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Inside this issue
Important Upcoming Events/Meetings
January 1 Happy New Year! January 11 Early Childhood Special Education Cohort @ Colvill January 12 EL PLC @ RWHS January 12 School Psychologist Cohort @ RBEC January 17 Superintendent Council January 18 Math 180/Read 180 Data Digs January 22 Social Worker Cohort January 26 ADSIS/Coaches PLC (Mid Year Progress Report Writing) January 26 Assistive Technology Cohort January 29 SPED Leadership Team @ RBEC |
The Progress, April 2018: Volume 3, Issue 8
The Progress archive
Click here to view past issues from the current school year. Comments? Suggestions for new articles?
Contact Jillynne Raymond jraymond@gced.k12.mn.us 
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Behavior: Classroom Management, Tier 1
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by Jillynne Raymond
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Celebrate Learning!
The evidence is clear that reflection on our actions improves our practice. Educational gurus Charlotte Danielson and Robert Marzano understand the power of reflection to the point of including it in their teaching frameworks. Through reflection and analysis we determine what instructional decisions impacted our students' learning; then build on that. It is through reflection on our practices that we can determine where to go next. We interrupt this busy testing month to celebrate the learning from the perspective of our instructional coaches.
by Carol Redmond, GCED Instructional Coach serving Goodhue Public Schools
This is the time of year we celebrate student learning. Reading and math may be enjoyable activities for many students, but others see these subjects as difficult work. New learning involves constant focus and engagement as students struggle to master new concepts or comprehend difficult text. It is rewarding to see months of hard work turning into success! As a staff, Goodhue’s continues to focus on all elements of balanced literacy with an additional concentration on academic vocabulary. Through our new elementary coaching cycle, instructional goals were made in both reading and math. It is exciting seeing these goals working successfully and supporting student learning throughout the school! One workshop day, which turned into a snow day, the elementary staff flipped the professional development on academic vocabulary. Each teacher produced an ongoing sequence of vocabulary activities to reinforce tier 2 and tier 3 word knowledge throughout the school year. As a staff, we used http://linoit.com (see below) for collaboration from home. Another highlight was our vocabulary parade where we celebrated tier 2 words! ADD PIC This year Goodhue’s MTSS system has been realigned and is stronger because of additional para support and new interventions being used across all three tiers of instruction. We celebrate the many students who have made positive movement as they grow as readers and mathematicians! Thank you Goodhue School for helping me continue to grow as an educator and an instructional coach during the 2017-2018 school year. by Jaime Winchell, GCED Instructional Coach assigned to Kenyon-Wanamingo
Across the KW district we continuously work to implement a well-balanced MTSS framework with assessments, tiered instruction, and problem-solving. This year our K-8 staff learned about the new reading and math benchmark and progress monitoring assessment system, FASTBridge Learning, and will complete the full implementation in the 2018-19 school year. Tier I instructors are putting much of their efforts into using the Gradual Release of Responsibility in their lessons, as well as incorporating many opportunities for students to have choice in their learning and have their voice heard throughout lessons and activities. Posting academic targets in kid-friendly language is also a priority in the Tier 1. Seventeen K-8 reading teachers, a social worker, and Principal Schuerman joined an eight-week book study on guided reading called, “The Next Steps Forward in Guided Reading” by Jan Richardson. Beyond the implementation of guided reading instructional strategies, this led to us analyzing our current reading curriculum and resources more in depth, researching a variety of reading curriculums for a new adoption in the near future that will meet the needs of a well-balanced literacy framework. The samples are pouring in! Goal setting, with both students and teachers, has become a pivotal focus in the district to move the learning needle forward. We feel it’s important for students to be engaged in their learning by setting goals, getting feedback, and then tracking their results. K-4 students will participate in five different school-wide “Racing to Read” goal setting and celebrations by the year-end. It has been rewarding to see students attain these goals and be so focused on setting goals to improve their skills by pushing themselves to be better readers. We also believe this supports our district goal of building a culture of reading along with various other activities centered around reading such as “Read Like a Knight Month” where students participate in genre passport activity, Read the Building, Dr. Suess breakfast, local author