Week 4 Update

[To read this information in blog format and to access the calendar of important events, click the link at the bottom of this message]

Educator Effectiveness Updates

Remember to attend one of the Open Workshops with Jorge Covarrubias, our Educator Effectiveness Strategist.  Dates and times for these workshops are:

• Tuesday, Sep. 30th, 3:30-4:15
• Monday, Oct. 6th, 2:30-3:30
• Thursday, Oct. 23rd, 3:30-4:15

Deadlines include:

• 9/30: Teacher Self-Review (Teachers in Summary Year)
• 10/15: Teacher Self-Review (Teachers in Supporting Year)
• 10/31: Educator Effectiveness Plan put into Teachscape and shared with principal (All Teachers, unless otherwise notified)

My (Josh) Educator Effectiveness Workflow:

• October--Beginning of year EE planning meetings with teachers in summary year.
• November--Short Observations (unannounced) for teachers in summary year.
• December--Short Observations (unannounced) for teachers in supporting year.
• January/February--Pre-conference, Long Observation (announced), and Post-conference for teachers in summary year.
• March--Middle of the year conferences with teachers in summary year.  Possible short observations (unannounced) for teachers in supporting year.
• April--Short Observations (unannounced) for teachers in summary year.
• May--End of Year Conferences with teachers in summary year. 

Kudos!

• Julia Ketterer for providing much needed literacy intervention for students in need in the first month of school.
• To Emily Zoeller for modeling our school's commitment to elevating the status of the Spanish language by conducting professional learning in her second langauge. 
• To Kristi Nelson for managing and coordinating the assessment madness during the first month of school. 
• Stephanie Herrera for putting together a great assembly last week.

Important Reminders

• Don't forget to turn in your Ready, Set, Go time sheets into me for approval.  Don't forget to indicate your Compensation Preference. 
• Please complete your binder for substitute teachers and place them in your mailbox. The binder should "live" in your mailbox so Subs can pick it up when they sign in. These should be done by Oct. 1st.
• There will be a Book Room "Open House" on Friday, Oct. 3rd during lunch.  Come learn how to properly use the book room resources to support your guided instruction.  This is a voluntary learning opportunity, but all are encouraged to stop by.  Snacks will be available!
• Movie Night is October 3rd, from 6:30-8:00pm.  Teachers are welcome to attend.  :-)
• The NAMI (Nat'l Alliance for the Mentally Ill) walk to raise awareness and eliminate the stigma around mental illness is Sunday, Oct. 5th.  See Josh or Emily if you would like to join our group--The Super Pumas.  So far, we have 6 staff members signed up, and have raised over $1700!  
• Our school will take part in a school fundraiser on Saturday Oct. 11th, at the Doyle Admin Building parking lot.  We will take donations for Badger football fans to park.  Last year we made about $1,000 for about 4 hours of work.  If you show up, you get to decide how to spend the money!  Game time is still listed a TBD.  Please let Josh know if you can help out.
• Complete the Tech Survey and Legal/Social Tech Guidelines webinar by Sep. 30 (Make sure to notify Josh when you are done)
• 
  

Important Information

• José Luis Orozco will be visiting Nuestro Mundo on Wed. Oct. 8th at 9:00am!  He will play a concert for K-2nd graders that should last about an hour.  
• Nuestro Mundo has $833.00 available from the Foundation for Madison Public Schools Endowment Fund.  Look for an email later with directions on how to request a grant.  Grant applications due on October 15th.  Grant ideas should be "creative and innovative projects that are not funded within the core school budget."  
• There are also funds available through NMI, roughly $14,000.  Please contact Libbey Meister (libbey05@gmail.com) for more information (The application form will be shared with you via google docs).
• OMGE will be sending out surveys for parents next week.  They ask that we help distribute and collect them.  Please get all completed surveys to Anamaria by Oct. 6th.

