VanWeekly

• Webinar
• VanCon 2019
• School Lead Applications
• XP Due Soon!
• Shining a Spotlight on Success

April 23- Webinar

May 1- XP Due

May 10- School Lead Applications due

Happy Wednesday Vanguard! I wanted to take this opportunity at the top of the VanWeekly to talk to you about our vision for School Leads. We discussed this with our current School Leads at their meeting last week and I want to share with everyone today. First, I want to thank all of our current School Leads for the hard work and effort that they have put into the role this year, and in years past. The School Lead is an important bridge between leadership and school teams, and their primary responsibilities have been to attend monthly calls and then redeliver that content at monthly school meetings. As many of you have noticed this year, the role is evolving.

In addition to those traditional responsibilities, we want to provide School Leads with new opportunities to contribute to Vanguard and grow in their role. As Vanguard has reoriented itself this year to focus on our core mission, as embodied by TIMS, next year we will be asking School Leads to step up and participate in the work of one of our four committees (Communication, Events, New Members, and XP). That work will look different from committee to committee, and the School Lead will have choice and voice in the committee they end up contributing to. Additionally, we are asking School Leads to monitor XP levels for members at their school and offer support as needed. Where applicable, they will be responsible for managing the school's Vanchise. Finally, we will be looking to our School Leads first when we have an opening to fill on the Vanguard Leadership Team.

This is fundamentally a new look for the role, and a step up in terms of the time commitment and participation expected of our School Leads. Due to those factors, we are going to be introducing an annual application process for the School Lead position. We believe that having an open application process once per year, at the end of the year, will allow us to get the right people in place to help move the work of Vanguard forward.

The application window for School Leads for the 2019-2020 school year is open beginning today, and will close on Friday, May 10th. This application is open to all Vanguard members in good standing, i.e. you will meet the XP requirements by the due date in May.

You can access the application here: https://forms.gle/ArcSVAWzZRgyC93Z6.

Please email me or any member of the leadership team with any questions you may have.

Justin Evans

We are very excited for our June PD, VanCon 2019! VanCon will be held at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, June 7th, 2019.

This event will focus on our four Vanguard pillars: Transform, Innovate, Mentor, and Support.

The day's agenda includes a special keynote speaker and various choice concurrent sessions! There will also be sessions tailored for new members and current and aspiring leaders!

Interested in presenting at VanCon 2019? We are looking for Vanguard members who are willing to share their knowledge related to the following topics. If you are interested, please fill out the Session Interest form by Friday, April 26th.

As we did for the January PD event, we’ve got something special in store for all VanCon 2019 presenters! Anyone who is accepted to present will be entered into a drawing for a brand new Vanguard Exclusive laptop. The Lenovo Yoga X1 is a high end laptop that will replace your current FCS teacher laptop. Its fast processor, 360 degree hinge, touchscreen, HD display, and built in stylus will be the envy of all your teacher friends!

• Sign up to present here! https://forms.gle/PZR5bDzHTGK1Tah88
• Register to attend VanCon here! Microsoft Forms
• Want more details? View the special edition smore!

We will be constantly updating as information becomes available!

The final XP deadline for the year is approaching soon! May 1st is the final day to have your XP submitted as well as submit any XP issues to the issues form. As a reminder, the Vanguard requirement for members in instructional positions is to earn 100 or more XP, with at least 50 of that coming from the two required mentoring cycles. Members in non-instructional positions must earn 50XP by May 1st.

The XP system is the way the Vanguard team documents the amazing work we are doing. It is our way of demonstrating the value that Vanguard adds to our district. As Vanguardians, we have to ensure that we are following through on our commitment to the Fulton County Board of Education. As much as we love all of our Vanguard members, we must be accountable for the work we are doing to further the Vanguard mission. With that said, we understand that members may face challenges in earning their XP, which require additional support. We want to honor that, so we have developed a process that will allow us to support our members, while still ensuring the mission of Vanguard continues to be promoted in our schools. We are still solidifying some details, but here’s what we can share today.

Members that earn more than 35 XP, but less than the required 100XP (again, with 50 or more coming from two mentoring cycles), will be asked to participate in a support opportunity during the first semester of next school year. The completion of that support opportunity will return the member to good standing at the end of the semester. The type of support offered will depend on the type and amount of XP earned. For example, a member who earns 50 or more Total XP, but didn’t complete their mentoring cycles, would be offered additional support on the mentoring process. Finally, members that earn fewer than 35 total XP will be asked to step down from the team. If you feel you have an extenuating circumstance that should be considered, please reach out to Justin Evans (evansj@fultonschools.org) and Heather Van Looy (vanlooy@fultonschools.org).

Marisa Williams is a third year teacher and new Vanguard Member at Oakley ES. Marisa is a SHINING STAR because she is not only tech savvy, but she is ever ready to dig in and transform learning in her classroom and with her colleagues. This year Marisa answered the call to be a facilitator in the Learning Academies that are designed for professional learning experiences at Oakley. Her willingness to jump right in and lead other colleagues in such a way, shows she was made for this, and it is awesome sight to see. As runner up for Teacher of the Year, Marisa is well on her way to continuing to do amazing things in the field of education...watch out for her!

Vanleads, do you see any vanguard members at your school doing something awesome? Were they struggling with a tool before and are now using it? BRAG on our Vanguard members. If you see something awesome, please submit about your team member.

Please share your success stories with us! You may see your "Spotlight" in an upcoming Vanweekly!

Share Your Success!

Mission: Building the capacity of instructional leaders to transform learning and teaching.

Vision: Through building colaborative relationships and supporting student focused learning, the Vanguard Team will positively impact student achievement.

Pillars: Transform, Innovate, Mentor, & Support (TIMS)

@FCSvanguard