JPPSS

V o l um e 2 , I s s ue 4 D e c e m be r 2 0 1 3 - J a nua r y 2 0 1 4

T URNA ROUND T EAM T IMES

Dear Turnaround Team
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Administrators and Teachers,

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The Number Line TAP Tips Teachers of the Year TAP Value Added SpEd Update Instructional Planning

I am excited to bring you this issue of the Turnaround Team Times. We hope you will read this publication carefully because it contains important information that will help you in the work that you do to improve student achievement. As you know, we have a set of very explicit Turnaround Team Standards for our Network Schools. We strive to fully implement these standards in all of our schools. What do these look like in your school or classroom? This month, I would like to expand on this standard: Effective Classroom Practices with Quality Teaching and Quality Assessments While this list is certainly not all encompassing, these are some of the things that indicate that this standard is in place in a school.
Teachers effectively plan and prepared to teach all of the required content as outlined in the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum Teachers proficiently teach all lessons to students every day Teachers appropriately assess student mastery of all content Teachers provide intervention and reteaching when students do not master grade level skills

Network Team Members Karen Bucher Network Executive Director Leslie Dubroc Administrative Assistant Joan Albrecht S3Math Jennifer Campbell TAP EMT Sandra DiPascal S3ELA Erin Hardin S3SpEd Carol Harvey S3SpEd Elizabeth Towe S3Generalist

To monitor this standard, please refer to the TAP or Compass Evaluation Rubric. All teachers should be at the level of proficient or above on all indicators. Is this standard fully in place in your classroom? How can you work together as a team to improve this standard at your school? Please let us know if you need support or if we can assist you in any way as you carry out your role in ensuring that our children have the best possible educational opportunities provided to them every day. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you and your families joyous and happy holidays and a very happy new year. Thank you so much for your dedication to your students and for working in the Turnaround Network. With great respect for what you do, Karen Bucher

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THE NUMBER LINE

JOAN ALBRECHT

Mark Your Calendar: Teachers in grades 4-8 are invited to attend a workshop on Developing the Concept of Dividing Fractions on Saturday, January 11 at 501 Manhattan Blvd. from 9:00-3:00. Please register in AVATAR next week. Making Shifts Toward Proficiency
We all want students to become mathematically proficient. The road leading there may be long, but the CCSS for Mathematical Practice provide a clear description of what the destination looks like.

Mathematical Proficiency Framework has three components: Component 1: The Standards for Mathematical Practice
What should students know and be able to do? We want students to be able to demonstrate the Mathematical Practices. In order for this to occur teachers must give students time to discover, discuss, and struggle through content.

Component 2: Shifts in Classroom Practice

Teachers in grades 48 are invited to attend a workshop on Developing the Concept of Dividing Fractions on Saturday, January 11 at 501 Manhattan Blvd. from 9:00-3:00. Please register in AVATAR next week.

Shift 1: Toward Differentiated Instruction- This means two things. First, instruction should be differentiated to meet the needs of all leaners and second, all students have the same learning outcomes. Shift 2: Toward a Community of Learners- Who has authority in the classroom? Who confirms or contest answers to problems? Teachers should ask students if they agree or have different answer or may encourage student-to-student discussion of strategies in other ways. Shift 3: Toward Mathematical Authority coming from Sound Student Reasoning- As a class moves toward a community of learners, the mathematical authority moves to the community. The teacher and textbook serve as resources, but the correctness of an answer should be grounded in reasoning. Shift 4: Toward Teachers Communicating Expectations for Learning- This shift is about opening possibilities for students. Instead of the teacher showing students how to solve tasks and expecting them to solve them only in that way, this shift suggests that teachers should set high standards and should encourage student-generated approaches. Shift 5: Toward Content Connected to Prior Knowledge- Shift 5 is all about making connections. Teaching topics in isolation usually results in students having shallow understanding of mathematics. Shift 6: Toward a Focus on Explanation and Understanding- Ours is not reason why, just invert and multiply. We must move away from students simply explaining steps and toward rich discussions that focus on how, why, and when an approach might work. This kind of real thinking will be required of students in the real world. Shift 7: Toward Engaging Students in Productive Struggle- When you take away student struggle, you take away the learning. There is strong research that supports the idea of developing conceptual knowledge is to engage students in productive struggle. Allowing students to struggle is helping them build connections among ideas, to feel a sense of accomplishment, to apply their own knowledge, and to develop a strong self-efficacy for being able to do mathematics.

