Noteworthy+News

Changes to Middle and High School Math Courses
====With the blessing of A-Team, the middle and high school math committee recently developed a procedure for implementing the new Common Core math standards for the 2012-2013 school year. Below please find a document that explains this process. This document will be sent home with all students in middle and high school and will also be the basis for press releases and parent email notifications. Please share this information with your staff.==== [|Changes in Math.pdf] **//Algebra I Placement//** Please find attached the GCS Administrative Procedure to be used for placing students in Algebra I in Granville County. Beth, Stan, and Dr. Martín have worked to capture the ongoing conversation with regard to to using EVAAS and placing students in Algebra. The Parent Letter referenced in the procedure is also attached on district letterhead.





**//Final AdvancEd QAR visit schedule//** Please see the attached and participate as I have asked. Also, please plan to be at the 2:00 presentation on March 14th if you can.

**//Revised Bloom's Taxonomy//** The attached powerpoint was created by GCS Curriculum and Instruction Team and presented to all staffs a couple of years ago and is being used by principals as they design their staff development delivery for February 24th and beyond.

[|bloomspres-REVISED final.ppt]

Our SAR (Standards Assessment Report) was submitted and accepted. Please see for your pleasure reading
 * February 14, 2012: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!**



January 31, 2012 FYI:

January 17, 2012

Attached are three 'position papers' from the NCASA and the NCSSA outlining their stances on the budget, the school calendar, and charter schools. [|2012-2013_Budget_Concerns_1-6-12-1.pdf] [|2012-2013_Calendar_Concerns_1-6-12-2.pdf] [|2012-2013_Charter_Concerns_1-6-12-2.pdf]

//** January: Superintendent's Advisory Council Questions for C&I:**//


 * Has Granville Co. Schools reviewed the data from reading 3d as well as EOG scores to determine the effectiveness of the current balanced literacy initiative? Has this information been compared to the data generated by Stovall Shaw and Butner Stem Elementary School which uses the research based, phonics instruction program Wilson Foundation, in addition to balanced literacy. Is the school system aware that it takes an average of 4 years for students to "catch up" if they miss out on building a solid sound symbol/ decoding basis in the early years (this is of course if students receive 90 minutes of intense reading instruction daily) How much money was spent on purchasing Read 180 for Credle Elementary School and West Oxford Elementary School? Has the system considered the benefits (both fiscally and educationally) of implementing more research based, direct instruction programs in early years, rather than spending money in an attempt to catch up?**

Once, a teacher asked us if we had considered making a school calendar that allowed school to begin in early August so students could have their exams in by the holiday break. It was obvious that this teacher was unaware that specific parameters in the calendar legislation would prevent her request from being a reality. Thus, a lack of information was reflected in the question. It appears that this is the case again. Let us respond to each of the multiple questions contained within the inquiry:


 * Has Granville Co. Schools reviewed the data from reading 3d as well as EOG scores to determine the effectiveness of the current balanced literacy initiative?**

//No, Reading 3D is not designed to determine the effectiveness of a core literacy instructional model. It is a screening tool designed to indicate a student’s potential risk for reading difficulties. Determining the effectiveness of any model for instruction is a complex process that requires the collection and analysis of multiple sources and types of data carried out in a comprehensive longitudinal study. To assume that using data from a screening tool such as Reading 3D solely would provide accurate and abundant evidence to determine the effectiveness of a model of instruction is erroneous, shortsighted, simplistic thinking. As in the case above, using EOG scores as “ the measure” for determining the effectiveness of an instructional model would be ineffective, misleading, and not educationally sound practice.//


 * Has this information been compared to the data generated by Stovall Shaw and Butner Stem Elementary School which uses the research based, phonics instruction program Wilson Foundation, in addition to balanced literacy.**

//No, it is not an accurate measure. See above.// //Fundations is easily integrated into the word study block of the GCS BL Core Instructional Model. As described in the program literature provided by Wilson Fundations that follows, one is not exclusive of the other.//
 * // Wilson Fundations for K-3 is a phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling program for the general education classroom. Fundations is based upon the Wilson Reading System® principles and serves as a prevention program to help reduce reading and spelling failure. Rather than completely replace core curriculum, Fundations provides the research-validated strategies that complement installed programs to meet federal standards and serve the needs of all children. The Fundations curriculum is appropriate for use with a comprehensive language arts program to create a strong foundation for reading and writing.//


