[00:00:01]
I SHOW 4:45 SO WE'RE GOING TO CALL THIS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH, 2022, WORK SESSION TO ORDER ON
[1. Call to Order]
[2. Work Session]
OUR WAIVER DAYS AND UPDATE WITH THAT.SO. MR. WATERS. THANK YOU, MARK.
AS PROMISED, WE HAD OUR FIRST WAIVER DAY A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND WE TOLD YOU THAT WE WOULD COME BACK AND GIVE THE BOARD AN UPDATE. SO HERE WE ARE.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO JUST TURN IT OVER DIRECTLY TO OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT, MR. DAVID KENNEDY. SO THANK YOU BOARD FOR COMING TO HEAR ABOUT OUR PLC.
SO IF WE COULD ADVANCE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU GOT IT RIGHT THERE.
WE JUST WE ALWAYS COME BACK TO OUR COHERENCE GOALS AND PROGRAMS JUST TO PROVIDE THAT REFERENCE POINT OF WHERE PLCS FIT WITHIN THE OVERALL WORK THAT WE'RE DOING AS A DISTRICT AND IS, IF YOU NOTICE, RIGHT UNDER GOAL TWO HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION, PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES ARE RIGHT AT THE TOP.
WE FEEL THAT THESE STRUCTURES HAVE THE CAPACITY TO REALLY MOVE OUR ORGANIZATION FORWARD IN MEETING THE GOALS AROUND HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION AND CREATING EQUITABLE OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS.
AND TO THAT END, YOU CAN SEE IN THE NEXT SLIDE THAT THIS HAS BEEN A MULTI YEAR INVESTMENT OF RESOURCES AND TIME AND ENERGY DATING BACK TO 2018-19, WHEN YOU, AS THE SCHOOL BOARD PROVIDED 33 LATE STARTS FOR TEAMS TO HAVE DESIGNATED TIME K 12 TO ENGAGE IN COLLABORATIVE WORK AROUND PLCS.
SO THE TEACHER CLARITY PLAYBOOK THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT EMERGE IN 2021, 2020-21 AND 21-22 REALLY HAD A LOT TO DO WITH EQUIPPING TEAMS WITH A MORE PRECISE STRUCTURE FOR THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.
ALL OF THAT BOILS DOWN TO THESE THREE THINGS.
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
I THINK IT REALLY SUMMARIZES THE WORK IN A VERY SUCCINCT AND CLEAR FASHION.
AND WE KNOW THAT THAT PLCS ARE SUCCESSFUL WHEN IT HAS THESE THREE CORE ELEMENTS.
NUMBER ONE, A STRONG COLLABORATIVE CULTURE.
TWO, THAT THERE'S A FOCUS ON LEARNING.
AND I PUT OUR ESSENTIAL STANDARDS CATALOG IN THAT CATEGORY TO REALLY EMPHASIZE THAT THAT WORK.
WE JUST RELEASED THE THIRD EDITION OF THAT CATALOG A FEW WEEKS AGO.
IT'S BEEN UPDATED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE WE STARTED THE WORK.
AND THEN THE THIRD PIECE THERE, UNDER THE 100% AND THE HAND, I LIKE THAT THAT VISUAL IS THAT WE WANT TEAMS TO BECOME RESULTS ORIENTED, AND THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENT TO PLCS.
WE KNOW THAT WHEN TEAMS START TO EXPERIENCE THE EVIDENCE OF IMPACT ON IMPROVED OUTCOMES FOR KIDS, IT STRENGTHENS THEIR COLLABORATIVE CULTURE AND THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE FOCUS OF LEARNING.
SO IT'S AN ITERATIVE PROCESS, AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY WE REALLY WANTED TO INVEST IN CREATING CONDITIONS FOR TEAMS TO EXPERIENCE POSITIVE RESULTS, WHICH LEADS INTO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THAT IS THAT WE WE APPROACHED YOU LAST SPRING BASED ON FEEDBACK WE HAD HEARD FROM PLC TEAMS, FROM TEACHERS DIRECTLY THROUGH A SURVEY. THEY WERE VERY CLEAR WITH US.
ONE OF THE THINGS THEY NEEDED IN ORDER TO DO THIS WORK BETTER WAS MORE TIME AND WE WERE RESPONSIVE.
AND THANKFULLY YOU WERE VERY OPEN TO THE IDEA AND SUPPORTIVE AND CREATING THIS CALENDAR, WHICH SETS UP THREE WINDOWS OF DESIGNATED TIME FOR PLCS TO ENGAGE IN THIS PROCESS.
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DAY. IT WAS OUR SECOND FULL RELEASE DAY FOR TEAMS TO ENGAGE IN.AND THE WORK BEGINS OUR OUR WINTER WINDOW, WHICH RUNS THROUGH FEBRUARY 2ND.
THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWCASES THEN HOW WE'RE UTILIZING THAT TIME.
SO WAIVER DAYS ARE REALLY INTENDED TO ANSWER THE FIRST TWO QUESTIONS OF THE PLC PROCESS, WHICH IS WHAT DO WE WANT ALL STUDENTS TO LEARN AND HOW WILL WE KNOW STUDENTS HAVE LEARNED IT? THE TEACHER CLARITY PROCESS REALLY PROVIDES TEAMS AN OPPORTUNITY TO UNPACK ESSENTIAL STANDARDS AND ANSWER THOSE TWO QUESTIONS WITH THE LEVEL OF PRECISION THAT WE DID NOT HAVE IN OUR SYSTEM PRIOR TO TEACHER CLARITY.
SO THAT HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL FOR US.
THE LATE START WEDNESDAYS THEN, ARE INTENDED FOR TEAMS TO DO THE WORK AROUND HOW TO RESPOND TO STUDENTS IF THEY DON'T LEARN IT AND HOW TO RESPOND TO THOSE STUDENTS WHO HAVE ALREADY GOT IT. SO WHAT CAN WE DO AROUND INTERVENTION AND WHAT CAN WE DO AROUND ENRICHMENT FOR STUDENTS AS A TEAM COLLABORATIVELY? SO IT'S NOT JUST BASED ON THE INDIVIDUAL TEACHER'S RESPONSE, BUT ON THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS OF THE TEAM.
AND WE KNOW THAT TO BE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL DRIVERS IN EDUCATION IS THAT COLLECTIVE EFFICACY.
AND THE SHIFT FROM THE WINTER WINDOW, FROM THE FALL WINDOW TO THE WINTER WINDOW IS REALLY THE TEAMS ARE GOING TO EMPHASIZE NOW JUST NOT ONLY COMMON SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS, BUT ALSO INCLUDING COMMON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS IN THE PROCESS SO THEY CAN BE RESPONSIVE IN REAL TIME.
SO THOSE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS ARE DONE DURING THE PLC CYCLE, NOT AFTER.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE BY THE SPRING WINDOW THAT THE NEXT PIECE THAT WE ADD ON OR THE NEXT LAYER IS THAT TEAMS WILL REVIEW THE RESULTS OF BOTH THE COMMON FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS AND INTERVENE AS NECESSARY.
SO THAT'S THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE.
FIRST FALL WINDOW SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS.
AND JUST A LITTLE BIT, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM TEACHER TEAMS THAT ARE GOING TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE POSITIVE OUTCOMES OF THE FIRST START OF THE YEAR WITH THE PLC WORK.
AND WE'VE DONE THIS IN A NUMBER OF WAYS.
DIRECTORS HAVE VISITED SCHOOLS WITH LEADERSHIP TEAMS. I KNOW SHELLY WHITTEN HAS DONE SOME COMMUNICATION WITH FOLKS ACROSS THE DISTRICT TO GET HONEST AND AUTHENTIC FEEDBACK AROUND WHAT THIS PROCESS HAS DONE TO THEIR PRACTICE, BOTH COLLABORATIVELY AND INSTRUCTIONALLY.
SO ONE OF THE AREAS THAT HAS STUCK OUT IS THAT IN OUR PREVIOUS WAY OF OPERATING ON PLC WEDNESDAYS, TEACHERS WOULD OFTENTIMES SELECT WHICH GROUP THEY WANTED TO BE A PART OF.
