Updates 3/27/14

Feedback from this week's Deep Dive was very positive!  Please remember, the purpose of the Deep Dive is not to evaluate your teaching, rather it is a snapshot of where we are as an organization in the implementation of our SIP.  If anything, it is an evaluation of me by my immediate supervisor.  Thanks for making me look good!

In all but one classroom there was evidence of a communicated purpose statement.  The next step is to keep bringing students back to the purpose through strategic turn and talks, modeling, and repeating the purpose when it makes sense within the lesson.

Modeling and purpose statements are taking hold, now go deeper for the rest of the year. How does the purpose it lead into the turn and talks? How does it take on life and meaning in students through conversation and meaningful collaborative and independent work?

I am looking into a way to get classroom teachers involved in the Deep Dive walk through process next time. My hope is to demystify the process and make it the most meaningful for our school.

Again, thanks for all the hard work you do everyday!

-Josh

Kudos to:

• Luz Celedón--Named the 2014 Bilingual Educator of the Year by the Wisconsin Association for Bilingual Education!
• Luz Burkard for leading our school's People Power Planet energy savings campaign.  We also scored a $100 reward for our participation!  By powering down computers and lights and changing how we heat and cool our buildings, we have reduced our energy use by 12% and our carbon emissions by 16,006 metric tons since July 2010.  This translates to 3,139 cars off the road! Last year alone, the District saved over $611,000 through lowering energy bills! And, to top it off, we’re modeling the wise use of natural resources for our students. 

Updates:

• Please remember to complete the SAS (see email from Stephanie H.).   Everyone who completes the survey will have their name placed in a raffle for a gift card!
• Click here to see 2014 summer PD opportunities through MMSD.

Important Dates

• 3/28 Early Release (kids leave at 11:30) Report Card Entry for Q3
• 3/31 5th Monday PD in the Art Room 2:05-3:35
• 4/1 Code Red Drill at 9:35am
• 4/7 Staff Meeting 2:05-3:35 in the Art Room
• 4/8 First Grade Team out all day for Lead Teacher Team work day
• 4/9 Josh, Emily, Erin out of building (Stephanie is designee)
• 4/10 Fire Drill 9:05am
• 4/14-4/21 Spring Break!!!
• 4/24 State-wide Tornado Drill

The Four Shifts

Four Shifts for Nuestro Mundo's Future

(These shifts were presented to classroom teachers this week during grade-level team meetings)

The Vision: Nuestro Mundo will utilize an educational model and teaching practices that promote the development of biliteracy K-5.

Why the shifts?: Over the course of this school year, the School Based Leadership Team (SBLT) has looked at multiple sources of data, conducted root cause analyses, conducted many walk-throughs and "deep dives, dug into recent research around biliteracy, and completed self-assessments with regard to all aspects of the educational experience here at Nuestro Mundo.  The most significant findings include:

• There is a significant gap in achievement data among our ELL and non-ELL students that persists throughout middle school.
• Nuestro Mundo essentially conducts two parallel monolingual programs that operate independently from each other.
• English Language Development has not been prioritized in the primary grades.
• Lack of structure and cohesion for English Language Development goals in the primary grades.
• Spanish dominant students are put at a disadvantage by waiting to introduce English literacy until 3rd grade.  Contrary to prior misconceptions, recent research has proven that children's minds can handle learning literacy in both languages simultaneously and even benefit from doing so.
• Teacher knowledge of their students is limited in the intermediate grades because of our practice of separating teachers based on language of instruction.
• Instructional materials and assessments are not aligned, which has limited teachers' ability to collaborate in intermediate grades and the school's ability to track progress K-5 in both languages.

What are the 4 shifts?:

1. Move to a Literacy-based English Language Development system starting in Kindergarten.
2. Align curricular resources (within a balanced literacy framework) and assessments K-5 in English and Spanish.
3. Move to 50/50 in 3rd grade as opposed to 4th grade to provide more time for students to develop the language of Mathematics in English.
4. Self-contained classrooms in 3rd-5th grades (i.e. no more student rotation).  Among other benefits, this allows teachers to teach to the full potential of the bilingual and biliterate child.

When?:

• All shifts in place for the 2014-2015 school year.
• Professional learning begins tomorrow in staff PD.  Learning and work will continue throughout this school year and the summer.

I am aligning the full force of our monetary and human resources around this plan.  Our School Improvement Plan will be built around biliteracy and these shifts.  Remember the MLK, Jr. quote I presented at the beginning of the year about "the fierce urgency of now"...the time is now.

Josh

Kudos to:

• The Third Grade Team for their effort to bring parents and community experts into the classroom!

Updates:

• Make sure to respond to Erin's request for counts and inventories from ASAP.  These are always made in direct response to central office communications and, more importantly, impact what gets ordered for us for next year.

