Contents
STAR Teacher Nomination Packets Due January 14, 2016 – for Certified Administrators and HR
Coats for Kids – Month of January – for Principals and Counselors
Elementary Math Relays – for Elementary Administrators
New Grant and Donation Procedures – for All Administrators
Breidenthal Donation- $250 Per School – for All Administrators
Co-Teaching Training – for All Principals
Family Advocacy: February 8 ??? February 12 – for All Principals
State Assessment Information, Documentation and Training Materials – for Principals, Assistant Principals and Teacher Leaders
Literacy Audit Update – for All Principals
STAR Teacher Nomination Packets Due January 14, 2016
Hi All,
Many thanks to all of you that have provided the name of the Teacher from your building that you would like to nominate as STAR Teacher for 2016.
The next step in the process is for the teachers to complete the nomination packet with your assistance. I???ve attached a copy of the nomination packet (for your reference) that the Teacher needs to complete and it is due to me by January 14, 2016.?? It was e-mailed to the teachers under separate cover.
The previous packet that was included in this announcement was for your reference only.?? After the Star Teacher committee selects the district???s nomination for Kansas Teacher of the Year, the full nomination packet will be completed by the selected teachers with your assistance as a building administrator.
Thanks!
Gail Marie Taylor, PHR
Director of Human Resources
Coats for Kids – Month of January
From Valerie Anzicek
Gently used and some new coats in a variety of sizes are available for distribution. Also, there are hats and gloves available for distribution. The coats are located at North Central Office at 2220 North 59th Street. The entrance door is marked with Coats for Kids signage. Staff picking up coats will need to bring their District ID’s and provide the number of coats for checkout.
Hours of operation: 8:00 am to 10:00 am and Noon to 2:00 pm.
Coats will be available until end of January.
Elementary Math Relays
From Amanda Kain
Please share this information with potential coaches for the Elementary Math Relays.
New Grant and Donation Procedures
From Amanda Chavez
New Grant/Donation Procedures
The Grants page found on the Staff Intranet has recently been updated. The goal of the new Grants page is to provide an easy way for teachers and staff to submit information regarding grant applications, donation requests, and community partnerships. The information provided will be put into the Grants Management portion of Business PLUS. Building a database of this information will allow us to properly track our resources and allow for an electronic record to review for future program and project needs.
Going forward, prior to submitting a grant application, soliciting a donation, creating a GoFundMe or DonorsChoose page, or teaming up with a community partner for a grant where the district is not the lead applicant, please visit the Grants page to fill out and submit the appropriate form.
Along with these new forms, the Grants page will soon feature available grant opportunities.
Thank you in advance for your help with this effort! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Breidenthal Donation- $250 Per School
From Amanda Chavez
The Breidenthal Foundation has made a generous donation to Kansas City Kansas Public Schools. Each school will receive $250 to spend unrestrictedly for any school need. Once it is determined how your school will spend the donation money, please fill out the Donation Request Pre-Approval Form located on the Grants page on the Staff Intranet. Once the form has been submitted, we will work with accounting to have the funds distributed. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Co-Teaching Training
From Michelle Colvin
Hi, Principals,
Kansas City, Kansas Public School is pleased to announce that Dr. Richard Villa will be returning to our district for several professional learning opportunities on Thursday, January 28, and Friday, January 29.
There will be four half-day sessions offered. We are asking that all teaching partners who attend are committed to the work of co-teaching . This commitment can be seen in the following ways:
1. Continue to work as a co-teaching pair in KCK for the 16-17 school year.
2. Partners have time to co-plan (at least 45 minutes a week)
You should recommend TLI, ESL and Special Education co-teaching pairs and enter their information on the attached RSVP link. This link will not be forwarded to all users. Those selected for the training will receive an email confirmation with the details of the training.
Thursday, January 28th
8:00 ??? 11:30
Introduction to Co-Teaching
This session is for co-teaching pairs who would like an introduction to co-teaching. Through presentation and viewing of DVD footage, participants become familiar with four approaches to co-teaching. This is for pairs who have not previously attended a training with Dr. Villa.
12:30 ??? 4:00
Leadership in an Inclusive School
Dr. Villa will work with school and district administration in developing an understanding of how to create an inclusive environment and how to support and monitor the effectiveness of co-teaching in the building.
Friday, January 29th
8:00 ??? 11:30
Introduction to Co-Teaching
This session is for co-teaching pairs who would like an introduction to co-teaching. Through presentation and viewing of DVD footage, participants become familiar with four approaches to co-teaching. This is for pairs who have not previously attended a training with Dr. Villa.