AND IN SECONDARY ESPECIALLY, YOU'RE TEACHING MULTIPLE CONTENT AREAS, MEANING YOU'RE ON MULTIPLE PLC TEAMS. SO ONE WEEK YOU MIGHT BE WITH YOUR SCIENCE TEAM, THE NEXT WEEK YOU MIGHT BE WITH YOUR MATH TEAM AND KIND OF ALTERNATING.
SO THAT WAS A AN ADJUSTMENT IN PRACTICE FOR MANY TEACHERS TO NOT HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY TO GO BACK AND FORTH TO THEIR TEAMS KNOWING THAT SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK NEEDED TO BE DONE IN BOTH CONTENT AREAS.
WE ALSO HAVE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS AND IT LOOKS DIFFERENT AT EVERY BUILDING RIGHT NOW, WHAT IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY LOOK LIKE? WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE WORK WAS BEING PUBLIC ENOUGH TO WHERE ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS HAD INPUT AND KIND OF OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND GUIDANCE ALONG THE WAY.
AND THEN THE THE LOSS OF OPERATIONAL AND LOGISTICS MEETING TIME WAS VERY REAL.
AND IT'S COME UP AT ALL THREE LEVELS PRIMARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL WHERE SOMETIMES THOSE WEDNESDAYS WERE DEVOTED TO GRADE LEVEL CHAIR MEETINGS, TO ORGANIZE AND PLAN EVENTS AND DISCUSS STUDENTS IN DIFFERENT WAYS WHERE WE REALLY, AS A SYSTEM, KIND OF PUSHED IN A DIRECTION TO REALLY PRIORITIZE THE PLC WORK
[00:10:02]
SPECIFICALLY THROUGHOUT THOSE LATE START WEDNESDAY.SO THOSE WERE MIKE WILL COVER A FEW MORE THEMES, BUT THESE WERE COMPILED THE SIX THEMES THAT WE RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON THROUGHOUT THE FIRST PART OF THIS YEAR IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS FROM TEACHER TEAMS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
THANKS, LUKE. YEAH I ADDITION TO TO WHAT LUKE HAD MENTIONED, OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS WERE KIND OF STRUGGLING TO TO FIND OUT WHAT GROUP MADE THE MOST SENSE FOR THEM TO PARTNER WITH.
AND SO WE'RE STILL CONTINUING TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND TEACHING AND LEARNING ABOUT WHAT EXACTLY THAT LOOKS LIKE, BECAUSE ORIGINALLY WHAT WE HAD ASKED IS THAT OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS WOULD JOIN OUR GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS TO MAKE SURE THAT 100% OF STUDENTS RECEIVED ACCESS AND WERE TAUGHT THOSE ESSENTIAL STANDARDS TO MASTERY.
AND SO WE'RE WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN WANTING OUR SPECIAL SPECIAL EDUCATION AND GEN ED TEACHERS TO BE WORKING TOGETHER ON THE ESSENTIAL STANDARDS, BUT ALSO MEET SOME OF THOSE OTHER NEEDS SPECIFIC TO THEIR JOBS.
I THINK THAT WE'VE DONE A PRETTY GOOD JOB AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT UNTIL WE CAN FIND A PARTNER FOR OR A TEAM OF TEACHERS FOR ALL THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WE HAVE IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
LASTLY, I GAVE YOU A COPY OF THE PLC GUIDANCE DOCUMENT FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS, MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS THAT WAS ROLLED OUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. PART OF THAT DAVID DISCUSSED WITH YOU EARLIER IN THIS PRESENTATION.
WE'RE TRYING TO STAY TRUE TO THE PROCESS IN THE INTENT OF THE PLC, AND STAY TIGHT ON CERTAIN THINGS, BUT NOT HAVE TEACHERS FEELING MICROMANAGED.
AND I THINK ANY TIME THAT YOU INTRODUCE SOMETHING LIKE THIS SEVEN STEP PROCESS THAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY, UNLESS IT'S CLEARLY ARTICULATED THAT WE TRUST OUR TEACHERS TO DO THE WORK RIGHT, THAT WE'VE LEARNED THAT SOME OF THOSE GROUPS ARE FOLLOWING THE FIRST WEDNESDAY IS FOR STEP ONE. THE SECOND WEDNESDAY IS FOR STEP TWO AND THE THIRD WEDNESDAY IS FOR STEP THREE IS THAT WE TRUST OUR EDUCATORS AND THIS IS MORE OF A STRUCTURE TO FOLLOW AND THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR OUR STAFF.
AND ESSENTIALLY THAT'S WHAT THAT DOCUMENT IS.
BUT FOR SOME, WE STILL CONTINUE TO WE STILL NEED TO WORK ON OUR EDUCATORS NOT FEELING MICROMANAGED BY A STRUCTURED PROCESS WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS.
SO THAT'S ALL OF THE DIRECTORS.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE THIS SECOND GRADE TEAM FROM GLENWOOD HEIGHTS PRIMARY SCHOOL.
THEY ARE A MODEL FOR WHAT PLCS SHOULD LOOK LIKE, AND SO I'LL ASK THEM TO COME UP TO THE PODIUM AND KIND OF SHARE IN THE NEXT SEVEN OR TEN MINUTES THEIR EXPERIENCES AND IF THEY WOULD ALSO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TOO.
I AM LACEY YOUNG ON THE SECOND GRADE TEAM.
I'M MISSY PASTERNAK AND SUZANNE MCLAUGHLIN.
SO I'VE BEEN WITH THE DISTRICT FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS.
BUT IT REALLY WASN'T ORGANIZED.
IT WAS VERY DYSFUNCTIONAL AND WAS REALLY MORE OF KIND OF, I DON'T KNOW, SHOOTING THE BREEZE.
WE DIDN'T DO REALLY A LOT DURING THAT TIME.
[00:15:07]
THOSE ROTATE SO THAT WE CAN ALL TAKE OWNERSHIP AND WHAT'S TAKING PLACE WITHIN THE TEAM.AND THEN WE COLLABORATE COLLABORATIVELY WORK TO LOOK AT THOSE ESSENTIAL STANDARDS THAT WERE IN THAT THE BOOK THAT WAS PRINTED FOR US.
AND WE HAVE TAKEN THAT FROM THERE.
AND I'M GOING TO LET LACEY, SHE'S GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE DID LAST TIME WITH THE FIRST CYCLE, AND THEN MISSY CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING. SO I'VE BEEN WITH THE DISTRICT FOR THIS IS MY FOURTH YEAR.
DURING OUR FIRST CYCLE, WE CHOSE TO WORK ON OUR ELA ESSENTIAL STANDARD, WHICH WAS 2.1 KEY DETAILS, ESSENTIALLY KEY DETAILS WE HAVE SEVERAL ESSENTIAL STANDARDS, BUT WE DID FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS.
SO REALLY FOCUSING ON PHONICS.
AND THEN WE USED THE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS THAT THEY GIVE EVERY WEEK, AND WE REALLY JUST KIND OF HONED IN ON HOW EACH OF US ARE TEACHING THIS. AND EVERY TIME WE CAME BACK TO PLCS, WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LOOK AT HOW EACH STUDENT DID AND KIND OF COMPARE.
HOW DID YOU TEACH THAT? AND SO IT REALLY ALLOWED FOR US TO KIND OF HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND GROW AS TEACHERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN KIND OF I MEAN, IF SOMEONE'S GETTING BETTER RESULTS THAN US, THEN OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING GOOD, RIGHT? SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE DID DURING OUR FIRST CYCLE AND THEN TALK ABOUT WHAT WE DID THIS RECENTLY.
SO IN NOVEMBER, OUR FIRST, OUR NEXT CYCLE, WE DECIDED TO FOCUS ON MATH.
