New and Updates!

Hello Coordinators and Principals ~ I hope this month’s blog finds you well!

March Title I Visitations ~ I look forward to visiting each of your schools the first two weeks of March. As a reminder, please find my visitation dates below. In addition, here is a general outline of discussion items. As always, please come with any questions you may have as this is a great time to get some answers! Please invite your principals to join! Title I School Visits Discussion Q’s (March 2014).

2/28: Laura
3/3: Aline and Cassidy
3/6: Terri, Jenny, Dayna and Robin
3/7: Carissa, Stephanie, Tana, Luann and Gloria
3/11: Corianne and Rhonda

Summer School: It’s time to begin thinking about Summer School. The program will be held from June 30-July 24! Detailed information will be coming soon. In the meantime, here is a general timeline and some deadlines to put on your calendar, as we get the student selection and registration processes underway:

March:
Schools will receive their summer school allotments
Forms will be distributed to Coordinators (incoming data, registration and parent letters)
March/April:
Schools identify students who will benefit from summer school and contact families
May:
Registration forms are due and confirmation letters sent to families

Summer School Specific Deadlines:
4/18: Send information letters and registration forms to families by April 18
5/16: Summer school registration forms to Linda by May 16
5/23: Confirmation letters sent to families by May 23
TBD: Summer school data forms to Linda

For the past two years, Wes Flinn has served as the Summer School administrator; thanks, Wes! With his new role as principal of Kelly Middle School, he is unable to commit to the program this year. The search for a new administrator is currently underway! Likewise, we will begin seeking to fill other staffing positions soon after spring break. In recent years, the teaching positions have been especially difficult to fill. If you, or someone you know, is interested in teaching summer school please make them aware of this upcoming opportunity; they will need to apply through NeoGov once a posting is on line. In addition, please ask them to email me so that I have a sense of who (and how many) is interested! Finally, because we focus on reading support, the teacher must hold a reading endorsement. In the event we are unable to locate enough interested teachers, who hold an endorsement, we may need to shift the primary focus of summer school to mathematics support. We really need your help in seeking teachers for summer school! Anything you can do will be greatly appreciated!

Mentor/Mentees: don’t forget, you’ve got extended contract time, along with two half days of sub release time, to work together! You can send extended contracts in, any time. If you’d like some extended time for more in depth discussions/work, please select “Title One” in Aesop to request a sub.

2014-2015 Title I Budget: During my January visits to each of your schools, I shared a brief update on next year’s budget. This update included an anticipated 10% reduction in Title funding to school districts. In addition, there will continue to be some required “set aside” funds to support our Title schools in improvement (Priority/Focus). As a result, individual schools should expect reduced funding as well. Please know that final allocations will likely fluctuate from this 10% figure based on changes in your enrollment and F/R percentages (December 1 figures are used to determine Title I eligibility/allocations) and the State’s actual allocation to the school district.

Title I allocations will be distributed in conjunction with HR staffing allocations, in April. The delayed distribution of allocations will result in a fairly swift turn around for determining Title budgets and staffing plans. To support you in this process, I will be setting up budget meetings with principals to review, and ultimately, approve school budgets. Principals, as has been done in the past, your Title budget must be reviewed and approved prior to submitting your staffing plan to HR. Bee has set aside some on my calendar for these meetings to occur. She will be in contact, soon, to begin scheduling a time for us to meet.

EA Extravaganza has been rescheduled for Friday, March 21 (8:00-11:35) at the Education Center in the auditorium.  This is a great opportunity for EA’s to receive quality professional development. There is no sign up for the Extravaganza, they just need to show up!  As a reminder, there is no additional pay for this day, so if an EA chooses to attend a training beyond their regular work day hours, it is strictly voluntary. You might consider shifting an EAs hours to fit around the extravaganza, as an option. Finally, because May 21 is a professional development/planning day in buildings, it is understood that many EA’s may already have plans/obligations to attend professional development at your site.  As such, EAs should check with both you (coordinator) and the principal before attending. Please see attached for PD offerings/times: EA Extravaganza 2014

Parent/Family Involvement Survey: On March 31, an electronic Parent Involvement survey will be opened to your families. In TAS, surveys should be given to those families whose child is receiving Title services. In SWP, all families should be surveyed. The survey window closes May 2. Please do your very best to ensure as many families as possible take the survey; we truly value their input as we continually strive to improve. Once the final survey is complete, Tami or I will send you an electronic copy for your preview. While our strong preference is that families complete the survey on line, we recognize the challenges that this may present for parents without Internet access. In these instances, some schools have elected to provide some families with a paper copy. Alicia then, graciously, entered all paper responses into survey monkey. With Alicia on maternity leave, we will not have the capacity to enter data for schools, this year. Therefore, if a school elects to distribute paper copies, we will need to collaborate on the best way to get this information tabulated and entered into the system.

