Curriculum and Instruction: Konocti in the Month of May

May District-wide walk thru Information:
Thank you for the opportunity to walk through and visit a variety of classrooms. Here were some of the discoveries:

In regards to, "What are you learning?"
Most students throughout the district can talk specifically about their learning ie. "I am learning how to multiple and divide decimals." I am writing an opinion paper",

Kids identifying their learning (verses the task) is huge growth in the work of Konocti especially around clarity.

In regards to, "How are you going/doing in your learning and where to next?"
A small percentage of students (lkie 20% - 25%) throughout the district can articulate the necessary criteria to be successful with their learning
ie. "I say these five site words accurately in five different ways (contexts) and I get a new set of five site words to practice."
ie. "I need to have a topic sentence, the opinion, the supporting details, and a concluding sentence to be successful with my opinion paper,"

Students in a majority of classrooms were engaged in reading, writing, talking instruction, whether grade level reading or targeted reading intervention. The large amount of instructional time devoted to reading and writing and thinking has increased significantly throughout the course of the year for Konocti. The devotion to reading matches the reading focus of Konocti this school year.
See the incremental progress below as a result.

What does all this data and information mean?
* We are making significant gains in students knowing what they are learning. YaHoo!!
* We can still aspire to gain clarity in the development and articulation of the success criteria.
* As we - adults and students - become more competent in clarity, there is also an increase of students yielding one year or more of growth in reading, as well as an increase in the percent of students attaining grade level in their reading.

I have also had the privilege of spending time in the field, interviewing a selection of teachers and a selection of students throughout the district. It has been fun to ask staff and students questions around our visible instruction and visible learning journey. Stay tuned to see clips and highlights in various Konocti social media and/or in upcoming Konocti collaborations/professional development.

Important dates over the Summer

June 5th - 8th:
Representative teachers from each grade level, K -5, can work together around revising the scope and sequence to align with Reach for Reading. Included in this work, teachers can identify the success criteria at the of each 5 - 6 week unit/section and assign (from the textbook materials) the culminating test or task.

Representative teachers from the grade level or the department, grades 6 - 12, can work together around developing/revising the scope and sequence aligned with the content standards or framework, and the textbook. Included in this work, teachers can identify the success criteria at the of each 5 - 6 week unit/section and assign (from the textbook or other materials) the culminating test or task.

July 25 - July 28:
K -5 teachers receive professional development around using some of these specific high-leverage strategies in a language arts classroom while using the new textbook.

July 31 and August 1:
Teachers grade 6 -12 receive professional development around using some of these specific high-leverage strategies in a math classroom while using your particular textbook and resources.

Teachers grade 6 - 12 receive professional development around using some of these specific high-leverage strategies in a language arts classroom while using the new textbook.

The district looks to continue in the same direction for 2017 - 2018 school year = making learning visible (quantified by the students progress of one year or more for one year of school) through effective execution of some high-leverage strategies, particularly clarity.
And monitoring our impact regularly throughout the school year.