Friday, December 4, 2009 Update

The following provides an update on curriculum issues and assessment/screening issues in the district.

Curriculum and Instruction

Writing

Teachers planned prior to the return of Courtney Gordon who spent the day with teachers in each building. The hands on training allowed for teachers to see demonstration lessons on writing using the techniques presented at the Opening Institute. The design of the professional development was to bring Courtney back to the District after teachers have had some time to work with Writer’s Workshop and 6 + 1 Traits of Writing. The exciting part about the training was that it met the specific needs of our staff. Teachers were able to spend time learning and working with the skills within their own building.

We look forward to Courtney’s return to our District later this year as we continue to focus on writing instruction and common vocabulary for our students and staff.

Mathematics

The Committee continues to develop the direction for the District Math curriculum with plans to make a recommendation to the Board of Education prior to the end of this school year.

Tasks that the committee has been working on include how to assess students to determine if they have mastery of specifically identified skills at certain grade levels. In addition, format of the assessment and other classroom assessments are being examined.

Committee members will be meeting in January with other grade level teachers to share the work of the committee. This is a year of study and the committee continues to ask important questions as they work to develop the math program of District #61.

Reading

The Reading Committee has been working on developing an overview of reading covering aspects, which are focus points for students. The purpose is to develop a handout to share with parents and other stakeholders explaining what reading is all about for District #61 students.

In addition, Reading Committee members have conducted Accelerated Reader orientation workshops in their buildings to familiarize teachers with the new web-based version of Accelerated Reader.

Science

The Science Committee has been examining the current Science Curriculum and determining where our District is with regards to Science instruction. They have been identifying topics that are taught at each grade level. This curriculum area was last reviewed in 2001 and tied to the Illinois Standards. During this review we are able to reevaluate the alignment and assess our science instruction.

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)

MAP has been administered to all children in grades 1 - 8 this year. Due to other assessments being used Kindergarten students will take the MAP assessment at a later time.

Friday, October 16, 2009 Update

The following information is published in the October District Newsletter. The full newsletter, which will be mailed to the community, can be read by clicking on the link in the top left corner of the blog titled: October Newsletter. The full newsletter will be available after October 20, 2009.

CURRICULUM ROUNDUP

A strength of District #61 is the commitment of the teaching staff working with students. In addition to the daily work with children, teachers serve on various curriculum committees during their tenure in the District. We currently have a number of committees working to ensure that the education your child receives is second to none.

Staff Development Committee

The Staff Development Committee, chaired by Ms. Amy Brundage, is responsible for the planning of Professional Development activities for the school year. This team, consisting of Nikki Alessi, Jen Daniels, Roy Wolski, Kerri Augustyniak, Ashley Burg, Janel Smith, Joey Bonanotte, Mary Andersen, Karen Pudil, Michelle Sleboda, and Kim Spears, along with administrative representation from Ellie Ambuehl, Bob Carlo, Marty Casey, Mike Fitzgerald, and Lisa Lantvit, meet on a regular basis to ensure that the needs of the building staff, curriculum committees, and administrators are effectively implemented. After each Institute teachers provide feedback to the committee which is used for future planning.

Reading Committee

The Reading Committee, chaired by Mrs. Betty Faron, was established in 2006 with the direction to examine reading and assessment. This committee, consisting of Mary Anderson, Cindy Folkens, Cheryl Halla, Veronica Heggie, Jane Moss, Karen Phomvisay, Donna Pidde, Pat Strittmatter, Karen Ochoa, Kim Schultz, and Sera Scharf, developed the K‐8 Reading Instruction Model as the foundation for reading instruction in District #61. This model is available on‐line for anyone wishing to read the document. It focuses teachers and staff on a common vision to provide a strong K‐8 balanced literacy program, which will empower each child to reach his or her highest potential.

Writing Committee

The Writing Committee, chaired by Mrs. Kristin Shell, was established in 2007. Committee members, consisting of Janet Boslett, Bonnie Bucholz, Gerry Dulkoski, Meredith Holdman, Jorie Kaspar, Michelle Ktistou, Kristie Lupella, Melissa McGannon, Kim McShea, Jen Reyes, and Caroline Pratt, investigated how writing is currently taught, what the best practices are in writing, and received training on writing in order to make the recommendation to create common writing elements for students and staff. District #61 teaches writing through writer’s workshop using the language of Six Traits. We began the school year with writing training for all staff members. This will continue during the school year and you will begin to see the common elements across grade levels as we progress.

