Lead Learners Update 10.29.12

No matter how much you have achieved, you will always be merely good relative to what you can become. Greatness is an inherently dynamic process, not an end point. The moment you think of yourself as great, your slide toward mediocrity will have already begun.
Jim Collins, 2005

Calendar of Events
10.29 Oversight- Read Chapter 1 and 2, Data Team  
Teachers start @7:45; Principals join @10:00

CTE Curriculum Council Day

10.30 New Teacher Workshop (Read Chapter 1 - The Formative Assessment Action Plan)
10.31 Quarterly Conversations
11.2 Clerical Day
11.5 Instructional Rounds (8:00 - 2:00)
11.6 High School Cadre
11.6 K-6 Mathematics Textbook Adoption Team meeting (ESC Boardroom 7:45 - 3:45)
11.8 Cadre for K-9

Reminder:  
Two Reading Assignments - see above in red.
Order lunch from Kim or bring your own on 10/29.

Leading Learning and Common Core ( Ying Ying Chen)
Today’s leaders certainly face a common challenge - implementing Common Core.  Multiple versions and rigor make our initial work overwhelming.  This reminds me about the “fly wheel” analogy in “Good to Great”.  Initially, the work is hard and slow, but the momentum will build up if we take small steps and persist.  

In CCSD, we have set a great foundation to implement Iowa Core.  Take a look at the most recent research from International Reading Association; you will see many items have been addressed via “Every Child Reads”, “Writing to Learn” and “New Teacher Mentor/Induction”.  I highlighted those items in red.  Items not highlighted may have been practiced by individual teachers or schools, but they have not been our focused PD.

Research Highlights from the International Reading Association Report (4 pages)

Use of Challenging Texts - Recommendations

• Do not increase levels of texts used in reading lessons in Kindergarten and Grade 1.
• Instruction across the school year needs to involve students in the reading of texts written at a variety levels.
• Teachers need professional learning opportunities to be able to provide adequate scaffolding and support for student reading of complex texts in Grades 2-12 and listening to complex texts in Kindergarten and Grade 1.

Foundational Skills - Recommendations:

• Early, systematic, and explicit teaching of the foundational reading skills are required.
• During the K-2 years, teaching of all aspects of the English Language Arts should take place simultaneously and be coordinated

Comprehension - Recommendations:

• Engage students in reading high-quality texts closely and critically.
• Teach research-proven reading comprehension strategies using gradual release of responsibility approaches.
• Guide students to apply strategies when reading particularly challenging texts.

Vocabulary - Recommendations:  

• Study all strands of the Standards for references to vocabulary development.
• Plan for vocabulary development across the school day in all subjects.
• Provide instruction in word-solving strategies as well as teaching individual words.

Writing - Recommendations:  

• Provide opportunities for students to write in response to reading across the curriculum.
• Provide research opportunities that involve reading both print and digital texts, and that require writing in response to reading. (Our Digital Literacy is certainly heading in the right direction.)
• Teachers will need professional development in teaching students how to write the types of texts required in the Core Standards. This professional development should include teachers doing their own writing, as well as analyzing annotated student writing. (I highlighted the area pink as we are only partially there.)

Disciplinary Literacy - Recommendations:  

• Involve content area teachers in teaching the disciplinary literacy standards. (Writing To Learn)
• Teach students the literacy strategies that are pertinent to each discipline.
• Provide appropriate professional learning opportunities for teachers in the literacy practices appropriate for their disciplines.

Diverse Learners - Recommendations:  (I highlighted this area pink as we are moving into deeper understanding about RTI)

• The Core Standards require equal outcomes for all students, but they do not require equal inputs. Vary the amounts and types of instruction provided to students to ensure high rates of success.
• Monitor student learning and provide adjustments and supplements based on that information.

The most recent Walpole training (K- 12) from GWAEA will address text complexity, importance of explicit instruction and reading strategies across content areas.  We are sending groups of teachers to the training.  Please be aware of the learning opportunity and be mindful about what you can do to maximize capacity in your building.

A Final Message about Leading Learning with Iowa Core

• Don’t let the existing wheels rust if you have cranked them before. (Example: Send new teachers to Write Tools training and continue to highlight good work among teachers who use these strategies well in collaboration and PL.)
• Acknowledge that teachers will need new knowledge and skills to implement Common Core and the initial stage is difficult.  Take small steps but be persistent over time. Use Rubicon!  It is a perfect tool to focus teachers on Iowa Core!
• Promote the idea that today’s learners are active learners.  They should model 21st century learning by being connected (traditional and web based).  In short, learning is not limited to space, time and format.  We need to be open about these ideas in order to survive and thrive as 21st century learners. (Principals do not need to be the only person organizing learning during school day!  Be open to other options.)

