Wildcat Weekly Updates Vol. 6

Unity Through Common Understanding

Vision - a thought, concept, or object formed through intense focus on the ideal

We envision a school committed to building a joyful, meaningful environment where we hold one another accountable and everyone has a voice.

Mission - an established and often self-imposed objective or purpose

Our mission is to develop a community of learners focused on safety, academic success, rigor, and college and career readiness while promoting accountability, positivity, research based strategies, advocacy, consistency, and fairness.

Common Language - Shared understanding of specific aspects of the school community

Vision

Joyful Learning Environment - An emotionally safe environment where strong positive emotions are tied to the retention of learning
Meaningful Learning Environment - An environment focused on attaining clearly stated goals
Voice - Perspectives tied directly to the achievement of clearly stated goals

Mission

Safety - Protection from physical or emotional trauma
Academic Success - Attainment of individualized goals
College and Career Readiness - Performance in relation state mandated goals
Rigor - Intellectually challenging lessons characterized by meticulous planning and delivery
Accountability - Acceptance of the responsibility for the attainment of clearly stated goals
Positivity - Thinking and acting in an optimistic, solutions oriented way always expecting the achievement of clearly stated goals
Research Based Strategies - Our criteria for strategy implementation. Positive evidence of success must precede enactment
Advocacy - Public support for strategies and initiatives designed to achieve clearly stated goals
Consistency - Steadfast adherence to strategies and initiatives designed to achieve clearly stated goals
Fairness - impartial and just treatment without favoritism or discrimination

2020-2021 Goals

-Move off the state identified list for Targeted Support and Improvement via TVAAS 5 Growth

-Increase overall ranking among SCS Middle Schools with an overall success rate of 24%

24% Ontrack/Mastery all core areas
52% Approaching all core areas
24% Basic all core areas

-Reduce Chronic Absenteeism to 10.5% (approx 85 students)

-Increase ELPA Growth (ESL Students) to 60 %

2020-2021 Problem of Practice

The current gap between instructional level and grade level.

2020-2021 Areas of Focus

Reducing measurement error
Increasing assessment reliability
Student Placement and Scheduling

Virtual Sessions in PLZ

The Office of Student Equity Enrollment and Discipline is offering additional professional development sessions during the month of August. Interested participants will need to register for courses in PLZ. Session facilitators will send the link to access training to all enrolled participants prior to the session. If you have any questions, email Thomasena Stuckett at stucketttd@scsk12.org.

Key Facts

Device distribution begins the week of August 3 with select middle and high schools. All additional schools will be scheduled in phases each week.
We are utilizing a "just-in-time" delivery approach, meaning devices are arriving from overseas vendors and being processed and prepared for distribution in real-time every day.
We expect to provide new devices to every middle and high school. Elementary devices have the latest delivery dates, so it is likely some students will receive existing devices for short-term use while awaiting delivery.
Elementary families who have a home device may choose to use their personal device instead of picking up a temporary device. However, all temporary devices will be replaced with brand new devices.
Families will be asked to pick up their devices on scheduled dates for their school/grade level at designated locations. There will also be one scheduled make-up date each week.
Families with students at multiple schools may submit a request online August 3 - 14 to pick up devices for all students at one time. Please note, devices will be available for most grades sooner by picking them up individually. Multi-device pick-up will be scheduled the last week of August, and families will receive communication in advance about their designated pick-up date and location.
Beginning August 3, parents can call (901) 416-5300 and select the "Help with your Computer or Hotspot" option for device support. The support line is available M-F, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

HICKORY RIDGE MIDDLE'S PICK-UP TIME IS STILL TBD. AS SOON AS WE ARE PROVIDED THE TIME, WE WILL NOTIFY ALL PARENTS.

2020-21 Teacher Contracts

Teacher contracts will be issued the week of August 3rd to teachers who taught with SCS during SY 2019-20 and who are returning to a teaching role for SY 2020-21. Teachers will sign contracts electronically. Details on how to access, review and sign their contract will be emailed to their SCS email address the week of August 3rd.

Newly hired teachers who did not teach with SCS during SY 2019-20 receive their teacher contracts as part of their new hire paperwork. In other words, they will not receive teacher contracts for SY 2020-21 when returning teachers receive theirs.

Fall Sports Season

We understand that coaches, student-athletes, and families are wondering about the start of the fall sports season since Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that he will soon sign Executive Order No. 55, which will include TSSAA member schools in an exception to contact sports restrictions. We will share details soon regarding our next phase with athletics in the coming weeks. The District will continue to work with the Health Department to make sound decisions committed to the health and safety of our student-athletes and coaches.

Transition In Peace

We are in the midst of historic change. This change is affecting every part of our lives. All change, good or bad, requires an adjustment of some kind, and this takes energy. If the demands are too great, it can drain you and create stress. Unmanaged stress can cause physical and emotional problems. We have to be very careful and monitor how we are feeling.

We cannot control the decision making in relation to the District's response to COVID 19. So, the key to coping with this change is to get control of our response to the decision making as much as possible. That’s when adjusting your attitude toward change can help as we continue to "Transition in Peace (T.I.P.)".

3 T.I.P.s for Success

Key T.I.P. 1

Change is stressful, even when it’s positive. Strive for balance. Make time for your hobbies and interests. It is critical that we all have an outlet.

Key T.I.P. 2

The Chinese word for change is made up of two symbols. One symbol is for uncertainty and the other is for opportunity. Try to think of change as a mixture of uncertainty and opportunity. Ask yourself what lesson you might learn. What skills you might develop? How might you become stronger as a result of this change?

Key T.I.P. 3

During times of change, you need to take care of yourself. Get regular exercise. Eat a balanced diet. Get enough sleep

Microsoft Teams is the Key to Success

This week we are continuing to stress the importance of gaining a deep understanding of Microsoft Teams. Our collective skill level within the platform will impact all of our efforts in relation to safety and student academic growth. We cannot effectively social distance and/or engage students without 100% of our instructional staff able to effectively engage students via Teams.

Virtual Instruction will be the Primary Mode of Delivery

It does not matter which curriculum is selected, we will still be tasked with instructional delivery in a virtual format. It is the only way to simultaneously deliver instruction to students in the classroom and at home. We must focus on shoring up our ability to deliver instruction via Microsoft teams. At a minimum, every member of the faculty/staff should be able to do the following within the Microsoft Teams Platform:

Know how to create classes and assign students
Share screens to deliver Powerpoint presentations
Know how to create private channels and assign students
Understand the importance of teaching students to use the chat box to ask questions and make comments and how to be acknowledged using the raised hand feature
Know how to create and upload assignments
Know how to create assessments using the Microsoft Team Forms
Guide students away from Microsoft Teams and into Mastery Connect for Common Formative Assessments
Know how to download participant rosters for attendance