Math Committee

The Math Committee, chaired by Mrs. Amy Steffgen, has been examining current mathematic practices and how we can bemore efficient with our instruction. Committee Members, Donna Adams, Kathy Atwood, Amy Brundage, Melissa Cox, Rhonda Esposito, Amy Mordaunt, Marion Nyhoff, Julia Polasek, and Julie Vallo, have been meeting to develop a list of skills that all children should have at a certain grade level. These skills are tied to age appropriateness, state standards, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Focal Points. The committee is working to make a recommendation to the Board of Education later this year. That recommendation will be implemented in the Fall of 2010.

Science Committee

The Science Committee has been formed this year and will begin the process of examining our current science curriculum. Committee members, Jessica Guziec, Becky Johnston, Lisa Smith, Sally Sinow, Bob Johnson, Caroline Matkowski, Paula Perisin, Joe Polasek, and Cathy D’Aquila, will look at the current research on science education, best practices, State Standards and our current curriculum and determine the direction for the future.

Friday, September 4, 2009 Update

The following provides an update on curriculum issues and assessment/screening issues in the district. It is also posted at: http://district61curriculum.blogspot.com/

Curriculum and Instruction

Writing
The Opening Institute on August 27, 2009 was very successful featuring Courtney Gordon, from the Smekens Group. She was able to provide training for all staff members on writing in District #61 using Writers Workshop and 6+1 Traits. She spent the morning working with the entire staff. In the afternoon she traveled to each building for individual building meetings with staff members. The staff feedback has been positive and the Institute Survey results will be shared later this month.

We are looking forward to Courtney’s return in December and March of this school year.

The Committee should be commended on the hard work they have done to prepare for the writing implementation this year. A job well done.

Mathematics
The Math Committee met this summer to continue the development of the concepts for mastery. Amy Steffgen shared the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Focal Points with the committee. The Focal Points are a list of skills identified as central to math curriculum. The committee compared the work they currently have done with identifying District mastery skills to the NCTM Focal Points.

The next committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 21, 2009.

Reading
The Reading Committee has been working to be sure that the new Accelerated Reader program is up and running in each building. They are working with the technology team to be sure the teachers are able to fully use the new program.

In addition, they met this past week to establish the district-wide testing schedules for Fall testing.

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)

MAP will be administered to all children beginning this year. Teacher received an in-service on this program during the Opening Institute activities. Teachers who used the program last year lead the training for the rest of the staff.

Friday, June 12, 2009 Update

The following provides an update on curriculum issues and assessment/screening issues in the district.

Curriculum and Instruction

Writing

The Committee will be meeting this summer on the 6 + 1 Writing Traits information in preparation for the Opening Institute.

The Opening Institute on August 27, 2009 will feature Courtney Gordon, from the Smekens Group, who will provide training for all staff members on writing in District #61 using Writers Workshop and 6+1 Traits.

The committee looks forward to working with the presenter during the 2009-10 School Year. We have scheduled two additional times for Courtney to come to our district in December and May for follow-up training.

Mathematics

The Math Committee will be meeting this summer to continue the work on the master skills for mathematics. They will continue the development of the concepts for mastery and the impact of 6 + 1 writing on mathematics.

May 8, 2009 Update

The following provides an update on curriculum issues and assessment/screening issues in the district. It is also posted at: http://district61curriculum.blogspot.com/

Curriculum and Instruction

Writing

The Writing Committee met on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 to prepare the presentation to be presented at the Curriculum Roundtable on May 12, 2009. The presentation will be posted for viewing on the website.

The Committee has worked diligently preparing the district to move forward with common instruction and language in the area of writing and is committed with an implementation plan for next school year.

The Opening Institute on August 27, 2009 will feature Courtney Gordon, from the Smekens Group, who will provide training for all staff members on writing in District #61 using Writers Workshop and 6+1 Traits. The committee looks forward to working with the presenter during the 2009-10 School Year.

In addition, a resource, A Principal’s Guide to Leadership in the Teaching of Writing, is being made available for administrators to help facilitate implementation with this writing process.

Mathematics

The Math Committee meeting was held on Tuesday, April 21, 2009.

The Committee continued working on creating a list of common vocabulary terms for use in the district.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 3:15 PM.

Measure of Academic Progress (MAP)

This academic measure will be expanded to include all grade levels for the 2009-10 school year. The pilot use of the program has been very useful at grades 1, 3 and 6 during the current year and we are excited about expanding the use next school year.

April 10, 2009 Update

The following provides an update on curriculum issues and assessment/screening issues in the district.

