Data Nerd

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

Data Nerd —

The data is out and the interventions are going amazingly. The data is showing amazing growth in each grade level. If you have not seen the growth in the Conference Room, please stop in and look. When we test in December for PA and Phonics we should see the results we are looking for. We might have a few small groups that need the PA or Phonics and we will keep those groups win. We will have the aides run those small groups and the other aides will work with you in small groups reteaching or differentiating Tier 1 skills. Fluency will be where our focus will be. As fluency builds, so will comprehension skills. We can add in Socratic Seminars, Discussion groups, Jr. great Books, and Literacy circles. These will build fluency and comprehension. What a great day when we are teaching what we need to and not playing catch up.

Quote I’m pondering —

“ When you think someone is a foe, you don't just miss out on feeling their emotions, you also inhibit yourself from thinking their ideas, even if they are right.".-- David Rock

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Oct. 28 - Teacher Training Afternoon Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 - Red Ribbon Week Oct. 29 - 3rd Grade Orchestra Field Trip Oct. 30 - TAT 4th Grade Oct. 31 - Halloween Parade 2:30 pm	Nov. 3 - Daylight Savings Time Change Nov. 4 - Pie with the Principal 9:00 am Nov. 5 - Reflection projects are Due Nov. 5 - TAT 3rd grade
	SEP Conferences - Nov. 11 - 14 Reunification Drill - Nov. 26 Thanksgiving Break - Nov. 27-29

Favorite Article This Week —

The Power of the Positive Phone Call Home

A little phone call home once in a while to share something good about every student will build a relationship when something goes wrong. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you fourth grade. I appreciate your work and help with each other. I appreciate you wanting to build your knowledge of using the LMS in your classrooms. I appreciate that you meet together each week to keep on the same page and help each other with testing and assignments. I appreciate your willingness to learn. Thank you Fourth Grade. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

Have a Wonderful Weekend

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

Have a Wonderful Weekend —

I hope you are taking a break. Not thinking about school, but just spending time with those you love.

Quote I’m pondering —

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” —Anne Lamott

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Oct. 22 - Storytelling Festival Oct. 23 - Intervention Meetings (schedule below) Oct. 24 - 4th Grade PD Oc. 25 - Meet the Masters Oct. 25 - Aide Training 9:00 am	Oct. 28 - Teacher Training Afternoon out at 1:15 training at 1:30 in library. Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 - Red Ribbon Week Oct. 31 - Halloween Parade 2:45 pm

Favorite App This Week —

Google App for Android. Google App for IOS

This app for your smartphone is amazing. Click on the little dot in a box in the search box and it will open Google Lens. Point it at anything and click the button on the bottom. It will show you that item. Leaf? It will tell you the tree, with 80% accuracy. Bug? Book? Bar code? It will show you online prices. Pretty fun.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you, teachers. Thank you for everything you are doing to help students improve their literacy. Thank you for working with the aides and helping them get started. Thank you for seeing the value in the interventions and getting students the help they need so they can be successful. Teachers, what you do is very important. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

+1 Intervention Meeting Schedule

Please make sure you are ready to go with your intervention assessment data. Make sure your data is in the school Assessment spreadsheet. We will be assigning aides and teachers with specific groups and making sure everyone is on the same page. Thank you for all your help.

9:00 - 3rd

10:00 - 2nd

11:00 - 1st

12:30 - 5th

1:30 - Kinder

2:30 - 4th

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

We Don’t Need No Stinking Goals!

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

We Don’t Need No Stinking Goals! —

The district put together some reading goals and I need to share them with you. There are 2  specific literacy goals. One is about Kindergarten and the other about Second grade. They are specific to these two grades but really affect all grades.

1. By May 21, 2020, Washington County School District will increase the percentage of kindergarten students at or above benchmark as measured by the Acadience Reading composite from Beginning of Year (BOY) to End of Year (EOY) by 5%. 
2. By May 21, 2020, in Washington County School District, 37% of 2nd grade students who scored well-below benchmark at BOY, as measured by Acadience Reading, will no longer be well-below benchmark at EOY.  

These are doable goals and I think they will be met by our school by January. We also have a goal for Arrowhead Elementary. One is specific to K-3 and the other for all grades. We hope we can add 4th and 5th to the Acadience goal soon.

1. With us concentrating on Phonemic Awareness and Phonics this year our goal is to have at least 90% of students in all grades that scored below grade level on Phonemic Awareness and Phonics skills at BOY will be on grade level by EOY, as measured by Phonemic Awareness and Core Phonics tests.
2. We will have an increased percentage of students at or above benchmark from Beginning of Year (BOY) to End of Year (EOY) by 10% in Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, as measured by Acadience Reading. 

This will bring our students at below grade level on EOY Acadience to below 10%. That will bring our school to below 10% of students at the below or well below grade level on Acadience. The work you and aides have been doing will make a huge difference in reaching these goals. But the main reason for the goals is to help each student realize their potential and build self-confidence in their reading skills as they get better at reading. This will provide them with endless opportunities. It will also increase their abilities in science and math. When these goals are met, we will not play catch up so much as differentiating and scaffolding Tier 1 lessons. That is where we should be with around 10%, hopefully less, needing interventions. 

