I want to express my sincere gratitude for your commitment to our students. Your dedication to their learning and well-being is truly inspiring.
The upcoming months hold exciting opportunities for continued professional growth and collaborative learning. We believe in fostering a supportive environment where you can continuously refine your teaching practices and collaborate with colleagues. The Division of Instruction offers professional development designed to equip you with the tools and resources needed to empower your students and ensure their success.
In this newsletter, you'll find details about upcoming professional development opportunities and valuable resources for students, families, and staff. We are fortunate to have such passionate and dedicated educators, and I look forward to collaborating with all of you throughout the semester.
Thank you!
Dr. Frances Baez, Chief Academic Officer
Division of Instruction
Contact Information
Website: https://www.lausd.org/instruction
Telephone: 213-241-4822
Follow us on social media!
- X- @LAUSD_Achieve
- Instagram- @instructionla
- FB- LASchools DOI
Spelling Bee Results
The Los Angeles Unified School District students, grades 4 to 8, are participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Our schools recently held local spelling bee competitions and the winners progressed to their regional competitions. The Spelling Bee competitions tested vocabulary knowledge, phonemic awareness, memory retention, public speaking, focus, study, determination, and stamina. While spelling accuracy is the core focus, these additional skills developed through participation contribute significantly to student learning and success.
We applaud our students, parents, teachers, and administrators, who participated and ensured our students would have a fun and excellent learning experience.
Congratulations to our students who are successfully advancing to the Los Angeles County Spelling Bee and California State Spelling Bee (grades 4-6) competitions. The winner of the LACOE Spelling Bee will advance to the Scripps National Bee competition. We are proud of you!
Dates of competitions:
Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) Regional Spelling Bee - March 20, 2024, at 4:00 p.m., Almansor Court Golf Course, Alhambra, CA
California State Spelling Bee - May 11, 2024, San Joaquin County Office of Education, Stockton, CA
Scripps Bee Week - May 26-June 1, 2024, National Harbor, Maryland
MOY i-Ready Diagnostic- NOW WHAT?
- Engage in a PDSA cycle using the CA CCSS Performance Report (K-12) to analyze progress on grade-level standards.
Create your action plan using the Planning Using the Standards Performance (Class) Report.
Identify the priority standards previously taught at the beginning of the year using your math and reading instructional program scope and sequence.
Re-engage students with previously taught priority standards by assigning i-Ready Focus Lessons to students in their MyPath Personalized Instruction. Use i-Ready Reading Focus Lesson List (i-readycentral.com) for reading lessons, and i-Ready Mathematics Focus Lesson List 13.4 National (i-readycentral.com) for math lessons.
Monitor Personalized Instruction by using Personalized Instruction by Lessons Report and Personalized Instruction Summary
Resources to Support:
What should I know about Teacher-Assigned Lessons so I can effectively use them?
- Deliver Differentiated Instruction
Ignite Curiosity this March with the Discovery Education Newsletter!
Discover excellent resources and lessons in your March 2024 newsletter!
We’re bringing you a treasure trove of ready-to-use resources and engaging lessons to celebrate Women's History Month, Pi Day, Music in Our Schools, Nutrition Month, Read Across America Day, and much more!
Engage students with relevant lessons and resources that support teaching and learning across all grade levels. Together, let’s ignite curiosity and empower students to make a difference!
Expanding Teacher Access to the AMS
We have expanded your access to the Assessment Management System (AMS). This upgrade empowers you to create and customize assessments tailored to your students. You can design assessments that align perfectly with your teaching goals. Visit our website to learn how to get started.
Equitable School Performance Office and Data Champion Initiative (ESPO-DCI) March Newsletter
ESPO-DCI is pleased to announce informative sessions focused on distributive data leadership, tailored to leverage data for targeted student subgroups and performance levels. For a comprehensive schedule of our upcoming sessions, kindly refer to MyPLN. We look forward to your participation in these valuable learning opportunities.
Supporting Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycles through Schoology
Strengthen your continuous improvement journey with Schoology! We understand the importance of the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle in driving effective learning, and Schoology offers a wealth of resources to support each stage. For additional information, contact Leigh Ann Orr, Coordinator, at leighann.orr@lausd.net.
LAUSD Students and Employees Can Access Digital Books for Free!
- The LAUSD Learning Library on Sora is a collection of ebooks, audiobooks, comics, and magazines available for all LAUSD students and employees. There is content for all grade levels UTK–12.
- The LAUSD Learning Library is a valuable resource for all readers. Teacher librarians curated each grade-level collection available in various formats to engage your students.
- You can access Sora via the waffle in Schoology PLS_Job_Aid_Sora.docx or https://soraapp.com/library/lausd.
- Watch this video to understand how to use Sora! Click this link for the Spanish SORA video.
- Happy Reading!
2024 Annual SEL Symposium "Igniting the Joy in Learning through SEL"
We want all educators to join us for a day of collaboration and learning at the annual SEL symposium. We also seek presenters to lead workshops in breakout rooms at an all-day SEL Symposium at East LA College.
- Date: Saturday, May 11, 2024
- Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
- Location: East Los Angeles College, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park, CA 91754
Each 75-minute breakout room will be an engaging and interactive exploration of ideas, strategies, and sharing of SEL best practices that ignite a joy of learning for students, parents/caregivers, educators, and school communities.