IMPORTANT: Parent/Family Involvement Input from Site Council: With spring just around the corner, it’s time to begin gathering input from parents regarding Title services at your school. Attached, please find a set of questions for Site Council and the Eugene 4j Parent Involvement Policy. Coordinators and/or principals, please share the district policy AND bring these questions to an upcoming Site Council meeting and record feedback on the form. 
District Title I Parent Involvement Policy (English)
District Title I Parent Involvement Policy (Spanish)
Title I Site Council Parent Involvement Q’s 13-14

iPods and iPad Update: Now that Monica has distributed the first wave of equipment that was gathered from the dropped Title I sites, she is preparing to update iPods and iPads, if you have any. Remember, we need to be careful about updating apps in your iTunes for student iPods. Many of the updates are being made for iOS 7 and will not work on our iPods running iOS 6. If you download an app or update an app that only works on iOS 7, and need to restore an iPod, you will not be able to put that app back on the iPod.

Monica has been testing the apps you have in your different iTunes (from online) for iOS 6. She has a growing list of apps that will no longer work on our iPods. When she comes to your school, with her “mothership” to do your updates, she will give you a list of apps you do/don’t want to update. From this list, you can update your iTunes.

There has been an update to iOS 6 released since Monica distributed a number of the iPods back to you. She will conduct these updates when she visits your schools, as well. She can run updates much faster with the “mothership” than you can with your laptops.

To assist Monica in a smoothly run visit, you can help by gathering the Title iPods, from your participating classroom teachers, prior to your assigned day. She doesn’t need any cables, just the iPods. Monica will let you know if there is a change to the visitation schedule below:

3/4: Twin Oaks and Chavez
3/6: Awbrey Park and Kelly
3/13: Howard and Spring Creek
3/18: Family School and ATA
3/20: Holt, Willa-g and River Road

Using Children’s Books to Enhance Mathematics
In this article in The Reading Teacher, Allison Hintz and Anthony Smith (University of Washington/Bothell) suggest ways to use children’s literature to explain mathematics and make it vivid for students. The key steps, they say, are (a) choosing a good text, (b) exploring the text in a read-aloud and discussion with students, and (c) extending the text by getting students to explore ideas after the read-aloud is finished. Here are some books they suggest, along with the math links and suggested age-ranges:
Text-dependent:
Double Those Wheels by Nancy Raines Day – Doubling, counting by groups – Grades K-2
Equal Shmequal by Virginia Kroll – Equal and fair – Grades 3-5
Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry by Cindy Neuschwander – Geometry – Grades 2-4
Pete the Can and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean and Eric Litwin – Number recognition, counting back – Grades K-1
Tiger Math: Learning to Graph from a Baby Tiger by Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel – Data and statistics – Grades 3-5
Idea-enhancing:
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins – Estimation, measurement – Grades 1-3
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins – Adding on, counting up – Grades 2-4
Move Over Rover by Karen Beaumont – Adding on, counting back – Grades K-2
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster – Number sense, geometry – Grades 4-6
Ten Flashing Fireflies by Philemon Sturges – Fact fluency, combinations of ten – Grades K-2
Illustration-exploring:
Ancient Greece by Anne Pearson – Geometry, estimation, counting – Grades 3-5
Anno’s Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno – Counting on by ones, groups – Grades K-2
I Spy a Dinosaur’s Eye by Jean Marzollo – Counting and cardinality – Grade K-2
Lonely Planet Not for Parents Extreme Planet by Lonely Planet – Representing and interpreting data – Grades 4-6
Shintauro’s Umbrellas by Marjorie Jackson – K-1
There Is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems – Addition and grouping – Grades K-2

Friendly Reminders

Don’t forget, all the Title forms and information can be found on the 4j website at:
http://www.curriculum.4j.lane.edu/title/

In addition, information regarding Indistar and the CAP (Comprehensive Achievement Plan) process can also be found on the 4j website at:
http://www.4j.lane.edu/instruction/title/indistar-and-school-improvement-planning/

Beyond the Bake Sale Book Study Chapter 5: Here is the assignment, due by our April 28 Coordinator/Principal Meeting. Coordinators, please share the book with your principals!
1) Read pages 81-84
2) In addition to reading pages 81-84, please read and come prepared to share a summary of your section:

Calendar Items

March
Week of March 3 and 10: Title school visits
Week of March 31: Suzy out of the office
April
4/18: Summer school letters and registration forms sent to families, by this date
4/28: Coordinator PD; 11:00-11:30 lunch/11:30-2:20 PD (Mozart)/2:30-3:45 Principal & Coord mtg (auditorium)
4/28: Beyond the Bake Sale reading due
May
5/16: Summer School registrations to Linda, by this date
5/23: Confirmation letters to families, by this date
5/19: CIP annual meeting (parents to attend)

Compliance Deadlines:

March: There are no compliance items due in March. However, I would recommend pacing yourself on the completion of your Program Review. Here is a suggested timeline for completing sections of the Program Review:
Sections 1-5 should be done
Sections 6-7 by the end of March
Sections 8-10 by the end of April
Sections 11-16 by the end of May

April: Compliance documents DUE at the 4/28 PD for submission to Penny:
1) Budget allocation for the 2013-2014 school year (you should have a copy of your current year’s budget in your notebook. Bee will make a copy for our book, at the Ed Center)

2) Budget allocation for the 2014-2015 school year (this should be completed and approved prior to 4/28)

May: Compliance documents DUE at the 5/19 CIP meeting for submission to Penny:
1) Professional Development Questions for the 2013-2014 school year
PD Questions SWP 2013-2014
PD Questions TAS 2013-2014PD

2) Professional Development School and Title I Plan for the 2013-2014 school year
PD Activities for the School (TAS_SWP) 2013-2014

3) Parent Involvement Questions
Title I Parent Involvement Q’s 13-14

June:
Program Review Document: Completion of this document has been broken down into two parts in an attempt to make the work a bit more manageable. Be sure and include your Site Council (parents) in this process; you will want to speak to your administrator about getting on the SC agenda in the months ahead. Due to the enormity of the document, you may want to consider dividing the work over two SC meetings. Please find the documents below:

Annual Title I SWP Program Review 2014
Annual Title I TAS Program Review 2014

As a reminder, here is a SAMPLE Program Review with notes and sample paragraphs you can reference as you work to complete your own review. Title IA Program Review SAMPLE

What’s New?

