Month: December 2015

Contents

Guidance on Second Quarter Grades for Teachers – for Elementary Administrators
Kidzone Open and Close Dates (Winter Break) – for District Staff and Kidzone Parents
Coats for Kids – 2nd delivery – for Principals and Counselors
Spring 2016 State Testing Information – for Administrators and Teacher Leaders
STAR Teacher Nomination Packets Due January 14, 2016 – for Certified Administrators and HR

Guidance on Second Quarter Grades for Teachers

From Alan King
This is a copy of an email that went out today to teachers. You do not need to forward this to them. This is just your copy.

Gudiance on Second Quarter Grades

Grades for the elementary report cards are to be submitted by 5:00 pm on December 18. At that time, report cards will be downloaded and verified before being sent to the printer.

Scores on the report card should be based on where students should be at this point in the year in achievement of the standards, not on where the students should be by the end of the year. Grades should also address from the beginning of the year until this point. The Pinnacle system will automatically calculate this.

The building counselor or the principal???s designee will check to be sure that behavior and effort grades are completed for every student. Whether or not grades are to be finalized is up to the principal.

During this second quarter, the GVC (pacing) guides show that all not all standards (and as a result not all domains) have been addressed. If the standards of a domain have not been addressed, then it is inappropriate to enter a score for that domain and it should be left blank. (The Pinnacle system will automatically populate blank domains with NA???do not enter anything.)

It is important that you complete all areas of the report card for which you are responsible. Any blanks will automatically be filled with NA at the domain level (which is what appears on the report cards). Remembering to complete the three areas listed below before finalizing your report cards will provide a clearer picture for parents.

1. EFFORT–Effort has to be completed for ALL Content areas. An NA in effort is not appropriate. You have to enter Effort through the Domain section of EACH CONTENT TAB in the grade book. Using the drop down menu within a specific content, change it from Assignments to Learning Standards???Domain. The effort column is the last one listed in the domain area. Symbols or numbers may used in the following scale:

??? + or 2 Above the expected amount of effort
??? = or 1 Expected amount of effort
??? – or 0 More Effort is needed
??? If you enter numbers, the system will convert them to the appropriate symbol.
??? The number 3 is not used in the effort scale.

2. BEHAVIOR–Behavior has to be completed by the Homeroom Teacher of the student. An NA in any behavior area is not appropriate. You have to enter Behavior through the Domain section of the 1(Y) Homeroom Tab in the grade book. Using the drop down menu within a 1(Y) Homeroom, change it from Assignments to Learning Standards???Domain. There are six areas that are to be completed using the following scale:

??? + or 2 Above the expected amount of effort
??? = or 1 Expected amount of effort
??? – or 0 More Effort is needed
??? If you enter numbers, the system will convert them to the appropriate symbol.
??? The number 3 is not used in the effort scale.

You can find most of the answers to your questions around the grade book at FAQs for the Pinnacle Gradebook Page at https://goo.gl/7y4TCw

Directions PDF

Kidzone open and close dates (Winter Break)

From Daryel Garrison
This notice is to inform district staff and Kidzone parents. Kidzone will be closed from Monday, December 21st, 2015 through January 1st. Kidzone will resume on Monday, January 4th, 2016.

Coats for Kids – 2nd delivery

From Valerie Anzicek
There has been a second delivery of gently used and new coats and a variety of sizes available from KMBZ Coats for Kids 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 operations: 8:00 am to 10:00 am and Noon until 2:00 pm.

This following outline the days of operation.
Monday, 12/14
Tuesday, 12/15
Wednesday, 12/16
Thursday, 12/17
Friday, CLOSED

Spring 2016 State Testing Information

From David Rand
We have been receiving inquiries regarding the timeline for providing detailed information on the Spring 2016 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP). Details have not been distributed to the field at this time because the details of the state assessment this spring are still changing and being updated. We would like to avoid providing the field with information that later is found to have changed or been incorrect. As a result, our plan is to distribute the Examiner’s Manual along with a detailed Power Point presentation of the manual when students return from break. There will be a formal training session in February for principals and their building test coordinator.