Quote I’m pondering —

"Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can't be done." -- Bo Bennett

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Tue. Oct. 15 - Picture Retakes Wed. Oct. 16 - TAT Kindergarten 8:00 am Oct. 14-16 & 21-25 - No rotations  Oct. 17-18 - Fall Break	Oct. 22 - Storytelling Festival Oct. 23 - Intervention Meetings Oc. 25 - Meet the Masters Oct. 25 - Aide Training 9:00 am
	Oct. 28 - Teacher Training Afternoon Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 - Red Ribbon Week Oct. 31 - Halloween Parade 3:00 pm

Favorite Article This Week —

Why Not Teach Reading Comprehension for a Change?

This is an interesting article about Comprehension from Timothy Shanahan. Pretty bold in it concept. A reminder that comprehension is more than just answering questions on paper.  

A Big Thank You —

Thank you, Crystal, Amy L., and Heather L. for taking the time to be a part of the PTA and Community Council. These are important jobs to help our community see and hear about what is happening in our school. It also gives the community to learn more about what our needs are and how they will help our students. PTA does so much for our school and Crystal helps them as they find activities and opportunities for our students. Amy L. And Heather L. Help with Community Council as the council decide what the money and programs we need for our school are decided upon. They help relay how the programs are working and if changes need to be made. Community Council helps us with programs and Items that will help our school. Thank you for helping with these councils. It really makes a difference for our school and for the students. Thank you for taking the extra time. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

Bonus: I just saw this today. Inktober. Artists draw single pictures each day of the month of October. Here is a list of prompts for the month. it looks like a fun 5 minutes morning or after lunch activity. Have fun.

Bring On The Tiers

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

Bring On The Tiers —

I was reading Timothy Shanahan about his 9 Tiers of Support. There was a lot to it so I think we should stick to the 3 Tiers of Support. We need a little clarification on the 3 Tiers. They have been around for many years, but there might be a few misconceptions about the different Tiers. The 3 Tier Model of Support is to help efficiently match students to instruction needed. It also helps make decisions using ongoing data to support students in their learning. So let me break it down with a quick review of the 3 Tiers of Support. 

Tier 1 is for all students. They are taught the same skill as a whole group or in small groups. Small groups are a good way to differentiate the skill into who needs a little more but are part of the same rotation all students are a part of. Some groups might need more scaffolding on that skill or can have an extension, but everyone is taught the same skill. We use Research-based effective instruction and differentiate as needed for students. If they do not understand the skill or concept we differentiate in Tier 1 to teach and help students understand. This should cause the vast majority of students to perform at grade level. Usually, about 80% of the class will fall into this group. If it is not around 80% differentiating is needed with more scaffolding of concepts.

Tier 2 is designed as additional instruction for students who are at risk on a screener test (Acadience Reading, Phonemic Awareness Test, Core Phonics, R4R BenchmarkTest, etc.). The purpose of Tier 2 is to catch up with students who are at risk so they can reach the benchmark goal. Instruction is in a small group with a more narrow range of skills with more explicit instruction and frequent progress monitoring. Tier 2 is in addition to, not instead of, Tier 1 instruction. If we do small groups in our class, the lowest group is not an intervention group unless the teacher is having an additional small group with those students. Students should never come out of core reading or math instruction to get Tier 2 instruction. Our Intervention Groups are designed as Tier 2 groups because they are in addition to the work we do in our class. Students should not be in Tier 2 for a long time. Usually, about 15% of the class will fall in this group at different times and with different skills. Tier 2 is often delivered in groups of 4-6 for 30 minutes 3-5 times per week.

Tier 3 is intensive support, unique and individualized. Tier 3 is used to minimize the problem and correct it over time. It is in addition to Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction. If the deficit is severe it is not required to go to Tier 2 first. Research-based intervention materials in small groups or with individuals. Finding what will enable learning. Is special education needed? After Tier 1 and Tier 2 data are being collected bring to TAT to find other options and strategies. Usually, about 5% of the class will fall into this group. Tier 3 is often delivered in groups of 4-6 for 30 minutes 3-5 times per week.

The 3 Tiers of Support help us identify needs among students. All decisions about the tiers of support are data-based. When we finish the interventions in a couple of weeks we should see our numbers decline in needs for Tier 2 interventions and get to the 15-20% of students in our school that need Tier 2.

Quote I’m pondering —

“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” —T.S. Eliot

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Mon. Oct. 7 - Pie With The Principal 9:30 am Tue. Oct. 8 - Jog-a-Thon Money Due Tue. Oct 8 - School Board visiting Chinese Classrooms 12:30-1:15 Tue. Oct. 8 - PTA Meeting 12:00 pm Wed. Oct. 9 - TAT First Grade 8:00 am Wed. Oct 9 - DLI Meeting	Oct. 14-16 & 21-25 - No rotations  Oct. 17-18 - Fall Break
	Oct. 23 - Intervention Meetings Oct. 28 - Teacher Training Afternoon Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 - Red Ribbon Week

Favorite Article This Week —

Too Late To Apologize: A Declaration

Great Video about the American Revolution. Never knew the founding fathers could rock like this. Enjoy.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you, Coach Shane and the PE Aide Coaches. We appreciate your willingness to work with our students and help them through life when you are working in PE. We appreciate the work you put in to have activities for the students and helping them enjoy PE. We appreciate you building a love of physical education with the students in all the different ways you teach exercise. We also appreciate it when there are short days or holidays your flexibility to accommodate most of the classes. And it's a class need to miss that you will help make up the missed days. I also appreciate the help Coach Shane gives us on Fridays with the store and with other activities that happen on Fridays. Thank you, coaches, for all you do for our students. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and everything you do for the students.