Elementary Leadership Team

Over the last week, I have had the opportunity to be in many of your buildings, and from the start of the school year have been in all of your buildings. I wanted to take a moment to share my observations of the amazing work our teachers and YOU are doing!

You have created the support, climate, culture, and professional learning needed to ensure teachers can focus on teaching and learning. I see our coaches supporting and collaborating with teachers throughout our buildings, and it is truly amazing to see all of your hard work in action.

We have happy, engaged learners who are connecting to text in a variety of ways, solving problems through Building Thinking Classrooms, and engaging in hands-on inquiry activities that are driving student learning and so much more!

Your work extends far beyond the time students arrive and leave each day. The systems, culture, support, and learning environment you create make a difference every day.

Thank you for being amazing leaders and for all you do to make great teaching and learning possible!

From September 15 to October 15, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the heritage, history, traditions, and cultural diversity of Hispanic Americans whose heritage is rooted in Spain and 19 countries and territories: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.

This heritage month is celebrated mid-September to mid-October to highlight the independence of several countries. September 15 is the day that five Latin American countries celebrate their independence from Spain: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. Mexico celebrates its independence on September 16 and Chile on September 18. Also, Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day, or Día de la Raza, in mid-October, falls within this 30-day period.

The national observation began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting September 15 and ending October 15 of each year. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.

I recommend you put updating this document on your calendar along with your registrar for at least once a month. Other departments rely on this document for professional development and orders. Thank you for your help in making this a priority.

September

22-24 Lit Studio Visits

24 BOE

25 No School - Benchmark Advanced PD

30 Robert Goltra

At this week's district PTA meeting, there were questions about our new policy regarding guests at lunch, recess, and moving around the building. Parents there agreed and understood the change but indicated it might look different at each school. Below is the language provided by Dr. Bruton. If you need anything else in this area, please let me know.

The district encourages parents/guardians to be actively involved in their student’s school experience when appropriate. At the same time, the district must maintain a safe learning environment and protect student confidentiality.

Lunch with Your Student: Parents/guardians may eat lunch with their student during the student’s scheduled lunch time. Each school will designate a specific location for these visits, typically separate from the main cafeteria and other student areas. Only the parent/guardian’s child may participate in the lunch. Parents/guardians must bring their own meal, and outside food that may be distracting or pose allergen risks is discouraged. School administration may set additional guidelines as needed, and procedures may vary for special events involving families.

Recess: Parents/guardians are not permitted to participate in recess. Recess involves large groups of students, and school facilities are not designed to safely allow for separate parent participation.

Volunteering at School Events: Parents/guardians and family members are encouraged to volunteer for events such as field day, class parties, and field trips. Volunteers must complete the required screening process, and each event has a limited number of available roles. Once those roles are filled, additional volunteers cannot be accommodated. Volunteers will be assigned specific duties, and the school cannot guarantee that they will be placed with or near their student.

Moving About the School: All school buildings are closed to the general public at all times. Visitors must check in at the main office and receive approval before entering further into the building. In most cases, visitors will be escorted to and from their approved location. If unescorted access is granted, visitors must remain in designated areas and only engage in activities related to their visit. Visitors may not move freely throughout the building while school is in session.

Riding the bus: Parents/guardians are not permitted to ride the bus either to and from school or as part of a school activity or event. In limited circumstances, school administration may allow designated volunteers to ride the bus when it is necessary to fulfill an assigned role or responsibility.

Interacting with Other Students: Parents/guardians and other visitors may not interact directly with students other than their own unless specifically approved by school staff. Visitors are also not allowed to take photos, record, closely observe, or document other students in any way. Any visitor who does not follow these expectations will be asked to leave the school immediately.

Attendance Expectations for Visitors: To help maintain safety and supervision, parents/guardians attending school during the day may not bring other school-aged children, younger siblings, or unidentified individuals with them.

• October 8 – AVID Elective Teacher Workshop
  Hosted by North Kansas City Schools
  Included as part of AVID membership
• October 21 Sunflower Elementary School Showcase, Lawrence Public Schools
• October 26 – Achieving Consistency and Impact with AVID Elementary
  Hosted by Park Hill School District
  Designed for AVID Elementary leadership teams of two to three people
  Included as part of AVID membership
• October 28 – Kansas City Principals Collaborative
  Hosted by Park Hill School District
  Designed for K–12 lead principals
  Included as part of AVID membership
• November 5–6 – Kansas City Fall Regional PATH
  Hosted by Independence School District
  This is a paid professional learning event featuring three Communities of Practice:
• Academic Language and Literacy — for teachers in any content area
• Student Success — for instructional coaches, administrators, and non-core content-area educators
• Creating Engaging and Rigorous Classrooms — for core content-area teachers

• December 10-12 – AVID National Conference
  Atlanta, Georgia
  This is a paid event.

More detailed information will be provided by AVID and given to you as received, but we wanted you to have the dates if you are interested in these opportunities for your building.

Please remind teachers that there is a process to approve technology applications. We also have updated resources for ELA and Math approved by the BOE and purchased by the district that should meet the needs of all students. Please let me know if you need any additional information.

Admin were offered to attend an Amira training on Wednesday, September 23. Dr. Peters offered two different virtual sessions. I would encourage you to do this training with your instructional coach and interventionist if possible. They have already had a training, but the collaborative conversation will be beneficial for you as administrators to better analyze the direction of this information in your MTSS meetings.

@ Prairie Point

8 - 11:30 Benchmark Advance

12:30 - 1:30 Amira Report Training

1:30 - 4 pm Grade level Collaboration

3rd Grade through 5th Grade

@ Hawthorn

8 - 10:30 am Grade Level Collaboration

10:30 - 11:30 Amira Report Training

12:30 - 4:00 Benchmark Advance

Department Meetings

Kim Walker will be leading a training with ELD and reading interventionists that will include resources available to them in Benchmark Advance.

Traditional school behavior approaches often prioritize observable actions while overlooking internal processes like distorted thinking and anxiety.

When progress stalls, key mental health factors are likely being missed. This workshop helps school teams identify support gaps and implement practical roadmap strategies to reduce negative thinking, prevent dysregulated behaviors, and enhance student engagement, persistence, and self-monitoring.

Core Focus Areas (The 3 Blind Spots)

• The link between student thoughts, perceptions, and behavior.

• Developing student self-awareness.

• Directly teaching replacement skills rather than relying only on rewards/consequences.

Engagement, Innovation, Instructional Strategies & Fun

Katie will be sharing engagement strategies and high impact instructional strategies tailored to the participants needs.

September 10, Chapters 1 & 2

October 15, Chapters 3 & 4

December 17 @ Zona Rosa *This is a new time and place due to the AVID National Conference.

January 7, Chapters 5 & 6

February 11, Chapters 7 & 8

April 15, Chapter 9

Please use this link for any topics you would like considered for our ELT. Per your feedback from last year, I have planned items around those topics, but I know there will be topics we need to address that are unplanned. Thank you in advance.

This is a great article you might want to check out providing data-driven instruction processes that improve practice and student outcomes. In light of NWEA data, this might also be an article you use with your PLTs.