Students must be KNOWN and VALUED in order to be successful!

By January, my role serving as interim principal at River Road should be complete. As such, I will be resuming my work as Federal Programs Administrator, full time, following winter break. I’ve appreciated your patience as I have juggled two jobs this past month; Thanks for your support and understanding!

Title I School Visitations: I will be visiting schools the week of January 6. Specifically, visitations will take place on 1/7, 1/9 and 1/10.  Visitation sign ups will take place during the 12/3 PD and/or the 12/9 training. This is an opportunity for us to visit about your program and address any questions you may have. Specifically, I will want to review  your notebook (documents), look at your schedules, discuss your delivery model/program and hear about your role in Data Teams . I am also interested in your SMART goals and would like to know how I can be of support! Here is a draft of they types of things we may be talking about (Title I School Visits Q’s (Jan. 2014).

SIP Expiration Year: Here’s what I’ve got; please let me know if there are any errors! The highlighted schools should be working on revising their school improvement plan, this year. As such, these schools will be using the Indistar tool to do so. Rather than a SIP, these schools will develop a Comprehensive Achievement Plan (CAP). I will be working with these schools to help move them through this process. Don’t worry, I will provide whatever support you may need!

• Howard: 2015-2016
• Holt: 2013-2014
• Willa-g: 2014-2015
• Awbrey: 2014-2015
• McCornack: 2013-2014
• Chavez: 2013-2014
• Spring Creek: CAP 2015-2016
• River Road: CAP 2015-2016
• KMS: 2013-2014
• Family: ?? need exp. date
• ATA: 2015-2016
• Twin Oaks: 2013-2014
• Village: ?? need exp. date

Mentor/Mentee Program: How’s it going? I hope you’ve taken some time to meet and/or connect on a regular basis!

Coordinator Friday at 4 Invitation: The next gathering is December 13 (The North Bank). In November, we have a few Coordinators hang out and enjoy some good conversation. Come if you can!

Expectations for Extended Learning with Technology: I know you have been working with Monica on getting your equipment set up, running and distributed to your teaching partners. Attached (Ext Learn 13-14), please find a one-page document that provides some basic expectations for using these digital tools. Be sure and share this document with your teaching partner(s). As a reminder, the purpose of the Extended Learning with Technology Project is to provide, and help sustain, additional reading and math intervention services for our Title I students scoring below the 30^th percentile.

Teachers using the equipment will be asked to collaborate with one another, at their building sites, 2-3 times a year to share ideas, reflect, problem solve, offer support, etc. The purpose of this collaboration is to strengthen the use of technology, increase sustainability and positively impact the achievement of our most struggling learners.

Finally, you (as Title Coordinator) should maintain an awareness of who has what. Far too much equipment has been lost/stolen, so it is important there are periodic check points and the whereabouts of the equipment is tracked. We have made claims to recoup lost/stolen items. However, this is a labor intensive process and we don’t get replacement costs, but rather, we receive the actual cash value – which is often less. Thanks for your attention to this important matter!

Do the Math CDs:  The new CDs for the division modules (this was the bad batch of CDs) should be shipped by mid December. Once we receive them, they will be sent out to schools right away. The other issue with the CDs had to do with the operating system. Scholastic’s product manager is working on this issue and should be in direct contact with us regarding a resolution of this concern.

Fastt Math/Fraction Nation Training: This training will take place on 12/3 (8:00-3:30 in the Auditorium; location change). You are asked to please bring your laptop, charger and a set of headphones for your personal use. Please mark your calendars and select “Title One” in Aesop when scheduling a sub! Title funded, certified staff, who deliver math interventions (those that attended Do the Math) are welcome to join this training, as well as Go Solve, if they like.

Go Solve Training is set for the morning of December 9, 8:00-11:15ish (Tower Room), prior to our regularly scheduled Coordinator PD.

Student Profiles: Student profiles, in Quickbase, should be current no later than January 17. Matt will generate a Quickbase Report Summary, mid-year (January), which will allow me to review the status of each schools’ profiles (are all student profiles current? For example,  has the below information been completed and entered into Quickbase, is there documentation of on-going data team notes for those students discussed during meetings, etc.). Individual student profiles must be printed and filed in student folders/binders in June (whatever your method of organizing student profiles).

