The school is moving quickly. Teachers and students should be settled into routines and expectations. If your students are not there yet, you must review and reinforce routines and expectations daily as the teacher. If this means students reviewing routines repeatedly, then so be it. What is the point if you are teaching and no one is listening to you? Part of teacher efficacy is owning your classroom and setting clear expectations for academic success and student behavior.

If you need assistance with instruction and/or classroom management, please do not hesitate to contact an administrator, admin. aide, grade-level chair, or department chair

Anchor charts are visual aids. If you do not have at least 2 -3 anchor charts displayed in your classroom, you are not meeting expectations and should act accordingly.

Anchor charts are not for classroom decoration. They should be used as a tool to teach, review, and as a reference. I suggest students refrain from making anchor charts this early in the school year. Allow them to get used to how they are used before allowing them to make their own. In addition, students are not used to writing on large paper, which means the finished product isn't as polished as it could be.

The essential purpose of the anchor charts is for students to have a visual in the classroom. Teachers should use the anchor charts when introducing SOL Objectives and to review. Students should be able to reference anchor charts throughout the class, as a piece of source evidence.

Exit tickets are a form of formative assessment of student learning. Exit tickets should implemented before small groups/personalized learning groups (once they start). Students should receive feedback on all exit tickets and other forms of formative assessments before they leave the class. Formative assessment data should be documented to help drive instruction. This data can be captured on a spreadsheet, check-off system, or another form of data collection.

During classroom observations this week, administrators will observe the implementation of formative assessments.

Below are additional examples of formative assessments:

• Self-assessments
• One-minute paper
• Think-pair-share
• Turn and Talk
• Emoji survey
• Feedback
• Journaling
• Spot the Error
• Brain Dump
• Solve Three (math)
• Concept Map
• Polls
• Gallery Walks
• Quizzes
• Class discussions
• Interviews
• Jigsaw
• Quick Checks
• Choral Response
• Sorting
• Group Projects
• Individual Check-ins
• Interactive Games and Apps
• Diagrams/drawings

Please incorporate these various types of formative assessments into your lesson plans.

The unified school reading comprehension strategy C.A.R.D. is not being used across the contents and some teachers who are using it, are not using it effectively.

The C.A.R.D. strategy is more than just highlighting words and/or sentences. The strategic plan, helps students break down reading material into small manageable pieces when used correctly.

Students can use more than one color highlighter when identifying essential information. This must be explicitly communicated to students. For example, a pink highlighter is used to highlight the main idea, and a yellow highlighter is used to highlight the supporting details, etc. Teaching has to be intentional and not done for compliance.

The expectation is that C.A.R.D. is used whenever a student comes in contact with written text, regardless of the content or class.

As the admin. team visits classrooms, some recurring themes need to be addressed. Please review the list below and implement corrective actions, if required:

• During the homeroom period, mindfulness moments are not being conducted. This is an initiative from the district.
• Teachers only need to post the "I can statement "(the students' behavior).
• Students should not be sitting in rows, this is not conducive to collaborative learning.
• Instruction should be from bell to bell.
• The 30 /30 classroom rule applies to everyone, every day.
• There is a lack of classroom management in some classes, especially the 4th-period classes. Students should not be allowed to: walk around the room freely, move from seat to seat, yell out in class, use inappropriate language, sleep in class, bother other students, etc. If you don't get control of your classroom now, soon it will be too late. Review Teach Like Champion strategies that will help with classroom management. Also, review the MLK Handbook for additional ideas.
• Make sure all materials are put away neatly and not hanging off shelves (classroom appearance and cleanliness).
• Teachers are dominating the majority of the instructional time and leave little time for student engagement (30/70 engagement).
• Give students time to grapple with the instruction. This promotes critical thinking.

Please make sure you continue to set the tone for your classroom by implementing the following procedures:

• Set class rules and post them in your classroom
• Set culture and climate expectations for your classroom
• Keep in touch with parents routinely and not just to communicate challenging behavior.
• Set expectations for academic performance
• Have students set academic and personal goals for the first 9 weeks and write them in their interactive notebooks.
• Check students' academic progress weekly.

To improve students' mastery of skills, we are moving to weekly assessments. These assessments should not be more than 5 -to 10 questions. they should also be modeled from the state of Texas assessments for SOL-tested classes. For any additional assistance, please contact a math or literacy coach. These assessments should be attached to your lesson plans,

We will start this new initiative the week of September 16, 2024. The weekly assessment should be included in this week's lesson plan submission.

• All lesson plans should be aligned with the new standards for English and math and the current standards for all other contents and departments.
• Lesson plans are due every Wednesday, by 4:00 p.m., to the Google Classroom. If you need assistance, please see your grade-level administrator or one of the literacy or math coaches.
• The "I can statement", the behavior, should be displayed on your board daily; the condition and criterion do not.
• SPED teachers should attach the SDI to lesson plans.
• Content vocabulary should be introduced weekly. Vocabulary instruction is ongoing all year.
• Small group instruction should be identified in your lesson plans.
• Student Engagement (30/70) - Direct instruction from the teacher should be about 30% of the class period. Students should be engaged with each other and/or the text for about 70% of the class period. This should reflected in your lesson plans.

1. Student Engagement - Are students completing work independently, collaboratively, in small groups, in teams, reading independently, completing a gallery walk, etc.? Students should be responding to written text, with written responses. Students' ownership should be evident. Are student efficacy and teacher efficacy evident?
2. Checks for Understanding/Formative Assessments -The teacher regularly assesses whether students are learning the material that is being taught, through different strategies. This is a key part of effective instruction and should be done throughout a lesson, not just at the end.
3. Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) - is customized instruction for students with disabilities to help them access and progress in the general curriculum. It is based on a student's IEP and their unique needs. This may include academic, behavior, and communication.

