Monday Message
December 2, 2019 WLWV Student Services We Got This!
So Very Thankful
John F. Kennedy once said, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." Reading this quote over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was struck by the call to action. As each of you is deep in the work of creating belonging and success for students every day, creating capacity in your schools and with your colleagues, and challenging assumptions of what is possible, it is our job to ensure that you feel support and gratitude daily. Please know that we know it is the thoughtful, intentional, passionate work of educators that makes this work possible. Our deepest thanks to each one of you for what you do each day, every day, for each student, every student.
A Giant Thank You to All Casemanagers for their Hardwork and Diligence in Getting All Paperwork Submitted for the December 1 Child Count! Your Efforts Are Deeply Appreciated!
What is an Important Indicator of Inclusive Schools?
Shout out to Kelly Schmidt and the WHS team for their focus at last Monday's professional development day. The Wildcats are committed to 100% of staff supporting 100% of students-- no silos, no exceptions. That is real indicator of an inclusive school!
Inclusive Schools Leadership
Your representatives at Inclusive Schools Leadership were hard at work last week. They shared stories of successful learning and belonging from around the district, gave input to a new Social Emotional Learning survey our district is adopting, and brought forward new ideas to the district office leaders. This structure is such an important way of making sure multiple voices and perspectives are heard in the work of creating more inclusive, equitable, and excellent schools.
OSBA Conference
School board members from throughout Oregon came to a presentation by some of our WLWV leaders, and School Board vice-chair Chelsea King. We know that inclusive schools only happen with visionary leadership and support from the school board, so we were very happy to share our journey in hopes that other districts can continue to grow their work in this area as well.
Off the Page #2: Goal Setting for Co-teachers
Just a Tuesday
Visitors from University of Washington, Rogue River School District, and Oregon Department of Education came to visit a few of our schools to see what inclusive schools look like in action. We know this work is imperfect, it is hard, and we are always learning. Yet, it was also so incredibly encouraging to see what is really happening in our classrooms. Here were a few quotes from the debrief with the visitors:
- "All the students were engaged in learning."
- "There was a real locus of control with the students."
- "There were several adults in the classroom, and I honestly couldn't be sure who's role was who's."
- "There was so much student talk and interaction with each other."
- "The physical space inside and outside the classroom was so well used. Small group instruction was seamless."
- "The teachers infused social emotional learning throughout the content learning, and they made it look effortless."
- "The positive relationships between the staff and students were so clear."
Here are a few photos from that day. And keep in mind...it was just an average Tuesday.
Workshop in Action
Classroom Teacher Dorothy Valentine differentiates her instruction through conferring with individual students and pulling small informal groups for reteaching or going deeper.
Peers Working Together
ParaEducator Korene Erickson scaffolds authentic peer learning conversations in the math workshop. Here's another great example of how every student's voice is valued, including those who use devices to express themselves.
Clear Leadership Vision
Principals Annikke Olson and Lindy Sproul both gave powerful examples of the type of strong and responsive leadership vision that is necessary to make schools inclusive, equitable, and excellent.
Universal Design for Learning: Learn About It, Talk About It, Support It
UDL: Principles and Practice
WLHS Launches Sources of Strength
After months of dreaming and planning, the Lions launched a new exciting program to improve student mental health. This innovative program is designed to harness the power of peer social networks to change unhealthy norms and culture, ultimately preventing suicide, bullying, and substance abuse. The mission of Sources of Strength is to prevent suicide by increasing help seeking behaviors and promoting connections between peers and caring adults. Sources of Strength moves beyond a singular focus on risk factors by utilizing an upstream approach for youth suicide prevention. This upstream model strengthens multiple sources of support (protective factors) around young individuals so that when times get hard they have strengths to rely on.
The leadership of Michelle Olson, Mike Miller, and Greg Neuman helped recruit diverse staff and peer leaders to participate in 2 days of training from national trainers. To help involve our community, and hopefully support future funding of this program, West Linn Rotary President and Community Service chair attended the training as well.
We are excited to launch this program and the whole district can learn from this pilot at WLHS.
Primary PE/Wellness Teachers Deepening Planning for All Students
Our Primary PE/Wellness Teachers are deeply committed to making sure high quality PE includes all students. This group has kept this as a focus throughout their PLC time and continues to share success and challenges with each other. Inclusive schools include all parts of our day and we are so proud of the leadership of these amazing professionals!
Upcoming Events:
- Wed. Dec. 4 ParaEducator Workshop 2:00-3:30 DO
- Wed. Dec. 4 QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer Suicide Prevention Training) 1:30-3:30 CREST
- Wed. Dec. 4 Health Team 1:00-2:30 DO
- Thurs. Dec. 5 Evaluation Team 11:00-1:00 DO
- Frid. Dec. 6 Learning Specialist Cycles of Inquiry 7:30-9:00 DO
- Tues. Dec. 10 Information Night for PSU CCS Program 6:00-7:30 WLHS
- Wed. Dec. 11 Three District Learning Walk with Hillsboro & Newberg Schools
- Thurs. Dec. 12 School Counselors 7:30-9:30 DO
- Fri. Dec. 13 SLP PLC 7:30-9:30 DO
- Fri. Dec. 13 CORE & Eval Team 12:00-2:00 DO
- Mon. Dec. 16 Parent Collaboration Group 5:00-6:30 DO
- Tues. Dec. 17 Social Workers Group 7:30-9:00 Art Tech
- Wed. Dec. 18 Health Team 1:00-2:30 DO
- Thurs. Dec. 19 Motor Team 2:00-3:30 DO
Questions? Ideas? Rants? Thoughtful Comments?
Reach out and share! Your input truly matters.
Email: spencerj@wlwv.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.wlwv.k12.or.us/Page/3314
Location: 22210 Southwest Stafford Road, Tualatin, OR, USA
Phone: (503)673-7026
Twitter: @jsiiams