TO DO:
At our Leadership meeting a few weeks ago Shay talked about May 8 and potential certified staff walk out. He also mentioned that he would like each level to talk about and have a plan for how that day may look if this occurs. When we meet for Horizontal on April 22 (at LPMS) this will be one of the agenda items we discuss. Please do some thinking about this prior to then as we’ll begin with a sharing of ideas.
If you have a draft (or final version) of your 2019-20 bell schedule, would you please bring it with you (or have access to it) to our Horizontal meeting on April 22. We need to select new unexcused absence capture times (morning and afternoon) and having this information will be helpful.
THIS and THAT:
Wanted to pass along an opportunity for you this spring – or any time really – to have Austin James come to your site to talk with you or answer questions around school/district data. Please reach out to Austin directly if you’d like to discuss topics such as:
- DART specific questions
- Where/how to get data that might help in forecasting for next fall
- Ideas for new upstream measures in the school design plan
- Strategies for effective data use throughout the school year
- Any other data needs they have
About a month ago Education Week ran an article titled: These Students are Doing PD with their Teachers. Their Feedback is Candid. Here is my favorite quote from the article “We’ve got 20 million books out there on how to be the best teacher, but none of them were written by a 14-year-old,” he said. “And that’s what we miss out on in staff development.” Sometimes it is the most obvious idea that we are slow to think of ourselves. What are your thoughts regarding incorporating student voice into your staff PD? How might you do this (if you wanted to)?
The Nancy Chandler Visiting Scholar Program at COCC Foundation is hosting Professor Robert Putnam for a keynote, “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis,” on May 13. Putnam’s nationwide research on this topic included a case study of the opportunity gap in Bend. Here is a link for more information on Putnam and the keynote and to reserve tickets: www.cocc/edu/foundation/vsp. The morning after Putnam’s keynote, local educators, non-profits and thought leaders are invited to gather and learn from Professor Putnam about the broader national implications of the growing opportunity gap and to hear about communities and programs that demonstrate systemic change. This work session will occur May 14, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. The work session is free, but space is limited. If you would like to attend, please contact Lora Nordquist directly to make sure spots are still available.
REMINDERS:
Wanted to remind you that I’ll be out of town much of next week – leaving Monday afternoon and returning Thursday night.
Don’t forget that we’d like for you to work with their leadership team and “walk” one major site decision through an equity lens as a part of the process? (Lora talked about this at a previous Leadership meeting.) Lora has previously shared some questions for you to consider when you do this “walk” – and here are some examples of additional questions you might consider. I will ask that you be prepared to share your equity walk at our May 20 Horizontal meeting.