|
Dan's Twitter Feed @R75TchngLrng
Tweets by @R75TchngLrng
|
Navigating our road trip...
~ Daniel Chuhta, Assistant Superintendent
Many of you probably have a summer road trip or two in mind, and you'll likely use a number of different ways to plan the route. Some routes are well known, and you'll make it by memory - others require a map or GPS device. And, once you've headed out, there may be changes to the route that you hadn't anticipated - paving, accidents, a quick stop at a newly-discovered ice cream stand. Yet, in the end, you'll successfully make it to where you were headed, and appreciate the destination.
The same could be said about transforming a district to a proficiency-based learning system. Though some elements will come naturally the route may not always be toll-free, all of the challenges will not be known in advance, and a clear mental picture of the destination could be a little hazy. This year, in many different ways, we have begun this transition as a district. The Proficiency-based Learning Steering Committee has met to begin defining the route, and multiple conversations and learning opportunities have been held in our schools to help begin forming a collective understanding and vision. This will be very complex work, but so worth it for our students.
While it is true that there is recent legislation requiring districts to award proficiency-based diplomas beginning with the Class of 2018, we recognize that a change this big requires K-12 involvement, and a philosophical shift that will transcend any future changes in Augusta. Recently, many of you probably read that Maine's Commissioner of Education offered the opportunity to extend the implementation deadline to districts. It is very likely that we will proceed with applying for an extension, though the specifics will be determined in the next three months and the ultimate decision will be made by our Board of Education. In addition, we are exploring options to work with a contracted partner to provide coaching and professional learning opportunities related to proficiency-based learning.
The success of all of our students is, and has been, our intended destination. We will continue to draw upon the strong practices that have worked well so far, while also adding to them with new ones which will make our expedition even more rewarding. I encourage you to explore, read, discuss and tweet (#msad75) about proficiency-based learning this summer. It will only help to advance our learning together next year, and knowledgable navigators will come in handy!
See you soon, I hope you enjoy your summer!
~ Daniel Chuhta, Assistant Superintendent
Many of you probably have a summer road trip or two in mind, and you'll likely use a number of different ways to plan the route. Some routes are well known, and you'll make it by memory - others require a map or GPS device. And, once you've headed out, there may be changes to the route that you hadn't anticipated - paving, accidents, a quick stop at a newly-discovered ice cream stand. Yet, in the end, you'll successfully make it to where you were headed, and appreciate the destination.
The same could be said about transforming a district to a proficiency-based learning system. Though some elements will come naturally the route may not always be toll-free, all of the challenges will not be known in advance, and a clear mental picture of the destination could be a little hazy. This year, in many different ways, we have begun this transition as a district. The Proficiency-based Learning Steering Committee has met to begin defining the route, and multiple conversations and learning opportunities have been held in our schools to help begin forming a collective understanding and vision. This will be very complex work, but so worth it for our students.
While it is true that there is recent legislation requiring districts to award proficiency-based diplomas beginning with the Class of 2018, we recognize that a change this big requires K-12 involvement, and a philosophical shift that will transcend any future changes in Augusta. Recently, many of you probably read that Maine's Commissioner of Education offered the opportunity to extend the implementation deadline to districts. It is very likely that we will proceed with applying for an extension, though the specifics will be determined in the next three months and the ultimate decision will be made by our Board of Education. In addition, we are exploring options to work with a contracted partner to provide coaching and professional learning opportunities related to proficiency-based learning.
The success of all of our students is, and has been, our intended destination. We will continue to draw upon the strong practices that have worked well so far, while also adding to them with new ones which will make our expedition even more rewarding. I encourage you to explore, read, discuss and tweet (#msad75) about proficiency-based learning this summer. It will only help to advance our learning together next year, and knowledgable navigators will come in handy!
See you soon, I hope you enjoy your summer!
A big THANK YOU to all of our district-wide committee members. There is always a great deal of work to accomplish, but these folks were so dedicated, and worked in thoughtful, flexible, and focused ways!
