“You don’t need a title to be a leader.” I don’t know who first made that statement, but I see
evidence of it in our district every day. No matter our position in the district, we all have the
power to be a leader, communicate our passion for students, contribute to the greater
mission of the district, help others and learn from others. This is a great place to teach,
learn and grow.
Steve Thompson
Language Arts by Deborah Zele
Formative assessments. Summative assessments. Diagnostic assessments. It would be easy to
dismiss these as mere buzzwords in the education world, but they are solid practices that are crucial
components of effective lessons. Done effectively, these evaluations provide important feedback so that
instruction can be adapted to the needs of your students. Teachers are always on the lookout for a wide
variety of formative assessment techniques to add to their “bag of tricks.” Quick and easy formative
assessment strategies are available in the Teacher Share Folder, in the Assessment Resources folder.
Access the folder for a PDF document titled, Simple Formative Assessment Strategies that Enhance
Instruction, with some examples to get you started.
Differentiation by Katie Zalar
I was very eager and excited to take on the challenge of being a Gifted Instructional Coach this year. At each of the
elementary buildings, we have clustered our specific gifted students in the third through fifth grades. As a coach, I work
with the cluster teachers to help them meet the needs of their high ability students. As the year has progressed, I have
found that my job has moved beyond only working with the cluster teachers. One day I am finding resources for a
kindergarten teacher and the next day I am talking through differentiation strategies with a high school teacher. The
coaching role is one of support. I am continually looking for new strategies and ideas to share with the teachers. We
need to meet the students where they are and extend their learning from that point forward. It’s a daily challenge to
juggle so many learning styles and needs. I am here to offer support and ideas. For help with differentiation ideas,
please email me. [email protected]
On the Horizon for W-E
STEM School . . . We are completing interviews and the final selection process for
the new STEM school during the next couple of weeks and should have initial staffing
placements announced in early April.
SLO Assessments . . . Teachers should provide their SLO assessment data to their
evaluators by April 30th so that the student growth measures information can be entered
into eTPES and available to teachers by May 10th. SLO post-assessments should be
completed by April 11th in order to meet those deadlines.
Technology . . . The Computer Services department is working with eSchoolView as our new web host
to complete the template for the new website. This website will be visually appealing and organized to be user
-friendly for everyone. The contract for the new copiers was approved by the Board of Education at the
February meeting. The copiers selected were Xerox copiers and will be supported by ComDoc. The
deployment of the new machines will began March 18th and should be completed districtwide within two
weeks. A trainer will follower the installers to familiarize staff with the new equipment.
Curriculum . . . Any teacher participating in a textbook pilot is being asked to complete a
comprehensive textbook adoption rubric to ensure that we are reviewing all of the critical elements of potential
instructional materials to select the best option. Summer school positions are beginning to be posted. The
K-8 program is being revamped to be four weeks in length, and a two week preparation session is being
added specifically for third graders who still need to pass the Grade 3 Reading OAA per the Third Grade
Reading Guarantee. We will offer OGT prep again and the online credit recovery option for high school
students.