Turnaround Talk

August 2024

Food for Thought

Important Dates

August

Students and Teachers Return (see below)

September

Sept. 2...Labor Day Holiday
Sept. 16...2024-25 ACIPs should be completed and approved by the school and district.
Sept. 17...Turnaround Academy...Washington K-8, Birmingham City Schools

Back to School Dates

A Summer of Learning

If you have been an educator for any length of time, someone has asked, "What do you do all summer?The teachers and administrators from our Turnaround Schools spent part of their summer engaged in professional learning designed to improve their craft so they can better meet the needs of their students. Based on the engagement illustrated in the pictures below, I am confident it is going to be an awesome year!

Turnaround Academy - MEGA Conference Session

Thanks to all of our Turnaround Administrators and Teachers who attended the Turnaround Academy session at this years MEGA Conference. It is always a joy to spend time with dedicated, passionate educators. It was evident from the level of engagement in the room that our Turnaround Schools are ready for an incredible 2024-2025 school year! HERE is the information that was shared during our session.

As a reminder, four of our Turnaround Academy sessions this year will be face-to-face meetings at various Turnaround Schools (see schedule below). These sessions will be geared toward our school principals. While district and additional school staff are invited to attend, only the principal is required.

Planning Checklist and Calendars 2024-2025

One challenge for those serving as principals is being proactive vs. reactive. To assist principals in understanding critical tasks that need to be accomplished now while keeping an eye on those to prepare for in the future, I encourage you to utilize the documents linked below. While these are not an exhaustive list of all monthly activities, they do include high-leverage, critical activities, and deadlines of which school administrators should be aware.

Beginning of Year Checklist

OSI Principal Calendar Checklist

Student Information Systems Data Calendar

Assessment Testing Dates for 2024-2025

Hot off the press! ACAP Summative Resources

The ALSDE just released the updated 2024-2025 ACAP Summative Resources (see below). Please share this information with your teachers. A few of the updates to this document include:

Test Blueprints: Updated title on ELA blueprints; Added reading blueprints
Performance Level Descriptors: Added grades 2 and 3 reading PLDs
Item Specifications: no change
Instructional Supports: added links for updated ELA supports
Text-Depending Writing: Updated links that were inactive

ACAP Summative Resources

PREP (Preparing Relief Educators Program)

The PREP Program is designed to provide high-quality resources to emergency-certificate teachers, long-term substitutes, and early service teachers, empowering them to excel in their roles and make a positive, long-lasting difference in the lives of their students.

If you have any teachers that fall in one of these categories I encourage you to make this resource available to them. A list of topics and supporting resources can be found HERE.

Major Gains on Reading Scores, More 3rd Graders Reading Sufficiently

By Thomas Spencer on June 27th, 2024

Alabama third graders showed major improvement in reading performance in 2024, as the percentage of Alabama students reading sufficiently by the end of third grade jumped by 8 percentage points compared to the previous year. The number of 3rd graders scoring “below grade level” on reading decreased from over 9,000 in 2023 to under 5,000 in 2024, from 17% to 9% of third graders, according to results released earlier this month by the Alabama State Department of Education.

To read more and see specific data related to your school and district, click HERE.