m.; Martinez ES
Celebration of the work; Problems of Practice
Addressing Blueprint SEs for ACP and STAAR; Reviewing data from RM;
Common Assessments [Spring Semester]
Friday, January 29, 2015; 8 a.m. - 10 a.m.; Carver ES
Friday, April 8, 2015; 8 a.m. - 10 a.m.; Carr ES
Optional Principal Just in Time Literacy Training
Our next overview for CIC literacy training material is scheduled December 4th at Quintanilla MS from 2:30PM - 4:00PM (room TBD)
WAIP - Important action items in WAIP, please make sure you schedule time on your calendar to read:). WAIP cliff notes are in the Google folder.
https://sites.google.com/a/dallasisd.org/weekly-administrative-information-packet/
Resources:
by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Michael Murphy
Campus Visits - I'd like to conduct the remainder of my random spot observations prior to the campus Mid-Year; therefore, would like to spend this week on spots with you. I'd also like to hear about your 6 week assessment results and next steps.
Monday - Arcadia Park (4 spots); Stevens Park (3 spots)
Tuesday - AIE Conference
Wednesday - AIE Conference
Thursday - Earhart (5 Spots); Carver (5 spots); Carr (4 spots); Allen (4 spots)
Friday - Pinkston (4 spots); DeZavala (5 spots)
In Our Schools
Dr. Hinojosa visits Pinkston High School
Extended Day at Arcadia Park
Gabe Allen and Pinkston HS
Article of the Week
An Elementary School Improves Student Attendance
(Originally titled “Dramatically Improving Attendance”)
In this Educational Leadership article, Jessica Sprick (Safe and Civil Schools) and Jake Alabiso and Kim Yore (Barnes Elementary School, Kelso, Washington) describe how this 350-student school boosted attendance. The turnaround began when teachers were asked to list the number of students with regular attendance (absent 5 percent or less of the year) and chronic absenteeism (out 10 percent or more). Educators were shocked to find that 26 percent of students were chronically absent and only 46 percent had regular attendance. “This realization inspired our whole staff to immediate action,” say the authors. “We put aside our excuses and decided that all Barnes students could achieve 95 percent attendance… We also began thinking about attendance not as an issue mostly controlled by parents but as an issue influenced by the school.” Their steps:
• Define chronic absenteeism. Research shows that missing 10 percent or more of a school year for any reason – excused or unexcused absences and suspensions – places students at risk of academic failure, involvement with juvenile justice, and dropping out. The goal should be students missing no more than one day of school a month.
• Mine attendance data. “For schools to develop effective systems, looking at the right attendance data is key,” say the authors. “Any time students are not present, they risk falling behind.” The school realized that average daily attendance figures mask chronic attendance problems, so they focused on regular attendance and chronic absenteeism, breaking them down by class, grade, month, and day of the week.
• Develop a multi-tiered approach. The school addressed its attendance problem at three levels: (a) Schoolwide, using the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) team to review the school’s attendance “health” every 2-4 weeks; (b) Classroom, with teachers getting updated data on chronic absentees, students at risk, and regular attendees; and (c) Individual student, with those in the chronic category monitored each week by the principal, counselor, and school psychologist.
• Implement universal prevention strategies. The school spread the message about the importance of regular attendance through multiple channels – classroom meetings, schoolwide assemblies, letters home, back-to-school nights, social media, posters around the community, school board meetings, and an article in the local paper. School staff also used motivational systems, including a Big Bear BBQ for students achieving regular attendance, a BEAR attendance chart out front displaying progress toward a schoolwide goal, and recognition and rewards for classrooms and individual students. The school also used surveys and other data to identify and address triggers for absenteeism, including asthma and respiratory illnesses and concerns about school climate and safety.
• Support students with low attendance. Homeroom teachers made supportive, problem-solving contact with families of students when attendance fell below 95 percent for the year. If attendance continued to be low, the attendance team contacted parents, and if the problem persisted, the classroom teacher, family, and attendance team met to diagnose and solve underlying issues.
The result of this effort? In one year, regular attendance climbed from 46 to 62 percent and chronic absenteeism fell from 26 to 16 percent. The school is working toward the goal of all students having regular attendance.
“Dramatically Improving Attendance” by Jessica Sprick, Jake Alabiso, and Kim Yore in Educational Leadership, November 2015 (Vol. 73, #3, p. 50-54), http://bit.ly/1M2C1YH; the authors can be reached at jessica@pacificnwpublish.com, jake.alabiso@kelsosd.org, and kim.yore@kelsosd.org.