 * Is the school system aware that it takes an average of 4 years for students to "catch up" if they miss out on building a solid sound symbol/ decoding basis in the early years (this is of course if students receive 90 minutes of intense reading instruction daily)?**

//Unfortunately, we are all too aware of the long-term effects that result when a district has no core instructional model for language arts and literacy. It is made quite evident in the PDK audit results. However, it goes way beyond sound-symbol relationships and decoding. Establishing and implementing Balanced Literacy as our core instructional model, which includes direct instruction in building a solid sound symbol/decoding system along with the gradual release and transfer in reading workshop, guided reading, and independent reading is a major step for our district this year to rectify that situation. The comprehensive nature of the BL Framework is designed to scaffold, support, and extend students’ learning, understanding, and application of what is taught in word study. Each element of the BL Framework has a research base and together becomes greater than components individually.//


 * How much money was spent on purchasing Read 180 for Credle Elementary School and West Oxford Elementary School?**

//Unfortunately, not enough to provide the intervention for all those in need.// //C. G. Credle Elementary and West Oxford Elementary are using the Read 180 program to supplement the instruction of the lowest achieving readers in fifth grade as are all of our middle and high schools. These students are missing many skills that would provide them with opportunities to be successful not just in literacy/reading but also in an overall school experience. This program is not taking the place of core instruction in literacy but will supplement the instruction provided by the regular classroom teacher. In addition, the Read 180 program has many elements of the BL framework, which allows it to be a nice complement to the district initiative.//


 * Has the system considered the benefits (both fiscally and educationally) of implementing more research based, direct instruction programs in early years, rather than spending money in an attempt to** **catch up?**

// Not so much programs, but certainly in adopting a district-wide approach and model for literacy instruction as evidenced in the decision to implement the GCS Core Instructional Model for Language Arts and Literacy. Since this is the first year that our district has had a Core Instructional Model of Language Arts and Literacy, it is and will continue to be necessary for a period of time to provide intensive intervention for certain students. This is especially so for students in schools that have a population where more than 15% need Tier 2 interventions as evidenced in RTi statistics //. //Research shows that the number one factor in student achievement is having an effective teacher in the classroom. Many students come to us with limited skills and it is the responsibility of each teacher to meet that child where they are in order to provide appropriate instruction to enhance their skills.//

__In summary:__ The Balanced Literacy Framework is a model (not a program) for delivering literacy instruction. It provides a structure for teachers that can ensure that all critical elements associated with literacy development and achievement are embedded into the school day when implemented with fidelity. These elements include reading, writing, word study, and interactive read aloud. Granville County began the initiative of a common framework for literacy instruction during the 2008-2009 school year. At that time only two schools received minimal training in the framework with limited follow-up. A comprehensive plan was developed (as per the audit) to have all teachers in K-5 trained over the course of a few years. At the completion of the 2011-2012 school year all K-5 teachers in our nine elementary schools will have an awareness of the framework as well as all 6-8 Language Arts teachers.

Granville County Schools will always support the use of research-based methods to increase and enhance student achievement and performance. The Balanced Literacy Framework and Read 180 are two such efforts.

//** November: Superintendent's Advisory Council Questions for C&I:**//

Topic: GREAT and the Use of Social Security Numbers

Some teachers have expressed concerns about having to enter a social security number to access the GREAT online professional development site. Sometimes teachers have to access this site from unsecure networks and they are very concerned about their personal and professional information being compromised. Please see the links below for information/laws regarding the use of social security numbers:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d051016t.pdf

http://epci.org/privacy/ssn/

Response: In the preliminary set up of GREAT, the choice to use either SS numbers or Employee numbers was given and SS was chosen to eliminate the burden of having to memorize yet another number. Assigning a random employee number for use with the system would not be a problem. The vendor assured the safety of the system.

Topic: Professional Development Days

It feels like we jump on every "band wagon" idea that comes along in education and we never have a chance to fully experience or see any of them out. For instance, at our first PD day at the beginning of the school year we were told that we would be developing a county-wide curriculum (a decision that I think is an EXCELLENT idea). We were told that we wouldn't be expected to create this curriculum in one meeting and that we would use each PD day this school year to work on this. Then, we got to our second PD day and were introduced to the something new - NC FALCON. Of course, this turned out to not be a requirement because of technology issues... but the point is, we should have been working the entire time on our curriculum as promised.