Week Three Update

[To read this information in blog format and to access the calendar of important events, click the link at the bottom of this message]

Hi Everyone,

I want to begin by acknowledging that my focus has been somewhat scattered in these first few weeks of school, and for that I apologize.  As a principal, there are many things pulling at your attention at all times, just like a teacher really.  My promise to you from this point forward is to retrain my primary focus to be supporting your work as teachers and support staff.

I continue to be amazed at your hard work and dedication to this school, its students, their families, and to each other--your colleagues.  Change is hard, it's complex, and it's never perfect.  We have experienced a few hurdles to overcome early on in our restructuring efforts, particularly in the intermediate grades.  When times get tough, remember to reflect on what attracted you to this profession.  For me, it was a chance to make an impact on the world, fight injustice, and have an exciting, challenging career.

I am inspired at how you have supported each other, particularly those supporting our new teachers.  I am also inspired at how you have approached difficulties as they present themselves from a problem-solving, solutions-oriented perspective as opposed to mere complaining or venting.

Remember, it is important for me not to become one of those principals who is disconnected from the classroom.  I want to hear what your concerns are either directly or through your SBLT representative.

Thanks,
Josh

Kudos!

• To Valerie Klessig for being so driven and taking on challenges with grace and kindness. 
• To Anamaria for her speedy work with translations and all the behind the scenes work she does for our school. 
• Rainbow Rickey for tolerating Friday night Liderazgo/PTO meetings.

Important Reminders

• Please turn in all Parent Notification Forms (see email from Jane D.) to Jane as you receive them.  This is a state regulation that we now must comply with.  These must go to OMGE by the end of the week.
• Remember to dial always 0 for support. On call schedule differs for support staff and we want to honor the time they are off call for other important work. 
• Please complete your binder for substitute teachers and place them in your mailbox. The binder should "live" in your mailbox so Subs can pick it up when they sign in. These should be done by Oct. 1st.
• Feedback from several teachers that it is really nice when their class gets tickets from someone other than themselves. Let's celebrate each other and make an effort to give one puma ticket daily to another class. 
• There will be a Book Room "Open House" on Friday, Oct. 3rd during lunch.  Come learn how to properly use the book room resources to support your guided instruction.  This is a voluntary learning opportunity, but all are encouraged to stop by.  Snacks will be available!
• The NAMI (Nat'l Alliance for the Mentally Ill) walk to raise awareness and eliminate the stigma around mental illness is Sunday, Oct. 5th.  See Josh or Emily if you would like to join our group--The Super Pumas.
• Our school will take part in a school fundraiser on Saturday Oct. 11th, at the Doyle Admin Building parking lot.  We will take donations for Badger football fans to park.  Last year we made about $1,000 for about 4 hours of work.  If you show up, you get to decide how to spend the money!  Game time is still listed a TBD.  Please let Josh know if you can help out.
• Get your daily schedule to Cecilia by Sep. 15th (Cecilia should be able to find your class during the day Monday-Friday by consulting this schedule)
• Complete the Tech Survey and Legal/Social Tech Guidelines webinar by Sep. 30 (Make sure to notify Josh when you are done)
• All volunteers (even parents) who have direct contact with students should complete a background check form to be sent to Human Resources.  These forms can be found in the office.

Important Information

• The PD calendar and structured planning time has been altered to make things more predictable for teachers.  Now it will look like this:
• 1st Week of Month: Grade level consultation (w/ Stephanie and Kristi)
• 2nd Week of Month: All staff PD on Monday afternoon
• 3rd Week of Month: Extending the learning and planning with Emily
• 4th Week of Month: Extending the learning and planning with Emily
• To avoid putting one more thing on teachers' plates, the Homework Policy will not go into effect this fall.  The policy was shared with all staff via Google docs.  Please provide input by October 17th.  The plan is to launch the policy through the Spring Parent/Teacher conferences.
• Nuestro Mundo has $833.00 available from the Foundation for Madison Public Schools Endowment Fund.  Look for an email later with directions on how to request a grant.  Grant applications due on October 15th.  Grant ideas should be "creative and innovative projects that are not funded within the core school budget."  
• There are also funds available through NMI, roughly $14,000.  Please contact Libbey Meister (libbey05@gmail.com) for more information .