Important Dates

• 3/21 Josh out all morning (Stephanie Principal Designee)
• 3/21 Early Release (kids leave at 11:30) Staff Development Day
• 3/21 Family Math and Literacy night in the evening
• 3/22 MMSD Strings Festival
• 3/26 Deep Dive with Dep. Asst. Superintendent, Nancy Hanks
• 3/28 Early Release (kids leave at 11:30) Report Card Entry for Q3
• 4/24 State-wide Tornado Drill

Updates 3/14

Saturday Enrichment Class

NMI has agreed to fund this program for our most struggling students in 2nd-5th grades.  The lowest 10 students without IEPs in each grade level have been invited to this program, which begins tomorrow.  Of the 40 who were invited, 32 have signed up to attend.  In a nutshell, these students will receive a full 3-hour literacy block on Saturday mornings for the next 12 weeks (no classes 4/19 or Memorial Day weekend).  They will be given a preliminary Running Record assessment, progress monitors, and a final assessment on the last Saturday to chart the efficacy of the program.

Transportation has been provided, and a snack will be provided as well.

Wendy, Vanessa, Luz C., and Kristen have signed on to teach these extra lit blocks.  (Thanks to Courtney for filling in the gaps).

If you have any additional questions, see me.

Kudos

• John Wheeler for putting together the circus.  I hear it was standing room only in the gym/cafeteria Tuesday night!  I have also received many positive comments from parents!
• Wendy for putting together Maxi's wedding shower!

Updates

• Please make sure that students have hall passes at all times while in the hallways during class time.  This is particularly important for students going to the Health Office.
• We missed the scheduled Fire Drill yesterday, rescheduled for 3/20 at 9:35am.
• The library is a classroom for much of the day.  Please be respectful of that space as an extension of the literacy work that happens in your own classroom.  Open library hours are: 8-9:00 M-F, 11-12:30 M-R, 2:30-3 M-R.  Please send students and/or parents to look for books during these hours, which are also posted outside the library door.
• Evacuation of a classroom: In the event that your students need to be removed from a classroom for their own safety, for example a student is in an escalated state and being unsafe, where should you take your class?   Go to the cafeteria first, unless during lunch time.  Second option: Think which grade level has specials at that time and move into one of those classrooms.  If none of these is an option go to the library.

Important Dates

• 3/14 Leadership Team Retreat: All Day (Larien Johnson Principal Designee)
• 3/15 Saturday Enrichment Class
• 3/17 Staff PD
• 3/18 Info Session for incoming parents
• 3/20 Fire Drill--9:35
• 3/21 Josh out all morning (Stephanie Principal Designee)
• 3/21 Early Release (kids leave at 11:30) Staff Development Day
• 3/21 Family Math and Literacy night in the evening
• 3/22 MMSD Strings Festival
• 3/26 Deep Dive with Dep. Asst. Superintendent, Nancy Hanks
• 3/28 Early Release (kids leave at 11:30) Report Card Entry for Q3
• 4/24 State-wide Tornado Drill

Updates 3-10-14

Wonderings...

I have been reading a lot lately about newer developments and ideas in the realm of biliteracy and the bilingual child.  Research and observation, in recent years, of children learning in bilingual and immersion programs have led scholars and practitioners to challenge theories and practices around language learning.

Some significant shifts that have caught my attention have to do with the separation of languages and the capacity of the bilingual mind to learn literacy skills in more than one language from very early on in their educational experience.

When we consider the vast disparity in achievement test results in English between our Spanish dominant and English dominant students, I wonder if there is more we can do in terms of our programming and instructional practices to narrow this gap.  I wonder how more intentional instruction to promote cross-linguistic transfer and literacy-based English Language Development K-2 would benefit both groups of students.  I have brought these questions to the School Based Leadership Team for consideration to begin thinking about how we might rethink some of our practices and instructional design to better meet the needs of all our students.

Updates

• Behavior incidents are on the rise recently.  Please be extra vigilant and keep your students engaged intellectually in the classroom through this long stretch to Spring Break.  It is a late Spring Break again, and I think we're seeing that spring fever in the kids.
• Starting Monday, March 17, please begin entering attendance in IC on your own again. Attendance issues persist, and I think it will be better if teachers enter their own attendance to cut down on the errors we are experiencing.  
• There have been a lot of special events and things that eat into instructional time lately.  While it is important to keep school fun and engaging, I am concerned about lost instructional time.  My goal is to reduce interruptions over the next few weeks.
• Please remember that every time you call for behavioral support, you are required to fill out an Office Referral Form.  These forms are located in the staff file cabinet in the work room.
• We are low on chart paper, which is quite expensive.  If you have extra pads of chart paper, please bring them to the office to be redistributed.
• From Marissa:  In February, 12 Schools of Hope Volunteers put in 81 hours!

Kudos to...

• Stephanie for all that she does to promote positive behavior and positive relationships with families.

Important Dates

• 3/11 Leadership Team meeting: 3:30-5:00 in Rigo's room
• 3/12 Josh out all day at Principal meeting (Stephanie Principal Designee)
• 3/14 Leadership Team Retreat: All Day
• 3/21 Josh out all morning (Stephanie Principal Designee)
• 3/21 Early Release (kids leave at 11:30) Staff Development Day
• 3/21 Family Math and Literacy night in the evening