2016-2017 ...And we're off!

Greetings, WCSU math nerds!

I hope you're all having a fabulous first week back with our students.  It was nice to catch up with so many of you last week.  As always, I was reminded how fortunate I am to work with you.  To kick off the year, I'd like to deliver this post in bite-sized chunks to update you on these news items:

• Math Coaching goals, schedule and format for 2016-2017
• Non-negotiables are "performance indicators?" - A summary of language changes
• Guidance for math reporting
• WCSU Benchmark Assessments - What and When?
• STAR 360 Assessment Tool

Math Coaching goals, schedule and format for 2016-2017

This year, we are switching to a residency model for math instructional coaching.  I will be spending weeks focused on a particular location.  While in residence, I will be collaborating with teachers around "high leverage" math instructional practices,  such as:

Why switch to this model?  The idea is that it will create more opportunities for us to have high depth teacher interactions wherein we plan instruction, enact our plan, collect data and reflect on student learning and our instruction together.  These are the interactions that help us grow the most as teachers, but they take time and need to relate to our own context.  Enter, the WCSU Math Coaching Residency...  As of right now, here is my schedule:
  
WCSU Math Coaching Residency Schedule for Fall 2016
Aug. 29 - Sept. 9:   Focus on Interventions (STAR 360 & diagnostics) 
Sept. 12 - 29:           Berlin Math Residency (Focus on all grade levels)
Oct. 3 - 14:               EMES Math Residency
Oct. 17 - 21:             Berlin Math Residency (Focus on Grades 1 and 4)
Oct. 24 - 28:            U-32 Math Residency (Focus on Grades 7-9)
Oct. 31 - Nov. 11:    Doty Math Residency

Nov. 14 - 23:            Calais Math Residency
Nov. 28 - Dec. 2:     Berlin Math Residency
Dec. 5 - 16:               Rumney Math Residency
Dec. 19 - 23:             Semester 2 Planning/Coordination
Jan. 2 - 13:               U-32 Math Residency

While working onsite in the various buildings, I will document any planning we do and resources we develop or use.  I will be sharing it out with grade level teams through this blog, so now is a good time to subscribe to my blog (if you haven't already) so that you can get updates.

Non-negotiables are "performance indicators?" - A summary of language changes

Yes, it's true.  We need to adjust our language somewhat.  If you've been kicking around the SU for a while and you want the Cliff Note version, the big news is:

WCSU Non-negotiables are now called "WCSU Performance Indicators" and the Levels of Knowing for a particular non-negotiable is now called a "Proficiency Scale."  They function the same way. 

Those scratching their heads or wanting a more detailed description, you can check out this link.  Julie Kiefer (U-32 Math Department Head) did a great job explaining this transition, so I borrowed and expanded upon her example.  If you're still scratching your head, shoot me an email (edorsey@u32.org).

Guidance for math reporting

I am currently working on a document that will provide guidance for teachers reporting a student's growth and level of proficiency in relation to our benchmark expectations.  I need to finish the draft and run it by Jen Miller-Arsenault and the Math Steering folks.  In a nutshell, this is a priority, and I want to get it into the hands of teachers yesterday.

WCSU Benchmark Assessments - What and When? 

Many of you came to check out the summer work that the WCSU Math Steering Committee did on the Benchmark Assessments.  For info on how to access the assessments see this blog post.  Please note that you need to be logged into the google domain wcsu32.org to view these assessments. 

Some of you asked when these assessments needed to be done.  As of right now, I don't know for sure.  We wrote them assuming that they would be done in late October.  I am waiting for our local comprehensive assessment plan to be finalized.

I will send out more information as we get closer to October.

STAR 360 Assessment Tool

The last bit of news for now... I am happy to report that we are switching from using EasyCBM as a universal screener to using a new tool called STAR 360.  If you want to get a preview of the tool, you can check out this website.  In short, it is MUCH more than just a math screener.  I will be sending more information about this soon.  A group of us with representation from each school in the SU received training just yesterday.

More to come... Stay tuned!

If you made it to the end of this post, thanks for making it all worthwhile to me.  If you have any questions or feedback, please let me know.