Week of August 17

Hello all,

I hope you all are having a fantastic summer.  There are lots of things happening with our transition to Google Drive and Classroom as well as our move back to DMAC for data.  I am confident that you will enjoy our transition to these two new tools. 

The purpose of this post is to inform you of what we will be doing when we come back on August 17.  Below is a schedule of activities and events for teachers and professional staff.  For all other positions, please consult with your principal to see what you will be doing.  For paraprofessionals a letter will come in the mail detailing what you will do.  For teachers, MITS, counselors and administrators, please go to this link to see what you will be doing on these days.

DMAC
Accounts have been created for returning staff, and new teachers will have their accounts created during the week of August 3.  If you need your username and password, please contact your MITS for assistance.  Once you have your account ready, here is your first task on DMAC.  This will be done on August 17 or 18, or you can go ahead and do it now and not worry about doing it on August 17 or 18.

Google Drive
All staff have an account created.  If you need additional help with Google Drive or your lesson planning template, please contact your MITS.  They can get you set up.  I have created a Google Apps for TatumISD SMORE if you want to learn more about Google.

Rest Up. Excellence is just around the Corner!
2015-2016 is certain to be another fantastic year, and we are looking forward to having you back.  Be sure to rest and relax in these final weeks of summer so that you can return on August 17 ready to make the ultimate impact on all kids.

Run your First Report in DMAC

Some of you have already requested your DMAC log-in information, so I created this post to help you get started.

To log in, go to www.dmac-solutions.net.  If you need your username and password, please email me, and I'll get you started.

Watch this video to learn how to run your first reports and read them in a way that will help you find your instructional focus in 2015-2016.

Your Homework
Run you SE Performance reports and answer the following questions.

• Which 3 - 7 readiness standards were assessed the most?
• How was your performance on those standards?
• Which supporting standards were assessed the most?
• How was your performance on those standards.
• Which 1 -3  processing standards were assessed the most? (Math, Writing, SS only)
• In ELA, which genre had the highest and lowest performance?
• What are the 3 readiness standards that need your attention every 6 weeks next year? 
• Which processing standard will need your attention every time you teach a concept?

The Google Apps for TISD Smore

We are Moving to DMAC!

We are transitioning away from Eduphoria for assessments and moving to DMAC.  Many of you are familiar with DMAC as it was used in the past in Tatum.  We will have training on DMAC for developing formative assessments in August when you return to school.

If you would like to get access to DMAC now so that you can play with the software, email me and I will send you your DMAC username and password.

To help you learn about DMAC, you can visit the DMAC Resources Page.  It contains lots of resources to help you learn about DMAC.  Below I have created some Google Doc with video tools from DMAC that will show you exactly how to generate a wide array of reports in DMAC.

The good news is that our STAAR data is there, and you can begin looking at your results.  If you need any help with DMAC, shoot me an email or give me a call.  I'll be glad to help you.

Video Resources

STATE ASSESSMENT for ALL STUDENTS in GRADE
If you are teaching a STAAR tested course, you will need to familiarize yourself with this link so that you will know how to select reports based on student performance on STAAR.  This report will help you analyze all students in a given grade.  These reports are not the best way to drill down to individual students, as the next link is designed for that.

STATE ASSESSMENT for INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS OF STUDENTS
If you are teaching a STAAR tested course, you will need to familiarize yourself with this link so that you will know how to select reports based on individual student performance on STAAR.

MAKE A FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
EVERY core teacher will need to know how to use DMAC to make a test using TAG.  Please take some time to familiarize yourself with this powerful tool.  We will all learn more about this during the week of August 17.

ONLINE TESTING & REPORTS IN TEKSCORE
EVERY core teacher will need to know how to use DMAC to analyze their results and get students online to enter their responses to the test.  Please take some time to familiarize yourself with this powerful tool.  We will all learn more about this during the week of August 17.

How to Use TAG

Last Week of the 2014-2015 School Year

What a Great Year!!!
This has been an amazing year.  On a personal note, I have had a great time learning from and with you.  There are many amazing things, people and processes that make Tatum ISD a remarkable and unique district, and I am lucky to be a part of this place.  There are many things that I could brag about, but as we finish the year, I'd like to share just a couple of the fun facts and successes.  If you would like to add some fun facts, please leave a comment at the bottom.

1. TES moved into their new home, a brand new state of the art building.
2. 90% of our lessons integrated technology every day.
3. The number of CTE certifications offered to students increased to 12 this year.
4. THS students began using Chromebooks and Google Drive this year in English and Social Studies classes.
5. TPS and TES teachers began using iStation and Think Through Math this year to help more students improve in their reading and math skills.
6. TMS students were exposed to college and careers in a multitude of ways including visits to colleges.
7. Extracurricular programs continued their tradition of excellence in competition.

