Powerful Classroom Practices for Disrupting Poverty

There have been so many positive conversations following our January 15th district professional development.  When we looked at trends of responses in the exit slips, one of the ideas that emerged was the importance of developing relationships with students, particularly those who are at risk of meeting their learning goals.

Kathleen Budge and William Parrett recently released a book titled "Disrupting Poverty: Five Powerful Classroom Practices."

They have identified five classroom practices that are evident in schools who meet the needs of all learners.

1. Caring Relationships and Advocacy
2. High Expectations and Support to Meet Those Expectations
3. Commitment to Equity for ALL Students
4. Professional Accountability to Learning
5. The Courage and Will to Act

Source: © 2018 by ASCD. From Disrupting Poverty: Five Powerful Classroom Practices by K. M. Budge and W. H. Parrett. 

Budge and Parrett start each chapter with a 100 word reflective quick write to connect personal experiences with learning.  One of their first prompts is:

"Where do my ideas from poverty come from?"

This type of prompt helps the reader make personal connections while learning new information to support at-risk students. 

The exit slips certainly communicated themes related to these classroom practices as well as a desire to learn more.  Portions of this book may be found online at the link below.

Disrupting Poverty: Five Powerful Classroom Practices

A good starting point might be "A Poverty Primer" which is the second chapter of this book and may also be found online at the above link.

Appendix A also includes a learning matrix to support teacher teams in planning for instruction to meet the learning needs of all students.

Source: © 2018 by ASCD. From Disrupting Poverty: Five Powerful Classroom Practices by K. M. Budge and W. H. Parrett. Readers may download and duplicate appendixes for noncommercial use within their school. See www.ascd.org/publications/books/116012.aspx 

The following high-leverage questions can support teachers teams with both reflection and planning:

• What do I know about this students living conditions?
• What assets, strengths, or cultural banks of knowledge does this student bring to the classroom?
• What do I expect this student to accomplish this year?
• What does this student most need from school to 'level the playing field'? 

The curriculum blog will continue to follow up on ideas and questions following our January professional learning. 

Elementary Grade Level Collaboration 1.24.18

We are looking forward to our elementary grade level collaboration this Wednesday, January 24th.  The focus of collaboration will be implementation of our new literacy resources.  Please bring with you a copy of your completed notetaking guide (digital or print) that was sent earlier this month as well as a charged laptop. 

Collaboration teams will meet from 2:30-4:00 PM.  Your core focus area and meeting locations are listed below:

Session 2:30-4pm	Focus	2017-2018 Meeting Locations
Preschool	Core/Robust Vocab	Willowbrook- media center
Kindergarten	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Altoona- media center
Grade 1	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Delaware- coaching office
Grade 2	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Mitchellville- media center
Grade 3	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Four Mile- media center
Grade 4	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Clay- media center
Grade 5	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Runnells- media center
Counselors	Counseling Priority Standards / Proficiency Scales	Centennial Counseling Office
Nurses	Nursing Collaboration	Clay Elementary
Teacher Librarians	Media Curriculum	Delaware- media center
Music	Proficiency Scales	Centennial
Art	Proficiency Scales	Centennial
PE	Proficiency Scales	Centennial
ESOL	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Four Mile- Media Center
Title I Math	Intervention Practices in Math	Willowbrook- Title I Math room
TAG	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Runnells- media center
Title I Reading & Reading Specialists	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Assigned by Coordinator
Special Education Teachers	ELA Collaboration- focusing on new resources	Assigned by Coordinator

ELA Presentation 1.24.18

All Means All

We would like to thank Southeast Polk staff for their engaged participation during district professional learning on Monday.  The reflections on key learnings and ideas for next steps are truly inspiring.  The commitment to meeting the needs of ALL learners is quite evident, and your collaborative work to make this happen is very much appreciated.

Below are proposed commitments to ensure high levels of learning for all at Southeast Polk.  These commitments are adapted from the work of Mike Mattos and Austin Buffum and were generated following the PLC Institute last summer.  As you work with with your collaborative teams to implement your actions steps, these commitments can provide additional guidance for your work.

