Put your mask on First

 

I just had an 11 hour plane ride to arrive in Belgium to see my family.  I heard the flight attendants sharing these directions with us and I started to think about how important it is for you to do the same as you work with our students.  Caring for yourself is always important but especially when you are running into a holiday and MAP testing when we return in January.  So considering LEVELING UP on your self care.  Make a pact with someone at school sharing what your strategy and action plan will be.  We know this job is difficult on a good day so caring for your self and promising to do so is something you need to commit to before your rea on.

Your work around differentiation with your four students will. make a difference.   Your consistency and well-monitored plan will see this through.  In addition kids will begin to get excited and may have issues focusing.  It's up to you to implement our student support system as well as CHAMPs and common area expectations.  Research shows that the most effective way to transform a school climate into a civil and respectful one is to implement a schoolwide behavioral plan that stresses proactive and positive corrective responses toward misbehavior.

You will be discussing implementation in PD on Monday.  Remember it is key that you are implementing well to keep our school at the level it's currently at.  

We know that 

1. All students must be treated with dignity and respect.
2. Students should be taught the skills and behaviors necessary for success.
3. Motivation and responsibility should be encouraged through positive interactions and building relationships with students.
4. Student misbehavior represents a teaching opportunity.

These beliefs are the cornerstone of Foundations and CHAMPS.  Monitoring and implementing the components of CHAMPS is key to keeping kids engaged and well behaved.  Believe me when your kids are well behaved and monitored your stress level will go down,

Commit to your CHAMPS expectations.  Plan to relaunch them in  January.  These pieces are the glue that hold your work in differentiation together.

Remember... you will care for others but put on your own oxygen mask first!

How would you rate yourself on your implementation of CHAMPS?  Please consider the likert scale of 1-5 with one being not at all and 5 being rolling consistently at every turn.  Please write a few sentences justifying your score.  Please remember to label your comment with you name.

 

Lift: Push the Right Buttons

Entertaining and an Excellent Metaphor for differentiation

Pushing the right buttons to get lift in achievement.

Last week in PD you did some exercises in what differentiation is, when to do it and a little of how it's done.  We will be focusing on this during our academic time together on November 14th, December 5th, 12th and 19th.  We will work through the definition and get a solid foundation of how we will implement and learn with kids at the center of the work.

Now that we've covered the what and when it's time to explore the HOW.  

Creating the conditions to support students who have needs beyond the strong universal core is how we will move from 65% proficient as a building to meet our goals of 75% in reading and math.  Providing intentionally planned instruction will result in a dramatic increase with you make the most of the three elements we will be working on in professional development over the course of the next month.  

Three Elements to implement with fidelity:

1. A system of assessment:  Systems of assessment are designed strategically to offer information for specific purposes to your students.  These assessments include formative assessments (daily, weekly, monthly) that demonstrate what students know and what they may need.  I see many of you (Stacy B., Emily, Katie N., Kate L. Paige M.) with clipboards walking around as kids work and marking what they see next to their names.  These teachers know what they are assessing for and have the success criteria at their fingertips.  They can analyze this information quite quickly and then respond right away.
2. A consistent schedule:  Creating consistency is KEY to help create and effective learning environment. With a schedule of targeted student names, duration (length of lesson), and frequency (how often each week).  This schedule is based on student need from the system of assessment.  Recently I observed Amy as she met with her kids during CORE literacy.  She had the kids in groups by color with a schedule written on the whiteboard. It mentioned when they met, their target and assignment.  This type of organization optimized the environment and gave kids a clear path to support their work. 
3. A plan:  During guided instruction, the teacher prompts and facilitates students through small group learning activities that increase their understanding of the content.  In order to do this well teachers need a clear plan and path to move kids efficiently and quickly through the lesson so they can achieve.  Jessica Meleney was observed doing and intervention group with a group of students.  She used data to guide her decisions and met with the group for about 15 minutes.  Because these first grade students weren't able to read consistently she took them through a series of activities (phonemic awareness ie hearing and recording sounds, syllabication, phonics (CVC words) and then wrapped it up with a book that she assessed as the kids read.  It was paced well and students showed significant success.  