New Rules and Procedures Regarding Bullying (By John Speer)
The Department of education, responding to changes in legislation, has altered the process for identifying and documenting bullying in Iowa Schools.  I am currently working on finding additional guidance surrounding this issue, but Matt Carver’s article in this month’s SAI Bulletin is pertinent and gives a good overview regarding this issue.  We will certainly have to work and discuss this together and determine the implications as they play out on a daily basis.  Please read the following link in preparation for a future discussion.  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2pf-u9wP-KwZ0doTjAtQ2U0ems/edit

October 30 PM Support (By Ying Ying Chen)
We are very excited about the upcoming New Teacher Workshop, which is completely redesigned - new materials, new process, new strategies. The single focus of the workshop is Think Aloud.  Think Aloud is a complex teaching practice that will require immediate and multiple practices supported by intense coaching/feedback.  Therefore, we recommend the following for PM structure:

Demo Lesson:  If you have arranged demo lessons on Think Aloud, that will be great.  If quality Think Aloud lessons are not available, we have made videos available.  Feel free to use them to reinforce learning. A quality demo is more important than having a bunch of unrelated demos.
Application:  Allow a large chunk of time for teachers to create/design a Think Aloud lesson within a unit of instruction (Unit: EU, EQ, LT, CFU/VR from workshop 1.  They don’t have to be proficient but they need to practice writing them and begin to use Rubicon.)
Coaching with Feedback:  A part of our workshop material will show a coaching session on TA.  You may find it helpful as you plan to coach new teachers.
Implementation Support:  Please establish follow up support between October and January.  A mid-year self-assessment will be given to new teachers in January.  The assessment will focus on:

• Conceptual lens, EU, EQ, and Learning Targets
• Strategies for CFU and Varied Response
• Think Aloud lessons implemented with frequency (weekly) and fidelity (moves)

Digital Literacy After School Sessions by Craig Barnum
I highlighted this in my blog last week, but it bears repeating.  We have some really excellent after school digital literacy PL happening this fall.  We have two more session coming up before the end of the calendar year:

• GRASPS/PBL/6As Design --  Project base learning design -- on 11/8
• Web 2.0 Collaborative Tools (Edmodo; Livebinders; Dropbox; Evernote) on 12/11.  

You can see more description at our Digital Literacy site on PrairiePride.org -- http://www.prairiepride.org/dlpd  You can find this link by going to our home page → Staff Hub → Teacher Resouces → Digital Literacy PD.  On this site, you’ll also see the portfolios of all of our Digital Literacy Trainers, handy tutorials on digital tools, and featured units and other exemplary digital literacy work.  Please encourage your teachers to check out this site excellent set of resources.

Writing Task Force Meeting (By Bill Poock)
On December 5th, we will convene the Writing Task Force for the one and only meeting for this school year.  This important group has had much success in bringing coherence in K-12 writing curriculum and alignment to the Iowa Common Core curriculum over the past three years.  The team’s recommendation was to meet one time this school year to focus on the generation of additional writing prompts for multiple genres of writing more closely aligned with the Iowa Common Core Standards (opinion/argumentative writing; informative/explanatory writing; and narrative writing)  Our focus on the meet date will be on creating at least 2 writing prompts for each genre of writing and revising the administration of district writing assessments as needed.

Title One Comparability Documentation Report (By Bill Poock)
As part of federal requirements for ESEA, any district that receives Title I monies must prove that State and local funds are used in Title I schools to provide services that, taken as a whole, are at least comparable to the services provided to non-Title I schools.  By November 30, I have to submit our district’s Comparability Report.  I will be contacting your building secretary for specific numbers of teachers and/or support staff in order for me to complete the report properly.  This is an annual requirement to secure allocated funds through the Title One program.

Student Services (By Cheryl Kiburz)
10.26  Special Education COUNT DAY
10.29  LETRS Training-The Mighty Word:  Vocabulary & Oral Language
10.30 LETRS Training-The Mighty Word:  Vocabulary & Oral Language

In the October issue of Education Update (www.ascd.org) a brief article entitled,
“Quick Tips for Leading Successful Change” provides things to consider as an effective leader during times of change.  I have summarized the key points below:

Collaborate.  People in the organization must be talking and working together to discuss and solve issues.

