Superhero Tuesday Times
Elite 11 Portfolio, Dalia Denise Flores - ILD
November 17, 2015
Happy Tuesday Superheroes!
I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing weekend. I had a busy and action packed weekend attending to last-minute wedding preparation as well as carving out time to attend the 2015 OABE Conference.
On Saturday I was able to spend the day at the 2015 OABE Conference in Edmond, OK. Lot's of great learning and networking with teachers and leaders invested in supporting bilingual education! I was excited to see Elite 11 teachers there from Jackson and McKinley, and really loved getting to sit side-by-side with them as learners for our students!
Dr. Barb Carter, professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, led a session on First Generation Students: the Cross Cultural Kid Connection. She shared about the CKC's unique world views which provide valuable assets to learning while requiring special understanding from teachers and leaders. Cross Cultural Kids include children of immigrants, refugees, minorities, international adoptees, domestic (moved to a different sub-culture), bi/multi- cultural/racial, and third culture kids. I wondered how aware we are of the assets children with these life experiences and family dynamics bring to the table, and also wondered what types of supports we're providing to meet their unique needs. Good food for thought!
We are quickly nearing Thanksgiving break and have a lot of great work to attend to before we take a few days to rest, enjoy family, eat great food and reflect upon all the things we're thankful for.
A couple of things to have on your horizon:
- We just finished the SRI window, and have a great deal of fresh data to review and reflect upon. Please be sure you're carving out time with your staff to review the data in order to celebrate growth and identify areas of focus. I will be sharing a few reports with you titled "Getting to Greener Faster" which look at implementation of Reading Interventions. Triangulation of the implementation data on these reports with your SRI data from this last testing window is critical in informing your next steps.
- Progress reports go out this week. Process and print on November 16th & 17th, and issue to parents on November 18th.
- The November Probationary Teacher TLE deadline (11/24) is quickly approaching. Thank you for working diligently to meet this deadline, and please be sure to let me know if there is anything I can do to support you.
- Your McREL Self-Assessments are due today (11/17). I will use these during our Mid-Year Evaluation Conferences scheduled to take place when I return from the wedding.
- The holidays are quickly approaching. Be thinking about what activities, suggestions you can provide students and families to keep their learning going during break.
I hope you have an amazing week! The next Tuesday Times you will receive will be on Tuesday, December 1st. Remember to reach out to Cyndi Hulen for support while I am away. Her number is (918) 746 - 6785 and her email address is hulency@tulsaschools.org. If she cannot help you she will be sure to link you with an ILD who can!
Best,
Dalia
Year To Date Attendance
Color Coding Legend:
95% and above - Green (Meets/Exceeds the goal)
93% - 94.99% - Yellow (Progressing towards meeting the goal)
Below 93% - Red (On the rise towards the goal)
Supervision & Feedback
During our site-visits we've been viewing your 6 STEP Feedback videos in order to identify strengths and areas of focus. I highly recommend you make it a habit to record yourself giving feedback once a week (or once every two weeks). Review the video following the same process we've done by noting what we hear and think for each section of the feedback conference. Identify areas where you're getting better, and find areas to tighten. Those of you with AP's can help each other by carving out time once a week or once every two weeks to review each other's feedback. You can also always share your video with me and I will gladly provide feedback.
Remember to use your tools:
- 6 STEPs For Effective Feedback
- Rookie Teacher Action Steps
- Get Better Faster
- TLE and TLC 1.0 Alignment
- Observation & Feedback Rubric
- Observation & Feedback Cheat Sheet (new)
- Video Observation Note Taking Template (new)
All of these tools are linked so that you can click on them and see the tool in case you need to reprint it. I keep a copy of all of these tools in my flexi and use them regularly during site-visits.
Data Informed Instruction
- School results do not come from "reading the newspaper"--that is, analyzing year-end test results for global patterns.
- Only a view from the pool--analyzing student learning when it happens--will lead to lasting change.
The are are many other core ideas you will read, and we will review these and discuss further during the December Portfolio meeting. In the meantime, to help you start thinking about how these conversation may look during PLC time, here are two protocols:
- Four Steps For Analysis Meetings: Leading Effective Meetings Analyzing Interim Assessment Results
- Weekly Data Meetings: Leading Teacher Teams to Analyze Student Daily Work
Review these two tools and reflect upon upcoming data conversations you may be having as they relate to SRI, Unit Assessments, weekly student work, etc.
**If you don't already have the updated testing calendar, click here to download your copy.**
What are the characteristics of effective PLCs?
- Starting & Ending on Time
- Use of agendas
- Materials ready to go
- Differentiated
- Participants have roles
- Driven by district/school goals
- Purposeful
- Meet the teachers where they are, differentiated
- See it, name it, do it incorporated so that teachers can easily turn around new learning
- Accountability of next steps for leader and participants
- Collaborative problem solving and exchange of ideas
Take a moment to reflect upon your PLCs thus far. Ask yourself:
- What does an exemplar PLC look like, sound like, feel like? What is the leader saying/doing and what are participants saying/doing?
- What do your PLCs look like, sound like and feel like right now? What are the gaps between what you consider exemplar and what you're seeing at your school on a weekly basis?
- What are some steps you can take to close this gap? What are 2-3 things you can start doing in order to move closer to what you'd consider exemplar PLCs?
Click here to access an article from Education Leadership on PLCs. Read this article as you reflect and plan your next steps.
McREL Mid-Year Review
Please be sure to have your self-assessment complete by Tuesday, November 17th.
Native American Heritage Month
November is Native American Heritage Month. Tulsa Public Schools Indian Education will host a Native American Assembly for sixth graders from selected schools on Tuesday, November 17th at 10:00 a.m. The assembly will be held at Rogers College High Auditorium.
The following websites contain great information and resources for teachers:
- http://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/
- http://www.okhistory.org/research/oktribes
- http://www.theamericanindiancenter.org/oklahoma-tribes
If you have any questions, please contact Mitch McGehee at mcgehmi@tulsaschools.org.