District Committee Updates
|
Program Evaluation Updates
This year we had two evaluation teams working to review the English Language Development program, as well as the Gifted and Talented program. We appreciate the time you took to provide input into these evaluations, through your participation in the respective surveys. Both reports will be presented to the Curriculum Instruction and Assessment Committee, as well as the full Board, at the June 26 and July 10 meetings. Once available, the reports will be published on the Teaching and Learning webpage. Learning Commons Implementation This year, our Learning Commons team did a remarkable job of beginning to shift our schools to include learning commons. This model of multifaceted learning environments and services has blurred traditional lines, promoted technology integration, and provided students with the support they need to be successful in a information-rich world. We thank the LC team for their monumental work this year, and look forward to the implementation of the LC Curriculum next year (see the update to the left). |
District Learning Commons Adopt Destiny Library Manager
~The Learning Commons Library Media Specialists: Trish Suthers, Gina Stokes, Deb Tong This winter the Learning Commons staff migrated from the aging Spectrum catalog system to the modern Destiny Library Management program. Destiny will allow us to share our collection with students, teachers, and families through a convenient internet link. The new system has many upgrades from our former system, including:
As the Destiny implementation continues, students and staff will be trained and have access to individual accounts. Patrons will be able to reserve books, write reviews, and recommend books to friends. We’re thrilled with our new purchase, and we look forward to the official “rollout” as we finalize the specifications of our system. We hope the staff, students, and their families will enjoy using Destiny. We welcome you to give Destiny a test drive, and hope you will enjoy the new features as we release them. https://link75.follettdestiny.com |
Inspiration to Live Healthier Lives
~Mary Booth, School Health Coordinator As part of the Board's goals for this year, we have all been charged with inspiring students and staff to live healthier lives. Webster defines inspire as “to make someone want to do something; to cause something to happen; or to cause someone to have a feeling or emotion. Looking around M.S.A.D. No. 75, inspiration to live healthier lives is all round us. Every day:
Using Webster’s definition, students and staff observing others engaged in physical activity usually “FEEL” compelled to be active themselves. Webster might also argue that having healthy foods available results in people eventually eating healthier foods. Providing environments with lots of opportunities to engage in healthy behaviors can help “make someone want to do something” healthy. Considering safety, tragedies such as Sandy Hook make us all want to work together to respond in the best manner if there is a crisis. And given the stressful times we all live in, students and staff are encouraged to reach out and get help when it is needed. Inspiration is not always large and flashy. It can be found in simple, quiet, routine parts of our days and can be found in many unlikely places. Continue to watch for additional opportunities to learn how to live a healthier life! |
Gifted and Talented Identification
~Kim Emerson, GT Coordinator
Why do we identify students for gifted and talented services? This is a common question encountered by educators of the gifted. Teachers are sometimes asked this question in a confrontational manner-“Aren’t all children gifted?” or “Isn’t gifted education elitist?” Most often it is simply posed as a learning-centered question - “What is gifted education all about, and why do we need it?” Let’s examine some reasons why gifted education is a necessary service to support students in becoming college-ready, career-ready and, most importantly, life-ready.
To adequately provide education for gifted students, first gifted learners must be identified. To identify giftedness, it must also be defined. While there are a variety of definitions of “giftedness” among educational theorists, M.S.A.D. No. 75 adheres to Maine’s definition: “Gifted and talented children” shall mean those children in grades K-12 who excel, or have the potential to excel, beyond their age peers, in the regular school program, to the extent that they need and can benefit from programs for the gifted and talented.” Provisions for gifted students are not special advantages; they are essential modifications for students who learn differently.
According to Chapter 104, the Maine rule governing gifted education, school systems are required to establish educational programming for gifted and talented students. M.S.A.D. No. 75 recognizes that there are students who excel or have the potential to excel beyond their age level peers and irrespective of state guidelines, educators have a moral imperative to recognize and accommodate for the learning differences of gifted students. Gifted and talented services ensure that we nurture the learning and emotional needs of these highly-able students.