Attached to this notice, however, you will find a one-page overview of the Spring 2016 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP). Please note that this was updated on 12/4 and is still subject to changes and updates. This overview will provide the number of sessions, approximate testing times, need not test dates for entering students and additional information for each component of the 2016 KAP.

We appreciate your patience and understanding of why information has not yet been released. We are hopeful that there will not be any more major changes or updates to the information we provide in early January.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please do not hesitate to contact David Rand in DERA. Thank you very much!!!!!

KAP overview PDF

STAR Teacher Nomination Packets Due January 14, 2016

From Gail Marie Taylor, PHR
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 start completing the nomination packet with your assistance. I’ve attached a copy nomination packet for your reference and will e-mail to the teachers under separate cover.

Thanks!

Gail Marie

Contents

Guidance on Second Quarter Grades for Teachers – for Elementary Administrators
Kidzone Open and Close Dates (Winter Break) – for District Staff and Kidzone Parents
Coats for Kids – 2nd delivery – for Principals and Counselors
Spring 2016 State Testing Information – for Administrators and Teacher Leaders

Guidance on Second Quarter Grades for Teachers

From Alan King
This is a copy of an email that went out today to teachers. You do not need to forward this to them. This is just your copy.

Gudiance on Second Quarter Grades

Grades for the elementary report cards are to be submitted by 5:00 pm on December 18. At that time, report cards will be downloaded and verified before being sent to the printer.

Scores on the report card should be based on where students should be at this point in the year in achievement of the standards, not on where the students should be by the end of the year. Grades should also address from the beginning of the year until this point. The Pinnacle system will automatically calculate this.

The building counselor or the principal???s designee will check to be sure that behavior and effort grades are completed for every student. Whether or not grades are to be finalized is up to the principal.

During this second quarter, the GVC (pacing) guides show that all not all standards (and as a result not all domains) have been addressed. If the standards of a domain have not been addressed, then it is inappropriate to enter a score for that domain and it should be left blank. (The Pinnacle system will automatically populate blank domains with NA???do not enter anything.)

It is important that you complete all areas of the report card for which you are responsible. Any blanks will automatically be filled with NA at the domain level (which is what appears on the report cards). Remembering to complete the three areas listed below before finalizing your report cards will provide a clearer picture for parents.

1. EFFORT–Effort has to be completed for ALL Content areas. An NA in effort is not appropriate. You have to enter Effort through the Domain section of EACH CONTENT TAB in the grade book. Using the drop down menu within a specific content, change it from Assignments to Learning Standards???Domain. The effort column is the last one listed in the domain area. Symbols or numbers may used in the following scale:

??? + or 2 Above the expected amount of effort
??? = or 1 Expected amount of effort
??? – or 0 More Effort is needed
??? If you enter numbers, the system will convert them to the appropriate symbol.
??? The number 3 is not used in the effort scale.

2. BEHAVIOR–Behavior has to be completed by the Homeroom Teacher of the student. An NA in any behavior area is not appropriate. You have to enter Behavior through the Domain section of the 1(Y) Homeroom Tab in the grade book. Using the drop down menu within a 1(Y) Homeroom, change it from Assignments to Learning Standards???Domain. There are six areas that are to be completed using the following scale:

??? + or 2 Above the expected amount of effort
??? = or 1 Expected amount of effort
??? – or 0 More Effort is needed
??? If you enter numbers, the system will convert them to the appropriate symbol.
??? The number 3 is not used in the effort scale.

You can find most of the answers to your questions around the grade book at FAQs for the Pinnacle Gradebook Page at https://goo.gl/7y4TCw

Directions PDF

Kidzone open and close dates (Winter Break)

From Daryel Garrison
This notice is to inform district staff and Kidzone parents. Kidzone will be closed from Monday, December 21st, 2015 through January 1st. Kidzone will resume on Monday, January 4th, 2016.

Coats for Kids – 2nd delivery

From Valerie Anzicek
There has been a second delivery of gently used and new coats and a variety of sizes available from KMBZ Coats for Kids 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 operations: 8:00 am to 10:00 am and Noon until 2:00 pm.

