1st Week of May

DOK - Scope & Sequence

May is the perfect time to reflect on our academic year because the ups and downs of the year are fresh on our minds.  We are able to quickly identify the great things that we want to continue and the changes that we want to make for next year.  As you work on your scope and sequence (Due May 22 for Grades 3-12 and June 5 for grades PK-2), I want you to prioritize your development of the scope and sequence around the following items:

• Readiness Standards or Essential Learning Targets 
• Out of all of your standards, what are the most critical skills that every student must master to be successful on STAAR, in your course or on a certification or college readiness test?
• What was the students' performance on those skills this year?
• When and how often do we need to teach those skills next year to improve every student's performance?
• Supporting Standards or Important Learning Targets
• What additional skills are important for our kids to learn next year? 
• Which essential learning targets or readiness standards will be best supported by the important skills in our curriculum?
• When will we teach these important skills?
• Process Standards or Critical Thinking Skills
• Which of these skills do our kids need to work the most on next year?
• Which Process Standards or Critical Thinking Skills should we intentionally bundle with specific Readiness Standards or Essential Learning Targets?

Once these questions are answered, the next question that comes to mind, if it hasn't already is this?

Ok, so what about the data?

Since our STAAR scores and certification test results will not be back until late May, it will be critical to have a rough draft of our scope and sequence created with guidance from our formative assessment data from this year.  Once our state scores come back in, we will need to analyze the data and then proof our Scope and Sequence against the data to ensure that we place the right emphasis on the right essential learning targets or readiness skills next year.

May Events

• May 1 - Summer School Applications due to Michelle Young
• May 4 - 8 
• Teacher Appreciation Week
• STAAR EOC at THS
• May 5 - Cinco de Mayo Celebration at TPS and at Eagle Stadium
• May 6 - National Nurses Day & Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon
• May 8 - End of 3 Weeks
• May 12 - STAAR 5 & 8 Reading Retest
• May 15 - Sarah Murphy Races in Henderson
• May 21- TISD Fine Arts Forum
• May 25 - Memorial Day
• June 4 - Early Release
• June 5 Staff Development Day

Congrats, Good Luck & Thank You!

Taylor Burch

Congratulations to Daisy Hillin who won 1st place in the Region 7 2015 Earth Day Poster Contest.

Congrats to Taylor Burch for placing 3rd in Prose at the regional UIL Academic Contest. She will be moving on to the state contest.

Good Luck to the THS Band as they compete at the Region 21 UIL Concert and Sightreading Contest in Troup.

Thank you to Sabrena Socha for helping out with testing at the high school.









What I've Found

Digital Student Portfolios: A Whole School Approach to Connected Learning and ... amazon.com/dp/B00VDFZ4CU/…

6 What If Questions that Great Teachers Ask Every Day buff.ly/1E7xPWK

How to Make Time for Every Student
This elementary school takes formative assessment to the next level.
Posted by Edutopia on Friday, April 3, 2015

Are you signed up for the Global Read Aloud 2015? http://t.co/VScz1U2HHR One book to connect the world #edchat #nerdybookclub #gra15
— Pernille Ripp (@pernilleripp) February 15, 2015

Reflection on Learning - Week 2: Focus Lesson

This is week 2 of 6 in our 6-week reflection on our instructional effectiveness, and our goal is to collect the very best instructional strategies so that we make next year even better in every classroom.  This week, we will use our collaboration time to reflect on our instructional practices to introduce the class to new content at the beginning of class after the bell-ringer activity.  This week we will reflect on the next component of instruction, the Focus Lesson.

Description

To begin any lesson, the teacher sets the tone for learning by focusing students on the content that they will need to master for the day.  In a focus lesson “teachers must clearly establish a purpose and model their own thinking.   It’s not enough to simply state the purpose.  We must ensure that students have opportunities to engage with the purpose and obtain feedback about their performance.   Additionally, the focus lesson should provide students with information about the ways in which a skilled reader, writer, or thinker processes information.” (Fisher, Frey. 2008).

Since a focus lesson serves as the first scaffold to guide students toward mastery in learning any concept, the success of a focus lesson involving new content depends on three components:  the teacher’s preparation and understanding of the content, the students’ cognitive ability to connect with the content, and the teacher’s efficient use of time.  In ineffective classrooms, the focus lesson takes an excessive amount of time because kids are unable to connect with the content due to the teacher’s poor preparation, and as a result, time is lost redelivering or clarifying the introduction.  In a classroom of excellence, a focus lesson communicates everything that a student needs to know in about 5-15 minutes, so that students can have an opportunity to interact with content through other modalities. 