High Levels of Learning for All

At Southeast Polk we believe all students can learn, and we commit to the following outcomes:

1. All students must leave Southeast Polk with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary to succeed in their postsecondary path, so all students must have access to coursework and 21st century skills that prepare them for a path beyond high school. Schools must remove tracks of core instruction focused exclusively on below grade-level expectations.

2. Because all students do not learn the same way, develop at the same speed, enter school with the same prior knowledge, or have the same academic supports at home, students will be provided additional time and support to achieve these rigorous expectations.  Learning is the constant--time and support are the variables.

3. Because a single teacher could not possibly meet the diverse needs of all their students, schools will create a systematic intervention process to ensure that struggling students are guaranteed to receive additional time and support for learning that go beyond what an individual classroom teacher can provide. Achieving this goal will require staff members to work collaboratively and take collective responsibility for each students’ success.

4. The best first step of a systematic intervention process is strong core instruction. The key to improved student learning is to ensure more good teaching in more classrooms more of the time. This includes strong content knowledge on the part of the teacher, the use of flexible grouping, effective instructional techniques, and appropriate pacing.

5. The best approach is one of teachers working together rather than in isolation. This means schools need to focus on building and sustaining highly effective and efficient collaborative teams.

6. Some students will need extra support from time to time, while others will enter school with profound gaps in their foundational skills. To meet this diverse range of needs, schools will provide both supplemental (Tier 2) and intensive (Tier 3) interventions.

7. Teachers will provide interventions in addition to core instruction, not in place of it. Students will not miss new essential core instruction to get extra help.

8. Extra support will be available to all students who demonstrate the need. Because some students cannot come to school early or stay late, school will embed this help during the school day, when students are required to be at school and all staff members are available to assist.

9. Some students will not choose to voluntarily take advantage of this additional support. This should be expected as some will lack the maturity, self motivation, parental support, or vision of what is necessary to succeed as an adult. Because success or failure in school is life altering, students will not be given the option of failing. Interventions, when necessary, will be directive.

10. Some students will enter school already meeting grade-level expectations, and other students learn new material very quickly. Additional time and support should not come at the expense of these students. Just as schools establish extra assistance to help at-risk students reach grade-level expectations, they will also provide all students with additional time and support to help them succeed in the most rigorous coursework.

January 15th Professional Development

January 15th Professional Development

We are looking forward to our professional learning on Monday.  The focus of our day is supporting high levels of learning for all students. 

Please be in the auditorium and seated promptly at 8:00 AM for Dr. Halupnik's welcome. We would like teams to sit together so you can have collaborative discussions around new learning.  Below are the school team seating arrangements for the morning keynote and afternoon general session.

Lower Auditorium

• Altoona, Clay, Delaware, Mitchellville, Runnells, Willowbrook, Spring Creek, High School

Balcony

• Centennial, Four Mile, Jr. High

You will not need a device for every session, but please bring a charged device with you. 

Session Registration

Once you have registered, if you log in again, you will receive a summary of your schedule.  We have some people on wait lists.  We are currently working to move sessions in order to accommodate as many requests as we can.  If you are on a wait list, we will let you know by the end of the work day today if we can get you into your session.  If you do not hear from us by that time, please register for another session.

January 15th Professional Development

Southeast Polk Community Schools

PK-12 Professional Development*

January 15, 2018

Southeast Polk High School

Focus: Special Education - Meeting the needs of diverse learners

We are looking forward to our professional learning next Monday, January 15^th.  The focus of our learning will be around all teachers and staff working together to meet the needs of diverse learners.  Outcomes include a deeper understanding and implementation of the belief of ‘all students’ and maximizing our collaboration structure to support diverse learners

We will have morning and afternoon general sessions for all staff in the HS Auditorium.  There will be breakout sessions as well as team time to consolidate our learning and plan for implementation.  This professional learning is for all staff, and special education associates are invited to join in the learning for the day. 

The schedule and registration information is below.  The schedule is now available for you to determine which breakout sessions you may want to attend.  Space is limited, and many of the sessions are offered more than once.

Registration for sessions will open at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, January 10^th.