Response: We “got to our second PD day” on August 19th. October 28 represented our 3rd of 5 professional development days that were granted through the districts’ request for a waiver to 5 additional student days as assigned by the legislators for the 2011-12 school year. As a recipient state of the Race to the Top Grant, we were required to develop a Professional Development Plan for the transition to Common Core State Standards to be taught beginning in the 2012-13 school year. The NCDPI determined that our state would also begin new curriculums in most other subjects as well. From the introductory video shown to all groups on August 18th, you were able to see the state’s plan for sharing modules on topics as related to the transition to CCSS and Essential Standards as well as various documents that revealed the districts’ PD plan. To date, those have included: Call for Change, Understanding the Standards, NC FALCON, and ITES. In the initial video introduction, all staff members were also told that this was a massive task that could not be completed by a small number of people. Each of the PD days contains a portion of work on the preliminary curriculum documents that will guide the final product. NC FALCON is a worthy tool for any educator to enhance their pedagogy and continues to be recommended.

Topic: Session "Leaders" for PD

It is obvious to me that the people who have been put "in charge" of leading our professional development sessions have not been adequately trained to do so in a meaningful way. Example: on our last PD day, we were read to, aloud, from Power Point slides... verbatim. We teach our kids who do Power Point slide presentations in our classes that there are two main rules NOT to break: 1. use bullets on the slides to trigger discussion, and 2. DO NOT read straight from the slides! We actually went around the room, round-robin style, and all read aloud from the loquacious slides. This was not only NOT very productive to our understanding of the topic at hand, but to be honest - was incredibly patronizing to our intelligence as professionals. We need to have PD session leaders that fully understand the subject matter at hand, and are ready to engage us, as colleagues and professionals, in meaningful discussions on how we can really use this information in our classrooms.

Response: You are exactly right. Our staff are not professional staff developers. However, it is expected that this work be done and we can only be thankful to the staff members who are willing to take a leadership roll to do a task that no one wishes to do and that most would opt out of attending if given the chance. It would, therefore, be the expectation that each “colleague and professional” would put forth effort to contribute to the process and thank their colleagues for being willing to do the work. The choice to create and use scripts to deliver the message was made such that, much like any standardized test, the same message would be delivered to all of the staff of Granville County Schools. As a professional, you are expected to be “in charge” of your own behavior and contribution to the task at hand. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

//** September : Superintendent's Advisory Council Questions for C&I:**// Topic: Mandatory Grading System

Why was the new mandatory grading system established? Why is there only up to a 10% emphasis on homework (one of Marzano’s high yield strategies)? Marzano recommends assigning homework regularly and holding students accountable for homework by giving specific feedback and counting it as a grade. Why is homework only a very small percentage of the GCS grading policy?


 * // Response: //** **// There are two questions being asked. //**


 * // Inherent in the question is “What is the purpose of grading?” The administration of Granville County Schools believes that the purpose of our grading system should be to reflect a student’s mastery of the skills and information taught in the classroom. We believe that our grading system should follow criterion-referenced standards. //****// Criterion-referenced standards compare each student's performance to clearly stated performance descriptions that differentiate levels of quality. Teachers judge students' performance by what each student does, regardless of how well or poorly their classmates perform. //****// Research conducted by Thomas Guskey indicates that grading should also be product-driven, rather than process-driven. Grades should not be assigned for subjective tasks that measure compliance, behavior, or student effort. Therefore, our grading system should most closely be aligned to product-criterion such as informal and formal assessments directed by the teacher. //**


 * // The second question is specific to homework: “What is the role of homework in the overall grading of a student?” We agree that homework can have an important role in our schools. One of the high yield strategies that Marzano identifies is indeed homework and practice. Research indicates that homework can positively influence student achievement – but first, several conditions must be met: homework must be graded for accuracy – not simply for completion; homework also needs to include teacher feedback or comments; and homework needs to have a clear design or purpose that is articulated to the students. Teachers also need to remember that there are many other ways to integrate the component of ‘practice’ into daily instruction at school. Having students practice for mastery and the conceptual understanding of a skill should happen every single day within the classroom. //**


 * // By including homework in our grading system, we are acknowledging its importance. The 0-10% weighting gives teachers the flexibility to integrate it to the extent they deem appropriate. The remaining 90-100% is a reflection of the administration’s philosophy that grades should be an accurate measurement of mastery through assessment of students. //**