AND SO DURING OUR WAIVER DAY, WE STARTED WITH MAKING A PRE ASSESSMENT AND WE KIND OF REALLY ALIGNED IT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD ALL TYPES OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY COULD DO FOR WORD PROBLEMS. AND THEN AFTER WE DID THAT, WE ACTUALLY SAT AND WE BROKE THOSE DOWN BECAUSE THEY'RE SIX DIFFERENT ONES.
AND THEN ON THURSDAYS WE'RE GIVING A FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO GIVE THE POST ASSESSMENT.
SO AND THAT'S KIND OF WE'VE DONE THAT WITH BOTH OF THE FIRST CYCLE TOO, THAT WE DO THAT.
YOU KNOW, WE ALL TEACH A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY AND WITH LIBRARIES AND STUFF, BUT WE ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHICH WEEK WHAT WE'RE GOING TO COVER SO THAT WE CAN REALLY TALK AT OUR PLACES AND HAVE GREAT CONVERSATIONS AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN GET OUR KIDS TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
AND WE WORK AS KIND OF ALL OF SECOND GRADE.
IT'S NOT JUST YOUR CLASS, MY CLASS, IT'S ALL OF US AND HOW CAN WE HELP OUR KIDS? AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY ONE OTHER THING ABOUT THE WAIVER DAY WHEN YOU WERE KIND OF MENTIONING, LIKE THE STRUGGLES AND BEING REAL.
THE ONE THING THAT WE DID NOTICE THAT WAS DIFFICULT FOR US.
THERE'S TWO OF OUR COLLEAGUES THAT COULDN'T MAKE IT TONIGHT.
I MEAN, BY 2:00 WE WERE LIKE, BECAUSE WE GO THROUGH ALL THE PHASES OF THE TEACHER CLARITY.
SO YOU'RE BREAKING APART ALL THOSE PARTS.
SO WHEN WE KIND OF SUMMARIZE QUICKLY FOR YOU, IT'S LIKE A LOT OF BRAINPOWER AND WE HAD DISCUSSED AS A TEAM, LIKE WHAT WOULD THAT BE LIKE IF YOU WERE ON A TEAM MAYBE WHERE YOU WEREN'T SEEING EYE TO EYE, OR MAYBE YOU DIDN'T HAVE COMMON GOALS, MAYBE YOU DIDN'T HAVE COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, AND THAT MIGHT BE EVEN MORE OF A STRUGGLE. BUT WE HAVE REALLY, AS A TEAM, SEEN SUCH A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN OUR STUDENTS LEARNING ACROSS THE GRADE LEVEL.
LIKE WHEN WE LOOKED AT OUR WORK AND OUR SCORES AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, ALL FIVE TEACHERS HAD SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. AND WE WE FELT REALLY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE HAD DONE.
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ON OUR WAIVER DAY ANTONIO, WHO IS OUR OUR ADMIN, HE ASKED US TO DO A FISHBOWL AND SO OUR TEAM SAT IN THE MIDDLE AND ALL OF THE OTHER TEACHERS SAT AROUND US AND WE RAN THROUGH A PLC AND THAT WAS REALLY POWERFUL.I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS WANT TO SPEAK TO IT TOO, BUT IT WAS REALLY POWERFUL.
WE WENT FROM START TO FINISH OF WHAT A PLC WOULD LOOK LIKE AND WE ACTUALLY USED OUR LAST KIND OF THE DATA THAT WE HAD FROM THE END OF THAT FIRST CYCLE WHERE WE HAD OUR PRE AND OUR POST AND WE JUST DISCUSSED THOSE THINGS AND IT WAS REALLY POWERFUL FOR PEOPLE THAT WE REALLY RESPECT AND ADMIRE IN OUR BUILDING TO HEAR THEIR CONVERSATIONS AND COMMENTS ABOUT LIKE, OH, I DIDN'T, I HADN'T THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY BEFORE.
I LOVE HOW EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DISCUSSING IS FOCUSED ON STUDENT LEARNING.
EVERYTHING IS FOCUSED ON WHAT YOUR KIDS ARE DOING, AND IF THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR CONVERSATIONS WERE, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NEXT? SO I THINK I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING ELSE OR IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR US.
IF NOT, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR THEM, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU THE SPACE TO.
AND I THINK IT MAKES A HUGE IMPACT [INAUDIBLE].
ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS HAVE YOU HAD ANY FEEDBACK FROM PARENTS? I MEAN, ARE PARENTS REALIZING THE IMPACT OF THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING? HAVE YOU SEEN THAT YET OR I MEAN, I KNOW THIS IS STILL EARLY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A FEW YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, BUT DO PARENTS EVER MAKE ANY COMMENT ABOUT SEEING THAT YOU'RE WORKING TOGETHER AS A TEAM THAT WAY? I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF THEY REALLY KNOW THAT THEY WOULD NOTICE THAT.
YEAH, THAT THEY DON'T NOTICE THAT WE'RE YOU KNOW, IF THEY ACTUALLY CAME IN AND LOOKED AT EACH CLASS AND WENT FROM CLASSROOM CLASSROOM BECAUSE THAT'S LIKE WHAT OUR ADMIN SAID EXACTLY. THEY SEE IT THAT HE GOES INTO LIKE MY CLASSROOM, I'M TEACHING ONE THING AND THEN LIKE 15 MINUTES LATER HE GOES INTO LACEY'S AND HE'S SEEING LIKE THE SAME LESSON ONLY 15 MINUTES LATER. SO I KNOW THAT, LIKE, YOU COULD SEE IT IF YOU COULD GO TO EACH CLASS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF A PARENT AND THE REASON I ASK THAT QUESTION IS BECAUSE PARENTS WOULD ASK US, WHY DO WE HAVE WHY ARE WE TAKING A DAY OFF? THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION THEY ASK US, THAT'S ALL.
YEAH. I HAVEN'T HAD ANY DIRECT FEEDBACK FROM PARENTS REGARDING THE WAIVER DAYS OR LATE STARTS.
YEAH, AND WE DO HAVE TWINS LIKE LACEY AND I SHARE TWO SETS OF TWINS THIS YEAR.
AND BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS SO COHESIVE, LIKE THERE'S NEVER AN ISSUE.
WHEREAS IN THE PAST, WHEN I'VE HAD A TWIN WITH A DIFFERENT TEACHER AND WE'RE DOING THE SAME THING AND THEY LIKED WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN ONE CLASSROOM AND NOT IN ANOTHER CLASSROOM, IT BECAME AN ISSUE.
HE KNOWS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
AND SO IT WOULD BE AN ISSUE BECAUSE THEY EITHER WANTED A KID MOVE OR I MEAN, AND NOW IT'S LIKE IT'S JUST A MOOT POINT BECAUSE THEY'RE SEEING THE SAME KIND OF THINGS BECAUSE WE ARE SO COHESIVE WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU GUYS ARE CONSISTENT BETWEEN CLASSES.
THAT WAS A HUGE PROBLEM IN THE PAST AND YOU' GUYS ARE WORKING ON THAT.
BUT TO THAT POINT, I KNOW MY KIDS ALL WENT THROUGH DAYBREAK, AND ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE HAD AS PARENTS WAS THE INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN GRADE LEVELS, NOT SO MUCH OBVIOUSLY IN THE MATERIAL, BECAUSE IT GETS HARDER AS THEY GROW, BUT THE MECHANISMS EMPLOYED AND THE WAY THEY WOULD DO GRADES AND EVERYTHING.
AND IT WAS ESSENTIALLY LIKE LEARNING HOW TO LEARN ALL OVER AGAIN WITH THE NEXT LEVEL.
SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE GRADE LEVEL BOX AND TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL AS WELL.
THAT WAY, ALL PRIMARIES KIND OF DOING THE SAME THING.
AND THEN THE TRANSITION HAPPENS BETWEEN PRIMARY TO MIDDLE TO HIGH SCHOOL.
I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE IDEA THAT WAS BEHIND THE FISHBOWL SO THAT AT LEAST WITHIN OUR BUILDING, SO THAT ALL OF THE TEACHERS HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE.
AND THEN HE'S ASKED FOR ANOTHER TEAM NEXT TIME TO COME UP.
