Professional LearningOctober 5, 2011

Focused Walk

Schoolwide Walk-Through facilitated by BOE will be November

Our Focus:

Standards-Based Instruction Strand (CLASS Keys)

Demonstrates research-based strategies

Engages Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Communicates Learning Expectations

Provides Effective Feedback

Preparing for the Walk Through

Start preparing your lessons and now

Make sure that your activities address what we will be looking for:

Reasearch-Based Strategies (i.e. activators, summarizers, grouping, pairs, peer-tutoring, etc)

Higher Order Thinking

students should be highly engaged in challenging work that requires authentic ideas, analysis or evaluation

They should not be working on textbook generated worksheets, copying from the overhead, or memorizing definitions unless this is absolutely critical to the lesson

Cont’d Communicates learning expectations

This can be accomplished through EQ; however, it is more meaningful when it is not only posted, but revisited throughout class

Provides effective feedback

Can be written or verbal

Posted student work is an easy way to accomplish this if you are using the language of the standards and saying more than “good job

Verbal responses to students’ questions, answers, etc also fall into this category…as long as you give more than “good” or “yes” or “no, that is incorrect”

Showcase Student Work

GraduateFIRST

Dropouts prevented our making AYP

Lost 21 of the 52 on our list from last year

Our focus this year: Affective (School Culture and Climate)

Our goal: Create a sense of community in our school

Our plans:

Fellowship opportunities

Meetings with Chamber, Kiwanis, County Commissioners, City of Sylvester and Sylvester Local

You can Help!

We need ideas to help with GradFIRST so please share your concerns and ideas with us

Expect a survey soon

Your thoughts?