• Title I is checked for all students receiving Title services
• Parent notification is checked (if sent)
• Compact is checked (if returned/signed)
• Notes entered

Math Resources: The District is happy to offer another resource for mathematics instruction to use as you see fit.  We now have access to the Investigations Online ‘Student Edition’.  It is simply an electronic version of the student workbooks you now have.  To get the access codes for your grade(s), go to the 4J Teacher Resource Page: http://www.curriculum.4j.lane.edu/. On the black navigation bar select ‘Math’.  On the right click ‘Elementary’.  In the dropdown you will see a link for ‘SuccessNet Info’.  There you will find all of the access codes.  The new item is named ‘Student Edition’.  For teachers that haven’t used successnet for awhile, please note that there are some helpful tips located on the top of the SuccessNet Info page.

CCSS Alignment with HM/Treasures: This summer, a team of K-5 4j teachers worked on reviewing our reading curriculums (HM and Treasures) and their alignment to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  Summaries of their findings are now posted by grade level and curriculum on the website.http://www.curriculum.4j.lane.edu/ela/# (go to Reading > Curriculum and then your grade). If you have any questions feel free to contact any elementary SDS.

Beyond the Bake Sale reading: Please read your section by our 12/9 PD.

CCSS Resources: There are resources available on the ODE website to assist in communicating with parents about the Common Core. The Parent Toolkit includes materials, many in both English and Spanish, to assist in talking with your parents and communities about the shift to the common core. These materials may be helpful as you consider Parent Involvement!

Resources include:
·         Three Minute Video Explaining the Common Core State Standards
·         Why the Common Core
·         What does the Common Core mean for my student?
·         What do Parents Need to Know?
·         CCSS Parent Guides by Grade
·         Frequently Asked Questions about CCSS
·         Parent’s Backpack Guide to CCSS (K-5)
·         What Parents Can Do to Help their Children Learn

Also, on the District Resource page there are guides for administrators on hosting parent or community meetings on the Common Core. The PowerPoints and handouts for these meetings are now also available in Spanish. In addition to the resources listed above, the National PTA has produced a parent flyer on the Common Core and the Smarter Balanced Assessments which will soon be added to our online resources.  This flyer provides more details about the standards, the transition to the new assessment, examples of test items, and information on what parents can expect. These materials are provided as a resource.  Feel free to use whichever pieces best meet the needs of your parents and communities.

Ideas on ADHD: In this Harvard Education Letter article, Laura Pappano describes how Colorado teacher Kartal Jaquette organizes his third-grade classroom so students with ADHD can succeed:

• His mindset is that if some students are confused, it’s his fault.
• When he is addressing the whole class, he sets a timer and tries to speak less than eight minutes.
• He keeps the pace of the class moving to convey urgency.
• He’s particularly conscious about giving complex directions. “There is no fun way to do directions,” he says. “But you need directions.” To deal with this challenge, Jaquette uses routines – for example, right after recess, students always have a “Do now” math problem to write in their journal and solve, and then four students are called up to the board to explain their work.
• Homework also follows a predictable pattern: “Every homework is on the same sheet,” he says.” It is the same color; it goes in the same folder.” And it’s always available online if students forget it.

“I am the one who is in control of balancing attention spans in my class,” says Jaquette. “I view ADHD as a tendency we can all have.”

Professional Development AND Principal/Coordinator Meeting on 12/9: Agenda attached (please share with your principal). As a reminder, I will send the agenda, again, as the PD draws near:  Title Coord. PD_Meeting 120913A

Calendar Items:

December
12/3: Fastt Math/Fraction Nation rescheduled training (8:00-3:30)
12/9: Compliance documents, year-t0-date are due (see below)
12/9: Coordinator PD (8:00-2:30; Go Solve in Tower and regularly scheduled PD in Mozart); Beyond the Bake Sale reading assignment is due Beyond the Bake Sale book study rdg
12/9: Principal/Coordinator meeting (2:30-3:45) NOTE time change of an additional 15 minutes, barring space availability
12/13: Coordinator Friday at 4; The North Bank
Week of Jan. 6: Visits to Title schools

Compliance Deadlines:

The following compliance documents are DUE no later than December 9. Penny will be available to collect documents during our PD, on this same date.

1. Current School Improvement Plan, with updated goal sheets attached (math and reading, minimally)

• Goals template 13-14

2. Comprehensive Program Design (NOTE: Reid and Raquel will help create the instructional need being addressed, the strategy and/or curriculum, the research-based principle and the research source for Do the Math and The Comprehension Toolkit).

• SWP Instructional Program Design 13-14
• SAMPLE SWP Instructional Program Design 13-14
• TAS Instructional Program Design 13-14
• SAMPLE TAS Instructional Program Design 13-14

3. Assessment Form

• Assessments Form 13-14

4. Attestation

• Bee has sent principals the necessary forms requiring administrator signatures, attesting Title funded staff are/are not HQ.

January:

1. Bee will be sending out semi-annual certifications in January. These certifications are done twice a year (January/June) and document those staff that are 100% paid for using Title funds.
2. There are no other items due in January. This is a great time to get caught up, if you are a bit behind.
3. Ensure Quickbase entries are current no later than January 17:
   • Title I is checked for all students receiving Title services
   • Parent notification is checked (if sent)
   • Compact is checked (if returned/signed)
   • Notes entered

By the end of January, you should be current with all your compliance documents.