AND SO BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, WE DO NEED TO BE CONSISTENT MOVING ALONG THE GRADE LEVELS.
AND SO I THINK THAT WAS PART OF THE IDEAS.
IT'S NOT LIKE YOU CAN JUST SNAP YOUR FINGERS AND GET THERE.
RIGHT. MY LAST QUESTION, KIDS ALL LEARN DIFFERENTLY.
[00:25:06]
AND I WAS CURIOUS OF WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING TO ADJUST TO THE MULTITUDE OF LEARNING STYLES WITHIN YOUR CLASSROOMS AND HOW THOSE MIGHT BE. MAYBE ONE CLASS IS WEIGHTED A LITTLE BIT MORE WHERE THIS KID LEARNS THIS WAY, OR THIS GROUP OF STUDENTS LEARN THIS WAY, OR IN ANOTHER CLASS MIGHT HAVE TO DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT WHAT WORKS, RIGHT? SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU GUYS HAD ANY COMMENTS ON HOW THAT'S WORKING OUT IN YOUR CLASSROOMS. I THINK WE ALL KIND OF DO THE SAME THING WHERE WE KIND OF TEACH WHOLE GROUP AND THEN LIKE THE KIDS WILL SEND LIKE ONE GROUP OFF TO DO THEIR WORK AND THEN WE'LL PULL A SMALL GROUP ON THE CARPET AND REINFORCE AND HELP THE KIDS THAT NEED EXTRA HELP.AND SO THEN WE PULL SMALL GROUPS AND KIND OF REINFORCE THE SKILLS TO HELP THEM GET MASTERY.
AND I KNOW, LIKE SOME KIDS IN MY ROOM ARE ALWAYS GOING TO NEED MANIPULATIVES IN MATH.
LIKE RIGHT NOW THEY NEED MANIPULATIVES.
AND SO WE DO THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND TO THAT, WE ALSO LACIE AND I HAVE THE ASPIRE CLUSTER, SO WE HAVE FIVE NOW AND SHE HAS SIX.
SO IT'S NOT JUST KIDS THAT ARE STRUGGLING, BUT IT'S LIKE WE JUST HAD A CONVERSATION BECAUSE WE'RE DOING MATH IS LIKE, WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THE KIDS THAT ALREADY KNOW IT BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO HOLD THEM BACK? SO HOW ARE WE MOVING THEM FORWARD ALONG THE CONTINUUM? AND THEY'RE LEARNING. AND SO I THINK THAT THE KEY WITH THE PLCS IS THE FACT THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT DATA LIKE EVERY WEEK AND WE'RE CONSTANTLY COLLECTING IT.
AND SO IF YOU ASKED US RIGHT NOW, LIKE IF YOU JUST PICKED A KID OFF OF OUR LIST, WE COULD TELL YOU HOW THAT KID IS DOING AND WHAT THEY NEED BECAUSE, BECAUSE WE'RE CONSTANTLY DOING IT. WHEREAS BEFORE IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE A PRE AND A POST AND IT WAS JUST KIND OF ALL OVER.
AND SO WE CAN WE CAN ANSWER THAT WITH WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
BUT BUT WE ARE WORKING TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF ALL OF OUR KIDS.
VERY ESPECIALLY IN PRIMARY, WHERE WE'RE ALL IN ONE GROUP.
I MEAN, WE HAVE KIDS THAT DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AND WE HAVE A HIGH CAB CLUSTER.
SO THERE'S A BIG SPECTRUM OF WHAT WE'RE TEACHING IN THE PRIMARY.
WE HAVE ABOUT 30 MORE SECONDS WITH THIS GROUP.
IS THERE ANY MORE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE GIVE AMBOY AND BATTLE GROUND HIGH SCHOOL ENOUGH TIME.
YOU TALKED ABOUT COHESIVE A LOT.
I APPRECIATED HOW YOU FINISH EACH OTHER'S SENTENCES.
WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER. YEAH.
AWESOME. I JUST WANT TO AGAIN THANK THE SECOND GRADE TEAM AT GLENWOOD.
AND FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULES TO COME AND TALK WITH US.
SO THE NEXT GROUP REPRESENTING THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS IS THE SIXTH GRADE TEAM FROM AMBOY.
I'M EXCITED TO HAVE THEM COME AND SHARE.
[INAUDIBLE] THIS IS MY 19TH YEAR IN THE DISTRICT I'M TEACHING SIXTH GRADE AT AMBOY WE'RE 2/6 OF THE TEAM. THE OTHER FOUR HAD FAMILY, SPORTS AND VOLLEYBALL OBLIGATIONS.
FIVE OF US HAVE BEEN WORKING TOGETHER FOR 13 OR 14 YEARS AND COLLABORATING.
SO WE GO BACK TO DAILY COLLABORATION IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL.
WE WERE REALLY SUCCESSFUL IN REALLY ALIGNING WHAT WE'RE DOING WHEN WE WE'RE DOING THAT.
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SO THEN WHEN WE WENT TO LIKE ONCE A WEEK, WE'RE LIKE, OH, YAY FOR EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT THIS IS REALLY HARD.THEN THERE WAS A DISTRICT DIRECTED WEDNESDAY, AND THEN THERE WAS A BUILDING DIRECTED WEDNESDAY.
AND SO WE NEVER GOT ANY MOMENTUM.
AND BY THE END OF THE DAY IT'S LIKE THAT'S A LOT OF BRAINPOWER.
BUT IT HAS REALLY ALLOWED US TO REALLY GET STARTED ON A PROJECT.
AND THEN OUR WEDNESDAYS ARE ARE MORE FOCUSED AND PRODUCTIVE.
SHOULD I TALK ABOUT WHAT WE DID FIRST? OKAY. SO OUR FIRST PLC CYCLE.
OH, AND AT SIXTH GRADE AT AMBOY, WE'RE ALL SELF CONTAINED.
SO WE TEACH ALL SUBJECTS MINUS SCIENCE.
WE DO SOME ROTATIONS WITH THAT.
SO WE'RE MORE LIKE THE PRIMARY MODEL WHICH ACTUALLY BENEFITS.
IT'S HELPFUL IN THE PLC PROCESS BECAUSE WE ALL SEE ALL OF THE KIDS EVENTUALLY.
BUT WE HAVE ONE CLASS THAT WE THAT'S OUR HOME ROOM ESSENTIALLY, BUT WE ALL TEACH EVERYTHING.
SO IN OUR FIRST CYCLE WE DID ELA AND WE CHOSE CITING TEXT EVIDENCE BECAUSE THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE ESSENTIAL STANDARD FOR ELA FOR SIXTH GRADE. SIGHT TEXT EVIDENCE IN FICTION IS THE FIRST SEMESTER AND NONFICTION THE SECOND.
SO WE REALLY WORKED ON GOING THROUGH THE CLARITY PROCESS WITH THAT THE FIRST AND WE'RE STILL WE DIDN'T STOP JUST BECAUSE IT WAS THE END OF THE WINDOW. WE'RE STILL WORKING ON CITING TEXT EVIDENCE AND WE COME BACK TOGETHER.
AND SO THAT'S A BIG CHANGE FOR US THIS YEAR, HAVING THE WAIVER DAYS TO DO THE BULK OF THE WORK AND THEN THE WEDNESDAYS TO REALLY LOOK AT THE DATA, TALK ABOUT THE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT. EARLY ON, I THINK WE HAD A TIME WHERE WE'RE LIKE, OH, THAT WAS TERRIBLE.
DID ANYBODY ELSE LIKE THAT ASSESSMENT JUST OUR KIDS DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.
AND SO WE'RE ABLE TO LIKE, TALK THROUGH WHY AND ADJUST OUR PLANS.
AND LIKE THE GLENWOOD TEACHERS SPOKE ABOUT, YOU CAN WALK INTO OUR DIFFERENT CLASSROOMS AND WE'RE PRETTY MUCH DOING THE SAME THING, GIVE OR TAKE A DAY BECAUSE OF LIBRARY AND THINGS LIKE THAT AS EACH OTHER.