Component 3: Teaching Skills Focusing on questioning, strengthening content knowledge, and differentiating instruction can help teachers improve their teaching skills. No longer is anyone interested in what you do, but did your students LEARN it. The best power point and lesson plan do not matter if students do not learn the content. Remember, the textbook and the workbook are only resources. Students need to have multiple experiences with manipulatives, pictures, and writing. Problems should be presented in real world problems so that students understand the importance of the content.

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TA P TI P S
The Learning Environment Rubric contains 4 specific areas: Expectations Managing Student Behavior Environment Respectful Culture

JENNIFER CAMPBELL
The Learning Environment Rubric

As you closely read through each descriptor, it is important to not only consider what actions the teacher does, but the actions the students exhibit as well.
Indicator Expectations Descriptors Teacher sets high & demanding academic expectations for every S. Teacher encourages S to learn from mistakes. Teacher creates learning opportunities where most S can experience success. Students complete their work according to teacher expectations. Students are mostly well-behaved and on task. Teacher establishes rules for learning & behavior. Teacher uses some techniques to maintain appropriate S behavior. Teacher overlooks some behavior, but other times addresses it, stopping the lesson. Teacher deals with students who have caused disruptions, yet sometimes he or she addresses the entire class. Classroom welcomes most members and guests. Classroom is organized and understandable to most students. Classroom supplies, equipment, and resources are accessible. Classroom displays student work. Classroom is arranged to promote individual and group learning. Teacher-student interactions are generally friendly. S exhibit respect for the teacher & are generally polite to each other. Teacher is sometimes receptive to the interests and opinions of students. Teacher Actions -Modeling -Questioning -Facilitating learning -Examining student work before & after lesson Student Actions -Able to complete task -Asking questions -Thinking & Problem Solving

Managing Student Behavior

-Recognize good behavior -Practice -Addresses students not on task, quietly -Monitors/circulate -Consistency

-Staying on task -Student monitoring -Student engagement

Environment

-Be prepared before students enter the class. -Have an alternate plan. -Utilizing the grouping arrangements. -Courteous & respectful to one another.

-Courteous & respectful to one another. -Students are coming to class prepared, staying on task, and taking responsibility of their actions. -Respect equipment and class supplies. -Modeling appropriate behavior -Trust -Positive Communication with each other -Its ok to disagree

Respectful Culture

-Communication /open door policy -Caring -Trust -Practice/Modeling

Jennifer Campbell District TAP Executive Master Teacher Turnaround Network

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DTN CELEBRATES: TEACHERS OF THE YEAR

The district sets aside time each year to highlight one special teacher from each school. Heres our class of 2014!

These schools received a TAP Value Added score of 4, which is the highest achievement a TAP school can receive. This means their students showed over 2 years of academic growth within a 1 year period. Congratulations to Johnson Gretna Park, Miller Wall, and Washington Montessori!

DID YOU KNOW?

Cherbonnier/Rillieux Carla Hargrove, Kindergarten

Anyone walking past Ms. Hargroves door can hear students leading lessons and conversations. Carlas military training helps her know how to get the best out of every student. Her expectations are high and usually met by all. She will never shy away from a challenging situation.

Clancy/Maggiore Kim Jurries, K-2 ESL

The Teacher of the Year for Clancy-Maggiore is Kim Jurries. Kim is an ESL teacher who works with Kindergarten through second grade students. She is an asset to the students and staff of Clancy-Maggiore.

JGP Caroline Lemaitre, Pre K

Ms. Caroline is a dedicated teacher who constantly uses data to strategically group students according to strengths and challenges. She provides every student with the differentiated reading interventions so that they meet their literacy goals.

Mc 26 - Kelly Carderara, 1st Grade

Kelly does lots of extra duty at Mc as a TAP Mentor Teacher and Fountis and Pinnell coordinator. She is also a busy mother of 2. Somehow, she keeps the energy up and continues to challenge her students.

Truman Ms. Synethia Parker, Read 180

Outstanding Instructional (ELA) Facilitator, Sincerely Dedicated to our school and students, and an Awesome Contributor to our School's Increasing Overall Improvement!