This Week's Quote:

• The measure of success isn’t whether you have a tough problem, but whether it’s the same problem you had last year.
  -John Foster Dulles

Updates from the SBLT (Site-based Leadership Team)

In an effort to make sure that all staff are kept informed of important topics discussed by the leadership team, I will be sending out a biweekly update summarizing the meetings.  Remember, all staff are able to attend these meetings, it is not an exclusive group.

Current core members include:

• Josh Forehand
• Leslie Taschwer, School Improvement Partner
• Emily Zoeller, Facilitator
• Kristi Nelson, Data Point Person
• Chris Powers, Time-Keeper and Related Arts rep
• Sarah Niesen, Recorder and 3rd grade rep
• Laura Gibson, Kindergarten rep
• Kiersten Audy, 2nd Grade rep
• Rigoberto Gallegos, 4th grade rep
• Kristen Scott, 5th grade rep
• Stephanie Herrera, PBS rep
• Peter Joyce, Parent and Nuestro Mundo, Inc. rep
• Pam McGillivray, Parent and NMI rep

The meetings will consist of a predictable agenda:

• Voices from the Field: in which grade level representatives can bring celebrations and concerns from their colleagues to the SBLT.
• Monitoring the SIP: Review student data and feedback from staff PDs, Deep Dives, teacher team assessments, etc.
• PD Calendar: discuss ongoing development of PD plan
• Decide Agenda for Next Meeting

Our first meeting of the school year was September 9th.  I will provide a summary of this meeting shortly.  We meet every other Tuesday in Sarah Niesen's room from 3:45-5:00pm.  Snacks are served at 3:30!

Our next meeting is on the 23rd of September, wherein the main topic will be the finalization of our School Improvement Plan, which is due on September 30th to Superintendent Cheatham.

Restraint and Seclusion

Hi Everyone,

Please make sure you read the district policy on Restraint and Seclusion, and follow the policy closely.  To make this easier for you, I've copied and pasted it here.

Generally speaking, only staff who have received the Crisis Management Intervention training should restrain a child.  This includes, principal, support staff, special educators, and SEAs.

Dial 0 and request behavior support before attempting to restrain a child in any way, unless there is an immediate threat of physical injury to the student or someone else.

Thank you for helping to make this a safe school for all.

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District Policy 4221

Use of Restraint and/or Seclusion

School discipline requires the guidance of pupils in a way which permits the orderly and efficient operation of the school. The BOARD does not condone the use of, restraint or seclusion by employees when dealing with pupils, and corporal punishment and unreasonable use of physical force are expressly prohibited. The BOARD recognizes, however, that it may be necessary for school personnel to use reasonable and appropriate restraint and/or seclusion when a student’s behavior presents a clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the student or others and it is the least restrictive intervention feasible.