AND AND IT HELPS US REALLY BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT DATA AND THAT SORT OF THING.
THE SECOND WINDOW WE'RE DEALING WITH HISTORY, BECAUSE HISTORY IN SIXTH GRADE IS A HUGE CHALLENGE.
2 MILLION YEARS OF HISTORY IS A LOT TO GET THROUGH IN A YEAR.
SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT TRYING TO GO DEEPER RATHER THAN THAT INCH DEEP AND REALLY LOOKING AT THAT.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF AS FAR AS THIS WINDOW.
SO I'M THE ONE THAT'S NEW TO THE TEAM THIS YEAR.
AND THAT REALLY FREED UP OUR WEDNESDAYS TO DO THE THREE AND FOUR WORK IS LOOKING AT DATA, RIGHT, LOOKING AT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS TOGETHER AND ARE THE ARE THEY GETTING IT AND WHAT DO WE DO NOW NOT JUST PLOW ON TO THE NEXT THING.
AGAIN, IT HELPS KNOWING THAT EVERY WEDNESDAY IS JUST TIME DEDICATED TO THIS.
AT OUR SCHOOL WE HAVE A FORUM THAT WE ARE USING.
IT'S LIKE A SHOWING EVIDENCE OR SHOWCASING YOUR PLC WORK AND WE'RE ABLE TO LINK LIKE OUR PROGRESSION AND ANY LESSONS WE'RE USING AND IT MAKES IT REALLY EASY FOR US SINCE WE'RE ALL USING IT AND WE DON'T FIND IT TO BE EXTRA WORK.
I GUESS I WANT TO ACCENTUATE. WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU BELIEVE IN OUR PROFESSIONALISM, TO CHOOSE OUR OWN TEAMS AND TO CHOOSE WHICH STANDARD TO FOCUS ON SO THAT LOOSE VERSUS TIGHT THAT YOU'RE GIVING US THE TIME AND SPACE TO BE PROFESSIONALS.
IT'S REDUCING THE WORKLOAD INDIVIDUALLY BY USING OUR COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE.
[00:35:01]
CHROMEBOOKS AND ADDING TO IT.AND I'M SITTING THERE GOING, WHO'S KAMI? IT'S LIKE A PDF MAKER THING, BUT I CAN KIND OF SEE THE BIG PICTURE.
MAYBE THAT'S MY STRENGTH, I DON'T KNOW.
AND SO WE USED TO FUDGE IT ON WEDNESDAYS AND DO SOME GRADE LEVEL LOGISTICS OR PACING STUFF.
AND I KNOW WITH THE TEACHER CLARITY PLAYBOOK, THAT'S NOT REALLY MEANT FOR WEDNESDAY MORNING.
SO I THINK WE HEARD AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THEY KIND OF DO A WORKING LUNCH MODEL.
WHILE DIFFICULT TO GIVE UP, QUOTE MY TIME, AT FIRST WE'VE ACTUALLY FOUND THAT IT'S BENEFITED MORE THAN HINDERED OUR ABILITY TO BE PROFESSIONALS, AND THAT WAS A BIG RISK FOR ME TO TAKE BECAUSE I DON'T EVER WANT TO GIVE UP THINGS THAT ARE MINE.
SO I THINK THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD.
THIS WAS MORE FOR THE DIRECTORS.
BUT YOU KIND OF TOUCHED ON IT A LITTLE BIT.
I ALWAYS I'M A VERY MILITARY MINDED STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE KIND OF GUY.
AND I SOMETIMES WORRY ABOUT THE ABILITY TO HAVE TOO MUCH CREATIVITY IN THE WAY WE DO THINGS.
BECAUSE WHEN WE START TO LOSE THE ABILITY TO MEASURE OUR SUCCESSES AND FAILURES.
SO AND THIS IS MORE OF AN OPEN ENDED QUESTION, GUYS, SO BEAR WITH ME HERE.
WHAT CAN WE DO? OR IS THERE A WAY OR IS THERE CONCERN ABOUT LOSING THAT MEASURABILITY IN THAT PROCESS? OR DO WE HAVE YOU KNOW EXACT STRUCTURE LIKE THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO HAVE? LIKE, THESE ARE OUR RESULTS.
SO WHERE IS THAT REALM OF CREATIVITY AND WHAT MAGNITUDE OR WHAT LEVEL? YOU KNOW, I'M TRYING TO LIKE PUT THIS IN A BOX.
WELL, I THINK, YOU KNOW, CHRIS WAS MENTIONING EARLIER THE FOUR THE FOUR QUESTIONS AND THOSE FOUR QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN AROUND, GOSH, SINCE THE ADVENT OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MODEL, YOU KNOW, 12, 13 YEARS AGO.
THEY'VE ACTUALLY BEEN AROUND FOR A COUPLE OF DECADES NOW.
AND IT'S LIKE IF YOU WERE TO TELL SOMEONE, HEY, I WANT YOU TO GO BUILD A HOUSE, GO BUILD IT.
BUT YOU DON'T GIVE ANY PLANS FOR THAT HOUSE.
IT'S GOING TO BE HARD FOR THEM TO BUILD IT TO THE SPECS YOU WANT IT TO BE BUILT AT.
I THINK WHAT WE FOUND WITH THE PLC PROCESS, WITH JUST THE FOUR QUESTIONS IS THEY ARE.
THEY ARE A GOOD FRAMEWORK, BUT THEY ARE NOT PRECISE.
AND SO THAT LEFT A LOT TO BE DESIRED.
IT WAS AS IF WE WERE SAYING TO THE TEAMS, HEY, GO DO THE WORK, GO COLLABORATE.
BUT WHAT WE WERE GETTING BACK, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THAT FOCUS AND LEARNING AND RESULTS ORIENTATION, WAS THAT THE LEVEL OF PRECISION AROUND AROUND THE PROCESS WAS MISSING.
AND SO SOME TEAMS WERE SUCCESSFUL HAVING THAT STRUCTURE.
OTHER TEAMS NEEDED MORE SCAFFOLDS.
THAT TEACHER CLARITY, IT'S A BIG LIFT.
ONE ESSENTIAL STANDARD AT A TIME.
AND THAT'S THE EXCITING THING.
BUT THERE IS FREEDOM IN STRUCTURE.
AND SO WE ARE FINDING AND AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO PAINT THE PICTURE THAT 100% OF OUR TEAMS HAVE FULLY EMBRACED TEACHER CLARITY AND FIND GREAT IT'S HARD. IT'S HARD WORK.
BUT THAT'S BEEN THE BALANCE OF FINDING THAT SWEET SPOT OF HOW DO WE PROVIDE MORE STRUCTURE AND PRECISION TO A PROCESS, BUT ALSO HONOR THE AUTONOMY AND NOT MICROMANAGE TEAMS AND LET THEM BE, AS CHRIS SAID, PROFESSIONALS.
AND THAT'S THAT. THAT'S THE DANCE, REALLY.
AND THAT'S AS A SYSTEM, WE HAVE TO BE RESPONSIVE IN CREATING THOSE CONDITIONS SO THAT TEAMS CAN GET TO THAT RESULTS ORIENTATION, BECAUSE THAT IS, AS I WAS LISTENING TO GLENWOOD, WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE SUCCESS AS A TEAM AND YOU SEE THAT YOUR ACTIONS COLLABORATIVELY MAKE AN IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING THAT REINFORCES THE
[00:40:05]
COLLABORATIVE CULTURE BIG TIME, BIG TIME.AND THAT'S THAT'S THE OWNERSHIP WHERE THE OWNERSHIP COMES IN THE PROCESS.
AND THEN TEAMS WANT TO EMBRACE TEACHER CLARITY RATHER THAN KIND OF GO, OH, HOW DOES THIS WORK? I'M NOT SURE IF IT DOES OR NOT.
SO IS THAT KIND OF ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YEAH, I THINK SO.
I MEAN, I KNOW YOU'RE GETTING THERE.
SO AGAIN, IT'S JUST FOR ME, IT'S ABOUT MEASURABILITY.
IT IS LONG AS WE CAN MEASURE IT.