Wall Rebekah Braker, 4th/5th Grades DISTRICT FINALIST!)

Rebekah engages her students using her own life experiences, especially running track. She is enthusiastic and motivates her students through her energy and positive outlook. Rebekah is always seeking more information and resources to better her classroom. She is truly an asset to our Miller Wall team.

Washington Raychell Alexander, 3rd Grade ESL

This is her eighth year of teaching and has taught second and third grade. She has taught in both St. John and Jefferson Parish Public Schools. She served as an ELA Support RTI Teacher for grades 1-5. She is reliable, dedicated, and committed to the students at Washington. She is a pleasure to work with.

Woodmere Pamela Moses, 2nd grade

Ms. Moses works very hard every day to be sure every student in her class has the best opportunity to learn. She is well respected and has a wealth of experience. Her belief in the students is boundless, and they love her for it.

Worley Rachel Fabre, 6th Grade Math

The last 7 of her 20 years teaching has been at Worley. She also works with the 21 st Century after school program. Rachel brings her love of art into the math classroom. Her classroom is a colorful, comfortable place for students to learn and grow.

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J P P SS

S P E C I A L E D U C A T I O N U P DA T E
C A R O L H A RV E Y
Deepening Comprehension
Students who struggle can reach a deeper level of comprehension with Kurzweil 3000-firefly's expanded built-in tools. The addition of Vocabulary Study Guides lets both students and teachers create vocabulary lists and definitions with on-the-go translation into 71 different languages; in turn, this allows you to support a larger population of struggling learners including English Language Learners. Similarly, the addition of the newly-added OpenDyslexic font increases readability for readers with dyslexia.

AND

ERIN HARDIN

Exciting Kurzweil News

District Turnaround Network Jefferson Parish Public School System 501 Manhattan Boulevard Harvey, LA 70058 Phone: (504) 349-7785 Fax: (504) 349-8573

Become an Expert
You now have 24/7 support with over 70 "how to" videos, updates to Kurzweil 3000-firefly user guides, and new help documents. Log in to www.fireflybykurzweil.com to learn how to use the Image Reader to access text in images and in locked formats, how to create vocabulary lists with definitions in just one click using the Vocabulary Study Guide, in addition to the many other recent enhancements. The numbers speak for themselves! Here are the most popular webinars in 2013. As educators, we are perpetual learners. This idea is very much alive among all of us considering there were over 4,000 participants in the Kurzweil and IntelliTools webinar series this year. Don't worry if you missed one or two, we've put together a re-cap of the webinars that were most popular among your colleagues. Demystifying the Apple iPad for Special Education Using Kurzweil 3000-firefly for Students with Significant Physical Disabilities Reading and Comprehending Text at the College Level: How Technology Can Help Differentiate Instruction with Classroom Suite The Common Core State Standards Explained, What This Means for You, and How Kurzweil 3000-firefly Helps For a full list of 2013 webinars, visit the Kurzweil and IntelliTools webinar archive or visit the most popular webinar series pages.

Questions? Comments? Contact Leslie Dubroc in the District Turnaround Office

Leslie.dubroc@jppss.k12.la.us

IMPORTANT DATES: LAA1 AND LAA2 TEST DEADLINES ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT AVAILABLE on our TURNAROUND NETWORK WEBSITE https://www.sites.google.com/ site/jppssdtn/ And on the Louisiana Teachers Toolbox at http:// www.louisianabelieves.com/ resources/classroom-supporttoolbox/teacher-support-toolbox Last day to enter eligibility for LAA 1 into SER: January 3, 2014 Last day to enter eligibility for LAA 2 into SER: March 7, 2014

Instructional Planning for 2014-2015

Newly released Eagle items Instructional videos This week, the Department is adding new videos to the video library. Instructional Videos portray In March of 2013, the Department released the Classroom Support Toolbox the instructional shifts required when teaching to new, more rigorous standand has continued to update it with reards and in order to meet the studentsources each month. This toolbox includes important teacher resources such centered instructional practices articulated in the Compass Teacher as: Rubric. Grade level specific libraries Solving Algebraic Equations ELA/math year-long plans Citing Text from Complex Text ELA/math unit plans Student Led Assessments ELA/math practice assessments