In addition to academic content, schools are charged with instilling in students the essential habits of mind necessary to be successful in school and beyond. One such habit is the ability to persevere when confronted with challenge. Children need opportunities to learn how to learn. To do this, they must experience material that is appropriately aligned and paced. When much of the material they encounter is review or the pace is too slow, students do not learn as much as they should or could. They do not acquire necessary skills in how to study, how to learn, and how to work hard to achieve a goal. A student who is never given a real challenge, never really has the opportunity to succeed. Gifted learners must be given stimulating educational experiences appropriate to their level of ability if they are to realize their potential.
Why do we identify students for gifted and talented services? We do this because providing services for gifted students is mandated by state guidelines and it is the right thing to do for our learners. Like all students, gifted learners have the right to the best education for them. They need opportunities to learn at their own rate, opt out of work they have already mastered, study topics that interest them, go beyond the basics, work with abstract concepts that require complex thinking, work with peers who share their interests and abilities (at least sometimes), and participate in options that connect their learning to the “real world”. They, like all students, deserve to experience the joy of learning that comes from achievement gained through genuine effort.
~Kim Emerson, GT Coordinator
Why do we identify students for gifted and talented services? This is a common question encountered by educators of the gifted. Teachers are sometimes asked this question in a confrontational manner-“Aren’t all children gifted?” or “Isn’t gifted education elitist?” Most often it is simply posed as a learning-centered question - “What is gifted education all about, and why do we need it?” Let’s examine some reasons why gifted education is a necessary service to support students in becoming college-ready, career-ready and, most importantly, life-ready.
To adequately provide education for gifted students, first gifted learners must be identified. To identify giftedness, it must also be defined. While there are a variety of definitions of “giftedness” among educational theorists, M.S.A.D. No. 75 adheres to Maine’s definition: “Gifted and talented children” shall mean those children in grades K-12 who excel, or have the potential to excel, beyond their age peers, in the regular school program, to the extent that they need and can benefit from programs for the gifted and talented.” Provisions for gifted students are not special advantages; they are essential modifications for students who learn differently.
According to Chapter 104, the Maine rule governing gifted education, school systems are required to establish educational programming for gifted and talented students. M.S.A.D. No. 75 recognizes that there are students who excel or have the potential to excel beyond their age level peers and irrespective of state guidelines, educators have a moral imperative to recognize and accommodate for the learning differences of gifted students. Gifted and talented services ensure that we nurture the learning and emotional needs of these highly-able students.
In addition to academic content, schools are charged with instilling in students the essential habits of mind necessary to be successful in school and beyond. One such habit is the ability to persevere when confronted with challenge. Children need opportunities to learn how to learn. To do this, they must experience material that is appropriately aligned and paced. When much of the material they encounter is review or the pace is too slow, students do not learn as much as they should or could. They do not acquire necessary skills in how to study, how to learn, and how to work hard to achieve a goal. A student who is never given a real challenge, never really has the opportunity to succeed. Gifted learners must be given stimulating educational experiences appropriate to their level of ability if they are to realize their potential.
Why do we identify students for gifted and talented services? We do this because providing services for gifted students is mandated by state guidelines and it is the right thing to do for our learners. Like all students, gifted learners have the right to the best education for them. They need opportunities to learn at their own rate, opt out of work they have already mastered, study topics that interest them, go beyond the basics, work with abstract concepts that require complex thinking, work with peers who share their interests and abilities (at least sometimes), and participate in options that connect their learning to the “real world”. They, like all students, deserve to experience the joy of learning that comes from achievement gained through genuine effort.
