Ready for a New School Year

Welcome back, everyone!

If you've read my last few posts, you may be wondering (legitimately!) if I will ever tire of using  "Ready Math" puns in my post titles. Although I can't promise this will be that last time, at least you know I'm aware of the problem... Hopefully, that's a good first step.😉

To start you all off this year, in this post I will attempt to answer these questions:

• How can I access Ready right now?
• How are teachers in Washington Central expected to use the Ready program?

See the headers below the break. If you have a question that I'm not addressing, please email me (edorsey@u32.org).

How can I access Ready right now?

All Washington Central math teachers should already have their print materials (both student and teacher editions). If you are missing materials, please let us know by editing this document (you will need to be logged into gmail). However, these print materials and many more resources are available on the Teacher Toolbox. We have a new access code for the new school year. 

Are you new to the Teacher Toolbox? Go to teacher-toolbox.com and click on REGISTER NOW.

1. Enter your email address and create a password. Click Next.
2. Enter your First and Last Names. Enter your school zip code and select your school from the dropdown.
3. Select your role and grade level and click Finish. Check your email and activate your Account by clicking on the link
4. Login using your email address and password you created.
5. When prompted for a license code, enter the code in this Access Flyer. (Please note: you will need to be logged into your u32.org gmail account to access the flyer.)
6. Select the Ready Classroom or Ready, the subject and then your grade and enjoy! 

Have you accessed the Teacher Toolbox before? Go to teacher-toolbox.com.

1. Enter your username and password, then click LOG IN.
2. Click View or Add License Codes and enter the code(s) in this Access Flyer. (Please note: you will need to be logged into your u32.org gmail account to access the flyer.)
3. Select the Ready Classroom or Ready, the subject and then your grade and enjoy! 

Getting started with the Ready Teacher Toolbox:

If you're wondering how to navigate the Toolbox, you can check out my video from last year or wait for the training on Wednesday.

How are teachers in Washington Central expected to use the Ready program?

Often when we think of adopting programs, we hear the phrase "implementation with fidelity" tossed around. Most often, it is used to describe what is expected of teachers regarding how the program is to be used. In June, the elementary teachers who piloted (and recommended) Ready as a math program developed a common understanding of what it will mean to implement Ready with fidelity in Washington Central.

If you're interested in checking out the process, here is the agenda (with notes) for that meeting. 

To summarize, the group decided that:

• Teachers will reference the WCSU Curriculum Guide for their grade level and use the Ready unit assessments included in it as district benchmarks (instead of the old WCSU Benchmark Assessments):
• Kindergarten
• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 6
• Grade 7
• Grade 8
• "Fidelity" doesn’t mean lockstep. The program will provide a guide for delivering math knowledge, but teachers may need to adjust it to fit the needs of their students.
• The program is to be supplemented and adapted, not used as a supplement.
• Teachers will address the essential concepts using consistent language, routines (for example, turn and talk or try, discuss, reflect), and tasks.
• Teachers will be expected to reference the lessons (focusing on the language, models, routines, sequencing), but keep autonomy - use professional judgement with the details.

Again if you're interested, here is a document describing what the group came up with.

The group came away with a guiding metaphor the we found helpful. 

Imagine that learning math is like getting to know the United States traveling by car. The goal is for students to really get a lay of the land.

Without more guidance, there are many ways this can be interpreted. Where should they go? What's important to see? To clarify, the WCSU Math Performance Indicators gave us some common "destinations" that we wanted all students to access. 

A list of destinations alone isn't always enough to help navigate if the goal is to see the whole country. What's an efficient route? Where should we go first? The WCSU Curriculum Guides were developed to help provide an itinerary. However, the Ready program provides us with a road map that can be used to link our destinations.

However, not all road adventures go as planned. There may be flat tires, construction, detours, etc. There may also be amazing and unexpected landmarks to visit along the way. My route may differ somewhat from the plan. Your route may differ somewhat from mine, but we try to implement 60% of the program 80% of the time so that all of our students are getting from here to there.

In summary, teachers should look at the materials and unpack the lessons, routines, and learning targets. Then they can decide how to navigate the next bend in the road based on their expert knowledge of their students. Ready will provide a helpful travel guide.

If anyone needs any "roadside assistance" please feel free to send Anne Carter or me an email.  Anne will be supporting Calais and East Montpelier this year. I will be supporting Berlin, Doty, Rumney, and U-32.