ODDS and ENDS…

As I look back on this year, it’s been quite a whirlwind filled with new learning, exciting challenges and the forming of new relationships. You have welcomed me into your Title family and I can’t express how much I have enjoyed the time we’ve spent working together toward a common goal; raising the achievement of our most struggling learners! You are an amazing group of professionals whose dedication, talent and desire to continually learn more are incredible; thank you for teaching me so much this year! I look forward to my final school visit of the year. Please find the schedule attached ~ if you notice any “opps” or you need to make an adjustment, please let Bee know right away! May_Visitations 2013

Family Engineering and Parent Involvement Training: As a reminder, you are welcome to invite 1-2 parents you’d like trained and who you feel would be able to help facilitate a family event at your school. Principals are also invited and encouraged to attend the training on May 13; 1:oo-5:00.

Year-End Procedures for Title Tech Equipment (Extended Learning w/Technology): More details regarding the handling and use of the Title purchased tech equipment will be shared on 5/7 during our Extended Learning w/Technology PD. Still, I wanted to share a bit of information as I know you are beginning to plan for the end of the year.

• Equipment should be collected, reconciled against the inventory and securely stored by the Title Coordinator, no later than June 5, 2013.
• Monica will verify reconciled inventories when upgrading laptop operating systems and installing Meraki on iPods

NOTE: The equipment must be recorded on the Title I Inventory and should be monitored by the Title I Coordinator, at least annually.

Retirements: I would like to recognize and congratulate the following Coordinators on their, soon-to-be, retirement! Cindy (Holt), Priscilla (McCornack), Debbie (YG/Corridor) and Karen (Spring Creek). In celebration of this momentous occasion, we will enjoy some cake and fond memories during our PD on May 7.

Mentor/Mentees: Over the course of this past year, 11 Coordinators have participated in this program; 5 experienced coordinators were teamed with six fairly new coordinators. They have been time to meet both before/after school and for more extended periods of time. Meetings were designed to allow time for the mentor to answer questions, share advice/guidance, provide support/encouragement, help problem solve, etc. We will be holding our final meeting at The North Bank, at 3:30, on May 22! Mentors, please bring your log to this meeting OR email it to me prior.

Collaborative Practice Lesson Study Group: Four Coordinators were able to take advantage of an invitation to engage in a collaborative practice lesson study project, of their choosing, with at least one colleague; we have a total of seven participants! They have been given time to meet and collaborate over the past several months to engage in examining their practice to become even more effective educators. Wednesday, May 29, we will sharing our work and learning from one another! Participants, please ensure this meeting is included on your calendars ~ remind your partners as well.

Extended Learning w/Technology Project Presentations on May 7: Presentations will take place during our regularly scheduled PD, on May 7. Presentations are scheduled to run from 9:00-10:30, or so; please note this is a close estimate. PRINCIPALS ~ we hope you are able to join our PD during this window to see a glimpse of ways in which teachers are integrating technology into their reading/math intervention strategies. Presentations will take place in the Parr Room (Spring Creek, Awbrey Park, Holt, Camas and O’Hara), Mozart Room (Howard, Kelly, ATA, YG/Corridor and Family) and the Auditorium (Willa-g, River Road, Chavez, Twin Oaks and McCornack). A sign will be posted outside the auditorium to guide principals to the correct location when they arrive. Coordinators, REMEMBER to bring 3-5 photos of your project/students in action. Photos should be taken on your iPod touch and/or iPad. Please remind your teaching partners to brings photos, too.

Title I Coordinator’s PD on May 7: So that you can fully participate in our Give One/Get One activity, please plan on bringing one of your best/favorite reading strategies to share. If you have a handout to share, making five copies would be great!

AGENDAS for Upcoming Meetings:
May 7 (Ext. Learning w/Technology followed by Coordinator’s PD): Ext. Learning_Title Coord PD 050713A
May 13 (Family Engineering Training in lieu of Principal/Coord’s meeting): Princ_Title Coord Mtg 051313A

Information on Upcoming Compliance Documents ~ Please note who should be receiving the remaining compliance documents as it varies between Penny, Linda and Bee. 

End-of-Year Report: This report is due no later than June 7. The End-of-Year report, or NCLB CDPR Students and Programs, is scheduled to open on May 9. Bee will download and distribute to your school as appropriate. The questions will be broken out by Targeted, Schoolwide and Private. Please email to Bee no later than June 7. Bee will compile the reports and submit to ODE by the deadline.

Inventories: Please ensure inventories are updated and current and that Linda has copies of all your receipts. Linda is happy to provide you with purchasing reports from Lawson if you need a little reminder; just let her know! Updated inventories sheets WITH THE CURRENT YEAR’S DATE should be emailed to Linda by June 10.

Semi-Annual Certifications: Bee will email these out to principals (cc’d to coordinators) in mid-May, with a due date of June 7. Semi-annuals should be returned to Bee.

Electronic Student Profiles: Don’t forget, student profiles must be printed and included in each child’s folder/binder prior to leaving for summer.

Professional Development Questions:  These documents are due to Penny by 5/13.
1) Professional Development questions pertaining to the 2012-2013 school year. The questions are attached for:
TAS: PD Question TAS 2012-2013
SWP: PD QuestionsSWP 2012-2013
2) A copy of your school’s professional development plan/activities for the current year. This is likely developed by Site Council and/or your principal.

Program Review: I know you have all begun work on this monstrosity! Keep plugging along and let me know if you have any questions! Your program review is due to Penny by 6/10.

