January 15th

By barsotti_p  

Hi Madison Staff,

Here’s what’s happening this week:

This Week’s Schedule:

Mon, January 18 Tue, January 19

A-Day

Wed, January 20

B-Day

Thur, January 21

A-Day

Fri, January 22

B-Day

No School, Martin Luther King, Jr Day GLT

10:45 Book Study

     

Quick Links: Please make sure you’re signed into your 4J Google Account to access many of these links.

Madison Information

  • Wednesday PD: I
       

 

  • Focus Slides for Week 4 – January 19th-22nd
    • Please feel free to make a copy and edit the slide deck to fit your needs.
    • In the next couple of weeks, we’ll be pushing out a very quick survey, asking for feedback and input on the slides. Thank you to everyone who has given them a try.
    • Tuesday: Announcements + mindfulness +Canvas Self check 
    • Thursday: SEL lesson (Finding Balance in a Digital World)
    • Wednesday: One minute mindfulness + FLEX + Journal
    • Friday: Team Building + Reflection 
  • easyCBM Update: Here’s the information we received from downtown about Winter Testing:
    • Students to Test: We don’t need to test everyone, especially if they scored out of risk areas in the fall. We do need to test students with IEP goals that require them to test in EasyCBM, and students in interventions that call for repeated testing.
    • Can I test other students? Teachers are welcome to test anyone they’d like.
    • Which tests will be administered? The guidance from downtown says the typical measures for the grade should be given whenever possible.
    • Testing Window: The winter benchmark testing window closes February 11.
  • Feedback from Jan. 4th PD:
    • Feedback was positive for both of last week’s sessions, with staff particularly appreciative of the opportunity to begin a conversation about how best to support students during CDL and as we transition kids back to in-person learning.
    • Teachers would like to continue checking in about various engagement strategies, both from a tech side and in terms of grouping strategies, etc. Teachers appreciate the opportunity to spend time hearing tips and tricks from each other, whenever possible.

             

  • Weekly Check In: New! The weekly check in will now include a section to celebrate one another. I’ll be sharing these out in staff meetings and in our blog. Let us know who we should celebrate and why! Linked here is the staff weekly check-in. I’d like to know how you’re doing and be able to offer support for those who need it.
        

DISTRICT INFORMATION                 

  • Vaccination Interest and Child Care Needs: This week’s update from the superintendent to 4J staff included a link to a vaccine interest form. The form also gathers information about staff’s childcare needs if/when we return to hybrid. Please complete it as soon as possible because it helps inform how they will plan for vaccine distribution and meeting staff’s child care needs.
           
  • Safety Drills: Once students being returning to the building, we will be required to implement our monthly safety drills. They have to be done for all students, so we’ll need to conduct multiple drills per month. 

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION

  • Essay from a Superintendent: We came across this on facebook and thought it would be worth sharing. This essay, from a superintendent in New York, discusses how to frame our thinking when students are able to return in person. She reminds us that while some students may not have been engaged fully in learning, their brains were likely still fully engaged with processing all kinds of other information like hunger, loss, grief, uncertainty, and strife. She recommends looking for ways to allow students to express themselves with less of an emphasis on making up for lost time and more of a determined focus on nurturing their resilience and helping them adjust.
         
  • Grading During the Pandemic, A Conversation: This Q&A conversation between two grading reform advocates provides a structure and questions to consider when assigning grades during this time. We want to echo and amplify a few key points in the article:
    • Focus on essential content and be explicit: Hone in on what is essential (ie:  priority standards), be flexible about how students can demonstrate what they know (UDL strategies), and let students know what the learning goal is and how they can show you they’ve learned it. 
    • Grades reflect current understanding, not an average of scores:  Grades should indicate the student’s current level of knowledge, not an average of their scores over time. This also means students should have more than one opportunity to demonstrate their understanding after receiving feedback or more instruction. Additionally, equitable grading practices also shouldn’t include how many assignments were turned in or missed. (Ex: “He seems to understand it, but he only did 2 out of the 12 assignments, so I’m going to give him a 2.”) Equitable practices require us to only focus on students’ mastery of learning targets. 
    • Maintain high expectations: “Providing students sympathy or diminished expectations doesn’t answer the challenges of inequity. Providing them engagement, rigorous work, and support during the school day does.” The grades on this report card should accurately reflect mastery of grade level standards. They’re not a judgement of students’ current situations or ability to engage. They’re instead a factual accounting of what a student has demonstrated they know. Being accurate provides information about where to focus time and energy next term and will better help next year’s teacher plan and prepare for addressing learning gaps.

What’s Coming Next Week: 

Mon, January 25

A-Day

Tue, January 26
B-Day
Wed, January 27

A-day

Thur, January 28

B-Day

Fri, January 29
TLC GLT

10:45 Book Study

Climate Team

 

  NoSchool: Progress Reports and PD

Have a great week with kids! 

Peter and Gina


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