Basic Instructional Strategies to Aid the English Learner in Your Classroom
~Peggy Callahan, English Language Development (ELD) Coordinator Have you ever studied a foreign language, or, better yet, stayed for an extended period of time in another country? If you have, now picture attending school in that country, surrounded only by speakers of the language you are learning. Can you comfortably sit in a history class and learn about that country’s civil war, for example, if the information was relayed to you in that new language? Would you be able to then write a well-thought out essay in your newly acquired language that explained the root causes of that war, the war you previously knew nothing about? We have students in this district who have experiences like these in our classrooms all the time. These approximately two-dozen students who are not native English speakers are not only tasked with acquiring the academic content of their respective grade levels, but are simultaneously acquiring English. For those students who have not had many years of experience in an English only environment, the acquisition of both English and content material is a challenge. Keeping up with the pace of the class, whether they are reading Lord of the Flies in one class and learning how to solve a trigonometry problem in another, is oftentimes a struggle for English learners. There are, however, some basic strategies that a classroom teacher can employ to help the learner better understand the content material being taught. These key elements can be adapted into any classroom without redesigning the lesson. These strategies are:
Finally, as you often do as educators, try putting yourselves in the English learners’ shoes. What would it be like if you had to “do school” in another language. Think about what extra boost you would need to acquire the content in your new language. Then, contact me for some specialized assistance that will best suit your classroom and your English learner. For more tips and links to other helpful pages, see: Keys to success for English language learners. Audrey L. Heining-Boynton http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/760 |
Getting Ready for Smarter
Balanced...it’s more than Keyboarding
~Kate Greeley, Elementary Technology Integrator Do any of you have a smart phone or a tablet? Have you sent a text lately, or tweeted or jotted some notes on your tablet? Did you use proper placement of your fingers? Or do you turn on the voice to text feature when needing to write a lengthy report or paper? What does it mean now when we say our students need keyboarding skills? I was reading a blog posted by a high school teacher who talked about a student who could type 92 words per minute...with just two fingers. Is that okay? Even my own daughter who is a product of our “Type to Learn” culture did not develop her ability to type long and strong until it became an expectation in seventh grade that work would be done on the computer. Her keyboarding skills grew exponentially, but her methods look nothing like mine, a product of high school typing 101. So, what do we do right now to prepare our students to be able to produce thoughtful on-demand writings using technology? Recently elementary teachers had a chance to come together and reflect on the Smarter Balanced (SBAC) Field test. And you guessed it, the topic that rose to the top in more than one conversation was keyboarding skills. This is very understandable when we see that starting in grade three students need to develop constructed responses for a variety of reading tasks and math tasks. Then the SBAC reading performance tasks increase the level of output expecting students to draft and revise a multi-paragraph piece of writing. Such tasks are in line with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). CCSS-Writing introduces the use of digital tools in kindergarten and in grades 1 and 2, students are producing digital works with support. Grade 3 is the first time we see keyboarding skills mentioned as a method for Production and Distribution of Writing. Beginning grade 4, an incremental expectation of output is expected. After grade 6, output is considered mastered and the standard moves toward more sophisticated use of digital tools for sharing one’s writing.
K - introduces the use of digital tools 1&2 - produce digital works with support 3 - use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) 4 - demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting 5 - ...type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting 6 - ...type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting 7 - Use technology... to produce and publish writing Do we need to support students in learning how to use technology to meet these standards? Yes! But, teaching keyboarding skills in isolation is not an efficient use of our students‘ time in school nor is it effective when done sporadically. Beth Moore, our 3-5 Teacher College Staff Developer, recently talked about this issue during a Wednesday morning workshop. She pointed out that to increase production, students need to be using technology more often. It’s more about giving students the opportunity to draft and revise in a collaborative environment as often as possible than putting them in front of programs such as Type to Learn. When production becomes more digital, the keyboarding skills are embedded into the lesson. It’s a time when the teacher can use formative assessment to see if there are any keyboarding skills that need to be addressed small group or whole class to improve digital written production. I had that very experience the other day when visiting a second grade classroom. Students were selecting their favorite poem and typing them into a document in Google Drive. This was the second time this class had used this program, and it was clear that there were some keyboarding skills that need to be addressed. How do I make a capital letter? How do I move down the page? But, what