Take the time to ask, “What else should we think about while we do this?”
 --Joel Rose, cofounder and chief executive officer of New Classrooms

Determine where you are and where you want to go.  What is already in place?  Take an inventory and ask if what you’re currently doing is aligned with where you are going.  Sometimes we continue practices that no longer align with the new direction.  Taking an inventory of the current state is a huge step that is often ignored.

Be patient.  Change takes time and there will be bumps along the way.  The process involves risks and is not always a smooth process.

Stay focused.  “Change demands [that we] focus.”  Be deliberate.  Listen to teachers and others to provide what they need to implement the change.  Celebrate the wins along the way!

Provide professional development.  Funding needs to support the training to go with the new tools.

Provide strong leadership.  “Know that at some point you’ll hit roadblocks and get major pushback.  Be prepared for that and be courageous, flexible and open to the feedback.  If you’ve laid the course clearly and outlined the goals, visions, decision points, and milestones that need to be hit and the pushback is legitimate, be open to reassessment and recalibration.  But if it’s just typical pushback, be steadfast. Strong leaders can’t waiver.”
--Jean Desrvaines, chief executive officer of New Leaders

Lead Learners Update 10.15.12

"Effective leaders model more than just the protocols and strategies they ask their staff to employ.  Leaders model curiosity, risk taking, collaboration, a focus on learning, and a focus on results."
                                                      Leading By Design, Erkens and Twadell, pg 23

10/15  Digital Learning Teacher Self-Assessment (ISTE standards) due this day
         PL Day
         Board Meeting (Principal Report to the Board)
10/19  End of First Quarter
10/22  Elem/Secondary Meeting Date (No instructional rounds, switched to November 5)
10/23  GT Council (All day)
          Engaging Stakeholder Conversation Committee (5:30 PM GWAEA)
10/24  RTI 8:45 - 11:45 @ Point
10/25  Creek Cadre AM
10/26  Quarterly Conversations


National Principals Month - October (By Ying Ying Chen)
“Principals are among the hardest working, yet often least recognized individuals in education. Principals set the academic tone for their schools, and it is their vision, dedication, and determination that provide the mobilizing force for achieving student success.” - from principalsmoth.org  We salute you for your tireless effort in pursuit of excellence in education! Thank you!

Rubicon Mid-Year Training  On Curriculum Alignment Data Analysis (By Ying Ying Chen)
As part of the state code, each school is to formulate a plan to implement Iowa Core.  In our district, using Atlas Rubicon as a tool to record, monitor and assess implementation is part of the plan.  We have set the Data Analysis Training Date as January 25, 2013 with Brock, the same Rubicon consultant, will be here to run the analysis workshop.  Building principals are to attend this meeting so they can lead the data analysis process.  We will also invite the initial Rubicon Task Force members back for this training so that they can help their peers.

New Teacher Workshop Follow Up and Looking Ahead (By Ying Ying Chen)
The first new teacher workshop feedback, in general, was positive, but there are a few comments that deserve our attention.  To summarize, some indicated a strong need to practice and plan.  As the content of the workshop gets deeper and the session is shorter, they will need more targeted follow up support from schools.  Therefore, when you meet with new teachers, arrange for observations or talk with mentors, please keep the following in mind:

• Provide targeted observation, not general observation - Find classroom teachers that can perform well on backward design, clear learning targets and student feedback for observation
• Review new teachers’ lesson plan/unit and provide targeted debriefing with the key learning outcomes in mind
• Focused coaching after observation to ensure deep reflection in those areas

The next new teacher workshop will focus on Gradual Release and Think Aloud.  We will use Chapter 1 as the text.  Please read Chapter 1 prior to the next new teacher workshop.  New teachers will receive the reading assignment in the next couple of weeks.  The due date for lesson upload is 10/8.  Please help promote it through your coaching.

Digital Learning (October 2 and 3) Summary (By Ying Ying Chen)
We had two very productive and stimulating Train the Trainer days with Wesley Fryer, who is truly a masterful teacher.  All participants were motivated to learn and create.  They created narrated photos and photo stories, and they interacted with each other via many web-based tools.  Here is the summary of their learning, brainstormed by the Teacher Trainers.  Check it out with your building DL Trainers as they will have great ideas and insights on how to promote DL in your building.

Math Task Force (By Ying Ying Chen and Bill Poock)
We are very excited in designing and delivering the first Mathematics Task Force.  The Outcomes include:

1. Connect mathematical practices with authentic tasks
2. Construct essential understandings and essential questions for each unit in the scope and sequence map
3. Consider elements of effective assessment design when constructing assessments (formative and/or summative)

At the conclusion of the task force, grades K-8 completed the essential understanding and essential questions in all units with the exception of graded K and 3 (They are close to completion).  Grades 9-12 completed Algebra I and Advanced Algebra (a huge success). If you have a chance to have a brief conversation with them, please do.  They will be very happy to share their accomplishment and insights with you.