Engagement Activity	Description	Questions	Content	Time Frame
		How are DOK 2 & 3 questions provided and responded to?	What type of content is addressed?	The approximate time that the activity should take.
Focus Lesson	Activity that involves new or unfamiliar content and requires the teacher to model learning for students through whole group instruction.	Posed by the teacher during focus lesson and the teacher models thinking and problem solving for the students.	New content or content that must be retaught to the  majority of the students.	5-15 minutes depending on content and age of student.

Reflection

Describe how you effectively and efficiently model your thinking and learning of content (new or in need of reteaching) to your students in a 5-15 minute focus lesson. (CLICK HERE)

4th Week of April

Spring Tasks

• April 29 - Early Release (See your principal for directions)
• May 1 - Summer School Applications due to Michelle Young
• May 4 - 8 
• Teacher Appreciation Week
• STAAR EOC at THS
• May 5 - Cinco de Mayo Celebration at TPS and at Eagle Stadium
• May 6 - National Nurses Day & Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon
• May 8 - End of 3 Weeks
• May 12 - STAAR 5 & 8 Reading Retest
• May 15 - Sarah Murphy Races in Henderson
• May 21- TISD Fine Arts Forum
• May 25 - Memorial Day
• June 4 - Early Release
• June 5 Staff Development Day

DOK - Early Release Day: Planning for 2015-16
 On Wednesday, April 29, we will have our Early Release Day.  For staff assigned to their campus, see your principal for specific information.  Here are the assignments and tasks for this day:

Teacher Assignments

Staff	Location	Task
TPS Staff	TPS	Guided Reading Training
TES Staff	TES	Build 2015-16 Scope & Sequence
TMS Staff	TMS	Build 2015-16 Scope & Sequence
THS Staff	THS	Build 2015-16 Scope & Sequence
Fine Arts Staff	Band Hall	Plan for TISD Fine Arts Forum

Paraprofessional Assignments

Staff	Location
Channing Centers Chandra Wheeler	TPS
Mary Ward Vicki Garcia	TES

Scope and Sequence Development Process
We will begin our summer CIA process early by writing our Scope and Sequence for next year during our April 29 staff development day.  Teachers will need to do the following prior to the early release day.

1. Make revisions to your 2014-2015 Scope and Sequence based on formative assessment data.
2. Bring a paper or electronic copy of the scope and sequence to the meeting.
3. Bring your laptop to the meeting.

VERY IMPORTANT INFO

On Tuesday, I will send principals a link to our new Scope and Sequence template.  We will create our 2015-2016 Scope and Sequences on Google Sheets.  Please do not use Open Office to make your scope and sequence as Google will be our main tool for curriculum development in 2015-2016.

The fact is that #kids #learn to make decisions by making decisions, not by following directions. #quote pic.twitter.com/Vr5HgkNsop
— Dr. Price-Mitchell (@DrPriceMitchell) April 16, 2015

Thank you 
Thank you to Betsy Yanas for locating a student who had been a dropout and for working hard to get the student enrolled in school.

Our third round of testing is over.  Thank you to Jo Miller and Tamara Fite for organizing this week's testing.  Thank you to our staff for their hard work in administering the test successfully, and please join me in thanking our volunteers for helping us out.

STAAR Reading scores came out this week for 5th and 8th grade reading.  Results are in Dr. Hartt's email to the staff.  We will use the results to drive our focus in reading next year.  Thank you to Mrs. Garcia, Mrs. Mock and Mrs. Courtney for their work in preparing kids to pass the test.



College and Career - Opportunities in East Texas

From Jessica Rymel:  THS Students testing for
Pesticide Applicator Certification

Have you exposed your students to jobs in East Texas that don't require a college degree?  Students can get a job starting around $35,000 per year by earning a certification or associate's degree from Kilgore College or TSTC in Marshall.  Check out these short videos that will expose you to what's available in the Longview Area.

• Career Choices in East Texas
• CNC Machinist 
• Diesel Mechanic with Holt Caterpillar
• Electrician with Joy Global
• HVAC Technician with AAON
• Registered Nurse with Longview Regional
• Surgical Technician 

TIP (Tech Integration Pic) of the Week

My tech tip of the week comes from Bill Ferriter, a 6th grade science teacher and tech integration expert.  As you plan to integrate technology, keep this question and comparison of right and wrong answers in mind.

