October '24 Newsletter
FROM THE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT
Scott Reeves, Assistant Superintendent, Teaching & Learning
Hello staff and welcome to October! It’s the Halloween witching season and I’ve seen many cool door decorations throughout many of our schools! This month’s Portrait of a Graduate competency highlight is - COLLABORATION. Working together to create, innovate and solve problems is one of the great skills you can build in your students. We hear time and time again from our business community how valuable that skill is for people they employ. As you design your lessons, be intentional about creating opportunities for your students to work together!
I’ve updated my class visitation schedule to include dates in November. Had a great September visiting a few classes, and look forward in the coming weeks to being a guest 2nd Grade reader and meeting incredible students through BizTown interviews. Please, please, please, invite me to your classrooms using the link above. Also, shameless plug, I am reprising my WE Day presentation “They are ALL our kids” where I go into the “why’s” of the great many students we serve from beyond the City of Westerville. I’ve had great feedback from those who have attended and if you’re free when my sessions are scheduled, I invite you to join! See you all soon!
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Cheryl Relford, Executive Director of Elementary Schools
Kate Thoma, Director of Elementary Curriculum & Instruction
It is hard to believe that the end of the first grading period is almost here! Since the theme of this month’s newsletter is collaboration, we’d love to share some collaborative topics happening in elementary. First, we’ve been working with our Principal team to better align our meeting structure. All buildings have been asked to schedule 20 staff meetings for the school year. We will use these staff meetings to provide PD and support for all staff. We also ask that each building schedule their BLT meetings (monthly), MTL meetings (monthly) and TBT meetings (bi-monthly). BLT and MLT meetings may be scheduled during the contract day with no payment or outside of the contract day with Schedule S payment to participants for the minutes outside of the contract day. TBT meetings should be happening bi-monthly during the contract day to allow for grade level collaboration with admin and coach support. All other committee meetings are strictly voluntary and are not required. Equity and PBIS topics can fall into existing structures like BLT and/or MLT meetings and are not something additional to the work listed above.
We would love to collaborate with YOU at an upcoming Collaborative Problem Solving Meeting. These meetings have been well attended in the past and based on topics of high interest to our staff. While we haven’t been able to hold them yet this Fall, we do have the following dates secured:
- November 13
- January 29
- February 26
- April 2
The first step in planning these meetings is to hear from YOU. What would YOU like to collaborate on-click here to complete a feedback form.
Elementary Curriculum & Instruction
We’ve also heard your concerns about the time requirements for completing the required RIMP documents. Based on your feedback, we are collaborating with other school districts to review their RIMPS to see how we might make some adjustments. We will keep you updated on what we learn, and we will provide opportunities for teacher input. We are hopeful that we can come up with a much improved RIMP document by next year that will be less cumbersome and time consuming for our classroom teachers. When we have more information, we will be sure to share it.
Finally, October is a very busy month in the lives of teachers! We created a folder in Schoology for all your Achievement Record and Parent Teacher Conference support materials. This folder includes:
- AR Calibration Guide - A teacher tool to help you determine students markings on the Achievement Record
- Achievement Record Family Info Flier - 1 pager for families
- Achievement Record presentation - presentation for families that want to know more
- MTSS Guide Family Info Guide - 1 pager for families and also a tool to use for talking points around our MTSS Framework
- RIMP Talking Points - A teacher tool to help you with talking points for families who will receive a RIMP for their child
We hope these tools help you collaborate with families around students' progress! Thank you for all you do during this very busy time!
SECONDARY EDUCATION
Anne Baldwin, Executive Director, Secondary Schools
Dr. Jennifer Knapp, Director, Secondary Curriculum & Instruction
Matt Misener, Director, Career and College Pathways
Becca Yanni, Coordinator, Extra and Co-Curricular Activities
It has been exciting to collaborate as a secondary team this first quarter around MTSS and we look forward to our continued collaboration across the district in our monthly MTSS and Department Facilitator meetings!
We are still looking for team members to join our collaborative design teams at the middle level for both Middle School Design and Advisory. These teams meet once a month after school and participation is eligible for Schedule S payment. If you are interested in joining a team and collaborating with colleagues from across our district, please reach out to your principal or Anne Baldwin. Our next Middle School Design Team meeting is scheduled for October 23rd and MS Advisory Design Team meeting is scheduled for November 6th.
Secondary Curriculum & Instruction
A high-yield strategy for student collaboration is the Station Rotation Model. Here are a few benefits:
- It increases the amount of collaborative learning between students. The ability to collaborate well with others is a skill that will serve students well throughout their educational and vocational journeys. Not to mention, it carries into personal relationships and social skills.
- Teachers are able to personalize their lessons a lot more with the station rotation model. You will be able to focus more intently on individual learners' needs and learning styles.
- It helps you have more time to focus your attention on smaller groups of students. While other stations are assisting your students in learning independently, you have the ability to check in with every student in your class.
- The station rotation models also give students hands-on experience. This time deepens their understanding of the concepts and gets them excited about learning more.
Learn more about the Station-Rotation model HERE and click HERE to get support from one of your secondary C&I members to implement station - rotation or for support with other strategies in your classroom!