Please consider submitting a proposal of a SEL best practice you implement in the classroom or at your school site. The deadline to submit proposals is Sunday, March 17, 2024. For additional information, contact Susan Ward Roncalli, SEL Advisor, at sroncall@lausd.net.
Unlock the power of SEL: Resources to spark student growth and classroom well-being!
Dive into our diverse SEL curricula and discover a wealth of activities, strategies, and frameworks designed to:
- Increase growth across all learners: Our resources cater to various grade levels and learning styles, ensuring every student benefits from the power of SEL.
- Boost social-emotional competencies: Build student confidence, communication skills, and resilience with targeted activities for self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
Remember, with the right SEL resources and strategies, you can unlock a world of possibilities for your students. For additional information, visit the website or contact Debra Schneider-Jelin, SEL Coordinator, at dschneid@lausd.net.
Mindful Practices Linked to Improving Reading and Fluency
Did you know mindful practices are linked to improving reading fluency? The SEL Unit would like to remind you that all schools (TK-12) have access to Inner Explorer, an audio-guided mindfulness platform designed to support mental health and well-being in schools. Explore these resources to help increase mindful practices in your school community. Click here for additional resources.
Save the Date - Computer Science Conference: #CS4LAUSD - May 18, 2024
ITI is calling all Los Angeles Unified educators! Join us for the #CS4LAUSD conference on May 18th. Engage in promising practices and expand your computer science teaching toolkit.
For additional information, contact Allison Jonas, Coordinator, at Allison.Jonas@Lausd.net.
Unlock the magic of computer science for ALL students with the Amazon Future Engineer + BootUp Program
Title 1 elementary schools, take advantage of this opportunity! Implement FREE computer science education for the 2024-2025 school year. Click here for more information and to apply. For questions, contact Allison Jonas, Coordinator, at Allison.Jonas@Lausd.net.
Level Up Los Angeles Esports Competition with Minecraft Education
In partnership with Microsoft, LAUSD is launching a two-level esports competition with Minecraft Education.
- Level 2: Region Rumble Esports Tournament - open to all PK-12 students
AI 101 for Teachers
Discover the groundbreaking world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its transformative potential in education with code.org’s foundational online learning series for teachers and unleash the potential of AI in education! Join code.org for a free online series to demystify artificial intelligence, learn responsible integration, tackle bias, and revolutionize student learning outcomes.
ITI Professional Learning Opportunities
Calling all educators! Are you ready to level up your skills and embrace the future of education? The 2023-2024 ITI Professional Learning Catalog is now open for registration on MyPLN. Get ready to dive into cutting-edge topics like artificial intelligence, Cybersecurity Education, Digital Citizenship, ISTE Student Standards Suite, and computer science. Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your teaching toolkit and empower your students!
Core Knowledge Language Arts Menu of Supports
The Division of Instruction will provide all schools implementing the CKLA curriculum with ongoing professional development, on-site coaching, and an Ambassador program. DOI will also offer digital resources and videos to support the implementation of the curriculum.
Open to Illustrative Mathematics Educators
Teachers will learn about the Unit Planning Guides and focus on significant grade-level work.
Eureka Math: Module by Grade Level & Small Group Instruction
Teachers by grade levels will unpack a module to understand better the structure of how lessons support key mathematical concepts presented in the module. Select sessions will also cover understanding how Exit Tickets support differentiation and small group planning.
Add+ Vantage Math Recovery Course 1
Add+Vanage MR (AVMR) Course 1 supports educators engage with assessments in number words and numerals, structuring numbers and addition and subtraction strategies to recognize the student’s current level of numeracy understanding.
Add+ Vantage Math Recovery Course 2
Add+Vanage MR (AVMR) Course 2 supports educators with assessments on place value, multiplication, and division strategies to recognize the student’s current level of understanding. *Prerequisite is completion of AVMR 1.
ELEMENTARY AMPLIFY SCIENCE
In this professional development, participants will internalize their unit by engaging in a deep dive and experiencing the instructional sequence of activities, lessons, and chapters from a teacher and student perspective while becoming more familiar with the texts, hands-on activities, and digital tools within the following units:
Participants will receive guidance from a Professional Learning Specialist in lesson planning and pacing, followed by an opportunity for independent planning. Registration is on MyPLN.
For more information, please see the Science PD Flyer or contact Lillian Valadez-Rodela at lillian.valadez-rodela@lausd.net.
ELEMENTARY SCIENCE FOSS
Elementary Science Full Option Science System (FOSS) Curriculum
Life Science Units Parts 1-4 Just in Time Series
- Participants in these virtual and in-person sessions will join grade-level colleagues to engage in “just in time” experiences to learn and plan for FOSS Earth Science teaching and examine student work that results from the lessons.
FOSS New Teacher Symposium
- Elementary teachers are invited to attend a focused session on the FOSS Curriculum. We will examine the materials' scope and sequence and organization of the materials for all three strands: Earth, Life and Physical Science.
Registration is on MyPLN. For additional information, see the Science FOSS PD Flyer or contact Lillian Valadez-Rodela, Coordinator, at lillian.valadez-rodela@lausd.net.