OSP Connected

This week and next, we will be holding our Elementary and Secondary Leadership Collaboration days, allowing our schools to come together and continue their professional learning around our focus areas. Our focus areas have changed very little from last year, which is important for maintaining direction in our work. While change can be good, too much change without focus is not.

At the elementary level, our areas of focus continue to center around core subjects, with an increased emphasis on writing and math this year. As Oregon has adopted the Transformative Social Emotional Learning Framework & Standards, we are also continuing to grow in our work in social emotional learning from Pre-K to high school. There are some “new” nuances to this work, but most should feel familiar and align with what you are likely already doing in your classroom as you connect and build relationships with students in your roles.

Our high schools will continue their work around course outcomes and supporting students to stay on track, while our middle schools will continue to focus on differentiation and engagement within grade-level standards. Language will remain a strong component of all our efforts at every level to best support our multilingual students. None of this should come as a surprise, as it highlights the importance of educational equity. These focus areas are all about providing students access to a consistent and viable school experience.

Please feel free to reach out to Gina McLain for elementary, Becky Kingsmith for secondary, Arcema Tovar for multilingual programs, or myself with any feedback or questions about our leadership collaborations.

We are in our first year of implementing Oregon’s Transformative SEL Standards K-12. They describe what a person needs to know, understand, and be able to do when it comes to Transformative SEL. Strong SEL-integrated lessons include some or all the following practices. As you review these, identify places where these practices are already present in your practice or where they could be included.

• SEL 3 Signature Practices - look through the playbook for details

• Academic and SEL learning objectives - articulate both the academic and social-emotional goals for the lesson.

• Open-ended questions - open-ended questions cannot be answered with one right answer or a simple “yes/no.” Their goal is to surface student thinking rather than elicit a “correct” answer.

• Cooperative structures - look for places to add in talk routines such as Think, Pair, Share. Here are more: Structured Talk Routines and HSD Talk Moves Slides with rationale and instructions

• Cooperative learning tasks - look for places where you can have students work in pairs or groups to accomplish a collective goal. Design tasks that require talk and collaboration (e.g., games, art/research projects, class presentations).

• Choice - look for places where students can make choices (e.g., problems/ activities from a list of options, writing topics, methods of presentation).

• Cultural responsiveness - look for places to link content to students’ experiences and frames of reference and by anticipating support that individual students might need in order to access material and participate fully.

• Reflection - close lessons with a short period of reflection, discussing 1–2 questions in pairs or whole class, with a focus on both academic and social-emotional skills learned.

Introducing Xello!

Hillsboro School District is excited to announce a new partnership with Xello! Xello will replace Naviance as our online career and college readiness platform, helping students to prepare for the future. HSD students in grades 7-12 will have access to a variety of activities and resources.

Xello’s activities will help students:

• Build self-knowledge, explore options, and create achievable plans, developing the 21st-century skills needed to thrive in the world of work

• Prepare for career and college application processes, including requesting letters of recommendation from teachers. Teachers can review steps to access requests and send letters through Xello here.

• Meet the Oregon Department of Education’s requirement for students to complete a 6-year Education Plan & Profile (more information here)

• Fulfill some of the requirements for their Career Development Credit, which is required for graduation. Details regarding required and optional activities that will be delivered by your counseling teams in grades 7-12 can be found here. This document is in development.

To learn more about what is accessible to students in Xello, please view this video.

Staff resources from the staff PD held on 9/30 can be found here:

1. Recording and presentation slide deck.

2. Xello Youtube Site

3. Xello Support Site

4. Post Graduation Access

To view the grade level activities each student will participate in through classroom guidance lessons from the Counseling department, please see the document below.

HSD Xello Education Plan & Profile Activities Implementation - English , Spanish

Fostering Equity and Belonging: Creating Conditions to Thrive in All Learning Environments

Navigating challenging conversations in the classroom is a critical part of fostering equity and belonging, with October serving as a month of recognition for Bullying and Harassment Prevention. However, the commitment to creating a respectful and inclusive environment extends year-round. This document provides a structured approach to managing such discussions with the "Restate, Contemplate, Breathe, and Communicate" method that focuses on valuing our equity work while creating belonging and the conditions to thrive in school. These steps de-escalate tensions, interrupt harmful statements, and guide students toward reflection and compassion. By following this process, educators can help prevent bullying and harassment while maintaining a space where students are encouraged to engage in meaningful dialogue that supports empathy, equity, belonging and understanding for all.

November is Indigenous - Native American Heritage Month

In November we honor the diverse cultures of Native American and Indigenous communities. Visibility is key to building relationships with Native students and staff. Indigenous Peoples' Month is an opportunity to teach the story of our nation's history. It’s vital to recognize the resilience, contributions, and rich cultures of Indigenous communities, while addressing the historical truths of colonization, treaty violations, and their ongoing impact. As educators, it's crucial to elevate these cultures year-round. Senate Bill 13, passed in 2019, led to the development of the Essential Understandings of Native Americans in Oregon. This includes lesson plans for grades 4, 8, and 10, with the goal of a full K-12 curriculum. By integrating these lessons year-round, we ensure that students understand the full narrative of the United States and the importance of Indigenous voices in shaping our shared future.

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