12:30 ??? 4:00
Taking the Next Step
This session is designed for co-teaching pairs who attended the summer training with Dr. Villa and have been engaged in the work. The focus will be on developing effective instruction and cooperative structures. Approaches to differentiating the content students learn, the process through which they learn it, and how they demonstrate what they have learned will be explored.
Please use the link below to submit the names of co-teaching pairs in your building who you would like to attend. Please also register yourself if you are interested in administrator training. The location of the professional development will be determined based on response rate. The cost of subs will be covered by general education, special education, and ESL.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1n1qCscOC01fG3F5v4Aii7BcF6xo7J6VLzGMzoX5w78A/viewform
We look forward to this great opportunity!
Sincerely,
Michelle
Family Advocacy: February 8 ??? February 12
From Rosie Rodriguez
It???s time to begin gathering your building needs for interpreter requests. To facilitate this process, please fill out this form and return to my attention, on or before Friday, January 22nd.
State Assessment Information, Documentation and Training Materials
From David Rand
Students in grades 3-8, 10 and 11 will participate in this year???s state assessment. The state assessment is part of the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP), which also includes the alternate Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) assessment as well as the ELPA-21 language proficiency assessment for ELL students. The state assessment will have two separate testing windows this year.
The first window, which is from February 16 ??? March 10, includes the Mathematics Performance Task (grades 3-8 and 10) and the Multi-Disciplinary Performance Task (MDPT ??? grades 3-8, 10 and 11). These performance tasks are shorter in time and all can be given in one testing session (Mathematics Performance Task has one 15-25 minute session and MDPT has two 20-30 minute sessions).
The second window, which is from March 16 ??? May 12, includes tests in English Language Arts (grades 3-8 and 10), Mathematics (grades 3-8 and 10), Science (grades 5, 8 and 11) and History/Government Social Studies (grades 6, 8 and 11). Approximate testing times and test administration details are included in the manuals and training materials that are accessible in both SRM as well as the DERA webpage. These materials can be distributed to staff at any time and include:
??? Spring 2016 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) Examiner???s Manual (.pdf)
??? Spring 2016 Educator Guide to KITE Student Experience (.pdf)
??? Spring 2016 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) Examiner???s Manual Presentation (.ppt)
??? Spring 2016 Educator Guide to KITE Student Experience Presentation (.ppt)
??? Spring 2016 State Testing Security Fact Sheet (.pdf)
??? Spring 2016 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) Practice Test Information (.pdf)
??? Recommended Elementary Testing Session Schedules (.docx)
??? Recommended Middle School Testing Session Schedules (.docx)
??? Recommended High School Testing Session Schedules (.docx)
In SRM, the documentation is currently available and located in the folder ???Resources ??? District Resources ??? 00 Spring 2016 State Testing Information???; links will be available on the DERA webpage in the next few days. Please note our recommended testing schedules are just samples; schools are not required to pick from the options presented and have flexibility in creating their own schedule. You will see that the provided recommendations alternate between content areas for each test part in ELA and Mathematics. The reason for this is that the ELA and Mathematics tests are adaptive this year and each subsequent test part will be assigned based on the score from the previous part. There could be up to a 10 minute delay until the next test part is accessible and alternating between subjects alleviates the potential problem of students having to wait to access the next test part and lessens the chance for disruption in the testing room.
Training sessions for this year???s state assessment will be provided for principals and identified building test coordinators in late January and early February. Each school will identify a staff member to serve as the building test coordinator for the state assessment. It is recommended that schools do NOT use their Teacher Leader (TL) as building test coordinator, especially at the secondary level. The test coordinator will be responsible for ensuring all building level test administration staff participate in training, distributing applicable test administration information, turning in a calendar of testing dates and serving as the building liaison with DERA for test administration issues.
Secondary training will occur at the regularly scheduled administrative meeting on January 19 and Elementary training will occur at the regularly scheduled EC-5 administrative meeting on February 4. Principals should bring their building test coordinator to these trainings if possible. DERA will provide a recorded webinar of the state assessment training for use with staff that are unable to attend training.
Samantha Bradshaw and Dr. Doug Hager from DERA will contact the identified building test coordinators to assist in the planning of training for building level staff (please note that building level training is delivered by the building test coordinator). DERA will set up all testing sessions as well as print and distribute test ???tickets??? with student log-in information to each school. This will significantly reduce the daily duties that will need to be completed by the building test coordinator from previous years.
If you have any questions regarding the state assessment and/or any of the documentation and training materials, please do not hesitate to contact David Rand in DERA (david.rand@kckps.org). Thank you very much!!!!!
Literacy Audit Update
From Dr. Cynthia Lane
Please see the attached update on our District Literacy Audit.