Focus on the Fabulous
Having had the chance to visit other districts this past week, I feel validated by the work we are doing in our building on a daily basis. Our core beliefs guide our efforts to ensure that we are providing our students with focused and effective instruction.
Core Beliefs
1. Our purpose is to increase academic achievement for ALL students.
All we do, everyday, is focused on getting our students to where they need to be. We have showed tremendous growth over the last three years that supports the work we are doing. You hear people who are disgruntled about the testing movement. We don’t waste time arguing about should we or shouldn’t we, we just do it, and our kids are growing because of that!
2. With our support ALL children can achieve at high levels and be successful in life.
Our middle school students will have the opportunity to visit a college campus and attend two career fairs this week. We are providing our students with unique opportunities that will help them to develop into well rounded individuals that will have the skills and confidence to be successful in life.
3. Quality planning, instruction, and assessments lead to high achievement for all students.
Teachers turn in lesson plans by Monday morning each week. These plans provide evidence of the time and preparation teachers have made to ensure solid instruction throughout the week. Teachers have daily objectives and DFAs that are aligned to the standards. Instructional activities include the components of the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model and engagement strategies that keep kids actively participating in the learning process. Teachers have worked hard to analyze the results of their district quarterlies to assess the effectiveness of their instruction and make necessary adjustments.
4. EVERYONE must be committed to excellence in ALL they do EVERY day.
Everyone is working hard to provide our kids with the best educational experience possible. Our cafeteria staff provides our kids with healthy, tasty meals and their flexibility and positive attitudes help to meet the unique challenges that are presented by a K-12 school. Our custodial staff works hard to keep our building safe and clean. Our technology department goes above and beyond. Our transportation adjusts to meet the needs of our kids. Our administrative assistants, nurse, counselors, teachers, paras, librarian, behavior specialists, and Director of Instruction are all working hard for our students. Our superintendent is super duper and so is our school board. Enough said.
I want to recognize the work of Lauren McEvoy, Kevin Hagan, Annie Rice and Susan Banning in analyzing their data from the district quarterlies. The took time to look closely at the data, answer various questions and provide feedback about how they will adjust instruction based on the results. Thanks for taking the time to do your job well! It is noticed and appreciated.
Core Beliefs
1. Our purpose is to increase academic achievement for ALL students.
All we do, everyday, is focused on getting our students to where they need to be. We have showed tremendous growth over the last three years that supports the work we are doing. You hear people who are disgruntled about the testing movement. We don’t waste time arguing about should we or shouldn’t we, we just do it, and our kids are growing because of that!
2. With our support ALL children can achieve at high levels and be successful in life.
Our middle school students will have the opportunity to visit a college campus and attend two career fairs this week. We are providing our students with unique opportunities that will help them to develop into well rounded individuals that will have the skills and confidence to be successful in life.
3. Quality planning, instruction, and assessments lead to high achievement for all students.
Teachers turn in lesson plans by Monday morning each week. These plans provide evidence of the time and preparation teachers have made to ensure solid instruction throughout the week. Teachers have daily objectives and DFAs that are aligned to the standards. Instructional activities include the components of the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model and engagement strategies that keep kids actively participating in the learning process. Teachers have worked hard to analyze the results of their district quarterlies to assess the effectiveness of their instruction and make necessary adjustments.
4. EVERYONE must be committed to excellence in ALL they do EVERY day.
Everyone is working hard to provide our kids with the best educational experience possible. Our cafeteria staff provides our kids with healthy, tasty meals and their flexibility and positive attitudes help to meet the unique challenges that are presented by a K-12 school. Our custodial staff works hard to keep our building safe and clean. Our technology department goes above and beyond. Our transportation adjusts to meet the needs of our kids. Our administrative assistants, nurse, counselors, teachers, paras, librarian, behavior specialists, and Director of Instruction are all working hard for our students. Our superintendent is super duper and so is our school board. Enough said.
I want to recognize the work of Lauren McEvoy, Kevin Hagan, Annie Rice and Susan Banning in analyzing their data from the district quarterlies. The took time to look closely at the data, answer various questions and provide feedback about how they will adjust instruction based on the results. Thanks for taking the time to do your job well! It is noticed and appreciated.
Rewind
I had the chance to visit a couple of other districts this past week. Monday morning I attended the SLV Secondary Administrators PLC in Sanford and on Thursday I traveled to Ellicot to meet with their administrative team. On both of these visits, I participated in classroom walkthroughs and discussed key areas of focus for the different districts. Tuesday evening I attended the monthly DAC and BOE meetings. Wednesday started early with our BLT meeting. We made plans for the upcoming PLC and discussed other items brought forward by BLT members. Wednesday afternoon there was a Health Advisory Meeting. I was able to get into a few classrooms in our own building during the week. I also worked on getting some things together for our integrated unit that we will be working on to teach in February, got academic vocabulary together for the remainder of the semester, and sorted through data for our After School Tutoring program. Friday and Saturday I watched our basketball teams compete at the tournament in Sierra Grande. Our 8th graders played hard and had several close games. Our 7th graders had an exciting win during the last three seconds of their last game. All the boys played hard and represented our school well.
Fast Forward Focus
On Monday and Tuesday our 8th grade students will be on their trip to tour Metropolitan State College in Denver and to attend the Adams County Career Expo. Mrs. Ruggles has organized this opportunity for our students the last several years. Because of the trip, I have rescheduled our basketball game for Wednesday night in Sanford. Thursday night our basketball teams will host Creede. Tuesday we will be conducting instructional walks with Mr. Welsh. I will also be observing one of my Method’s student’s instruction at Alamosa High School. Wednesday morning our students will be participating in ICAP activities. Students will be released early as our teachers will work in PLC groups on finishing up analysis of quarterly assessments and working on plans for the remainder of the quarter and our integrated unit. I will be visiting classrooms throughout the week and checking in with individual students to see how things are going.