RISE
Rosie Sorrells School of Education and Social Services
August 23-27, 2021
- Mr. Mikesell who took Mr. Jessup's AP Language class during his planning period this week while Mr. Jessup took care of his mom.
- Ms. Berry who created plans for the Student Leadership classes...
- Mrs. Goodloe who took a colleague's class and combined them with hers during the teacher's absence...
- Mrs. VanSickle for taking the CTE Curriculum for Human Services and created plans in the students' Google classroom so that our students would be engaged in authentic learning during their teacher's absence...
- Ms. Contreras and Mrs. Vasquez for being so in sync as they serve students, teachers, and parents.
I look forward to leading, learning and growing with this ESSM team!
Ms. Valarie J. Kendrick
Principal
Monday, August 23, 2021
- Hello, Monday!
- Enrollment Counts Continue
- Thank you for your prompt submission of students' attendance.
- Fire Drill: 1:10--1:55
- After School Tutoring w/Late Bus and Grab-and-Go Meals Scheduled to begin today
Ms. Kennedy in Humanities
Mr. Rojas in Humanities
Mr. Grace in Spanish I
Tuesday, August 24, 2021
- Enrollment Count Continues
- Cluster PLC 8:15
- District-wide Principals' Meeting 9:30--1PM
- Leaver Training 1:30
- Virtual TEI Training for Teachers; TEI Experts Mr. Grace and Mr. Mikesell Facilitators; 4:45
- EIF Seniors and Senior Parent Meeting 5:30PM
Required TEI Professional Development
Topic: TEI Training
Time: Aug 24, 2021 04:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://dallasisd.zoom.us/j/82803031223?pwd=bUcvc0xvTDlFVWpHalFBbG4wcCtOQT09
Meeting ID: 828 0303 1223
Passcode: 746234
Wednesday, August 25, 2021
- Enrollment Count Continues
- Magnet Principals' Meeting 10:30
- Principal Focus Meeting 2:30
- Phoenix Leadership Team Meeting 4:45
- EIF Juniors and Senior Parent Meeting 5:30
Thursday, August 26, 2021
- Enrollment Count
- AP Lang PLC Planning Session
- AP Lit PLC Planning Session
- PEI Checkpoint 1
Friday, August 27, 2021
- It's Friday!
- Enrollment Count
- Lesson Plans
"Thank you for keeping us afloat!"
Office Manager Contreras
Mr. Grace and His Rootbeer Float
Examining Our Culture
- Classrooms are physically inviting with posters, creative seating and interesting...things :)
- Activities that allow students to connect with their peers
- Your sharing your story inviting students to see you beyond your role as a teacher
- SEL strategies are utilized
- Name tents that allow students to share more than their name as well as your determination to make sure you enunciate students' names correctly
- Your sharing "the why" behind the learning
- Students laughing
- Your physically monitoring students and just acknowledging them during your walk
- Using music to engage students in the planned learning
As you continue to provide instruction, continue to mindful of your classroom environment and how you are engaging students. You're on your way. Review the culture rubric. Where can you enhance what you're already doing or what can you put into practice? Teach on.
Professional Reading for ELA Teachers
Tweaking Rubrics to Provide “Wise” Feedback on Students’ Writing
In this article in English Journal, Christina Dobbs and Christine Montecillo Leider (Wheelock College of Education and Human Development at Boston University) recall the reason given by a high-school student for not being willing to revise his essay: “I’ll still just be ‘Below Basic,’ no matter what” (he was referring to the lowest rating on the rubric being used by his teacher).
Dobbs and Leider believe struggling students often see rubrics as a judgment on their potential as writers because of negative language in rubrics’ lowest scoring levels – for example:
- Little or no skill in writing an argumentative essay
- The use of language fails to demonstrate skill in responding to the task.
- The use of language is inconsistent and often unclear.
- There is little grouping of ideas.
- When present, transitional devices fail to connect ideas.
- Attempts at analysis are unclear or irrelevant.
- Transitions between and within paragraphs are misleading or poorly formed.
The impact of rubric phrases like these, say Dobbs and Leider, may be especially discouraging for English language learners and students with non-standard dialects. One student recalled feeling ashamed of her black English when a teacher said it was never going to get her anywhere. Many adolescents, especially those who aren’t doing well in school, are sensitive to their teachers’ and peers’ judgments and the way negative stereotypes are conveyed, causing them to internalize negative ideas about their language resources and see themselves as nonwriters.
“Though we cannot change writing rubrics in high-stakes assessments,” say the authors, “as teachers we can reflect and take action in our use of writing rubrics in our classrooms… Our goal is to help teachers create rubrics that encourage students’ writing self-efficacy, provide effective and careful feedback, and value linguistic diversity.” Specifically, Dobbs and Leider want rubrics to provide “wise” feedback, which they say has three components:
- Critical feedback is linked to the teacher’s high standards.
- The student’s ability to meet those high standards is affirmed.
- Students get specific and actionable guidance on how to improve.
Feedback with these characteristics builds trust and motivates students to edit, revise, and polish their writing.
Dobbs and Leider suggest that teachers tweak their rubrics’ lower descriptors to emphasize what needs to grow, the purpose of the writing, connections to the audience, and student agency in choosing which of their language resources to use. Instead of the usual summative evaluative ratings – Advanced, Proficient, Needs Improvement, Unsatisfactory – they suggest:
- This piece of writing is highly effective.
- This piece of writing is effective.
- This piece of writing is somewhat effective.
- This piece of writing has room to grow.
In place of the kinds of negative language listed above, here are a few of the alternatives they suggest:
- The connections between various pieces of information could be made clearer to the reader.
- The main idea is somewhat clear, but there is a need to add more supporting information.
- Relationships between ideas in sentences are unclear, so they do not communicate clearly with the reader.
- The grammar in the piece is unusual and unexpected, making it challenging for the reader to understand.
- It is difficult to understand why the writer would like the reader to care about this topic.
“A Framework for Writing Rubrics to Support Linguistically Diverse Students” by Christina Dobbs and Christine Montecillo Leider in English Journal, July 2021 (Vol. 110, #6, pp. 60-68); the authors can be reached at cdobbs@bu.edu and montecil@bu.edu
Rosie Sorrells School of Education and Social Services
Vision
All scholars from the Rosie Sorrell School of Education and Social Services will graduate as empowered citizens equipped to lead and serve as impassioned educators and humanitarians.Mission
We engage and equip scholars to thrive in and out of the classroom through relevant, experiential learning, self-efficacy, and caring relationships to be college and career ready.
Email: VaKendrick@dallasisd.org
Website: www.dallasisd.org/essm
Location: 1201 East 8th Street, Dallas, TX, USA
Phone: 972.925.5940
Twitter: @RSSEducationSS