November Curriculum and Instruction eNewsletter
Highlights and Happenings:
We had a very relevant and quality staff development on October 5th with a high participation turnout.
I also want to highlight and give a huge thank you for our very own Konocti staff leading many of these innovative workshops, relevant for K - 12 staff.
It was also fun to work together in a creative and light-hearted manner to create a contraption that would hold a golf ball dropped from ten feet.................people were quite creative in their successes! We learned alot and had fun along the way.
Tracey Wilson, from Placer County, will return December 15th to expand on teaching literacy foundational skills and teaching kids how to read. This workshop is for all k -2 Konocti staff.
High School staff continue their professional development through Sonoma County around Expository Reading and Writing Conference.
Middle school staff (and grades 3 - 5 staff) have the opportunity to receive this Expository Reading and Writing Conference through Sonoma County this spring as well.
This professional development supports the key shifts of literacy instruction in all content areas.
A selection of staff from each school site experienced productive and relevant training at the CUE conference. Staff learned information around the integration of technology into their classrooms and schools; as well as took at least one new app for immediate download and use in the classroom.
A majority of the instructional coaches, district grade level teacher facilitators and high school department chairs along with myself, Teresa and the superintendent, Donna, attended a two day The Art of Coaching workshop mid October. The purpose for these teacher leaders to attend this workshop was to refine and enhance our communicative and facilitation skills to support adult performance and student learning.
Back on campus at Konocti:
Positive Behavior Intervention Systems; The key components of this program continue to be highlighted by administration and staff in meetings and then in the daily routine of school. The whole school culture feels respectful and welcoming, and student centered when you visit a school campus.
With the holiday at the end of October, schools allowed for school and holiday spirit through school parades, school rallies and contests. Students and staff alike, had an opportunity to decompress in the holiday fun and school spirit events and activities. I am still on the edge of my seat to know who won the door decorating contest at BV?
October 22, I had the privilege of being apart of a district wide team doing walk thrus at both KEC and at LLHS. Collectively, it was neat to see high levels of student learning taking place in the classrooms due to the effective implementation of the following research based instructional goals that the district is focusing on - strategies around cues and questioning, strategies around student engagement, strategies around the formative assessment process.
Class Visits:
The superintendent, director of HR/LCAP and myself visit classrooms at least one time a month. These visits are unannounced. These visits attempt to mirror the walk thru model, meaning we provide some formative written timely descriptive feedback around the visible student learning based on implementation of the three district instructional focus areas - engagement, questioning and the formative assessment process.
Konocti Data:
Sites and management have analyzed some school site and district wide data around the four LCAP goals - student achievement, student well-being in a positive and safe school culture, and increased communication.
This data was presented to the school board October 21. The CAASP gave us our baseline data around which to learn from and support students in their skill-set and knowledge as it relates to the college and career standards and district mission.