This following outline the days of operation.
Monday, 12/14
Tuesday, 12/15
Wednesday, 12/16
Thursday, 12/17
Friday, CLOSED

Spring 2016 State Testing Information

From David Rand
We have been receiving inquiries regarding the timeline for providing detailed information on the Spring 2016 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP). Details have not been distributed to the field at this time because the details of the state assessment this spring are still changing and being updated. We would like to avoid providing the field with information that later is found to have changed or been incorrect. As a result, our plan is to distribute the Examiner’s Manual along with a detailed Power Point presentation of the manual when students return from break. There will be a formal training session in February for principals and their building test coordinator.

Attached to this notice, however, you will find a one-page overview of the Spring 2016 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP). Please note that this was updated on 12/4 and is still subject to changes and updates. This overview will provide the number of sessions, approximate testing times, need not test dates for entering students and additional information for each component of the 2016 KAP.

We appreciate your patience and understanding of why information has not yet been released. We are hopeful that there will not be any more major changes or updates to the information we provide in early January.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please do not hesitate to contact David Rand in DERA. Thank you very much!!!!!

KAP overview PDF

Contents

Descriptions for December 18 Professional Learning Sessions – for All School Building Admins
Kidzone Open and Close Dates (Winter Break) – for District Staff and Kidzone Parents
Coats for Kids – 2nd delivery – for Principals and Counselors
Spring 2016 State Testing Information – for Administrators and Teacher Leaders
Message From the Superintendent – All Administrators

Descriptions for December 18 Professional Learning Sessions

From Alan King
This is a copy of an email that will go out to all teaching staff Monday morning.

Subject: December 18 Professional Learning Information

District level groups in Outlook have been used to share this information. Please share this with anyone who needs the information and did not receive it. Please contact the Help Desk (support@kckps.org) to request that your name be added to the appropriate group if you are not receiving this information directly.

Each month our district hosts a content-focused professional learning session on the quarterly professional learning days or on a Wednesday during the other months. The purpose of these sessions is for us to come together from across our district to focus our learning on our specific content areas. Just as teachers have to publish their objectives, we publish the outcomes, descriptions and locations of our learning sessions, and a description of how the professional learning addresses our district focus on literacy in all content areas as well as the name of the person to contact for each content should you have any questions. This year the majority of content sessions each month will focus on a common understanding of the process of rigorous unit development.

Information about the December 18 Professional Learning can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OQBv3pcAnYKVAsNVCBjHDLeWHvCxSjDhvHT_sSnJgyU/edit?usp=sharing If you have questions about your session, please contact the content supervisor listed in the content area.

A list of dates for district level professional learning for this year and next can be found here.

Alan King
Director of Curriculum

Kidzone open and close dates (Winter Break)

From Daryel Garrison
This notice is to inform district staff and Kidzone parents. Kidzone will be closed from Monday, December 21st, 2015 through January 1st. Kidzone will resume on Monday, January 4th, 2016.

Coats for Kids – 2nd delivery

From Valerie Anzicek
There has been a second delivery of gently used and new coats and a variety of sizes available from KMBZ Coats for Kids 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 operations: 8:00 am to 10:00 am and Noon until 2:00 pm.

This following outline the days of operation.
Monday, 12/14
Tuesday, 12/15
Wednesday, 12/16
Thursday, 12/17
Friday, CLOSED

Spring 2016 State Testing Information

From David Rand
We have been receiving inquiries regarding the timeline for providing detailed information on the Spring 2016 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP). Details have not been distributed to the field at this time because the details of the state assessment this spring are still changing and being updated. We would like to avoid providing the field with information that later is found to have changed or been incorrect. As a result, our plan is to distribute the Examiner’s Manual along with a detailed Power Point presentation of the manual when students return from break. There will be a formal training session in February for principals and their building test coordinator.

Attached to this notice, however, you will find a one-page overview of the Spring 2016 Kansas Assessment Program (KAP). Please note that this was updated on 12/4 and is still subject to changes and updates. This overview will provide the number of sessions, approximate testing times, need not test dates for entering students and additional information for each component of the 2016 KAP.

We appreciate your patience and understanding of why information has not yet been released. We are hopeful that there will not be any more major changes or updates to the information we provide in early January.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please do not hesitate to contact David Rand in DERA. Thank you very much!!!!!