I saw was that no one was frustrated. Questions were easily answered either by the teacher or by a friend sitting close by. It took the students on average fifteen minutes to type their poems. During that time, they reviewed how to log into Google Drive and create a document. They shared it with their teacher. They gave their document a title that made sense. They learned how to center their poem. Some students learned even more about fonts as they changed words to be more visually effective: color, size, location, font types. When done, they logged out of their accounts. Did they practice keyboarding skills? Yes, but they did so much more than that! And the engagement was extremely high. Ongoing practices like this will prepare our students to meet the demands of digital written production. The challenge is to upgrade those lessons to include the opportunities for such production. And remember, your Learning Commons team is here to support you! Online Keyboarding Skill Practice Opportunities (Great for rainy day recess, ten minute review before starting a writing activity or to send home for extra practice) http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/keyboarding8 http://interactivesites.weebly.com/typing.html |
Teaching Digital Citizenship, Fifteen Minutes at a Time
~ Seth Mitchell, Secondary Technology Integrator, @TechMSAD75 In the moment when a young person makes a decision about whether or not to share a questionable photo on Facebook, to send the text message that could come back to hurt themselves or someone else, or to copy and paste the text for a paper from web sources, we want that student to be equipped with the information he or she needs to choose wisely. In our increasingly technological world, teaching digital citizenship is no longer an option. Time is a precious commodity in the classroom, so asking teachers to fit in digital citizenship on top of required course objectives seems unreasonable---and it is, if we think about neatly packaged, week-long units that we teach, assess, and then leave in our wake. Instead, addressing this topic when it is relevant and authentic within the classroom context makes teaching it more meaningful and manageable. Rather than teaching a single multi-lesson digital citizenship unit each year, a teacher might use bite-sized, just-in-time lessons throughout the school year. For example:
Kate and I, and/or Learning Commons staff will be happy to help you design mini-lessons if you don’t know where to begin, and Common Sense Media offers a free, resource-rich digital citizenship curriculum, which is already used in the elementary level. If we deliver a consistent message in every classroom, responsible decision-making might be part of students’ natural reflex when it counts. |
Growing Together Through Workshop
~Judy Johnson, Literacy Coordinator and Courtney Belolan, MAMS Literacy Teacher Leader Have you heard of Reading or Writing Workshop? As Lucy Calkins points out, many creative processes occur in simple, predictable environments: the artist’s workshop, the scholar’s library, the researcher’s laboratory. This is because the work at hand that is so complex, requiring a great deal of focus and attention, that it is incredibly beneficial to have clear structures and routines in place, as they are in these environments. Further, members of a workshop environment work together as a community of learners to grow and achieve higher levels of proficiency as readers and writers. To this end, our district continues its collaboration with Teachers College Reading and Writing Project of Columbia University. (More from Lucy Calkins.) So, what’s been happening? Elementary Working side-by-side with skillful staff developers from Teachers College, our elementary teachers have established Reading and Writing Workshops--predictable structures and routines within which our students receive explicit instruction in the skills and strategies of proficient readers and writers. Teachers from each grade level, K - 5, have engaged in three full staff development days, including labsites (within classrooms) and study groups (outside the classroom). Kudos to our classroom teachers! They have enthusiastically embraced these opportunities to enter one another’s classrooms and to plan, teach and give and receive honest, practical feedback from colleagues and Teachers College staff developers. In addition, on Friday, April 18th, our two elementary Teachers College staff developers, Rebecca Cronin and Beth Moore, joined us for a full conference-style PD Day at Woodside. They, along with our own Literacy Teacher Leaders, presented a variety of large and small group workshops in both reading and writing. Middle School MAMS ELA teachers have worked hard this year toward their goal of fully implementing Writing Workshop in grades 6, 7, and 8 by the end of this year. Seeking consistency and shared vision for proficiency, teachers invested time and energy into norming the scoring of writing. They worked in mixed level groups, as well as in grade level groups, to match student writing against our writing continua and have begun to establish a bank of examples for each genre and level. With the guidance and support of Gerrit Jones-Rooy, a Teachers College staff developer working with the middle school this year, the ELA teachers have dug even deeper into the explicit teaching of writing skills and strategies through labsite work and study groups. Some of the most powerful take-aways from these days are below.
We continue to seek to engage in professional learning that “…can foster collaborative inquiry and learning that enhances individual and collective performance. This cannot happen unless educators listen to one another, respect one another’s experiences and perspectives, hold students’ best interests at the forefront, trust that their colleagues share a common vision and goals, and are honest about their abilities, practices, challenges, and results.” www.learningforward.org |