Links Related to Math CCSS: These helpful links (and descriptions) were included in one of Sara’s recent newsletters (thanks, Sara!); you are encouraged share them with your colleagues!  Including a snippet regarding the content of the link is always helpful (see link details below)

www.illustrativemathematics.org: This site is an excellent resource when a teacher is looking for an activity to support demonstration of a standard or concept.  All teachers need to do is find the standard and there are a number of ideas and activities provided.  The activities are typically easy to set up and the majority of them support developing student understanding through inquiry.

www.smarterbalanced.org: This site is simply the website for the upcoming Smarter Balanced assessments.  They provide ongoing updates about how the pilot assessments are going, etc.

www.k-5mathteachingresources.com: THIS SITE ROCKS!  IF you don’t share anything but one, share this one.  It utilizes Pinterest and has a format similar to Edmodo.  Here is their description:

“Welcome to K-5 Math Teaching Resources!
This site provides an extensive collection of free resources, math games, and hands-on math activities aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Our math printables are suitable for use in math centers, small group or whole class settings. Instructions for each activity are presented in large print on a task card in child-friendly language to enable students to work on tasks independently after a brief introduction to the task. All files are in PDF format and can be accessed using Adobe Reader. 

Also available are Math Journal Tasks (K-5), Math Vocabulary Resources (Gds. 2-5) and Math Projects (Gds. 3-5) for teachers looking for ways to support students’ math writing skills while developing key concepts and skills. See our E-Books page for more information on these resources.”

www.insidemathematics.org: Another great choice!  This site provides teachers with a host of resources including video examples, tours and tools for instruction. They are also in the process of aligning everything they have to the CCSS.

www.teachingchannel.org: You may have used this one already.  This is a great resource if teachers need specific lesson examples or if you want to use some of the LeL and Saphier techniques to practice (this could be done during a staff meeting and/or PD day, too).

Enjoy exploring!

Deadlines on the Horizon for Compliance Documents: Please note who should be receiving the remaining compliance documents as it varies between Penny, Linda and Bee.
5/7:     Semi Annual Certifications (due to Bee)
5/10:   Completed Parent Involvement Questions, from Site Council (due to Bee)
5/13:    Professional Development Questions for the 12-13 school year (see questions, above) (due to Penny)
5/13:    Professional Development School and Title I Plan for the 2012-2013 school year (due to Penny)
5/17:    Summer school registrations (due to Linda)
5/24:    Summer school information/data forms (due to Linda; NOTE date change to reflect the assessment window)
6/10:    Program Review, sections E-P (also referred to as sections 5-16); (due to Penny)
6/10:    Inventory Sheets and accompanying receipts (due to Linda)
6/10:    ODE End-of-Year Report (due to Bee)

Mark your Calendars:
5/7:  Extended Learning w/Technology PD; 8:00-11:15 for everyone; 8:00-1:00 for Coordinators. PLEASE INVITE YOUR ADMINISTRATOR TO JOIN US from 9:00-10:30!
5/7:     Semi Annual Certification (due to Bee)
5/10:   Completed Parent Involvement Questions, from Site Council (due to Bee)
5/10:    Parent Involvement Survey window closes and hard copies (due to Bee)
5/13:    District CIP; 12:00-1:00 in auditorium – lunch is provided
5/13:    Family Engineering & Parent Involvement Training; 1:00-5:00 (this is in lieu of the regularly scheduled Principal/Coordinators meeting). Principals and 1-2 parent reps are also invited; please let Bee know if parents will be joining us.
5/22:   Mentor/Mentee meeting at The North Bank; 3:30
5/29:   Collaborative Practice, Lesson Study Group ~ final meeting to share work; 3:30 at Ed Center

What’s New?

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed my visits with you during my Title travels in January. These visits provide me with an opportunity to connect with each of you, learn more about your successes, provide guidance, and offer my support/”pats on the back”. Keep up the terrific work you are doing to serve our most needy students; thank you!

Basal Alignment Project: Twenty-six new lessons have been added to the Basal Alignment Project library. The updated folders include HMH Collections, HMH Medallion/Reading, HMH Nation’s Choice, HMH StoryTown, HMH Trophies, MH Open Court, MH Treasures, and MH (CA) Treasures. More to come! As a reminder, you can locate the Basal Alignment Project by logging in to Edmodo. If you haven’t joined the BAP group, click on “join group” on the left side of the home page. A box will appear asking for a code. The code is: etuyrm

OAKS Information:
The testing window will open after spring break and will remain open until May 22.

Following the first administration of the test:

• Students who MEET will not be tested again unless parents have requested it (written request)
• Students who DO NOT MEET will be able to attempt the test again without parent permission

Growth Scores:

• For students who MEET on the first attempt, the growth score will be calculated from the 1st score & date
• If students DO NOT MEET on the first attempt and DO MEET on the second attempt, the growth score will be banked from the score that meets (and date)

Program Review Document: While work on this document may be a month away, I thought you would appreciate receiving the document sooner rather than later. This document can also be found on the 4j website. Completion of this document has been broken down into two parts in an attempt to make the work a bit more manageable. Be sure and include your Site Council in this process; you will want to speak to your administrator about getting on the SC agenda in the months ahead. Due to the enormity of the document, you may want to consider dividing the work over two SC meetings. Please find the documents below:

Annual Title I Schoolwide Program Review 2013
Annual Title I Targeted Program Review 2013