WELL, ULTIMATELY, I THINK WE WANT TO SEE IMPROVED STUDENT OUTCOMES.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S THE THE SIGN WHETHER THIS IS WORKING OR NOT.
AND EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THIS WORKS.
AND IN THREE YEARS, THEIR ELA SCORES WENT UP 26%, THEIR MATH SCORES WENT UP 37%.
THEY WENT FROM 14 TO 51% ON ON FOURTH GRADE MATH, SMARTER BALANCE.
IT DOES WORK. AND WE JUST HAVE TO STAY THE COURSE.
IT'S NOT GOING TO ALWAYS BE THIS TRAJECTORY.
AND I GUESS THAT'S WHERE I GET INTO THE STRUCTURE, BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE RESULTS IS, WAS IT A RESULT OF DOING IT THIS WAY OR DOING IT THIS WAY? AND AGAIN, THAT'S WHERE IF WE HAVE TO FIND STRUCTURE IN THERE, THEN WE KNOW THAT THIS RESULT IS IS BECAUSE OF DOING IT THIS WAY, NOT THESE FIVE OTHER WAYS, BECAUSE WE ALLOWED FOR ALL THIS CREATIVITY IN THAT PROCESS.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I'M GETTING AT.
AND THAT'S WHERE I THINK TEAMS GETTING TO SEE HOW AS GLENWOOD SPRINGS.
WOW, YOU GOT BETTER RESULTS THAN I DID.
WHAT WERE YOU DOING? AND THAT'S THAT'S THE POWER OF THIS WORK IS THAT YOU KIND OF PRIVATIZE PRACTICE SO THAT EVERYONE GETS TO SEE AND LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER.
BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY ALL OF THIS WORK IS ABOUT BEING CURIOUS.
IT'S ABOUT BEING CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT WORKS FOR KIDS AND HAVING THE COURAGE.
HOW DID YOU APPROACH IT? BECAUSE COLLECTIVELY, WE'RE GOING TO BE MUCH STRONGER TOGETHER.
THEN YOU'VE GOT TO THINK ABOUT WHERE DOES OUR MODEL COME FROM? IT COMES FROM THE ONE ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE AND WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT, THAT IS SO INGRAINED IN OUR SYSTEM.
TEACHERS HAVE BEEN ISOLATED OVER THE YEARS, AND SO WE ARE REALLY ABOUT CHANGING PRACTICE AND HELPING TEAMS ACHIEVE SUCCESS TOGETHER RATHER THAN INDIVIDUALLY. I KNOW I'M TAKING THE HIGH SCHOOL'S TIME, SO I WANT TO JUST BE COGNIZANT OF THAT.
IF YOU COULD SAY GIVE ONE EXAMPLE OR ONE FROM ONE OF THE THINGS YOU SAID WAS THAT THIS YEAR HAVING THE TIME TO DISCUSS THE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND YOU CAN GIVE AN ASSESSMENT AND NEVER HAVE A TIME TO TALK TO YOUR TEAM.
SO JUST WANT [INAUDIBLE] OR EXAMPLE WOULD BE GREAT.
SO WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, I'LL USE THE TOPIC VERSUS [INAUDIBLE].
BUT THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO CITE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE, THE THEME OR WHATEVER THEME OR TOPIC.
AND SO WE'RE LIKE, OH, WE'LL DO TOPIC AND THEN WE'LL DO LIKE THEME AND EVIDENCE AND WHATEVER.
AND THEN WE'RE LIKE, HOW DO WE TEACH TOPIC WITH WITH FICTION? THIS ISN'T WORKING VERY WELL.
LIKE, WHAT IS THAT? AND WE'RE LIKE, TALKING, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO WE DOVE DEEPER.
NO TOPIC GOES WITH NONFICTION, THEME GOES WITH FICTION.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIT THIS IDEA INTO THIS AND IT JUST DIDN'T WORK.
BUT WE WERE ALL, WE, WE ALL WERE EXPERIENCING FAILURE, I WOULD SAY, WHEN IT CAME TO THAT.
BUT WE'RE ALL ABLE TO COME TOGETHER AND SAY, LIKE, HOW HOW DID THAT GO WITH YOUR STUDENTS? BECAUSE MY STUDENTS DID NOT GET TOPIC LIKE THEY JUST DID NOT.
AND THEY'RE LIKE, WE DIDN'T EITHER.
SO ALL I THINK ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND SO THEN WE WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT OUR TEACHING AND SAID, OKAY, WE APPROACHED THIS WRONG.
HOW CAN WE ADJUST? LET'S GO RETEACH THESE THINGS AND AND THEN DO THE ASSESSMENT THIS WAY.
AND THEN WE DISCUSSED IT FROM THERE.
SO WE REALIZED A MISTAKE, I GUESS.
WELL, YOU KNOW, THAT'S POWERFUL AND PROFESSIONAL.
[00:45:04]
AND WHEN YOU'RE ABLE TO REALIZE, YOU KNOW, YOURSELF WHERE, OH, YOU NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS AND YOU'RE OPEN ENOUGH AND AUTHENTIC ENOUGH WITH EACH OTHER.AND I THINK YOU BUILD THAT COMFORT IN YOUR TEAM.
SO AND WE TALKED ABOUT WITH THE STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE MADE A MISTAKE.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES AND NOW WE'RE DOING A UNIT IN COMMON LIT ON FAILURES AND SUCCESSES.
WE'RE GOING TO GO AND LIKE, LOOK AT THIS AGAIN, BECAUSE THEY'RE LIKE, WHY ARE WE DOING THIS AGAIN? SO WE TRY TO BE HONEST WITH THEM AND SHOW WHERE HUMAN TO AND AND THAT PART OF THE PROCESS, BOTH WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH OUR CLASSES, HAS BEEN HELPFUL.
THANK YOU. I'LL TRY TO BE QUICK.
I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HISTORY IN THE ROOM THAT WAS MENTIONED, BUT MAYBE WENT BY.
BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE BOARD UP HERE TO HEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN REMEMBER BACK TO A TIME WHEN YOU DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU HAD ANY PLANNING TIME AT ALL OR YOU HAD AN HOUR A DAY.
AND IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT ALL OVER THE DISTRICT.
AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A SACRIFICE FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL, I THINK WE'RE BETTER TOGETHER ACROSS THE WHOLE DISTRICT WHEN WE KNOW THAT THE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS ARE GETTING ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME, HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS THAT GET THEM AT THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME AND MIDDLE SCHOOL.
HOPEFULLY CARRIED THAT MOMENTUM FORWARD INTO THE TIME THAT THEY GET STILL.
SO YEAH, IT'S NICE TO STICK WITH THE SAME THING FOR SEVERAL YEARS IN A ROW.
THANK YOU. AND OUR FINAL GUEST IS [INAUDIBLE] ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AT BATTLE GROUND HIGH SCHOOL.
I'M HEATHER SMITH-LYON. I'M AN ENGLISH TEACHER AT BATTLE GROUND HIGH SCHOOL.
DID YOU GUYS ALL DO YOU ALL HAVE ACCESS TO THIS? I SHARED IT WITH YOU ALL.
JUST BECAUSE IT HAS SOME LINKS ON IT THAT YOU CAN CLICK AROUND IN.
SO I'M JUST GOING TO STAND OVER AND WAIT.
SO I'M INTERESTED BEFORE I GET TO START WITH THE WITH THE CONTENT HERE, I'M INTERESTED TO HEAR WHAT YOU ALL THINK ABOUT USING SOMETHING LIKE THIS AS OUR ACCOUNTABILITY.
WE'VE BEEN HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS TEND TO BE A LITTLE MORE CRANKY THAN.
IS THAT TRUE? THAN THE LOWER GRADES MAYBE.
AND WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME DO WE SPEND PROVING THAT WE'RE DOING THE WORK INSTEAD OF IMPROVING OURSELVES. LIKE IF WE HAVE TO SPEND A WHOLE LOT OF TIME LOOPING OUT AND SHOWING EVERYONE EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING, THAT'S TIME THAT WE'RE LOSING TO ACTUALLY DO THE ACTUAL WORK.