What I've Found

The Biggest Benefits of Effective Note-Taking

Krissy Venosdale is an educator from Houston.  Her Twitter account is very inspiring because she shares her gift of digital media to come up with awesome posters that inspire.  You have to check out stuff!

Just added 70 new posters to my @Flickr album. https://t.co/2AgbllZicH #CreativeCommons #edchat #teachershare
— Krissy Venosdale (@venspired) April 5, 2015

CTE Opportunities for THS Seniors & Juniors

Today, I had the pleasure of speaking to the juniors and seniors about career opportunities and CTE dual credit courses.  Here's some info below, and here is the Google Slide Presentation (CLICK HERE) with hyperlinks to handouts and resources.

WorkKeys
Seniors can take their first test to earn some money by applying for employment to over 62 businesses in the Longview area.  The WorkKeys test is developed by ACT and is a nationally recognized certification throughout America.  After students take the test and receive their scores, they can update their resume and send it to businesses that they would like to apply to.  The WorkKeys test is sponsored by LEDCO and we plan to take seniors to test in Longview during the first week of May.

To help seniors prepare for the test, here is a link to some practice material.

LEDCO also offers a scholarship to seniors.  Check it out here.



CTE Dual Credit
We are very excited to announce that we plan to offer 6 dual credit courses through Kilgore College next year that are tied to degree programs in the Health Science and Business and Technical pathways.

Qualifications

• To take health science or technical dual credit courses, student do not need to meet academic requirements.
• To take academic dual credit courses (English, History, Government, College Algebra, etc), students must earn a score of 4000 (Final Passing Standard) on the ELA 2 and Algebra 1 EOC tests, or they can take and pass pass the TSI test.  

Health Science Courses 

• We will offer Medical Terminology and Anatomy and Physiology to next year's seniors.
• These courses are part of the degree plans to become an LVN ($42,000 annual salary) or EMT ($28,000 annual salary).

Industrial & Technical Courses

• We will offer DC Electric, Intro to Welding, Intro to PTAC, and Intro to PTRT
• The table below shows multiple pathways that these courses will apply toward.

 

Degree	1 or 2 year degree	Companies that hire in East Texas	Entry Salary Range
Instrumentation	1year Certificate 2 year AAS degree	Eastman, Enbridge, West Lake Chemical	$36,000-60,000
Corrosion Technology	1year Certificate 2 year AAS degree	Bass Engineering, Enbridge, PIR, Sunoco, Enable Midstream	$35,000-80,000
Process Technology	2 year AAS degree	Eastman, Enbridge, Shell, Chevron	$30,000-70,000
Welding	3 Certificates 2 year AAS degree	Eastman, General Dynamics, Joy Global Hydesco, Esco, Trinity Industries	$16.00-35.00 per hr. $100-120 per hr. if you own your own welding truc

For more information about WorkKeys or CTE Dual Credit courses, students and parents can make contact with Robbye Rowe (THS counselor) or John Wink (TISD Curriculum Director).

We are very excited about these opportunities for our students, and we look forward to giving our students a great head start on their pathway to excellence.

Reflection on Learning: Week 1 - Bell Ringer Activity

During the next 6 weeks, we will use our collaborative time to reflect on our instructional practices that made the biggest impact on student learning.  During the first week of collaboration, we will reflect on the first 5 minutes of instruction, the Bell Ringer.

Description

The first minute of instruction begins the moment that students enter the classroom or transition into a new subject (K-5), and effective teachers are prepared to engage students immediately in an independent activity that primes students for learning.  During a bell-ringer activity which takes approximately the first 5 minutes of instruction, the teacher can tackle managerial tasks such as taking attendance, checking in with individual students, or distributing instructional materials while the students are busy connecting with content independently.     What makes a bell-ringer activity highly effective is that it serves 2 purposes.  First, it is tied to prior knowledge or background knowledge, and secondly, it is intentionally tied to instruction that students will experience in the day's lesson.

Engagement Activity	Description	Questions	Content	Time Frame
		How are DOK 2 & 3 questions provided and responded to?	What content is addressed?	The approximate time that the activity should take.
Bell Ringer	Activity tied to learning for the day, that is prepared for students upon arrival to class while teacher conducts managerial tasks.	Provided by teacher for students to address independently.	Prior learning that will be necessary for the day's lesson.	5 minutes

Reflection Task

Describe a bell-ringer activity that you used this year that required kids to activate prior knowledge and the activity connected kids to your lesson.

