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ESSA - A brief summary of Every Student Succeeds Act (please note...I am NOT an expert, this is just my personal summary of my day of learning.)

Yesterday I attended a session put on by the Department of Education.  It was a day of learning about the replacement to No Child Left Behind. This new act focuses on continuous improvement instead of accountability.  No longer should districts feel the “shame and blame” of the old SINA/DINA legislation. This new program for school improvement is called the “Every Student Succeeds Act”, referred to as “ESSA”   ESSA gives districts a score in several areas such as proficiency, growth as well as learning environment. Each category is weighed and students are measured against like peers. Schools that are below the 43.9 cut-off are marked “Targeted” or “Comprehensive”   Our elementary was given the “Targeted” status.  We are above the state average in proficiency in both reading and math (Reading 75.81 and Math 85.48) however, one our subcategories was not high enough.  Our low socioeconomic subcategory did not show the necessary growth. Our low socioeconomic rate in reading was 3
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Vision for Instruction in Mathematics Workshop

12/6 - The best part of my job is the fact that I get to attend some of the best trainings and classes.  I spent another great day at the AEA at a class called “Vision for Instruction in Math”. This class was perfect for me because it was developed for Instructional Coaches and Administrators that may not be as comfortable with the content.  We focused on 5 belief statements. For each statement, we were asked to think about our historical beliefs, how we were taught and how math instruction is currently taught in our buildings. The presenters modeled the same lesson several ways so we could really see what it was like to be a student in each scenario. We had some great discussions and it confirmed and challenged  many of my current beliefs on instruction. Here are several of my favorite takeaway statements: Kids need to be in charge of their learning - the person doing the talking is doing the learning Direct instruction comes at the end, during the justification. Student
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Another Great Day of Learning!

Last week, I (Kyla) attended the fall MISIC conference: Learning by Design, Personalize it!  I have always really enjoyed this conference and I was thrilled to get to attend another session by my favorites, Becky Hacker-Kluver, and Jaymie Randel.  This time, their session was about understanding the unique needs of adult learners and how I can use that knowledge to better personalize their coaching cycles.  They had several great suggestions: Make sure that the task is practical and results-oriented Always draw from their past experiences, remember that teachers are the experts! Provide and encourage balance Try and build confidence before asking them to take risks As I was reflecting on this session, I decided that the most interesting part of this is that although it was directed at adult learners, I think that our students are quite similar.  I think these 4 strategies are important to remember regardless of age. I am planning to add these suggestions and the empow
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Takeaways from the ICTM Annual Math Conference

This week, I (Kyla Kiburis) attended the ICTM Annual Math Conference and I wanted to share my 2 favorite takeaways from the day.  I went to a session called, “Creating Classroom Discussions that Matter” by Jeremiah McGraw. He gave us two great examples that we could use right away (that is my favorite type of break out session).  First, he introduced me to the “Three Act Math Format” created by Dan Meyer. It reminded me of the guided inquiry that the new science and social studies standards focus on. The first act has an engaging and perplexing question.  This can be a picture or video. Act two is information and solution seeking and act three is the when the solution is revealed. I loved this format because it seemed to be something that all teachers could incorporate and it reminded me of Buddy Barry’s surprise and delight ideas.  Jeremiah actually walked us through a Three Act problem and I am excited to use it with our staff! Jeremiah also shared his best “Talk Moves” tha
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A few weeks ago I (Kyla Kiburis) had an opportunity to hear 3 of my favorite educational guru’s speak: Todd Whitaker, Jeffrey Zoul and Jimmy Casas.  I have read several of their books and I was excited to hear them in person. It was an awesome day, they were so engaging I was surprised when they announced it was lunchtime (for those of you that know me...that really says something!) The day was so full of great information, I have actually had a hard time deciding what my biggest takeaway was, so I  have narrowed it down to one nugget from each speaker: Jeffery Zoul talked about the importance of growing each day.  Making sure that you have a personal learning network. It made me wonder, what kind of PLNs do our teachers have?  What is my PLN? AND...how can I expand that? Twitter is a great platform for learning and I am working on becoming a more proficient twitter user.  I need to set a goal to actually jump in and take the risk to tackle Twitter. Jimmy Casas challenged
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TLC Blog Post

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Number Talks: Number Talks are a short quick way to get students thinking about how they can organize and group numbers to help solve problems mentally. Mrs. Welter and Mrs. Plett went to class this fall to learn about Number Talks. The week of May 7, they went around to the elementary classrooms to preview Number Talks with the teachers and students. They hope to continually educate the staff of the building on the benefits of Number Talks though some PD time next year. Everyday Math Technology: The sixth grade class went to visit the second grade classrooms to help them work on the Everyday Math technology.  The big kid helpers assisted the younger students with logging into their accounts and also playing a game with them.  The second grade students enjoyed playing against the sixth grade helpers.
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Incorporation of Song in a Math Classroom

Rise/Run, that’s how you can find the slope of a line.  The 7th graders have been studying this concept and other concepts related to linear relationships.   Several students were struggling to remember some of the essentials. So, I added “song” into my classroom.  Trying something like this for me was a first. I have to be honest, when I thought it up, I thought only a few of the kids would like it and the rest would hate it. I anticipated bad attitudes. What did I get instead?  Excited 7th graders! I told them they could use any school appropriate song and they had to write their own words to match the assignment.  They had to incorporate one of 2 main concepts and I challenged them to add more for additional points. If they did not want to sing, they had the option of doing a chant/cheer.  I let them have all sorts of choice on this assignment---the size of their groups, the people in their groups, song vs cheer, and concept(s) covered (from my list). How would I summari
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