SCHEDULE

8:00-8:15  Welcome: Dr. Halupnik
8:15-9:30   Morning Keynote: Miriam Van Heukelem - All Certified Staff and Special Education Associates – HS Auditorium

9:45-10:30  Session 1 (Register for one session)

10:45-11:30  Session 2 (Register for one session)

11:30-12:45  Lunch (on your own)

1:00-1:45  Session 3 (Register for one session)

2:00-2:45  Afternoon General Session: Solution Tree - All Certified Staff and Special Education Associates – HS Auditorium

2:45-4:00  Team time - Register for your Building/Content area on SCHED. If you are a program teacher, join the team session in which you work most often.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

All attendees will attend a morning and afternoon keynote.  Each staff member is asked to pick 3 sessions to attend (one during each breakout session).  For a list of breakout sessions, descriptions, and locations, please visit the website detailing the day.  Additionally, sign up to join a PLC team time during session 4.

To learn more about each session, you can either place your mouse over the session title on the list or click the session to see more information about the presentation as well as the speaker.  To sort sessions, you can use the filters along the right hand side to better plan your day.

On Wednesday, January 10th at 4pm, registration will open for each session.  Please preview the session list and identify 1 or 2 options for each session time to attend.  Sessions may fill quickly so we have worked hard to offer sessions multiple times on a variety of topics. Specifics on registering for sessions may be accessed anytime after 4:00 PM on Wednesday, January 10th on the registration page.

We look forward to a great day of learning and growing on January 15th!

Science and Snow

"Bomb Cyclone" Winter Storm

Happy New Year!  As we entered the first week of 2018, there were many unsettled weather patterns across the U.S. bringing bitter cold to the Midwest and cold and snow to the east coast.  In addition to this, there was a supermoon on January 2nd. 

Tampa, Florida
Photo Credit: Jacob Zimmer

This supermoon created higher than usual tides, and these tides in combination with the weather pattern created a unique and dangerous storm on the U.S. east coast referred to as a 'bomb cyclone' with heavy snow and flooding, as well as dangerous wind chills and reduced visibility. 

Hatteras Island, North Carolina
Photo Credit: Liz Browning Fox

Chittenago Falls, New York
Photo Credit: Marcia White Bower

Sundogs

With the cold weather and blue skies, sun dogs have been visible during the past several days. 
A sun dog is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to the left and/or right of the Sun. Two sun dogs often flank the Sun within a 22° halo.
They are formed by plate crystals high in the cirrus clouds that occur in cold climates. The plates drift and float downwards with their large faces almost horizontal.

Photo Credit: Lori Schafer

Stages of Matter

We have all seen the videos of boiling water being tossed out into cold air.  The following video shows the changes to bubbles being blown into very cold air.  What elements are in bubbles that cause it to go through these changes?  How is it the same or different from water?

All of the above are examples of science phenomena that can be a part of lesson designs using the Next Generation Science Standards. 

Other Science Notes

Students Demonstrate Science Knowledge at Board Meetings

Southeast Polk students have been able to demonstrate their science knowledge at recent Board meetings.   Some Jr. High students shared their science fair projects at a December meeting, and 5th grade students from Altoona Elementary shared the robots they created as a part of Project Lead the Way Launch.

Resource: Visual Periodic Table































Upcoming Science Course

The following course is being offered online through Southeast Polk and begins Tuesday, January 9th.  In order to hold the course, we will need more participants.  If you are interested in taking the course, please sign up as soon as possible!  

Iowa Science Standards Level 2- Designing Units

Target Audience: Science K-12 This will be a study and practice of tools and strategies when using the new Iowa Science Standards that were adopted by the Iowa Board of Education August 2015. This Level 2 course is designed for teachers to develop coherent science units by learning about these five areas: 1) Three dimensional learning. 2) The EQuIP rubric. 3) Scientific phenomena. 4) Unpacking standards. 5) Storylines. Participants should be familiar with the organization of the standards and terms used in the standards such as Performance Expectations, Disciplinary Core Ideas, Cross-Cutting Concepts, and Science and Engineering Practices. NOTE: All participants, including those registering as “Participant Only,” should plan to complete all of the work required (attendance, participation and assignments) to receive the full benefit of the training.