Pushing the right buttons to get lift in achievement is key to raising our achievement profile.  You have the skill and support to get through and make a difference in reading and math.  We will go slow to go fast and as we move you will begin to understand your influence and power to affect change.  You are the key!

Question for your PLC:

What is the current state of your team with the three elements of: system of assessment, schedule and planning?  How will you work together in both reading and math to maximize your efforts at differentiation?  Please label your response in the comment section.

 

Do the Hustle

 

The Hustle is an American dance which originated in the 1970's.  It is traditionally danced to club hits from the 1970s through current times.  The dance is designed to be highly dynamic, flashy, and powerful.  Although it's movement history is rooted in in 6 count basic, the final form of the dance is a 3 count basic with some extended patterns and syncopations.  I remember dancing to this throughout the 70's and 80's.  I also see it in many dance programs at basketball and football games.  Writing the blog this week I was inspired by the word hustle and how much we all do each day.  I also thought of the hustle we do to accelerate achievement before the next MAP testing window.  

Hustle in terms of our school improvement plan is going to be centered for the next several months on Differentiation and Feedback.  I wanted to kick off this cycle of professional development with a description of what it is, when it takes place and how we are going to do it.  When we get it going you will notice the difference in achievement.  Without 80% of you differentiating with fidelity we will continue to see flat achievement.  Fidelity will be measure through feedback from one another and from me.   

So...Let's get it started!

What is Differentiation?

Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs.  Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes it successful.

When do we Differentiate?

We use the instructional model found in the gradual release of responsibility or GRR.  

 Show me, Help me, Let me

It is critical that you release students at a level of assurance that 80% can work on the instructional target using success criteria independently or in small groups.  By the end of the workshop 80% (or more) of the kids should be able to do the target independently.  Differentiation can happen within every aspect of the workshop but most specifically in guided instruction.  This means that the kids must be released within 15 minutes so you are available to provide the required instruction to those who need it.   We also differentiate through product (student work) and environment.  

How do we Differentiate?

Guided Instruction is not guided practice.  It's an instructional plan with "teaching" and monitoring at the center.  This can be in the form of a small group or in conferring structures.  The frequency and duration of the group is based on student need.   We will be working together to get the how done!  In PD Julie and 
Bri will be sharing how to maximize differentiation using our structures. 

So is the Hustle working?

You will know if it's working when you start to see the needle of achievement move.  You will also know through the feedback structures I use each week.  You have been experiencing these for the past quarter.  

Element's I and II 2-3 times a week (Formative)

You can plan on getting formative feedback from this model at least twice each week.  You receive this blog as a form of collective feedback.  When you read it and then act upon what it says it creates the conditions for improvement.  In addition, you get feedback each week during your PLC.  Feedback given during this time is meant to support your chosen common challenge and designed to create action around implementation.  Every three weeks (at minimum) you will get face to face feedback based on a focused walkthrough that is based on your PLC work or individual need.   Again the purpose of this type of feedback is to positively influence your practice and increase student achievement.

Element III 3-4 times a year (Summative)

The feedback you receive here is quantitative and lets you know how the building is doing around our initiative.  For example, the study I did of your lesson plans and observations indicated that 100% of your are delivering a mini lesson/focus lesson.  About 80% of your are doing it consistently within 15 minutes.  100% of you have learning intentions/Success Criteria posted or clearly shared with about 85% fidelity of using them accurately and clearly.  Currently, I'm compiling  your answers from the PGS observations we just did and will share that data at PD on the 14th.  

Element IV 4-8 times a year (Summative)

The feedback you receive in this element is directly from our system of evaluation.  Your score is derived from collaborative conversations about your work.  It's a rubric that measures performance.  

Our environment is rich in feedback and requires all of us to work together to realize our goals and to create a community of learning.    

So are you ready? 

You are capable and intelligent!

Do the Hustle!