Curriculum and Instruction

Writing

The Writing Committee met on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Topics covered were:

The committee had received the survey results prior to the meeting. The March 6, 2009 SIP presentations were very well received by staff members in all three buildings.

Decisions were made on the use of a speaker for the Opening Institute. The tentative timeframe will be shared with the Staff Development Committee at their April meeting. Questions were generated for the presenter and Meredith Holman will be the contact person for the committee.

The next meeting will be on April 21, 2009 at 3:30 PM.

Mathematics

The Math Committee meeting was held on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. The following topics were discussed:

The Committee recommended that we develop a list of common vocabulary terms for use in the district. The generated list could be cross-checked with the ISAT vocabulary list.

The Committee made adjustments to the Curriculum Based Assessments.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 3:15 PM.

Reading

The Reading Committee met on Thursday, March 19, 2009. Topic covered was:

The Reading Committee recommended that District #61 schools would use Accelerated Reader next year. This reading program will be available to all students as an incentive reading program.

March 6, 2009 Update

The following provides an update on curriculum issues and assessment/screening issues in the district.

Curriculum and Instruction
Writing
The Writing Committee met on Tuesday, February 24, 2009. Topics covered were:

It was decided that each building will receive a presentation from members of the committee using Keynote, to be developed by Kristin Shell, as the common information. Kristin has prepared a Keynote presentation with members input. The committee presentation will use this as the common information and insert specific grade level activities for use within the building.

It was decided to obtain Courtney Gordon as the speaker for the Institute on August 27th as a writing kick-off. Meredith contacted Brady Smekens to confirm the date and get the process of securing Courtney for the Institute.

It was decided that individuals should take advantage of the Scholastic Warehouse sale to purchase books from the lists generated for use with 6+1 writing. Each building shared what process they were using to gather information and organizing within their building. This is a continuing process.

It was decided to see how the presentations go on the 6th of March and to consider using the same type of information with the presentation to the Board of Education. More will be finalized at a future meeting.

Kim McShea and Meredith Holdman shared feedback on the recent writing workshop they attended. Future meeting dates were set for: March 24, 2009 and April 21, 2009 at 3:30 PM.

Mathematics
The Math Committee meeting was held on Tuesday, February 17, 2009. The following topics were discussed:

Teachers Rhonda Esposito and Amy Steffgen shared information on how they are using the MAP results within their classroom this year. The committee was able to see results, RIT scores, and skill sets. Overall the MAP sharing was well received by the committee and appears to be the way to go with future assessment options for Math. It was thought that the results would be useful.

The Mastery Skills document, which can also be edited on Google Docs, was discussed. The goal is to be sure we have identified skills and have a progression of skills as a child moves through the grades within our district. Once we have identified the skills we can move toward identifying overlap and skill gaps. Committee members will be reviewing the document and make the necessary adjustments.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.

Reading
The Reading Committee met on Tuesday, February 17, 2009. Topics covered were:

Committee members from each building shared their DIBELS Benchmark triangles and discussed the comparison between the fall and winter scores. The committee then discussed how the data is being used to direct reading instruction.

Committee members discussed the status of phonics instruction in the District. Mark DeLay teachers gave an update on their Leading to Reading program and Lace members shared information about the Words Their Way program taught in third grade. The Committee recommended the purchase of the Jolly Phonics program to be used in Kindergarten for the 2009-2010 school year.

Dr. Carlo asked the Reading Committee to recommend if District 61 schools will use Accelerated Reader next year. The District currently uses a desktop version of Accelerated Reader which is no longer supported by the company. The newer version is web-based and offers many advanced features. The cost to implement the new version will be approximately $3000.00 per building per year.

The Committee reviewed and updated the District’s Literacy Assessment Overview.

Response to Intervention (RtI)
This month I am again including a short update from the Principals on RtI.

Mark Delay School
Grade level data meetings produced interesting discussions about curriculum, programming, and individual student progress. Kindergarten has decided to fully implement Jolly Phonics to strengthen the phonemic awareness after studying the ISEL and DIBELS results, which indicated strong growth in letter naming and letter sounds but less growth in this area of early literacy.
Students involved in the Poetry Academy Program (2nd grade) showed strong growth in fluency, indicating that this intervention is having the desired effect.

The first grade team will be analyzing the results of the Winter Map Testing, completed February 20th. The March SIP meetings will be devoted to discussions and demonstrations on Writer’s Workshop and 6 Traits.