Click here to enter your responses.

3rd Week of April

DOK - Overcoming Failure requires Relationships and Rigor 
As we end the 5th 6 weeks and begin the 6th 6 weeks, we focus on ending one year while simultaneously preparing kids for next year.  As we give students their grades, please be mindful that a grade communicates one of two things:  that a student is failing or that they are a failure.  Below is interesting comparison of the two concepts by Justin Tarte.

Whether a kid looks at his grade as failing or he looks at himself as a failure depends completely on how we counsel with the student.  In absence of a conversation with the teacher, every kid will naturally see himself as a failure when they see a failing grade on the report card.  The challenge becomes how we convince kids to see their poor performance as a temporary setback that is waiting for a comeback.  Every kid has the potential to come back when they fail.  The question is how do we motivate and inspire them to make the choice to overcome adversity when they fail  and then use rigor in our instruction as a tool for personalized learning.

+Justin Tarte Failing vs. being a failure... huge differences! #edchat

College & Career - ACT WorkKeys
ACT has a test called WorkKeys that is used to test applicants in reading, math.  The better these students do on the test, the higher paying job they could possibly get.  Click here for a brochure sent to me from Region VII about the test.  We are currently identifying seniors to take the test and making a plan to prepare them to get the best score possible.  Doing well on this test will put them at the front of the hiring line and that is a great thing.

For more information about WorkKeys, Click HERE

Tech Integration
I came across this post and found the ideas behind it very helpful for my own understanding.
What does "Tech Integration" Mean?


Congratulations to Veronica Wilkerson who was selected to present at the Region VII G/T Conference on June 24, 2015.  If you want to sign up for the conference, click here, and enter workshop code #047620



Librarian Appreciation Week
This week is Librarian Appreciation Week.  We would like to thank our MITS who not only run our libraries extremely well, but they serve teachers and students so that they can unleash the power of technology to drive their learning.  We would like to thank them for their hours of service and commitment to Excellence for All.

Tatum Primary              Veronica Wilkerson
Tatum Elementary        Kristen Sweeney
Tatum Middle               Cristi Whiddon
Tatum High                   Cindy Haston



Thank you, Congrats & Good Luck
To all of our teachers that have put in hours of work to prepare our students for the STAAR test in grades 3-8 next week we say thank you.  You have worked so hard.  You have created personalized plans to help each kid grow in their learning, and you have developed rigorous lesson that challenged our students to be their  very best.  Good luck next week.  We know they are prepared to reach Excellence for All!


Congratulations to our THS Choir and David Young who competed at the UIL Concert and Sight-reading Contest yesterday in Carthage.  The choir earned a 2nd division rating in the concert portion of the contest.

Good luck to our track athletes as they compete in the district track meet today at the stadium.


What I'm Learning
Building a Thinking Classroom without Technology
"I Hate Math" - Ways to Instill a Love of Math in Kids

2nd Week of April

DOK - Intervention and Extension
As we get closer to STAAR testing, remember that your lessons should keep this thought in mind.

"Every student can learn, just not on the same day or in the same way" #whatisschool pic.twitter.com/hVN0YaS6pE
— Croydon College (@CroydonCollege) April 10, 2015

Today is #LoveMySchoolDay.  
Share on Twitter all the reasons you love @TatumISD.  For examples, check out Twitter and search the hashtag, #LoveMySchoolDay.


College and Career - What top students are doing right.

This video isn't about IQ or aptitude.  It's about teaching kids the right skills to improve in their academic performance, and ALL KIDS CAN DO THAT.





Academic Events
Academic Events for the next month
April 10 - Teacher submit TSR 2 & 3 in Eduphoria
             #LoveMySchoolDay (share on Twitter all the reasons why you love your school)
April 13 - Librarian Appreciation Week (Thank your MITS for all that they do for you!)
April 17 - End of 5th 6 Weeks
April 20 - STAAR 5 & 8 Math
           Public School Volunteer Week (Thank our volunteers for all that they do.)
April 21 - STAAR 3, 4, 6, 7 Math & 8 Social Studies
April 22 - STAAR 3, 4, 6, 7 Reading and 5 & 8 Science
              Administrative Professionals Day (Thank your office staff for all that they do)
April 29 - Early Release Day
May 4    - STAAR EOC Week at the High School
May 5    - Cinco de Mayo



What I'm Learning
Digital Strategies for Personalized Learning via EdWeb

A Higher Chance of Becoming Great - The Twitter Factor by George Couros