visits, an author Skype session, grade-level read-alouds, Read Aloud guests, presentations by Katie Smith, Race to Read t-shirts, and much more. PLCs continue to collect data with students and share amongst each other to improve instruction, problem-solve, and meet the needs of all learners. Goals are set and then action plans are created and implementing by each PLC to help improve the achievement in reading and math. Of course, just like our students, we celebrate when we meet those goals and look forward to what our next instructional goals will be. At the Tier II and III levels, we continue to create a strong K-4 reading intervention program through ADSIS and Title I. New this year we now provide math interventions for grades 2-4. Our problem-solving model at this level for grades K-4 has really come together this year and we are moving students in and out of interventions, watching their growth, and making referrals when needed. We are just getting the problem-solving process started for grades 5-8, but teachers are working hard to create a student-centered and independent structure within their classroom so that differentiation can occur while students are productively engaged in their reading and math activities. Responsive Classroom (RC) has been a great addition to our teachers’ classroom management toolbox and continuous improvement to our PBIS framework. Come summertime, we will have the remaining K-4 and some 5-6 teachers trained. RC empowers educators to create safe, joyful, and engaging learning communities where all students have a sense of belonging and feel significant. |
by Weston Johnson, GCED Instructional Coach serving River Bluff Education Center
This has been my second year at River Bluff Education Center (RBEC). The experiences I gained were formative to my coaching practices. Our leadership professional learning community (PLC) worked on three improvement projects: Teacher Development, FastBridge Assessment Use, and PLC Implementation. Each PLC leader also worked with their own PLCs on their own action plans. It has been a year where educators have come together to engage collectively to improve learning of students at RBEC. Individual educators have also striven to support student learning of common learning goals (or state standards). As a coach, I have sought out ways to support and enable the learning and improvement occurring at RBEC. As I reflect on this past year, I look back on the things we have done as a system (a multi-tiered system), as teams, and as individuals, and I ask myself the following: How is coaching an individual process for the coaches? How can I instruct, inform, and inspire? I use my own answers for reflection and determine areas I can improve on as a coach. I am thankful to all the RBEC leaders and educators who have pushed and pulled their instructional coach this year as we have worked to improve our learning supports. by Patricia Bronk, GCED Instructional Coach assigned to Cannon Falls
Amazing collaboration is occurring in PLCs throughout Cannon Falls schools. The PLCs are suggesting areas of need or interest with teachers leading and sharing their expertise. Through this sharing process, changes are being made on all levels including practices in the classroom, grading, and behavioral ideas. Due to teachers trying new techniques to support learning, students are more engaged in the classroom. RTI, Reading Core, Title One, Special Education, and ADSIS are collaborating with classroom teachers. During this collaboration, data is assessed weekly to adjust and adapt to the needs of the students. Research based strategies in combination with best practices are being used to fill in areas of weakness. A few strategies to promote engagement and automaticity for students include: hands on learning, visual stimulation, and repetition. Utilization of the specific strategies continue to be used daily in multiple classroom settings. To further help meet diverse student needs, Cannon Falls has been testing with CogAT for the past three years. This type of academic testing identifies gifted students. The purpose of the testing is to adapt instruction to the needs and abilities of the students. The testing is also used to measure the cognitive development for program placement. Another reason to administer this test, is for identification of students with discrepancies between observed and actual levels of achievement. The tests are given once a year to second and fifth grade students. The results are then communicated to parents. |
Have you tried
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Mike Pagel, Sunnyside Elementary Principal
For me, this is home. Red Wing is where we chose to raise our kids. We love this community. - Mike Pagel |
Something you might not know about Mike... Mike is pretty much an open book, but you might not know that Mike "likes old things." He loves to travel, especially shorter adventures that can fit in with busy family schedules. Combine that with his love of old things and he was enamored with the idea of an old trailer. He purchased a 1971 travel trailer and gutted down to the studs. His hope this summer is to begin to rebuild it from the frame up. Once done he'll tool around in his cool retro. |
BLAH....