PROCEDURE

CONDUCT

4221 Pupils

Use of Restraint and/or Seclusion

1. Reasonable Use of Restraint:
   1. Reasonable restraint may be used by school personnel when necessary to restrain, remove, or disarm pupils whose behavior presents a clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the pupil or others.
   2. Restraint is necessary only when it is the least restrictive intervention feasible.
   3. In determining whether the use of restraint is reasonable and necessary, all circumstances surrounding the incident shall be considered, including without limitation, the seriousness of the problem and the threat posed by the pupil, and the availability and use of other means of intervention not involving the use of restraint.
   4. The degree of force used and the duration of the restraint shall not exceed the degree and duration that are reasonable and necessary to resolve the clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the pupil or others.
2. Training related to the use of restraint:
   1. Except in circumstances set forth in 2.b., no District employee shall engage in restraint unless he or she has received training in the use of restraint.
   2. A District employee who has not received training in the use of restraint may engage in restraint only in an emergency and only if a District employee who has been trained in the use of restraint is not immediately available due the unforeseen nature of the emergency.
3. Reasonable Use of Seclusion:
   1. Seclusion may be used on a pupil if the pupil’s behavior presents a clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the pupil or others and is the least restrictive intervention feasible.
   2. Seclusion may be used only if a District employee maintains constant supervision of the pupil.
   3. Seclusion may be used only if the area or room used for seclusion is free of objects or fixtures that may injure the pupil.
   4. If a pupil is secluded in a room, no door connecting the room may be capable of being locked.
   5. If a student is secluded the pupil must have adequate access to bathroom facilities, drinking water, necessary medication, and regularly scheduled meals and the duration of the seclusion is only as long as necessary to resolve the clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the pupil or others.
4. Reasonable use of physical intervention:
   1. Physical intervention may be used on a pupil if the pupil’s behavior presents a clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the pupil or others and is the least restrictive intervention feasible.
   2. In determining whether the use of physical intervention is reasonable and necessary, all circumstances surrounding the incident shall be considered, including without limitation, the seriousness of the problem and the threat posed by the pupil, and the availability and use of other means of intervention not involving the use of physical intervention.
   3. Examples of physical intervention that could be reasonable and necessary include, but are not limited to, the following:
      1. Using physical intervention to quell a disturbance or prevent an act that threatens physical injury to any person;
      2. Using physical intervention to obtain possession of a weapon or other dangerous object within a pupil’s control;
      3. Using physical intervention for the purpose of self defense or the defense of others;
      4. Using physical intervention to prevent a pupil from inflicting harm on himself or herself.
5. Corporal Punishment and Unreasonable Use of Physical Intervention Prohibited:
   1. The unreasonable use of physical intervention occurs as a result of using physical intervention (1) when it is not necessary to use such physical intervention, or (2) when it is no longer necessary to use such physical intervention.
   2. Corporal punishment is the unreasonable and unnecessary use of physical intervention. It is defined as the intentional infliction of physical pain which is used as a means of discipline.
   3. Corporal punishment and the unreasonable use of physical intervention are prohibited.
   4. Examples of corporal punishment and the unreasonable use of physical intervention are as follows:
      1. Slapping;
      2. Paddling;
      3. Punching;
      4. Kicking;
      5. Pinching;
      6. Prolonged maintenance of physically painful position.
6. Reporting:
   1. Each incident of restraint or seclusion shall be reported to the Building Principal as soon as practicable after the incident of restraint or seclusion has ended.
   2. Each incident of restraint or seclusion shall be reported to a student’s parent no later than one business day after the incident.
   3. Each incident of restraint or seclusion shall be documented by school personnel in a written report within 2 days after the incident.
   4. Annually by September 1, beginning on September 1, 2013, each Principal shall submit to the Board of Education a report containing all the following:
      1. The total number of incidents of restraint and seclusion during the previous school year.
      2. The total number of pupils who were involved in incidents of restraint or seclusion.
      3. The number of children with disabilities who were involved in incidents of restraint or seclusion.
7. Definitions:
   1. In this Policy the following definitions apply:
      1. Restraint - a restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a pupil to freely move his or her torso, arms, legs or head. The definition of restraint does not include briefly touching a pupil’s hand, arm, shoulder or back to calm, comfort, or redirect the pupil.
      2. Seclusion - involuntary confinement of a pupil, apart from others, in a room or area from which the pupil is physically prevented from leaving. The definition of seclusion does not include the following:
         1. Directing a pupil who is disruptive to temporarily separate himself or herself from the general activity in the classroom to allow the pupil to regain behavioral control and the employee to maintain or regain classroom order if the pupil is not confined to an area from which he or she is physically prevented from leaving.
         2. Directing a pupil to temporarily remain in the classroom to complete tasks while other pupils participate in activities outside the classroom if the pupil is not physically prevented from leaving the classroom.

Week 2 Updates

[To read this information in blog format and to access the calendar of important events, click the link at the bottom of this message]

Last week you received an email from Emily reminding everyone of a fundamental element of a quality immersion program, i.e. privileging the minority language.  I fear that this is something that has gotten lost over the years, and especially with our restructuring for biliteracy, language boundaries (in terms of physical space and instructional times) have become less defined.  I know that I need to do more to model this in my interactions with staff and students.