Obviously, there are 1000 more things to celebrate, so this week, I challenge you to reflect on your year.  There were successes, and there were failures.  There were times of great joy and times of great sadness.  All of these moments shaped our year and brought us to this point.  Before you leave, take some time and reflect with your colleagues and your students.  Reflection is a valuable exercise that is often ignored, but when we reflect, we actually affirm this fact.  The work that each of us did this year was meaningful, and it made a difference in the lives of kids.  The difference will be instantly noticeable in some kids today, and for some kids, the difference was a seed planted that will not come to fruition for many years.  In short, what you did this year was beneficial and helped students grow.


Summer Requirements and Dates

Here are some dates that you will need to put down before you leave.

• Comp Days  
• Every teacher and paraprofessional will need to earn 2 comp days this summer for the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving Break.
• TES, TMS, THS teachers will earn their comp days from 2 days of Google Drive training that is being created by the MITS.  This must be accomplished by Thursday, July 30.  If not completed, staff will need to attend mandatory Google Training during the week of August 3 - 6.
• TPS teachers will earn their comp days from 1 day of Google Drive Training and 1 Day of guided reading training.  Google training must be accomplished by Thursday, July 30.  If not completed, staff will need to attend mandatory Google Training during the week of August 3 - 6.
• All paraprofessional staff will need to see their principal to get direction on how to earn credit for the 2 comp days.
• August 17 - 21 - All staff return for District Staff Development, Campus Orientations and Teacher Preparation Days.  More information will come later in the summer.
• August 24 - Students return to start the 2015-2016 school year.

New Initiatives in 2015-2016
Since continuous improvement is the pathway to excellence, we will carry forward and improve the things we are already doing, but we will also introduce some new ideas.  Below are a couple of new initiatives that we are very excited about.

New IU Template
We will be moving away from Eduphoria and to Google Sheets for your new lesson plan next year.  Each campus had representatives give input on the new IU template so that the document meets the needs of each campus and each teacher.  You will receive a link over the summer to your very own personalized lesson plan template and instructions of how to use the document for planning this year.  We will also offer training on how to use it and how to enter information, hyperlinks and other information into the document.

College and Career at THS
Next year we will make a huge emphasis on College and Career.  To get started, we purchased Career Cruising, a software program to help kids become exposed to careers that fit their strengths and colleges or post-secondary schools that will help them reach their career goals.  The goal of College and Career will be simple; equip all kids with tools and knowledge to reach their college and career goals before they graduate.


Summer Learning
What is your summer learning plan?  What do you want to get better at next year?  Is it content related?  Is it kid-related?  Whatever your plan is, make a plan to learn more about it this summer.  If you would like some suggestions or help finding resources, please let me know.  What we learn this summer makes us even better for next year's kids.  Below are a few links that you may find beneficial this summer.


Summer Online Camp for kids by DIY.org

Even More Instagram and YouTube Accounts for Science Teachers

Google Apps for TISD - Our very onw link to several resources that will help you get Google-fied.

Digitial Citizenship - Teaching kids how to be ethically and morally responsible with technology.

To Teach Math, Study Reading Instruction

Homework vs. No Homework is the Wrong Question

8 Strategies to Keep Informational Reading Fun

Reflection on Learning Week 6 - Exit Ticket

This is the final week of our 6 week reflection on learning.  This week's collaborative discussion will reflect on all of the ways that we assess whether or not students learned through the collection of exit tickets.

How do great teachers know if kids learned what they were taught?  At the end of every great lesson, teachers of excellence conclude the lesson by gathering formative data.  By reviewing what had been learned during the class period, teachers get students to share their learning with the class as well as offer questions that continue to perplex them.  This helps teachers drive tomorrow's instruction.  Additionally, no great lesson ends without showing a preview of how today’s learning will be connected to tomorrow’s lesson.  In the last few minutes of instruction, teachers assign homework to the class, follow up with individuals or groups of students with specific feedback, and collect an exit-ticket, a quick formative assessment to check for understanding.  An exit ticket is important because it can quickly tell teachers which students learned the content, which students are starting to get the hang of it, and which students did not learn the content.  This data drives not only tomorrow's instruction, but it helps teachers build intervention groups for guided learning.

Wrapping up the day’s lesson takes around 5 minutes, and in a 50 minute block of time, that makes up 10% of instruction; therefore, it is critical to bear in mind that the end of the lesson serves as a platform for tomorrow’s lesson.  The most important reason to wrap up the lesson in this way is to use the data to reflect on the learning of each student and to drive the next day’s lesson.  To put it another way, the last five minutes of class may quite possibly be the most important 5 minutes of the entire class period.

Engagement Component	Description	Rigor	Content	Time Frame
		How are DOK 2 & 3 questions provided and responded to?	What content is covered?	The approximate time that the activity should take.
Exit Ticket	Activity that allows students to wrap up their learning and give the teacher formative assessment data to drive future instruction.	Students provide evidence of learning to the teacher through independent work at the rigor of the day's instruction.	Current day's content.	5 minutes

Reflection Task

List a couple of ways that you gather data from your kids to accomplish 2 goals:  determine first the effectiveness of your lesson, and second, gauge whether or not each student learned the content from your lesson.