Meeting with Humanities Teams

Thursday, September 6, 2012

2:30-3:30- Staff Conference Center

***Send out reminder email to everyone on Wednesday with location… not sure if my office is big enough and tell them to bring iPads!!

Purpose:

The purpose of this meeting is to discuss 10+ American, 9+ English and Clustering in American Studies classes.

10+ American

• Explanation of 10+ to the new American teachers

  • What does it look like?

  • Are there different assessments for 10+?

  • What resources are available? Binder? Electronic?

  • How is 10+ communicated to students and parents?

  • How are 10+ successes and concerns communicated from team to team to team?

• What changes, if any, need to be made to any facet of 10+ for the 2012-2013 school year?

• How do we assure that what we communicate to students and parents is consistent?

  • Is there one letter that is available? Where is it housed? Does it need to be edited? Is it available online? Should it be if it is not? Who is responsible for changes made to the letter from year to year?

  • When will students be educated about the 10+ option? When is the deadline for students to sign up? When will the option be re-introduced second semester?

  • Back to School Night is Wednesday, September 12 at 6:00.

    • What additional ways do we have to inform parents about 10+?

9+ English

• Explanation of 9+ and the pilot year during 2011-2012

• What successes and concerns arose around 9+?

• What resources are available? Binder? Electronic?

• What curriculum development needs to happen during 2012-13?

• What resources are needed?

Clustering

• Explanation of what clustering is and why we decided to try it.

• Purpose of clustering: Improving instruction so that we better meet the needs of our ELL and GT students.

• Self-assessment questions on iPads (The purpose of this is to analyze where we are so that we can make more informed decisions to support clustering instruction this year.)

• Discussion of first question, “What are your best hopes and worst fears for clustering during the 2012-13 school year?”

• Ways to support clustering instruction

  • Pass out Winebrenner and Brulles books

  • National Conference on Gifted & Talented Education, Denver, November

    • Want to send a team that can then bring back and share

  • Demonstration of how to access and time to look at the learning plans of students (ELL and Advanced Learning Plans) using Alpine Achievement and Infinite Campus.

  • Practice utilizing the above plans to make decisions for unit and daily lessons.

  • Use resources on https://sshspd.pbworks.com/w/page/52433926/Clustering

    • Videos each about an hour

      • Watch together and discuss how to apply to our specific grade levels and classrooms?

  • Opportunities to observe clustering at elementary schools

  • Bring in trainers?

  • Look at student work

  • Regular times to meet?

    • Monthly? Every six weeks?

    • During 8^th hour?

    • After school?

    • CDE credit definitely available no matter when we meet

    • ASC credit is being explored by Marty: issue of double-dipping if we meet during the school day; he is trying to get a straight answer.