Here are some ways in which we as a school can elevate the status of Spanish, the target language for our program:

• Teachers should adhere strictly to the language of instruction at any given point in the day (bridging and cross-language connection times are an exception)
• Take measures to ensure that students, parents, and other staff members know what is the language of instruction for each instructional block.  Some ideas to do this include: color-coded schedules posted prominently in the classroom, putting on a scarf (or other item of clothing) to indicate a particular language of instruction, have defined walls or spaces in the room devoted to each language.
• Encourage, motivate, and demand that students produce language in Spanish that you know they can produce.  
• Demand that students use strategies other than translation to convey a concept or word they don't know, e.g. circumlocution (describing the word they are trying to say).  Ex. Instead of "Pásame los scissors", encourage students to say something like, "Pásame la cosa que usamos para recortar papel."
• Demand precision in language structures, vocabulary, and accent (in a age and language acquisition developmentally appropriate way).  Don't except, "Yo tiene las tijeras."  Without a teachable moment correction.  Try to make the kids to do the thinking through the correction, don't always give them a recast (providing the correct language for them), rather respond with--"Yo tiene las tijeras?" indicating with your voice that something is incorrect and allow student to make the correction.

**Above all remember that students should never be made to feel embarrassed or inferior for producing a second language incorrectly (this is how we all learn language--making mistakes).

• Always put Spanish first in communications with families.
• Bilingual staff should communicate in Spanish in the hallways, cafeteria, etc. to the greatest degree possible.

Together, we can properly elevate the minority language, making our Latino students and families feel proud of their home language and culture, while improving the language skills of our Spanish Language Learners.

Kudos!:

• To Kiersten Audy  for being patient and proactive with challenging behaviors and collaborating with support staff
• To Lisa Newell for opening her classroom for our first assembly. Her flexibility is much appreciated!

Important Reminders

• We need to tighten up lunch and dismissal times.  Please see the Master Schedule for lunch times.  Dismissal time is 1:50 on Mondays and 3:22 on T-F.  The buses have gotten more punctual, we now have classes exiting the building several minutes after the last bus arrives.
• There will be a Book Room "Open House" on Monday, Oct. 6th, between 2:30-3:30.  Come learn how to properly use the book room resources to support your guided instruction.  This is a voluntary learning opportunity, but all are encouraged to stop by.  Snacks will be available!
• The NAMI (Nat'l Alliance for the Mentally Ill) walk to raise awareness and eliminate the stigma around mental illness is Sunday, Oct. 5th.  See Josh or Emily if you would like to join our group--The Super Pumas.
• Our school will take part in a school fundraiser on Saturday Oct. 11th, at the Doyle Admin Building parking lot.  We will take donations for Badger football fans to park.  Last year we made about $1,000 for about 4 hours of work.  If you show up, you get to decide how to spend the money!
• Get your daily schedule to Cecilia by Sep. 15th (Cecilia should be able to find your class during the day Monday-Friday by consulting this schedule)
• Complete the Tech Survey and Legal/Social Tech Guidelines webinar by Sep. 30 (Make sure to notify Josh when you are done)
• Open House is scheduled for Friday, Sep. 19, from 5:30-6:30.  Dinner, and the first Liderazgo: Parent/Teacher Organization begins thereafter from 6:30-8:00 in the cafeteria.  Please plan to attend Open House, and all are welcome to stay for the PTO meeting as well.
• All volunteers (even parents) who have direct contact with students should complete a background check form to be sent to Human Resources.  These forms can be found in the office.
• The Homework Policy work group will be meeting for the 3rd and final time on Tuesday, September 16th from 4-5 pm in the conference room.  All school staff are invited to attend.  