SO WE BUILT THIS DOCUMENT AND ACTUALLY THIS IS JUST A PART OF IT.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? WHAT I JUST ASKED YOU? OKAY, SO LET ME JUST SHOW YOU HOW IT'S SET UP.
SO WE HAVE OUR ESSENTIAL STANDARDS HERE AT THE TOP FOR US, FOR US, FOR OUR FIRST PLC ROUND, WE DID THE CITING STRONG TEXTUAL EVIDENCE.
THAT'S ONE OF THOSE STANDARDS THAT IS APPLICABLE TO ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT YOU READ.
I MEAN, WHEN WE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR READING, WE'RE ALWAYS GOING BACK TO THE TEXT AND SAYING, OKAY, WHERE DID YOU SEE THAT? WHY DO YOU WHY DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU UNDERSTAND? YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE WORDS IN THE TEXT.
SO IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD PLACE TO START.
SO WE REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS ON THIS.
AND IN THE DAY THAT WE HAD TO WORK ALL TOGETHER, ONE OF OUR MAIN GOALS WAS TO MAKE OUR OUR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT AND OUR SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS MORE AUTHENTIC. WE'VE BUILT LOTS AND LOTS OF ASSESSMENTS OVER THE YEARS THAT WE SAY, OKAY, THIS ASSESSMENT TESTS IF KIDS CAN USE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT A CLAIM.
AND WE WANTED TO REALLY EMBED THE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN WHAT WE'RE TEACHING ALREADY.
SO GO AHEAD AND SCROLL DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT.
[00:50:08]
IF YOU CAN JUST SCROLL DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT TO FAHRENHEIT 451 AND CLICK ON THIS GUY.SO EACH OF THESE TAKES YOU TO A OH GEEZ, TAKES YOU TO A TABLE OF CONTENTS TO THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN BUILDING.
AND WE'VE WORKED ON OKAY SO THIS CERTAIN PART OF THE BOOK, WE WILL ALL TEACH IN THIS EXACT SAME WAY.
SO WE'LL HAVE A READ ALOUD TO THIS CERTAIN POINT.
BECAUSE AS SOPHOMORES, THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE REALLY NOTICED.
SO I'VE DONE MY JOB WHEN THEY REALLY NEED TO WORK AT FINDING THOSE GOLDEN QUOTES, FINDING THE BEST PART OF THE READING TO SUPPORT THE THEME, MAYBE THERE ARE FIVE OR SIX OR SEVEN SENTENCES THEY COULD PULL OUT, BUT ONE OF THEM REALLY ENCAPSULATES THE MAIN IDEA.
A LOT OF THE OVERVIEW OF THE OF THE RESULTS HAD TO DO WITH LET'S GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE QUESTION AND IS THAT QUESTION WORDED PROPERLY? LIKE WE WENT BACK TO ONE OF OUR QUESTIONS AND REALIZED, OKAY, ABOUT A THIRD OF THE KIDS MISSED IT BECAUSE IT'S REALLY GETTING TO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE WANTED TO GET TO. IT'S LIKE THIS ANSWER.
LIKE A LOT OF THE KIDS CHOSE THE ANSWER THAT SHOWED THAT THE GUY WAS SHOCKED INSTEAD OF IN SHOCK.
SO SOME OF OUR ASSESSMENT WAS ASSESSMENT OF THE TEST AND NOT ASSESSMENT OF THE STUDENTS.
BUT THAT'S ALWAYS THE WAY IT IS WHEN YOU'RE FIRST BUILDING TESTS, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE MAIN DOCUMENT AND CLICK ON THE METAMORPHOSIS STUFF? THAT ONE. AND HERE WE GO.
THIS IS THE ONE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
SO OUR GOAL FOR THIS SECOND CYCLE WAS TO TRY TO GET AWAY FROM THE MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS AND FIND A GOOD WAY TO STANDARDIZE THE SCORING OF STUDENT WRITING.
WE SAID IF STUDENTS ARE WRITING, THAT GIVES US A MUCH MORE AUTHENTIC IDEA OF WHAT THEY CAN DO THAN JUST PICKING OUT TEXTUAL EVIDENCE THAT WE'VE ALREADY GIVEN TO THEM TO CHOOSE FROM. BUT THERE'S ALWAYS A PROBLEM WHEN YOU'RE EVALUATING STUDENT WRITING, EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE SAME SCORING RUBRIC, FIVE DIFFERENT TEACHERS WILL GRADE THEM SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY, ESPECIALLY IF I'M GRADING A KID WHO, OH MY GOSH, I KNOW THIS KID HAS STRUGGLED IN SENTENCE STRUCTURE OR WHATEVER AND OH MY GOSH, SHE'S DOING SUCH A GOOD JOB FOR THIS AND I WANT TO ENCOURAGE HIM.
AND SO A SCORE FOR HIM MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
SO AS WE WERE BUILDING OUR WRITING PROMPT, WE SAID, REALLY, IF WE WANT TO STANDARDIZE THIS AND WE WANT TO GET REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK, WE NEED TO HAVE ONE SCORER WHO WILL SCORE ALL OF THESE ESSAYS.
SO WE TOOK THAT IDEA TO TRAVIS, WHO TOOK THAT IDEA TO DAVID, I THINK.
AS THOSE ESSAYS COME IN, WE'RE HAVING ONE OF OUR NEW TEACHERS WHO ONLY HAS A POINT EIGHT POSITION.
HE'LL BE SCORING THOSE ESSAYS SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THEM ALL TOGETHER.
THIS KID, THIS GROUP OF KIDS HAD A REALLY HARD TIME WITH THE FORMATTING OF THEIR TEXTUAL EVIDENCE SO I CAN PULL THEM IN DURING OUR TUTORIAL TIME ONE WEEK AND WORK WITH THAT GROUP OF KIDS ON REVISING JUST FOR THAT.
OR MY FRIEND DAN HIDDEN CAN TAKE THE GROUP OF KIDS THAT REALLY HAD A HARD TIME PICKING GOOD TEXTUAL EVIDENCE AND BRING THEM IN AND THEY CAN GET AT MORE OF THE MEAT OF IT SO WE CAN DIVIDE AND CONQUER THAT WAY SO THAT IS WHERE WE ARE NOW.
ANY QUESTIONS? SORRY, I'VE WANDERED A LITTLE.
HAVE YOU SEEN HAVE YOU SEEN A CHANGE IN IN TEACHING FROM YOUR COLLEAGUES? I MEAN, IS IT HAS IT HAS IT SOLIDIFIED IN TERMS OF WHAT'S BEING TAUGHT ACROSS? I MEAN, BECAUSE I KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, IN HIGH SCHOOL YOU CAN HAVE 7 TO 10 TEACHERS TEACHING ENGLISH TWO.
YEAH. YEAH. AND SOMETIMES IT DEPENDS ON HOW MANY BOOKS YOU HAVE.
[00:55:08]
AT ANOTHER TIME AND, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.SO WE HAVE ALL SAID, OKAY, FOR THIS METAMORPHOSIS UNIT, WE ARE ALL TEACHING THIS AT THE SAME TIME.
SO AND WE'VE BEEN I MEAN, THIS IS A GROUP THAT'S BEEN TOGETHER FOR A LONG TIME, AND WE'RE PRETTY COLLABORATIVE ANYWAY, BUT IT'S NICE TO HAVE THE WHOLE DAY SET ASIDE.
DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I DID. MY QUESTION IS, SO YOU DEVELOPED SOME COMMON ASSESSMENTS.
WHEN WE BUILT THAT QUESTION, WE BUILT IT BADLY.
BUT THEN THERE WERE SOME OTHER TRYING TO THINK OF THE THE FAHRENHEIT ONE, ONE OF OUR AHA'S WAS THAT THE DIFFERENT TEACHERS WERE READING A CERTAIN SECTION DIFFERENTLY, LIKE THERE WERE DIFFERENT INFERENCES THAT COULD BE MADE.
