Week 10 "A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell when his influence stops." – Henry Adams

Can you believe we are nearing the end of the 1st nine weeks of school already?! We have accomplished so much in such a short period of time! Look out 2nd nine weeks...here we come!! 

Educational Excellence

T-TESS Refresher

As we move into scheduling T-TESS pre-observation conferences, observations, and post-conferences, below are some points to remember about each phase.

The purpose of T-TESS – it’s a process designed to support continued growth and development. With T-TESS, it’s okay to be where you are; it’s not okay to stay there.

Pre-Conferences

·         T-TESS centers on conferences that reveal the appraisee’s thinking. Why is the teacher doing what he or she does? Upon what are their decisions and actions based? Are students responding as the teacher planned when designing the lesson(s)? •

·         For pre-conferences, the ultimate goal is to better understand how a teacher plans, not just what a single lesson plan entails. • Pre-conferences are an opportunity to focus on planning – how does a teacher make scaffolding decisions, grouping decisions, decisions about activities? How well does a teacher know his or her students? How does that teacher translate that knowledge into planning?

T-TESS Rubric

·         The T-TESS rubric has a lot of “echo” in it, and evidence can map to multiple spots on the rubric. That’s not an accident – the teacher steering committee that built the rubric wanted it to be more holistic than previous rubrics and to reinforce that many practices bleed into each other.

•     The success of a single activity is dependent on several integrated practices within planning, instruction, and classroom environment. A breakdown in any one area can lead to breakdowns in several others.

·         This makes mapping evidence to the rubric more challenging, but it also provides great fuel for conversations.

Pre-conferences and post-conferences are opportunities to figure out what the root causes of both successes and struggles were so that reinforcement and refinement decisions are more accurate and valuable for teachers.

Intentional Instruction

We want to recognize Kinder for demonstrating the following Kuehnle Core Value when working with Jaime Drew on creating a meaningful assessment and rubric for their students.

• We believe that educators should be flexible and have the courage to change course when needed with a student-centered philosophy.  

Visible Learning 
You have heard us mention Visible Learning and John Hattie's work.  You may have heard that we even sent a few teachers to hear him speak.  If you are wondering what the fuss is all about and why you should be interested in Visible Learning, then click here to read this brief article.

Collaborative Community

Same Box Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb There's a reason sports analogies are often used when discussing the workplace. One reason is because you are very much part of a team, the educators' team — a selfless group that works long and hard to ensure the success of their students and of future generations. Being a member of this team means you work well with your fellow teammates for a common goal, one that understands the importance of turning out responsible and caring members of society. At the end of the day, we all go back out into the same world. You can be proud that your team is making the world a better place to live.

With something to think about . . . 

V.A.C.A.T.I.O.N. 
Visit another classroom and talk it over nicely! 

We have so many great teachers on campus that we can learn from.  If you know a teacher who implements Daily 5 seamlessly, uses NHA effectively, teaches a concept that you struggle with well, or anything else you can think of, take some time to observe them.  You can schedule a time with the teacher you want to observe so you are sure you are visiting during a time you will see what you are looking for.  Planning would be the ideal time, but if the observation is going to be meaningful, help increase student success in your classroom, and/or assist you with your T-TESS goal then we can help with providing coverage.  This is a perfect opportunity to learn from our peers, so take advantage of it!

Let's Celebrate The Latest Kuehnle All-Star Megaphone Recipients: 

Deanna Brewer

Judy Carroll

Keri Lenard

Nancy Wood

Hailey Haynes

Daria Clark

Bethany Iselt