Important Information

• In addition to leveraging the power of teacher teams to help us meet our SIP goals, we as a school plan to harness the power of instructional coaching this year.  You will be receiving information from Emily, Stephanie, and Ana Salcido about how to sign up for a coaching cycle either as an individual or as a team.  While it does make sense to focus on teachers new to the building and teachers in their "summary year" for Ed. Effectiveness, everyone has room to grow as an educator.  Please respond as quickly as possible to Emily, Stephanie, and Ana's request.
• The school district is looking for teachers to join a group working to overhaul the current report card.  It is essential that Immersion teachers make their voice heard.  The time commitment is not yet clear, but if you are interested, please let me know.
• Teach Scape is now ready for Self-Assessments to be uploaded.  I will share the power point from last week, the directions are there.  These should be done as soon as possible.
• The District has had recent communication with MTI relative to the Teacher Self-Review due date of September 15th. We have agreed to extend the deadline for this process based on MTI's request.  The new deadline for teachers in their summary year will now be September 30th.  The revised deadline for teachers in their supporting year is October 15th.

Resources:

• Ideas for Open House from Teach Channel

First Weekly Update!

[To read this information in blog format and to access the calendar of important events, click the link at the bottom of this message]

What an amazing week!  I am supremely impressed by all the hard work, patience, flexibility, and dedication I've seen this week.  You really are the most incredible staff in MMSD...possibly the world!

A special congratulations to Valerie, Ester, Inma, Julia, Lisa, and Vicky for a great start to the school year. Cecilia and Anamaria have provided a lots of important behind-the-scenes support to keep the school running smoothly and increase communication with homes.  Lizette, Jane, Sarah M., and Emily have taken on their new roles with grace and tenacity.

Please get in the habit of reading this blog closely, as this is my main broadcast of communication during the school year.

I am confident this will be a great year, and I'm proud to work with such a great group of people!  

--Josh


Important Reminders

• First Fire Drill will be held on Sep. 11 in the morning.  We'll get together briefly the day before to review procedures.
• Get your daily schedule to Cecilia by Sep. 15th
• Complete the Tech Survey and Legal/Social Tech Guidelines webinar by Sep. 30
• Open House is scheduled for Friday, Sep. 19, from 5:30-6:30.  Dinner, and the first Liderazgo: Parent/Teacher Organization begins thereafter from 6:30-8:00 in the cafeteria.  Please plan to attend Open House, and all are welcome to stay for the PTO meeting as well.
• All volunteers (even parents) who have direct contact with students should complete a background check form to be sent to Human Resources.  These forms can be found in the office.
• The Homework Policy work group will be meeting for the 3rd and final time on Tuesday, September 23rd from 4-5 pm in the conference room.  All school staff are invited to attend.  

Important Information

• Teach Scape is now ready for Self-Assessments to be uploaded.  I will share the power point from last week, the directions are there.  These should be done as soon as possible.
• Grant opportunity through U.S. Cellular called "Calling all Teachers"-find out more here:  http://www.uscellular.com/about/community-outreach/calling-all-teachers.html
• The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) will begin next week on Tuesday.  The menu is on the FFVP fridge.  Grade level teams and/or building buddies, please fill in our new staff members on how this program works.  Thanks!
• Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) can now be viewed directly from Infinite Campus. There is a section in the IEP summary that lists all the responsibilities of any teacher that works with IEP students (reg. ed, related arts, etc.) . Remember, all teachers are responsible for supporting their students' IEP goals.  

Computer Cart Usage Guidelines

• The calendar is the only method used for checkout (amount and location listed on the event)
• Teachers physically take and return the laptops (or cart) with their class 
• No more sending individual students or groups of students down to take and return  laptops
• No laptops after or before school or weekends (experience shows that  they are not returned in time to use or left unplugged)
• No laptop or Chromebook checkout on Fridays or during assessments in the LMC
• If your students are using laptops then it is in your lesson plans (I got the impression that they were used last year to fill time)
• Last "one" who uses the carts locks them
• All staff is responsible for filling out a work order. If you write   "not working" note  on a computer then please indicate that a work order was completed on that machine

Resources:

• Teacher uses Mine Craft  to meet CCSS in Math class
• Ready to Learn: Creating a Positive Classroom Culture