The research we are using is Mathematics Formative Assessment by Page Keeley and Cheryl Rose Tobey. Each grade level received a copy. We will begin to build Trimester/Quarter Common Assessments next time. This research will provide samples of quality assessments aligned with Common Core

Legal Review - Compulsory attendance change for children in kindergarten (By Ying Ying Chen)
The education reform legislation passed last session a change to the compulsory attendance laws, effective July 1, 2012.  Starting on that date, a child who is age five by September 15 and is enrolled in a school district is of compulsory attendance age. The only exception to this is if a parent notifies the district, in writing, of its intent to withdraw the child from the school district.

The purpose of this change is to increase attendance for children in kindergarten.  If a child who is enrolled in kindergarten is not attending school, because the child is now of compulsory attendance age, the district is to follow its compulsory attendance policies and procedures unless and until the parent provides the district with written notice of intent to withdraw the kindergarten child from school.  The Department is currently updating its materials on compulsory attendance to account for this legislative change.  For questions about this change, please contact Nicole Proesch at nicole.proesch@iowa.gov.


Iowa Assessments Update (by Craig Barnum)
As you all know, the situation with Iowa Assessments is everchanging.  Here is how the bar-code label process will work this year.  ITP and the department of education are not working together in the same way as they have in the past.  This was made evident at a meeting Ying, Bill, and I attending last May, an ITP workshop on interpreting data , no one from the DE present to talk about AYP or other issues related to our NCLB compliance reporting.  ITP’s assertion at this meeting was that it is now exclusively the DE’s job to determine AYP.  In fact, ITP does not even ask for Full Academic Year(FAY) status now when we submit our bar-code file.  FAY is now determined entirely via State data reporting -- what used to be called Project EASIER.  So, again, this changes how we think about who gets tested, labels, etc...  Here are the recommendations from the State to help us cross check their AYP/FAY/Participation Rate data when we get it back.

I sent in the bar-code file to ITP on 10/8/12.  So, students who have come to us after this date will not have a label. We will get students who arrive either after testing has started or after I sent the bar code file to ITP.  These students will not have bar-code labels.  Here is the direction from the State on if we should test the student or not:  if the student has arrived six working days before the test started in your building, they need to be tested.  For example, if your building starts testing on 10/8/12, and you get a new student 10/12/12, this student should be tested -- even though they will not have bar-code label.  If a new student arrives on 10/17/12 (assuming the same start date of 10/8/12), you need not test this student.  It’s also important to understand that if we do test students without bar-code labels, these test results will not be included in our system reports we get back from ITP.

Sheri will be working with your guidance office to gather participation data.  She will be sending each building a list of the students that were submitted in the bar-code file that was run on 10/8/12.  Your guidance office will return this Excel sheet to her with updates on each student’s testing status -- i.e. they test or they did not (with explanation).  The State is now requiring us to account for each student we have during our testing window.  This process makes it possible for Sheri to cross-check and account for our list of untested students the State sends us each spring.

I know this is more than a little confusing.  I have updated your building and guidance secretaries on this procedure out our monthly meeting last week.  Please let me know if you have questions about this process.

Reflecting Upon Success (by Bill Poock)
As we wind up the first quarter of the 2012-2013 school year, I would be remiss if I didn’t highlight some of the MANY successes we have experienced at CCSD so far this school year.  In our acts of working towards continuous improvement, we sometimes forget to take time to CELEBRATE--but celebrating is what makes us so uniquely human!  Thank you for your tireless efforts to improve our system of education for all of our students!

Highlights and Successes include:

• Helping create collaborative team structures to live out the charge to ensure that ALL students learn at high levels
• Challenging teachers to think about how to meet the needs of diverse learners in multiple ways
• Leading your cadre teams to take more ownership to lead your PL days and to operationalize your school improvement plans
• Using the continuous improvement cycle to frame teachers’ real work
• Encouraging multiple teams to wrestle with what it is that we truly want students to learn (essential learning)
• Engaging parents to help support learners at home and to take more active roles in developing the school-home connection
• Assisting teachers in discovering ways to incorporate technology into daily lessons to focus on positively impacting students’ LEARNING
• Shaping distributive leadership processes to ensure that multiple teachers in your building develop leadership capacity to lead in multiple settings
• Challenging your own assumptions about what it means to lead in the 21st century
• Becoming the leaders you wish to become!

Thank you all!