LMM+2-20-08

Leadership Team 2/20/08


 * Construction/Placement/Updates: **Many of you will be placed temporarily in the new building. In December when the round building is completed (renovation), you will be coming back to the round building. Begin packing as soon as possible. We have boxes for books and boxes for other items. See Liza. Moving dates will be quickly approaching. See the master calendar to see actual dates movers will be at LKO. Reading is going to the current technology room. Keaton will find out what to do with the excess curriculum (reading mastery) located in the current storage closet in building 3. If you want to know what items you’ll be receiving that is new, see Ines. For the new building, we will not have any televisions. They will be getting projection screens and a projector. Anything previously viewed through the T.V. will be projected on this screen. Teachers will be receiving interactive boards that will project the images on the board. This works similar to the promethean board. The difference is that you can not write directly on the board. Everything must be written on the interactive board. Every classroom will have a Sound Field Classroom System. Teachers will wear a discreet microphone that will allow students to clearly hear the teacher without straining their voice. We are looking into purchasing ELMO machines. One ELMO for each grade level will be provided. Also, a laser “Ellison” machine is on the horizon.


 * Level of Confidence: **Writing + is now completed. We don’t necessarily have a good handle on if we are going to “make it” or not. We would //like// to say that confidence in the outcome is high for our 4th grade writers. We are going to have to wait and find out when we receive the results. Safe Harbor doesn’t look like an option for us. After FCAT in March we will begin with our writing plan. 3rd grade will be heavily concentrated on as they will be the group next year writing for Writing +.


 * New Academic Standards**: Adoption for reading curriculum will start in the fall of 08. We are going to get to know the new standards that will be coming very soon. Ines and Keaton will be attending a professional development activity on Thursday related to the new World Class Math Standards.


 * Support**: Be aware of those you see and/or contact on a daily basis that may need continual support to be successful in the classroom.


 * Enrollment**: The enrollment is low county wide. It looks like we will be losing a few teaching positions for 08-09.


 * Free-Reading Bursts**: Wireless Generation, Inc. has designed prescribed activities for our low DIBELS students in kindergarten and first grades. We are piloting the new program here to evaluate the success. We are anticipating that this program will address the small amount of students still missing skills in kindergarten and first grade. DIBELS Deep is also new and we will be trained this week.


 * PMP/SPP/RC**: A new PMP is being created. The new name is Notice of Elementary of Progress Monitoring Plan. It is being stream lined and much more simple for teachers. Ines and Keaton are on the PMP committee for the county. Ines is on the Report Card committee. Keaton is on the Student Progression Plan committee.


 * Time Frame**: In April and May we will be working with 3rd grade writing. 2nd grade will be in the L.A.B. starting after FCAT. As of now, 5th grade will no longer go to the L.A.B. 2nd grade will be taking the times currently taken by 5th grade.


 * Retention Meetings**: A form has been created for teachers to fill out when meeting with Ines for retentions and assignments. We are the only county that has “assignments”. Other counties are promoted or promoted with a PMP. Hopefully this will change and in the Student Progression Plan it will read only promotion and retention. The deadline for the names is March 27th for teachers to submit names for retention to guidance. If you work with students that are on the list for retention, plan to be in attendance with the teacher at this meeting. All ESE and all ESOL students will be on the list and will be marked promoted, assigned or retained. We will only meet with the ESE and ESOL students that are flagged as retained. Refer to the flow chart given at the beginning of the year. It is located in your Data Notebook. Make certain when you meet concerning a student that you bring all available assessment data. __Language box will be added to the Assignment/Retention Meeting Summary form__. No student will “fall through the cracks”. It is ALL our responsibility to address every student not only academically but socially as well. If you notice a need, address it.

Round Robin Commentary:

ESOL: Burst! groups going well. We have quite a bit of DARs to complete for 3-5th before Spring Break.

Reading: No

Speech: I’m slightly backed up with testing. I will be doing screenings for Medicaid.

SLD: No

Gifted: Losing 5 students this year (5th graders).

Guidance: Booster group doing very well.