Agendas for Upcoming Meetings:
Title I Principal/Coordinator Meeting on 2/4 (2:00-3:30 in the auditorium):
Princ_Title Coord Mtg 020413A

The topic for the principal/coordinator’s meeting will be “Understanding Poverty and People Living in Poverty”. The presentation is based on the work of Dr. Donna Beegle, a national expert on poverty. The presentation will focus on the role of educators in addressing the poverty related issues that affect students and families. The presentation will be facilitated by Mary Walston, a certified poverty coach of the Communication Across Barriers organization. Attached is a video clip of an interview with Donna on Face to Face public television. The clip is 60 minutes, but even viewing a portion of the clip is very eye-opening. Face to Face with Donna Beegle

Extended Learning with Technology/Title I Coordinators Meeting on 2/12 (8:00 am in the auditorium): Ext. Learning_Title Coord PD 021213A

Websites for Instructional Resources Pertaining to Literacy and Math:
What Works Clearinghouse (click on practice guides). This site will provide valuable information on instructional strategies ~ don’t be overwhelmed at the size of the document; scroll down until you find the pages related to instructional strategies.

Florida Center for Reading Research (go to the instructional materials link on the right hand side). This site has lots of literacy lesson plans, including directions and worksheets.

A Marilyn Burns recommended read…I was at a recent conference at which Marilyn Burns was a keynote speaker. During her presentation she recommended the book, Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk to Help Students Learn by Suzanne H. Chaplin. Here is an excerpt, from goodreads.com, describing the book:

“This exciting resource provides a unique look into the significant role of classroom discussions in mathematics teaching in grades 1 through 6. Five discussion strategies are introduced to help teachers strengthen students’ thinking and learning and help them build connections among mathematical ideas. A valuable outline is provided to help teachers get started using talk in the classroom, plan lessons, and deal with challenges. Two case studies are also included for further insight into how teachers can use talk effectively.”

LearnZillion: This site has online lessons for the CCSS in ELA and math. It can serve as a resource to help teachers better understand the standards: LearnZillion

Attached, please find a document containing LOTS of resources for Comprehension and Vocabulary!! Comprehension_Vocab Resource Sites

A Nugget: Adults can hold 5-9 “chunks” of information in our working memory before we are on overload. Students can hold 3-7 chunks and very young students can hold 1-3 chunks. Consider this when planning lessons and/or adult presentation!

FRIENDLY REMINDERS

All electronic student profiles should be current and up-to-date by the close of the month. As a reminder, Matt will be running a summary report that will allow us to review progress toward completion of the profiles, along with specifics regarding the type of information that is included in the profiles. I have complete confidence that each of you will have your profiles complete. Remember, we are experimenting with NOT printing profiles mid-year! We will assess the effectiveness of this new system to determine its continuation in the future.

Fraction Nation, FASTT Math, and Go Solve: If you need/want support with the networking or technical end of these programs, please contact Monica Thompson; thompson_mo@4j.lane.edu. Monica provides Title I TSS support on Tuesday and Thursday.

Deadlines on the Horizon for Compliance Documents:
NOTE ~ deadlines are aligned with Principal/Coordinator meetings

2/4:      Semi-annual certification and attestations
3/11:    Budget allocation for the 2013-2014 school year (this may change, depending on when budget allocations are distributed)
4/15:    Program Review, sections A, B, C and D
4/15:    Budget allocations for the 2012-2013 school year
5/13:    Professional Development Questions for the 2012-2013 school year
5/13:    Professional Development School and Title I Plan for the 2012-2013 school year
5/13:    Summer school registrations
5/13:    Summer school data forms
6/13:    Program Review, sections E-P Inventory Sheets

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
2/4:    Principal/Coordinators meeting; 2:00-3:30
2/12:  Extended Learning w/Technology PD; 8:15-11:15 for everyone; 8:15-1:00 for Coordinators NOTE DATE CHANGE FROM 2/28. Please remind your teacher partners of this change!
3/11:   Principal/Coordinator CANCELLED
4/15: Principal/Coordinators meeting; 2:00-3:30
5/7:  Extended Learning w/Technology PD; 8:00-11:15 for everyone; 8:00-1:00 for Coordinators. PLEASE INVITE YOUR ADMINISTRATOR TO JOIN US!
5/13: District CIP; 12:00-1:00 in auditorium
5/13: Principal/Coordinators meeting; 1:00-2:30 NOTE TIME DIFFERENCE from other meetings

WHAT’S NEW?:

Hello Coordinators,

The purpose of this blog is to provide regular communication to keep you apprised of upcoming events, updates, and resources as a means of support to help you in your work! My goal is to issue a blog during the first week of each month. If there is information you feel would be beneficial to others, and you’d like me to include this in the blog, please let me know! I hope you find this communication helpful as you tackle the enormous job of Title Coordinator!!

As more and more entries as posted, you will notice the building of “categories” located on the right hand side of the page. These categories serve as a quick link to archived information where you can click and search for information posted at an earlier date. This is a great way to access information and refresh our memories!

