Week of February 9th

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 25

Week of February 9th, 2015

Announcements

Black History Month Competition
Black History Month submissions are due this week.  Promote our competition in your classes and advisory.  Provide students with the guidance and support they need to bring their idea to completion.   Please review the competition guidelines in the competition flier HERE, and encourage at least one student you know to do something!  Assemblies like this, particularly celebrating Black History, really bring our school together and make the kids proud to be part of our school.  We need your help in getting them to take risks and put their work out there! When they do, it's pretty amazing, and I can't wait to see what they will do.

Data Drop.  The files that I sent out last week are now available to you here in this Data Drop Folder.   I will be continuing my updates on the Progress Towards Graduation and the Benchmark Data Analysis.  You should use this data to work with your teams to identify students who are in need of intervention (from Tier 1 (e.g. workout plans), to Tier 2 (e.g. lunch or after school tutoring) to Tier 3 (academic interventions).  Your team may opt to use this Looking At Data protocol to collaboratively analyze the information in this folder.  We'll be using this protocol at Monday's PD when we review the qualitative feedback we received from your teams last week.

Mid Year Reviews.  Half of the school year is officially complete!  So, now it is time for a mid-year check in.  The week we return from MidWinter Recess, I will be doing another round of short observations.  You will be receiving an invite from me for your midyear review meeting.  These meetings will be no longer than 40 minutes, and I will be having them in 401.  All the meetings will start the week of March 2nd, so you have three weeks to prepare.  At this meeting, you should come prepared (i.e. bring your data analysis, student work, or other examples of your work) to answer the bullet points below.

• Accomplishments Thus Far.  What goals and objectives have you already accomplished this year and how do you evaluate the success of these achievements (what's your evidence?)

• Learning Cultures Growth.  Using your observation data (either official from me or unofficial from PODs or other observations), describe how you have grown in your practice this year.  In reflecting, I would like you to select a format (or formats) in which you are most proud of growth - both in implementation and theoretical understanding.

• Your Most Challenging Students.  Looking at your student performance data (course passing rates, benchmark analysis, attendance, unison/conference records, and/or any other data you wish to include), identify a cohort of students with whom you find the biggest challenge in moving.  Describe what you have already tried to do, what you've learned from your efforts, and what you plan on trying next in order to find a way to move this identified group.

• Current Goals & Objectives.  What are your current goals and objectives with respect to your development as a UAI high school Learning Cultures teacher. How are you planning to measure your progress in reaching these goals (e.g. which student outcomes are you using to gauge progress?)  What do you foresee as obstacles or challenges in your pursuit of these goals? What supports do you need and how can I help?

• FOR TENURING PEOPLE ONLY.  
• Teachers who are coming up for tenure this year.  Please write me a brief narrative (1-3 paragraphs) explaining how your practice is highly effective and why you should be granted tenure.  Please reference this Framework for Tenure Decision-Making and speak to the criteria listed here.  Also, be sure to include the pieces of evidence you wish submitted with your tenure application request.
• Teachers who were extended last year.  Please write a brief narrative (1-3 paragraphs) explaining how you have addressed your Areas of Focus from your extension letters I gave to you at the end of last year.  If you need them, email me and I will get them to you.  In addition to this narrative, please also include the narrative described in the bullet above.

Team Midyear Check Ins.  In addition to individual midyear check-ins, this is a good time to revisit the mechanics of our team functions.  Last year, I introduced the Five Dysfunctions of the Team, a business fable (which is a genre new to me!).  At the same time, we reviewed Paul Grice's Cooperative Principle.  You'll need to have a base understanding of each of these ideas for Monday's meeting.  So, please take a few minutes to watch these two YouTube summaries of both - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Paul Grice's Cooperative Principle. Both will be instrumental in reviewing the results from last week's survey and in moving forward to establish the rules for team meetings.  As you watch these two videos, think about how the concepts connect back to your grade team.  What observations can you make about your team dynamics and what are your ideas for norms or rules that would improve team function?

Important Dates

• Monday, 09FEB15 & Tuesday 10FEB15 - Auditions for Black History Month Performances
• Tuesday, 10FEB15 - PTA Meeting at 6PM, SLT Meeting at 5PM
• Wednesday, 11FEB15 - Written Pieces for Black History Month due to Ms. Jen in 401
• Thursday, 12FEB15 - Soft Lockdown Drill, Time 10AM
• Friday, 13FEB15 - Rapid Dismissal at 2:30PM
• Monday, 16FEB through 20FEB15 - MidWinter Recess, NO SCHOOL
• Monday, 23FEB15 - First day back from MidWinter Recess
• Friday, 27FEB15 - Black History Month Assembly, 8th Period

Per Session

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