Team,
Need-to-know:
Team,
Need-to-know:
CIA 2/15/22
On 2/15 at 7:45 am we will have a CIA via Zoom. We have two outside presenters coming to share the Anti Racist Curriculum Project, and they will also share some resources that are available to you around this work.
Let's be real, it can feel scary to approach anti-racist content given the current climate beyond the walls of QUEST. On our summer day many expressed fear in approaching this work. I hear that, and my hope is that they give you some ideas and model some approaches that can be utilized. In addition, they offer a great model of inquiry!
Zoom Link:
Derek Warren is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: QUEST staff meeting
Time: Feb 15, 2022 07:45 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MEETING!
Meeting ID: 965 4619 8679
Passcode: 221165
Meeting ID: 965 4619 8679
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/arH6QTbOI
Break Hours
QUEST will be open on Tuesday through Friday during break, 7-4:30. There will also be some evening hours due to sports, but those are currently still up in the air.
Change in Levels?
Last call! If you have interest in switching levels, please communicate that to me via the Google Form by 2/18/22. Please remember that requesting a switch doesn't guarantee a switch, but I have in interest in knowing this information should a switch be possible and appropriate. The form is found here!
Chew on this:
Keep learning:
How often does each child that you work with experience praise? Have you ever considered tracking this information in order to really measure the impact? This article might make you think.
Team,
Need-to-know:
SIT Challenge and our goals:
I've been loving the cross-school chatter and laughter over the mystery people brought to us from SIT. As mentioned in Dr. K.'s video, culture and climate will continue to be a focus for our district next year.
I recently read that 90% of educators (leaders, teachers, staff) have considered leaving the profession given the loss of civility in society and pandemic stress. That is brutal, and that statistic makes me scared for kids...kids who deserve to show up in a school, each day, where their teacher is happy to be there. QUEST can always be different. We can control what we can control, drown out the noise, but also be there for one another.
As I strolled around the school this past week, I overheard people chuckling and problem solving-- together--over who the most opinionated, three-legged-dog-loving person was. I even witnessed a teacher ask a kid if they knew of a staff member that had a golden retriever. Climate can change with the weather, and will fluctuate day-to-day, but culture is much deeper. QUEST values its culture and its history, so let us always continue to make that a priority--even on years it is not a district goal.
Thanks for being awesome colleagues and champions for kids. Together, we can do anything.
G's on the Report Cards:
Greg and I are starting a conversation at level meetings around goal setting--the intent, whether we are "really" promoting agency in the current state, and the confusion of G's on the report cards. After we hear from each level at a level meeting, which is a time to really unpack and process our thoughts and opinions, it will be brought to a school vote. Meaning, teaching staff that fill out the report cards will be asked to vote; this will inform the final decision and next steps. I am sharing this to be transparent with the decision making process.
Some critical questions for all of us to chew on:
-Do students know their goals? Can an outsider walk into the class and ask a child what their big goals are for the year, and the student able to articulate it?
-Can students reflect and measure if they are reaching their goal? Do you have a process to do this a little at a time? Or, is it a last minute cram session before portfolio share?
-What is the "just right" amount of goals by level?
-How does goal setting and portfolio share, if done with the student as the centerpiece, build agency?
Report Cards:
IC will be opening soon, with a closing date of March 11. Please remember no comments are necessary this marking period as we do portfolio share.
Principal Pick
We will re-convene for the Principal Pick read aloud time in March. I was hoping to restart it this month, but with the Erin's Law presentations and the shortened month, it is best to pick it back up full-steam-ahead in March. In the meantime, I am always available to read to your classroom. If you want me in, just ask.
Chew on This:
Keep Learning:
Click here! Consider how you can look at the data you collect through a lens of equity. Who is being served? Who is being missed?
With 3-8 exams in the not-too-distant future, you might be interested in the options of locating and assigning released NYS questions in the eDoctrina system:
Assigning
NYS Released Exams or Questions in eDoctrina.pdf .
You
can assign a whole year’s worth of released questions very quickly (page 2) or
make a creation of your own that pulls from different years (pages 3-4).The
best part is that all you need to do is select what questions you want to
assign as the answer key and standards have already been completed for you!
Please check out my eDoctrina BOCES Support site for several other Help Docs and please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you and/or your school with eDoctrina implementation.
Ryan Maier,
Instructional Technology Specialist
Monroe/Orleans Accountability,
Assessment & Reporting Services (M.A.A.R.S.)