Parent & Family Involvement: As you may recall, Alicia asked that you select the top 3-4 activities you’d like her to develop electronic kits for, first. Based on your feedback, the following activities received the most “tallies”:

• Math Games from Around the World
• Family Literacy Training ~ How to Read to Your Child
• Game Night/Kits (math) ~ student made math games, along with take-home kits and math related books
• Grade Level Theme Nights

Please find tallies for all the activities attached here: Parent & Family Involvement Activities Tally Sheet

The question of supplement vs. supplant often surfaces when considering the spending of Title dollars, particularly surrounding the implementation of CCSS. ODE has issued a “Supplement, Not Supplant Test” to help districts determine whether a fiscal expenditure supplements, rather than supplants. Districts should ask themselves:

Test 1: Required ~ is the program or activity that the district wants to fund with ESEA funds required under state, local, or another federal law? If it is, then it is supplanting.
Test 2: Equivalency ~ Were state or local funds used in the past to pay for this program or activity? If they were, it is supplanting.
Test 3: Non-ESEA Programs ~ Are the same programs or activities being implemented in other schools that do not receive ESEA funds and are these programs and activities being paid for with state or local funds? If yes, then this is supplanting.

Math Resources ~ below, please find some resources that were shared by Chris Castellio, Associate Director of K-12 Mathematics:

First, if you are not familiar with National Council of Teacher of Mathematics (NCTM) they have a wonderful site called Illuminations that provides teachers with interactive tools, lessons and tasks. Click around the site, you will be surprised what you might find.

Second, here is a link to a remarkable site that maps out the common core standards. The map is interactive so you may click on any cell and you will see an example of learning progressions and other examples of what is expected of the standard, http://turnonccmath.net/

Third, here is a link to common core math tools (NCTM- requires a download). This is an amazing tool that provides teachers and students with interactive graphing apps, geometry apps and statistical apps. The main grades for this is secondary however there may be some elementary use for the tool,
http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=32702

All of these tools are free and show the power of having a common set of standards ~ so much stuff is being produced that it is hard to keep track.

FRIENDLY REMINDERS:
Forms for compliance documents can be found on the 4j website. Click on the highlighted phrase to the left to quickly access the forms.

As a reminder, we are trying a new system for submitting compliance documents:

1. When you print a document for your site notebook, print a second copy for the district notebook.
2. Collect these hard copies and bring them to the monthly Principal/Coordinator meetings. Penny will be in attendance 15 minutes before/after each meeting to collect and check off items. This way, Penny is able to check off and file documents in a single setting, once a month. She is also able to ask questions, should there be need for clarification. And, she will be able to distribute friendly reminder notices for missing items during Principal/Coordinator meetings as well.
3. If you are visiting the Ed Center, feel free to hand deliver documents to Penny. If sending documents in, via the intra-district mail system, please make sure items include your school’s name and are easily identifiable. Doing your best to send items, due within a single month, in at one time would be helpful.

If we find this system is not working, we will try, try, again; we are open to suggestions! And don’t worry; I will adjust the deadline for “prizes” to coincide with our Principal/Coordinator meetings. Thank you, in advance, for your support as we experiment with a new system!

DEADLINES TO REMEMBER:
Items due by December 13, 2012: (NOTE November items are due on 12/13. You can bring your printed documents to our Extended Learning w/Technology PD. Penny will be available before/after the meeting to accept documents). Recognition for having submitted ALL required documents, to date, will take place on 12/17 during our Principal/Coordinator meeting. For easy access to the forms, simply click on the highlighted titles below.

• Copy of your School Improvement Plan with the update goal pages for both reading & math
• Goals template 12-13
• Copy of your school’s master schedule
• Copy of your Comprehensive Instructional Program Design (parts a, b, c, and d)
• SAMPLE SWP Instructional Program Design 12-13
• SWP Instructional Program Design Template 12-13
• SAMPLE TAS Instructional Program Design 12-13
• TAS Instructional Program Design Template 12-13
• Attestations (Bee will send these to Principals and cc Coordinators)
• Assessments
• Assessments Form 12-13

Due on, or before, December 21, 2012:
The Collaborative Practice Lesson Study proposals; please submit completed projects to Suzy. This is a great opportunity to collaborate with a colleague in a lesson study. Proposals are due before winter break with the goal to start lesson studies in late January/early February. Attached, please find the overview and agreement here: Collaboration Practice OVERVIEW (Title I Schools) and Collaborative Project AGREEMENT (Title I Schools)

Items due by February 4, 2013:

• Semi-annual certification (working 100% out of Title funds). Bee will send these to Principals and cc Coordinators.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
12/13:  Extended Learning w/Technology PD; 8:15-11:15 for everyone; 8:15-1:00 for Coordinators
12/17:  Principal/Coordinators meeting; 2:00-3:30

NO Principal/Coordinator meeting in January

2/4:     Principal/Coordinators meeting; 2:00-3:30
2/28:  Extended Learning w/Technology PD; 8:15-11:15 for everyone; 8:15-1:00 for Coordinators
3/11:   Principal/Coordinator meeting may be cancelled due to a conflict with a LeL group; we may reschedule rather than cancel; stay tuned
4/15: Principal/Coordinators meeting; 2:00-3:30
5/7:  Extended Learning w/Technology PD; 8:15-11:15 for everyone; 8:15-1:00 for Coordinators
5/13: District CIP; 12:00-1:00 in auditorium
5/13: Principal/Coordinators meeting; 1:00-2:30 NOTE TIME DIFFERENCE from other meetings