Based on the new math and English standards, teachers need to review the state of Texas assessments, as models to be used, for weekly assessments.

Your exit tickets should be given 10 minutes before the end of class so that you can share the results with the students and clear up any misconceptions.

Attendance continues to be an issue for some teachers. Teachers should hit the submit button twice when they submit attendance on ASPEN. Attendance should be completed by 10:30 a.m. If you are having issues submitting your attendance on ASPEN, please see your grade-level administrator.

Attendance submission is very important. It is especially important for student safety and accountability.

• An environment where students feel safe making and discussing mistakes, so you can spend less time hunting for errors and more time fixing them

TLC Technique - 100% Participation

• One hundred percent of your students follow a given direction in your classroom.

TLC Technique - Do It Again

• When students fail to complete a task, ask them to do it again correctly.

Below are the SOL results for the 2023-2024 school year:

• Reading -61.23%(+17 % increase)
• History - 43.7%(+21% increase)
• Science -37.33%(+17% increase)
• Math - 58.20%(+4% increase)

TBD

The instructional focus is on tier I instruction, for maximum growth, for all students.

During the first faculty meeting, on Monday, September 9, 2024, the academic improvement plan will be shared with the staff.

All attendance should be taken on ASPEN. If you need access, please, email your grade-level administrator.

Students should have a pass when they leave your classroom.

Review expectations for fire and other safety drills.

This week's informal observations will focus on student engagement and checks for understanding/ formative assessments. However, we will continue to observe the culture and climate of the classroom too.

Please see below

• student engagement (30/70))
• independent reading
• C.A.R.D. Strategy
• small group instruction
• Ignite Reading
• students going to the board to explain problems
• vocabulary instruction
• TLC techniques - think-pair-share, elbow partners, turn and talk, etc.
• cold call
• four corners (checks for understanding)
• Frayer Model
• writing prompts (all content classes)
• STEM activities
• etc.

Please complete the required Vector Training Modules, by September 30, 2024.

Please, contact your immediate supervisor or Associate Admin. Aide Kim Johnson, if you need assistance.

Side note - I have completed all of my modules for September. Leading by example...

• Math VGA testing this week
• Teachers should arrive at work by 7:45 a.m. and follow established procedures for reporting absences.
• Teachers should be at their classroom doors or on morning duty, by 8:00 a.m.
• Homeroom teachers are to collect students' cell phones and place them in the Yondr pouches during homeroom. follow the same process for students who arrive late to school.
• Attendance is to be taken daily, with no exceptions, on ASPEN.
• Review classroom rules, expectations, and routines daily.
• Practice student ownership daily
• All teachers should be using the C.A.R.D. Reading Comprehension Strategy, for reading comprehension. Each student should have a copy of this strategy glued in their interactive notebook or taped to their desk. To reinforce this strategy, teachers can make an anchor chart, to display in the classroom.
• All math teachers should be using the B.U.C.K. strategy in their classrooms.
• Lesson plans are due on Wednesdays, by 4:00 p.m.
• If you see something, say something...
• Everyone should be implementing the 30/30 classroom rule, daily.

Monday, September 16, 2024:

• A- Day
• Admin. Meeting - 10:15 a.m.
• University Instruction Introduction Meeting -9:00 a.m.
• Hallway Decor Check - Principal Dabney

Tuesday, September 17, 2024:

• B-Day
• VGA Math Assessments -8th Grade
• Lesson Plan Grade-Level Content Meetings - Planning Period
• Multi-purpose Room in Use by Central Office (Headshots)
• New Teacher Check-in Meeting (includes new staff to the school) - Mrs. K. Jones - 3:45 p.m. location TBD
• National IT Professional Day
• We Matter starts for 7th Graders

Wednesday, September 18, 2024:

• A-Day
• VGA Math Assessments - 7th Grade
• Instructional Coach Meeting - 9:00 a.m.
• Lesson Plans Due -4:00 p.m. to Google Classroom
• Math and Science Department Meeting -3:45 p.m. location TBD

Thursday, September 19, 2024:

• B-Day
• VGA Math Assessments - 6th Grade
• SPED Meeting -3:45 p.m.
• Ignite Reading Virtual Meeting - 11:00 a.m.
• Interim Window Closes
• MLK @ Brown - Soccer and Girls Basketball

Friday, September 20, 2024:

• A-Day
• Sumit PIPs into TalentEd Perform for Principal Director approval.

Please incorporate the school theme throughout the building. We want buses everywhere in the building with positive messaging. Create bus awards for students and your colleagues. Have a celebration with school bus themes. Go school bus crazy!

• Ms. Brooks - for her incentivized cafe-style classroom set-up. Kudos!
• Ms. Faush, Ms. Roberts, Ms. Coleman, Mr. Conyers, and Ms. Stewart - for embracing the classroom changes.
• Ms. Chambliss, Ms. Hodges, Mr. Jourdain, and Mr. Haynesworth - for being flexible while short-handed. Thank you for all of your support.

Ms, Carter has created a Google folder for our social media pics and videos. Please drop your pics and videos into the folder. Also, contact Ms. Carter or your grade-level administrator if you have any questions.

Suggestions for school pic and/or videos:

• students of the month
• grade -level hallway decor
• special grade-level and/or department events
• student projects with a descriptor
• Special recognition awards/shout-outs for staff
• School Spirit Week
• etc.

We want to fill our social media pages with pic highlighting the great things happening at MLK!