AND HEARING IT WAS FUN TO TALK ABOUT THAT, LIKE THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE INTERPRETED IT.
AND GOING BACK TO THE TEXT AND CHALLENGING THE OTHER, CHALLENGING EACH OTHER TO SAY, OKAY, WHERE IN THE TEXT DID YOU GET THAT IDEA? AND THAT PART WAS FUN TOO.
WHEN YOU WORKED THROUGH THIS PROCESS WITH SOME OF THESE TESTS THAT YOU'VE CONSTRUCTED AND YOU COME TO FIND OUT THAT MAYBE EVERYBODY'S SCORING LOW AND THAT'S WHERE IT'S AN ISSUE. HEY, IS THE TEST NOT THE TESTER IS THERE CONSIDERATION FOR CHANGING GRADES OR ALLOWING THEM TO REDO THAT? OH, FOR SURE. SO FOR THE FIRST TIME, FOR THE FIRST FAHRENHEIT TEST THAT WE PUT TOGETHER, I WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE IT FIRST.
I GOT THE RESULTS BACK AND WE LOOKED AT THEM AND WE REALIZED WHAT HAD HAPPENED.
SO WE MADE CHANGES LIKE WE CHANGED THE TEST SO THAT WHEN THE OTHER PEOPLE GAVE IT, IT WAS DIFFERENT.
AND THEN I WENT BACK IN AND MADE TWO OF THE ANSWERS RIGHT.
BECAUSE REALLY THEY COULD HAVE BEEN RIGHT.
SO WE HAD KIDS AND KIDS AND TRIVIA NIGHT GROUPS AND THEY THEY LOOKED AT THEY LOOKED AT EACH QUESTION INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A GROUP HAD TO DECIDE ON THE BEST ANSWER AND SORT OF ARGUE AMONG THEMSELVES.
AND THAT WAS REALLY COOL. AND EVERY SINGLE GROUP IN THE CLASS THAT I DID IT IN CAME UP WITH THE RIGHT ANSWER WHEN THEY HAD TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT AND TO ACTUALLY GO BACK TO THE TEXT. AND THAT WAS A LESSON TO THEM ABOUT, HEY, IF YOU YOU HAVE THE TEXT IN FRONT OF YOU LIKE YOU HAVE THE BOOK, THEY'RE WITH YOU FOR THE TEST OF USE IT IF YOU'RE FIGHTING WITH YOUR NEIGHBOR ABOUT WHICH ANSWER IS RIGHT, YOU'RE GOING BACK TO THE TEXT AND FINDING IT.
SO I DID THAT WITH MY GROUP FOR THE FIRST FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT, AND BY THE TIME THEY TOOK THE SECOND ONE, IT WAS SO FUN TO WATCH THEM BECAUSE THEY ALL HAD THEIR BOOKS OUT AND THEY WERE LOOKING AND THEIR SCORES WERE SO MUCH BETTER ON THE SECOND ONE, JUST BECAUSE THEY USED THE TOOLS THAT THEY HAD.
JUST THIS DOCUMENT IS PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.
I MEAN, IN TERMS OF IN TERMS OF IF I WAS A BEGINNING TEACHER AND I WALKED IN AND THAT WAS BEING PROVIDED FOR ME, WOW, WHAT A HUGE WHAT A HUGE HELP. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HOPING FOR.
MY QUESTION JUST IS, IT DOESN'T LIKE BEFORE WHEN WE TOOK NOTES EVERY TIME WE GOT TOGETHER IN OUR GROUPS, IT WAS EASY FOR ADMINISTRATORS TO GO IN AND SAY ON THIS DAY THIS GROUP WORKED ON THIS THING AND THIS IS NOT THAT LINEAR.
I MEAN, WE CAN SEE IT GROWING AND CHANGING.
BUT THAT'S THAT'S MY QUESTION, I GUESS, TO THESE PEOPLE HAVE THIS TABLE, TOO.
IS THIS FOR ME? THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER BECAUSE WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK INSTEAD OF PROVING THAT WE'RE DOING THE WORK.
AND HOW IS THIS CAN WE USE THIS? WELL, I, I GUESS MY COMMENT AS I WAS LISTENING.
I WAS THINKING ABOUT OUR COHERENCE GOALS AND PROGRAMS AND THIS IDEA OF A A GUARANTEED AND VIABLE CURRICULUM BASED ON THE EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF BATTLE GROUND HIGH SCHOOL. I BELIEVE AFTER LISTENING TO YOU AND SEEING SUCH A GREAT DOCUMENT, THAT WE'VE CERTAINLY MOVED CLOSER TO WHAT'S GUARANTEED AND VIABLE FOR ALL OF THE STUDENTS AT BATTLE GROUND HIGH SCHOOL.
[01:00:01]
US AS AN ORGANIZATION TO BE TELLING TEACHERS WHAT WORKS.YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.
AND WHEN WE START GETTING BETTER STUDENT OUTCOMES, IT WILL CELEBRATE RIGHT ALONGSIDE YOU.
RIGHT. AND IF THIS WORKS FOR YOU ALL, I SAY KEEP IT UP.
WE'LL LET YOU KNOW OR YOU'LL LET US.
OKAY. BUT MY GUESS, HEATHER, IS THAT THE PEOPLE BEHIND US, YOU KNOW, AMBOY AND GLENWOOD, WOULD HAVE A DOCUMENT OR SOME SORT OF NOTE KEEPING THAT KEEPS THEM ON TRACK AND THAT WORKS FOR THEM.
AND SO AS LONG AS WE'RE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PROCESS AND TO OUR STUDENTS AND EACH OTHER, I THINK WE'RE LOOSE ON WHAT THESE TYPES OF THINGS LOOK LIKE. YEAH, WE DO HAVE TIME FOR ONE MORE QUESTION.
I WANT TO HONOR EVERYBODY'S TIME.
IS IT GOING TO SNOW TONIGHT? DANNY IS VERY UPSET ABOUT HAVING TO EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT.
IT COULD BE FOR HEATHER. IT COULD BE FOR ANY OF THE DIRECTORS.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, I HAVE ONE, BUT GO AHEAD.
OKAY, SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS AS I WAS WATCHING THIS, WHICH IS REALLY COOL.
HOW DO WE COLLABORATE ACROSS SCHOOLS? LIKE, HOW DOES BATTLE GROUND FIND SOMETHING REALLY GREAT AND SHARE IT WITH ALL THE REST OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS? HOW DOES GLENWOOD AND AMBOY SHARE WITH OUR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS? SO, SO ONE THING THAT RECENTLY HAPPENED WITH THE RELEASE OF THE THIRD EDITION OF THE ESSENTIAL STANDARDS CATALOG WAS THAT WE HAD MATH TEACHERS FROM BATTLE GROUND HIGH SCHOOL AND PRAIRIE HIGH SCHOOL THAT TAUGHT ALGEBRA ONE, ALGEBRA TWO, AND GEOMETRY COME TOGETHER TO DO FURTHER REVISION.
WE HAD SOME INCONGRUENCE IN THE SECOND EDITION BETWEEN BOTH [INAUDIBLE] AND CONTENT OF THE ESSENTIAL STANDARDS IN THOSE COURSES, AND THOSE TEAMS CAME TOGETHER AND DID SOME JUST BRILLIANT WORK OVER THE COURSE OF A DAY IN SEPTEMBER THAT THEN RESULTED IN IN THE NEW WORK THAT WE'VE NOW DONE.
AND ACTUALLY THEIR WORK SPURRED SOME CHANGES, K-8 THAT WE'VE DONE WITH MATHEMATICS.
BUT WE ARE WE'RE BUILDING THIS AS WE GO, AND IT'S EXCITING TO SEE PROGRESS.
WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS, AND SOME OF THOSE BRIGHT SPOTS ARE STARTING TO HAPPEN.
SO WE'RE WE'RE WE'RE FINISHED WITH OUR PORTION.
THANK YOU FOR BEING GREAT LISTENERS AND AND YOUR COMMENTS.
THANK YOU. WE'LL ADJOURN THIS WORK SESSION AT 5:48.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.