Learning Together
Office of Instruction Newsletter - Template
Teacher Leadership
Message from Troy D. Olin, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
Teachers, as natural agents of change, play a pivotal role in driving innovation, fostering a collaborative culture, and influencing instructional practices.
Your expertise, passion, and commitment to student success already make you invaluable leaders in our educational community. And when you are empowered to lead, it also enhances the quality of education and creates an environment primed for continuous improvement.
During our conference day, keynote speaker Dr. Malik Muhammad spoke about the Social Discipline Window as a framework. Specifically, he shared that it’s important for us to strive to be in the “with” box, where there is a focus on high connections and high challenges, which leads to positive change.
In Gates Chili, we highly value our teacher leadership structure and want to ensure that our model continues to meet the needs of staff and students. This shared leadership is essential to being in that “with” box as we navigate the challenges of education, inspire excellence, and cultivate a culture of lifelong learning. This year marks the last year of the current three-year teacher leader appointments.
After careful consideration and in collaboration with the GCTA, we are moving into 2024-25 with new one-year terms for teacher leaders.
This shift will allow us to make thoughtful enhancements to our teacher leadership structure, so that it continues to support our district's goals and contributes to academic growth and success.
Details regarding positions, job descriptions, and application procedures will be posted in the next week. If you are interested, please apply by submitting a letter of interest in Frontline. In cases of multiple candidates within a department or content area, interviews will be conducted to determine the best fit.
Summer Program Update
In addition, I am pleased to announce Costa Tavelaris as the Summer Program Principal, pending Board of Education approval.
Costa is a longtime Spartan who has worked at the high school and middle school, before moving to his current role as assistant principal at Walt Disney Elementary School. He will supervise all aspects of the elementary and secondary summer programs.
Equitable Grading Practices
Communication to students about expectations and success criteria is an important part of equitable grading. In January, we shared some quotes from students about homework and grading. This month, we asked students about their experiences with grading and advice that they would give to teachers.
Didn't get a chance to fill out the agree-or-disagree survey? 👀
Summer Curriculum Development
This summer, curriculum development work will take place in the high school library from July 1 through Aug. 16.
Teacher leaders will be submitting proposals for work that needs to be done in their departments. If you are interested in participating, you will need to complete the curriculum development training if you did not attend last year.
Curriculum training sessions will be held on Wednesday, May 15 and Tuesday, June 25. On each of these days there will be a morning session (8-11 a.m.) and an afternoon session (12-3 p.m.). Each of the four sessions are the same. You only need to select and attend one. Registration will be through Frontline.
Gates Chili Literacy Team Update
We're excited to update you on the literacy team’s progress as we continue our review of curriculum resources to support students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade.
As shared this winter, the team has spent many hours reviewing programs for their alignment to quality components of a comprehensive and high-quality literacy program. Literacy team members had the opportunity to hear presentations and engage in discussion with program experts. Feedback from the team was gathered and considered as we narrowed the search to:
- Amplify – CKLA (Language Comprehension and Foundational Skills)
- 95 Core (Foundational Skills only)
- UFLI Foundations (Foundational Skills only)
As a next step, literacy team members have begun visiting school districts where these program resources are already in place. During these visits, team members listen to schools share their experience with implementation, visit classrooms to observe, and ask questions. This firsthand experience will provide insights into the realities of implementing in the classroom setting.
The team will continue to closely review scope and sequences of skills, curriculum maps, and standards alignment. Elementary science and social studies content leaders will have an opportunity to review program resources to identify future content connections.
As this work continues, it is important to keep in mind the vital role each of you plays in our students' educational journey. While we look to identify a comprehensive program, we fully recognize and appreciate the role you play in making learning accessible to each student. Our goal is to find a program that complements and enriches the exceptional work you do in the classroom.
Professional Learning Reminders
Superintendent's Conference Day
Last Friday, Gates Chili staff spent a great day learning together! From the morning collaboration or training sessions to the outstanding keynote presentation by Dr. Malik Muhammad, and varied breakout sessions, staff were able to walk away with new ideas and strategies to apply to their unique positions.
Breakout presentations will be uploaded into the Staff Intranet - Professional Learning page soon. If you have not already done so, please take a few moments to complete the survey so we can continue to make adjustments to improve future conference days!
Curriculum Development Training
As shared above, Curriculum Development Training is required for ALL teachers planning to participate in curriculum development for the summer or the 2024-25 school year. If you are planning to participate and have not completed the training, please sign up for only ONE session. Don't forget to request a half-day substitute for the date/time you sign up for if needed.
Register in Frontline or use the links below:
Curriculum Development Training - May 15 - morning
Curriculum Development Training - May 15 - afternoon
Curriculum Development Training - June 25 - morning
Curriculum Development Training - June 25 - afternoon
Also, check out Frontline for other professional learning opportunities in both the district catalog or BOCES catalogs.
Riddle Me This...
Congratulations to Kim Burgholzer, Kyle Baker, and Breanna Williams who were the first three to respond to last month's riddle correctly - Painless Operation
If you know the answer to this month's riddle, click HERE to submit your answer. The first three (3) people who answer the riddle correctly will receive a special prize in their mailbox next week!
Good luck!
March Riddle: I have keys, but no locks and space, and no rooms. You can enter, but you can’t go outside. What am I?
Look out for future issues of the "Learning Together" newsletter on the first Friday of each month this school year!
The Gates Chili Central School District is dedicated to fostering curiosity, growth, and diversity within our school community. The district celebrates and embraces differences and strives to dismantle exclusion, bias, racism, and prejudice of all forms.