For reflection…
This article from Education Week, Should Schools be Giving So Many Failing Grades This Year could have been written about our district and is a trend we are seeing nationally. I am excited for us to continue our discussions on equitable grading practices with the goal of moving to a grading system that clearly reflects learning!
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Also from Education Week, I was struck by this quote from the article: How To Close Opportunity Gaps during our National Racial Reckoning: “Opportunity gaps increase when teachers consider themselves the only—or the main—arbiters of knowledge and knowing, ignoring the enormous range of expertise, insights, and brilliance in local and broader contexts.”
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From Dean Richards and Michele Clements: This week’s post contains a session cut from Mountain View. Joel Clements, long-time English teacher and BEA rep at MVHS has used a no-zero grading policy for many years. He hosted two sessions to help educate and field staff questions and support making the change. We have the best ten minutes of that session on the blog. Also, an annotated chart showing the different grade outcomes in a variety of scenarios. And finally, a couple of supplemental resources for those wanting more. Can We Live Without Zeros?
The survey feedback is positive in regards to continuing with these weekly secondary PD blog posts and sending it straight to staff via an email. If you didn’t get a chance to provide your feedback, here is the link: Distribution and Frequency Survey.
To Do:
This chart was designed as a tool for navigating who decides (or who needs to be asked) Covid-related questions. If you haven’t already, please share this with your staff so they know who to contact if they have a question.
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Please check your classrooms and other doorways to make sure all areas of your buildings comply with the fire code, including that no obstruction (like a student desk) is within a 3 ft x 3 ft area in front of each classroom door (interior or exterior facing).
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Here is the Inclement Weather practice during CDL document from HR. Please read over this one-pager and communicate it with your staff.
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Here is another document to share with your certified staff. The SLGGs, observations, and evaluation process this year has been modified for our certified staff to accommodate distance learning. These changes were made in collaboration with BEA and building-district level staff. The evaluation process for administrators remains the same as years past. According to Stephanie Bent, there was a glitch in setting up admin SLGGS and self-reflections in TalentEd Perform and she has to reassign them. Stephanie is hoping to complete that process today. Please have those two docs completed and sent to me by Monday, January 18.
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If you haven’t already, please add your three (Admin PD) equity goals to the spreadsheet, under the tab that corresponds to the facilitator of our last training. Again, two of these goals should be attainable in the short term with the third goal being a “stretch” goal. Having this completed by today is ideal (so you don’t have to complete it over the break). By January 15, please add your reflections on your colleagues’ goals in the same spreadsheet.
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Just a reminder that the YouthTruth survey window is from Jan. 4 – Jan. 22. Be sure to review the email that was sent directly to you. It has guidelines helpful for scheduling and communicating about this opportunity to collect feedback about our progress. Also, the YouthTruth virtual training for secondary administrators is officially scheduled for February 11 from 1:00-2:30. Here is the Zoom link everyone will need to attend: https://zoom.us/my/youthtruthjimmy. Reach out to Dave or me if you have any questions or concerns about this.
Calendar:
Happy 2021! HS Administrator WebEx: 1:00, January 7, 2021
Enjoy your winter break!