Lace School
Betty Faron and Kim Schultz (Reading Specialists) met with every classroom teacher to determine how they can help them with reading instruction. In the past, the reading specialists have covered general topics to improve reading instruction. This year they organized a survey to determine how they could customize a program to meet the needs of individual teachers. For example, if a teacher needs assistance with guided reading, one of the reading specialists will go into the classroom and model a lesson. In addition, they will discuss the available resources (i.e.: leveled library, reading A-Z website) which are available to specific teachers.

The reading specialists and other classroom teachers also presented an inservice on three different reading strategies earlier during the 2008/2009 school year.

Eisenhower Junior High School
The RtI team is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, March 11, 2009. One of the topics they will be discussing is content area vocabulary and its role in student learning.

Assessment
February was busy for assessment as the second round of MAP testing was conducted in in grades one, three, and six. In addition, 2nd and 5th grade students completed the CogAT test. Second graders also were administered the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The results have been/will be used within the buildings, shared with the parents, and one element toward gifted qualification.

Students taking ISAT have completed the first week of testing this past week.

January 27, 2009 Update

The following provides an update on curriculum issues and assessment/screening issues in the district.

Curriculum and Instruction
Writing

The Writing Committee met on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. Topics covered were:

Committee members provided an update on the progress with developing of lessons related to the writing traits. This will be a continuing task as we gather information and develop lessons and gather resources to address the different
traits.

Plans are being developed to share with the entire staff information on writing workshop and 6+1 trait writing. Topics to be shared include a general introduction, definition of traits, and how the traits look in the classroom. Resources are listed on the Curriculum Blog website.

Two writing DVDs have been created and are being shared at Lace and DeLay school as a way to let teachers see others teaching writing. EJH is working on making their DVD to share. Jen Reyes and Kristen Shell have put together the two currently being shared in their buildings.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

Mathematics

The Math Committee meeting was held on Tuesday, January 13, 2009. The following topics were discussed:

Individuals began to share feedback on the curriculum maps in relation to skills, mastery, overlap, and assessment. Further discussion will continue on this topic.

The committee discussed the current Criteria Based Assessment being used in math this year. They will be looking at the use of MAP testing as a universal screener for future use.

An idea of creating weekly review questions in math was shared and received positively by the committee. Committee members will bring samples of how this concept can be used in their individual buildings.

The committee is working under the Curriculum Cycle timeline of a recommendation in January/February of 2010 for math instruction.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 17, 2009.

Response to Intervention (RtI)
This month I am again including a short update from the Principals on RtI.

Mark Delay School

Data meetings to review the results of winter benchmarking have been scheduled for the weeks of January 26th and February 2nd. Grade level teachers are being divided in half for the upcoming data meetings to keep the scope narrower and allow more time for discussion. Members of the RtI building team are currently converting recent data into triangular graphs so that teachers can easily identify the percentage of students from their class in each tier.
The recent SIP day was devoted to continued training of guided reading and a review of accessing student data. The RtI component to the CRT Program, in place at EJH and Lace, has been added for Mark DeLay students and appropriate staff will be trained on how to enter information on interventions being used.

Lace School

A self-contained fifth grade class was instituted to address the academic needs of specific regular education students and increase the academic time that targeted students receive ELL instruction. In the past, fifth grade students who needed a large amount of individual instruction were heterogeneously grouped with other students who were at a higher academic level. This grouping system made it more difficult for the teacher to meet the needs of both sets of students. In addition, the instructional delivery system for ELL students was revamped during the 2008/2009 school year. In the past, all ELL students were pulled from regular education classes for the same number of minutes of instruction without examining the specific needs of individual students. The new delivery system allows the ELL teachers to spend more time with students who required additional attention.

Eisenhower Junior High School

The RTI Committee came up with a unified EJH definition of RTI which it plans on sharing with the school at the next staff meeting. The staff was surveyed using Survey Anywhere to get their positive reactions and challenges to RTI this year.
At the last SIP day the staff was divided into two groups and were led by RTI Committee people to brainstorm on the topics of Differentiation and Student Motivation. Halfway through they flipped groups. All information from those sessions is in the process of being typed and sent to the staff as a whole to use as a resource. The administration will use the information to make positive change for the upcoming year when possible.
The next step is to work on a resource that can be used by current teachers for RTI information, strategies, and ideas, but can also be used as a training guide to the many new teachers entering our district year after year.

Assessment

The second round of MAP testing will be conducted in February in grades one, three, and six. In addition, 2nd and 5th grade students will be taking the CogAT test in February. Second grades will also be administered the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in February.