Last month we shared a few quick strategies to help support communication in the classroom, including Turn and Talk; Think, Ink, Pair (Square), Share, and Points of View/Controversial Topics Protocols - all of which can also help support collaboration in your classroom. Additional strategies to help students collaborate include:
- Jigsaw: Class is divided into several teams, with each team preparing separate but related assignments. When all team members are prepared, the class is re-divided into mixed groups, with one member from each team in each group. Each person in the group teaches the rest of the group what he/she knows, and the group then tackles an assignment that pulls all of the pieces together to form the full picture.
- Pro-Con-Caveat Grids: Students analyze a proposal or solution to a problem with a pro-con-caveat grid individually. They then come together in small groups to take the best ideas and form a more nuanced, complex grid. After teams complete the new grid, they pass it on to another team, where students discuss what they agree and disagree with, what points they find interesting or surprising
- Three-Step Interview: Students interview each other in pairs. The pair links with another pair and the four-member team shares what insights they gleaned from the initial interviews.
- Peer Instruction: The instructor polls the class (Poll Everywhere or raise of hands) on a question; if responses are sufficiently divergent, students talk with 1-2 peers about their responses, then instructor polls again.
In collaboration with the Columbus Council on World Affairs, we are excited to provide two voluntary learning opportunities for you on October 18th.
Leveraging Culture to Enhance Belonging for ELL Students: 8:30 - 11:00
This workshop aims to equip teachers with strategies to leverage culture as a means to enhance a sense of belonging for English Language Learner (ELL) students. Participants will explore the relationship between culture, identity, and belonging, and learn practical approaches to integrate students' cultural backgrounds into the classroom. They will gain insights into creating inclusive learning environments, fostering cultural pride, and growth for ELL students. By the end of the session, teachers will be able to see culture as a powerful tool to create an inclusive and supportive classroom that values and celebrates the diversity of ELL students.
Applying Cultural Competence to Instructional Design: 12:00 - 2:20
This workshop is designed to help teachers integrate cultural competence into their instructional design process. Participants will explore the importance of cultural awareness in education and gain practical skills to create culturally responsive lesson plans and materials. They will learn strategies to incorporate diverse perspectives, cultural references, and inclusive teaching methods into their instructional design. By the end of the workshop, teachers will have a deeper understanding of cultural competence and gain tools to design instruction that meets the needs of culturally diverse learners.
Please sign up HERE by October 16th .
Career and College Pathways
The Educator Externship is back by popular demand! I am excited to invite you to collaborate with two local business partners on WE Day- Mt. Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital and LakeShore Cryotronics. Transportation is provided and this session will run all day. Please note the time is shifted from other WE Day Sessions due to business partner limitations (we will start at 8:00am). The session includes time at both businesses in the morning, followed by lunch on your own, and then collaboration time with participants to debrief our learning and incorporate new learning into planning for the year. For more information about the Educator Externship, please click HERE. Be sure to sign up early via WE Day sign ups as seats are limited.
Extra and Co-Curricular Activities
As part of our Strategic Plan work, we want to learn more about the impact of our events across the district and how they help families, community members, staff and students feel connected to their school community.
Please share the QR code below at any of your events as well as newsletters to help us capture that information. Contact Becca Yanni if you’d like to learn more or see the feedback for your events.
STUDENT SERVICES
Tami Santa, Executive Director, Student Services
Jessie Martin, Director, Student Well-Being
Ja'Niece McAlpine, Director, Educational Equity
Megan Orlowski, TOSA, Educational Equity
Rachel Pinto, District Nurse Coordinator
Happy October. Take a moment to enjoy the beauty of the Fall season.
Remember to share your gratitude with the important people around you, personally and professionally. Thanks for taking time to read our updates.
Educational Equity
Please refer to this month's world culture celebration highlights as some may impact student attendance. Links in our district's World Celebrations Calendar can provide more information on each holiday. If your school is in need of instructional resources to highlight or celebrate, feel free to contact our office. Collaborate with your school personnel to find ways to highlight and/or celebrate any of these holidays that may represent many of your students.
October 1st-31st is LGBT History Month, celebrating the achievements of trailblazers in the community.
October 2nd-4th is Rosh Hannah, Jewish Near Year Festival
October 3rd-16th is Dashain, the largest and most important festival in Nepal.
October 11th - Yom Kippur, a Jewish Holiday preparing for the New Year.
October 14th - Indigenous People recognizing Native Americans Across the United States.
October 14th - Columbus Day, Christopher Columbus coming to America for the first time.
October 30th- Nov. 3rd - Nepali Festival of Lights.
October 31st- Nov. 1st is Diwali
Clinic & Health Services
As we head into cold and flu season, thank you for collaborating with the clinic staff to determine if a student should be sent home or remain home from school. A reminder that clinic staff follow current ODH guidelines on when to send home or advise families to keep home ill students. WCS policies and handbooks reflect these recommendations. Please see attached WCS Guide to Staying Home. This document can be shared with families. Please contact your building school nurse if you have any questions or concerns.
Student Well-Being
October 18th is a time to engage in worthwhile PD opportunities. Our team of trauma and resilience trainers would love to collaborate with you on this day to identify ways to encourage and build resilience in our students. So if you haven’t already secured your PD plans for that day, come join us to become a Certified Trauma and Resilience Specialist in Education! Register here.