KAP overview PDF

Spring 2016 State Testing Information

From Cindy Lane
Dear Administrators,

As we come up to the Winter Break, and the end of the first semester, I want to take just a moment to say ???Thank you??? for all of the hard work you have put in to get us to this point. I am the first to acknowledge that this has not been an easy semester. We continue to raise our expectations for our students, and they continue to rise to meet them, but we do that against the backdrop of an extremely challenging state environment, where we see precious little support for the work we are doing.

I know that this team has gone all in with the work, and that you have given everything you have, in order to move us towards our goal. I also know that means that, as we approach the break, you are tired, if not exhausted. I do want to make sure that you don???t forget the many successes we have had, and the progress we are making. I am hoping that you will take time on Friday to celebrate with your staff, and to thank them for all of their hard work.

The holiday break will be good for all of us. Hopefully, we will find time for rest and rejuvenation, as well as some welcome time with our loved ones. I wish you and your staff much joy this holiday season. Feel free not to hold your staff any longer than necessary on Friday: When the critical tasks are done, send them on their way.

Have a very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Warmly,

Cindy

Contents

Descriptions for December 18 Professional Learning Sessions – for All School Building Admins
Kidzone Open and Close Dates (Winter Break) – for District staff and Kidzone Parents

Descriptions for December 18 Professional Learning Sessions

From Alan King
This is a copy of an email that will go out to all teaching staff Monday morning.

Subject: December 18 Professional Learning Information

District level groups in Outlook have been used to share this information. Please share this with anyone who needs the information and did not receive it. Please contact the Help Desk (support@kckps.org) to request that your name be added to the appropriate group if you are not receiving this information directly.

Each month our district hosts a content-focused professional learning session on the quarterly professional learning days or on a Wednesday during the other months. The purpose of these sessions is for us to come together from across our district to focus our learning on our specific content areas. Just as teachers have to publish their objectives, we publish the outcomes, descriptions and locations of our learning sessions, and a description of how the professional learning addresses our district focus on literacy in all content areas as well as the name of the person to contact for each content should you have any questions. This year the majority of content sessions each month will focus on a common understanding of the process of rigorous unit development.

Information about the December 18 Professional Learning can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OQBv3pcAnYKVAsNVCBjHDLeWHvCxSjDhvHT_sSnJgyU/edit?usp=sharing If you have questions about your session, please contact the content supervisor listed in the content area.

A list of dates for district level professional learning for this year and next can be found here.

Alan King
Director of Curriculum

Kidzone open and close dates (Winter Break)

From Daryel Garrison
This notice is to inform district staff and Kidzone parents. Kidzone will be closed from Monday, December 21st, 2015 through January 1st. Kidzone will resume on Monday, January 4th, 2016.

Contents

Hour of Code??? – for All Administrators
Kidzone Open and Close Dates (Winter Break) – for District staff and Kidzone Parents
Flyer for Approved Distribution – for Principals

Hour of Code???

From Julie Leach
Next week is the ‘Hour of Code??????! The ‘Hour of Code???’ is a worldwide initiative by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org to introduce millions of students to one hour of computer science and computer programming during the week of December 7-11.

I am excited to announce that KCKPS has over 125 teachers participating in ‘Hour of Code?????? sometime next week. We would love for you to get out, if time permits, go to a class and code with them! Feel free to take a laptop or iPad if you have one available.

Please click on the link below for a spreadsheet of participating classrooms. The spreadsheet will include school, teacher and time of event. Be aware, the list does not include all the teachers who have signed up via the ‘Hour of Code?????? website and list is constantly changing, so check back often.

KCKPS Participating Classrooms
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uuKsX1ccADroP1xkO1xbxL_QwRJYvcuzqx3Oe8LqBuA/edit?usp=sharing

Again, I am so excited so many of our students will be exposed to computer science this next week!

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Julie

Julie Leach
21st Century Teacher Leader
Kansas City, KS Public Schools
Julie.leach@kckps.org

Kidzone open and close dates (Winter Break)

From Daryel Garrison
This notice is to inform district staff and Kidzone parents. Kidzone will be closed from Monday, December 21st, 2015 through January 1st. Kidzone will resume on Monday, January 4th, 2016.

Flyer for Approved Distribution

From Grace Elmore
The attached flyer from Park University has been approved for distribution to teachers. Thank you.