Welcome back to the 2023-2024 school year! Many of our districts begin in August, but not all, so either way, we hope that your break was refreshing and relaxing - both are well deserved for all the hard work you put in throughout the school year.

As you may remember, we are changing how often we send out our newsletters. The visual below shows our planned schedule.

The following information comes from the Ohio Department of Education's Ohio Materials Matter website (2023) regarding High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM):

Teachers are among one of the most powerful advocates for our children. The instructional materials teachers choose to expose their students to matters. Now more than ever, teachers deserve great instructional materials, so they can focus on doing what they do best: getting students excited to learn. There is mounting evidence that shows when teachers have high-quality instructional materials, they can focus their time and energy on addressing the individual needs of each student.

High-quality instructional materials are critical for instructional equity and ensure that each student acquires the knowledge and skills to be successful through a standards-aligned instructional foundation. High-quality instructional materials act as a common language and platform for engaging all partners in students’ educational experience by incorporating student and educators supports.

If you have not yet read this report from The New Teacher Project, take a moment.

The following statistics are shared and convey the importance of selecting high-quality, age-appropriate materials for our students:

• Students have big, clear plans for themselves. 94% of students surveyed said college was part of their plan.
• Most students do what they're asked in school - but still aren't prepared to meet their goals after graduation because so few of their assignments actually gave students the chance to complete grade-level work: Students succeeded on 71% of their assignments, but they met grade-level standards on 17% of those exact same assignments.
• Students spend most of their time in school without access to four key resources: 1) grade-appropriate assignments, 2) strong instruction, 3) deep engagement, and 4) teachers with high expectations.
• Students spent more than 500 hours on assignments that weren't appropriate for their grade and with instruction that didn't ask enough of them. That's the equivalent of 6 months of wasted class time in each core subject.
• Students of color, those from low-income families, English language learners, and students with mild to moderate disabilities have even less access to these resources than their peers. Classrooms with mostly white students tended to have nearly 4x times as many high-quality lessons as classrooms with mostly students of color.
• Students who started the school year substantially behind and received better-than-average assignments grew significantly and closed the achievement gap with their higher-achieving peers by more than 7 months. Students who get access to more of these four resources tend to do better in school. This was particularly true for students who started the school year behind.

TNTP. (2018). The Opportunity Myth: What Students Can Show Us About How School Is Letting Them Down—and How to Fix It.

TNTP (2018) suggests the following next steps:

1. Ask students and families about their goals and experiences.
2. Prioritize greater access to grade-appropriate assignments.
3. Give all students access to challenging, engaging instruction.
4. Ensure educators enact high expectations for students.
5. Conduct an audit to identify decisions that perpetuate inequity.

This is where Ohio's HQIM resources come into play.

• Review the HQIM process through the use of the Ohio Curriculum Support Guide to plan, study, launch and implement High Quality Instructional Materials within your classroom and/or district.
• Utilize edReports to help narrow the choices to what meets district priorities.
• In the event your materials are not listed on edReports, Ohio has developed rubrics for ELA, Math, and Science.
• Please keep in mind that the Madison-Champaign ESC has HQIM specialists that can assist you through these processes. Please reach out for more information: tandlsupport@mccesc.org

Let us help you with instruction. Please reach out to us if you find yourself needing instructional or curricular help during these complicated times.

Reach out - we are here to help. tandlsupport@mccesc.org

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Department of Teaching & Learning

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Email: tandlsupport@mccesc.org
Website: mccesc.org
Location: 2200 U.S. 68, Urbana, OH, USA
Phone: 937-484-1557
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If you have a chance, and have not yet read our quarterly ESC Newsletter, the ESC CONNECTION, please feel free to peruse at your leisure. Lots of great things happening at the Madison-Champaign ESC.