Instructional Minute

Strengthening Our Work Together

Our work continues to center on sharpening our focus on results and strengthening our collaborative culture. As teams, this means getting clear on what students must learn, using common assessments to gather meaningful evidence, and working together to respond to student needs. This also requires a shift from independence to interdependence, moving from discussion to shared commitment and collective responsibility for student learning.

A Shift in Focus

From external factors → internal actions we can control
From inputs (what we do) → results (what students learn)
From activities → evidence-based goals for student learning
From individual assessment practices → collaborative use of common data to respond to students

A Shift in Culture

From independence → interdependence
From complaint → commitment
From long-term plans only → short-term, actionable wins
From generic recognition → specific celebration of progress and impact

"To truly learn and demonstrate growth, we have to return to the purpose of the journey, which was to ensure learning for all- students and educators." - Dr. Regina Owens

Teacher Moves~ Commit to Collective Responsibility

“Commitment to collective responsibility” is the lever that makes everything else you’re doing actually work. Without it, teams can go through all the right motions, common assessments, data meetings, protocols, and still see uneven results because ownership never truly shifts.

At its core, it’s this belief:

Every student in the grade/course is our shared responsibility, not just the ones on my roster.

That sounds simple, but it requires a few deep shifts:

From autonomy → interdependence
From comparison → curiosity
From coverage → learning for all
From “I taught it” → “they learned it”

It’s not:

Losing professional identity
Being forced to teach the same way

Collective responsibility isn’t a structure, it’s a professional commitment:

“I am responsible not only for what happens in my classroom, but for ensuring that every student in our system learns, using the collective expertise of our team.”

When that belief is real, everything else, common assessments, data analysis, interventions, suddenly becomes far more powerful and far more consistent.

K-8 Math Steering Committee

We are looking forward to seeing you at the next Math Steering. Please look for an email from Ms. Sarah Kentner. The K-8 Math Steering Committee meets on the last Tuesday of every month!

9-12 ELA Steering Committee Meeting

We are looking forward to seeing you at the 9-12 English Steering Committee Meeting , which takes place virtually the last Thursday of the month. Please look for an email from Steering Chair Suzy Khoury to join virtually.

9-12 Math Steering Committee

We are looking forward to seeing you at the next 9-12 Math Steering Committee Meeting, which takes place virtually the second Thursday of the month. Please look for an email from Steering Chair Liz Ballinger or Nicole Minor to join virtually.

K-8 Science Steering Committee

The K-8 Science Steering Committee will be held on the last Thursday of every month

at 4:15 pm. Please look for an email from Steering Chair Catherine Cole Adams to join virtually.

pdf

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K-8 Social Studies Steering Committee Flyer.pdf

K-8 ELA Steering Committee Flyer (1).pdf

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The documents attached outline K-8 curricular resources, standards and pacing. This can also be found by clicking here on the LSD website. *Please note that pacing for Illustrative Math powered by Kiddom and Reveal Math will become available as the year progresses.