Viking Cheers!! Focus on the Fabulous!!
This past week, as I made preparations for Skoglund’s end of the year review, I had the opportunity to put together a body of evidence that represents what we have accomplished up to this point. Through this process it became very apparent to me how hard everyone has been working at the middle school and in the district to ensure our students are provided with quality instruction so that all of our students can achieve at high levels and be prepared to be successful in life. Through the preparation process, I reviewed lesson plans and feedback to demonstrate the quality planning that has taken place throughout the year. The standard lesson format that we have implementing at the middle/high is evident in teachers’ plans and instructions. Teacher planning is intentional and incorporates the important aspects of instruction (I do, We do, You do) on a consistent basis. One person who is exemplifying this intentional planning in her lessons is Lauren McEvoy. She has done a great job with her planning and instruction. She is willing to listen to feedback and adjust accordingly, and by doing this she models what effective teaching is all about. Great work Lauren! As I reviewed walkthrough feedback, I noticed that at this point in the year just about every teacher is marked as highly effective when it comes to the planning part of the feedback form. Objectives and DOLs are posted on a daily basis, tightly aligned, and pacing matches the curriculum calendars. This exemplifies the staff’s recognition of the importance of planning on effective instruction and learning.
We continue to develop our ability to incorporate engagement strategies into daily instruction. I consistently see the use of the whip around, think-pair-share, white-board response, and chorale response. I also see teachers requiring students to answer questions accurately and not opt out of participating. The hard work everyone has put in throughout the year demonstrates Skoglund’s staffs commitment to pursuing excellence.
I also gathered data from various sources including CSAP, NWEA, writing assessments, quarterly assessments and curriculum based measures. Not only are we instructing with research based strategies, but we are measuring our progress to adjust instruction accordingly. This was evident in how our Language Arts teachers, with Lori Cooper’s help, used data from winter NWEA scores and writing assessments to target instruction in preparation for TCAP. Another example of this was through our TI classes. Maria Villagomez has been progress monitoring kids consistently throughout the year and I was able to put together a summary of that data to present to the Focal Point team. The 7th grade students in Ms. Banning’s TI classes recorded 78% growth in reading comprehension from the beginning of the year! These efforts support our belief that quality planning, instruction and assessments lead to high student achievement.
I felt very confident in the body of evidence I was able to put together that provided a representation of all the hard work we are doing. Thank you all for your commitment to our kids! Your efforts are recognized and appreciated.
As we move closer to the end of this school year, let’s stay focused on our efforts and finish strong! Quality planning and instruction needs to continue to the last day! We will be NWEA testing our kids this week and we want to see increased student achievement from the beginning of the year. It’s important that we stay the course and send the message to our students that learning will continue and instructional time will be honored until the last day of the school year!
We continue to develop our ability to incorporate engagement strategies into daily instruction. I consistently see the use of the whip around, think-pair-share, white-board response, and chorale response. I also see teachers requiring students to answer questions accurately and not opt out of participating. The hard work everyone has put in throughout the year demonstrates Skoglund’s staffs commitment to pursuing excellence.
I also gathered data from various sources including CSAP, NWEA, writing assessments, quarterly assessments and curriculum based measures. Not only are we instructing with research based strategies, but we are measuring our progress to adjust instruction accordingly. This was evident in how our Language Arts teachers, with Lori Cooper’s help, used data from winter NWEA scores and writing assessments to target instruction in preparation for TCAP. Another example of this was through our TI classes. Maria Villagomez has been progress monitoring kids consistently throughout the year and I was able to put together a summary of that data to present to the Focal Point team. The 7th grade students in Ms. Banning’s TI classes recorded 78% growth in reading comprehension from the beginning of the year! These efforts support our belief that quality planning, instruction and assessments lead to high student achievement.
I felt very confident in the body of evidence I was able to put together that provided a representation of all the hard work we are doing. Thank you all for your commitment to our kids! Your efforts are recognized and appreciated.
As we move closer to the end of this school year, let’s stay focused on our efforts and finish strong! Quality planning and instruction needs to continue to the last day! We will be NWEA testing our kids this week and we want to see increased student achievement from the beginning of the year. It’s important that we stay the course and send the message to our students that learning will continue and instructional time will be honored until the last day of the school year!
Rewind
On Monday, the Focal Point review took place. I was able to get into a number of classrooms this week to observe instruction and learning. Tuesday, we had a manifestation meeting and then I met with Mr. Poole as part of his induction process. That afternoon I helped with the freshmen/sophomore track meet. Our middle school boys traveled to Centauri for a baseball game. Wednesday, I spent the majority of the day in classrooms, conducting 4th quarter walkthroughs. I had an RTI meeting and a parent meeting that afternoon. Thursday, our kids headed to the Space Symposium in Springs, mid terms were due, I met with Mr. Welsh to go over my end of year evaluation, met with Mr. Garcia to discuss summer school plans, we hosted a baseball game against Sierra Grande, and our Knowledge Bowl team traveled to Creede to compete. Thursday evening I attended the special board meeting. Friday, I went to the SB 191 training in Salida with the rest of the administrative staff and our track team had a successful meet at Sangre de Cristo!
Forward Focus
Monday morning I will be meeting with Brent Jones to further discuss furniture and color issues for the new building. I will be reviewing lesson plans and conducting walkthroughs. I have an expulsion meeting scheduled that afternoon and the calendar committee at 3:30 pm. Tuesday morning we will have a Bully Prevention meeting and I plan on getting into classrooms as much as possible. Tuesday our baseball team will play here against Sargent and Thursday we will host OMS. Wednesday will be an early release and we will begin the first round of spring NWEA testing. After kids finish testing, they will participate in ICAP activities and the career fair. Wednesday afternoon staff will participate in PLCs and I will be presenting at Adams State to a Special Education class about discipline and law. Thursday, middle school students will take their Language Usage tests in their LA classes. Friday we will finish NWEA testing with Donaldson’s math classes testing in the library. Thursday afternoon we will host our annual Knowledge Bowl meet. Please let me, Katrina or Alice know if you are willing to help with this event. Friday I will be heading to Denver to attend the Colorado Athletic Directors Association Meeting over the weekend. Saturday our track team will be competing at Centauri.
We have another busy week ahead of us. Let’s make it a good one!
We have another busy week ahead of us. Let’s make it a good one!