Learning Together

Message from Troy D. Olin, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction

As we enter the season of gratitude, I want to take a moment to express my sincere thanks to each of you. Your dedication to our students and commitment to excellence truly make a difference every day, and it is both humbling and inspiring to witness the powerful work happening across our district.

Reflecting on our October Conference Day, I was inspired by the insights shared by Dr. Malik Muhammad on developing a restorative approach. During the session, participants explored the importance of connection before content and examined the Social Discipline Window—a powerful framework for understanding the balance between support and challenge in our interactions. Through interactive activities and thought-provoking discussions, I hope you gained valuable insights into restorative practices, including two immediate strategies—affective statements and restorative questions—that help build social capital and strengthen our school community.

I also want to recognize the ongoing commitment of our 22 school-based Champions in the middle and high schools. These staff members are working directly with Iman from the Akoben team to enhance and refine their restorative practices, integrating these approaches interactions with students and colleagues. This work is essential to fostering a culture of respect, support and inclusivity across our district.

Thank you for all that you do, and may this season bring you and your loved ones a well-deserved time of rest, joy and reflection.

Our K-5 Literacy Team has been hard at work this year, meeting twice so far to support and strengthen literacy instruction across our elementary schools. During the first meeting, the team reflected on the current implementation of our new literacy programs. This collaborative reflection allowed us to identify areas of growth and share successes.

One key area the team focused on was the opportunity to better align our literacy instruction with science and social studies standards. By integrating content from these subjects into ELA lessons, we aim to create more meaningful and cohesive learning experiences for our students. The team is excited to explore these connections further, ensuring that our literacy program not only builds strong readers and writers but also deepens students' understanding of the world around them.

Updates regarding this work will be shared throughout the year as the K-5 Literacy Team continues to enhance our approach to literacy instruction!

Listed below are the members of this team. We look forward to sharing updates and seeking your input here each month.

Our new Code of Conduct and Support is designed to promote equity and access for our students. This resource is aligned to so much of the work that we have been doing in the district, including equitable grading. Grades should reflect students' progress toward meeting academic standards and be separated from student behaviors.

As we strive for equitable and transparent grading practices, we encourage you to review the new Code of Conduct Tier One behaviors, which may unintentionally influence many students' grades. Consider the grading categories you use and reflect on whether they are communicating students' knowledge and understanding objectively, rather than incorporating subjective measures or student behaviors. By aligning our grading practices with these principles, we can provide a clearer picture of student achievement and growth.

This is also a final reminder to share your input on homework practices. Results and feedback from this survey will be shared with our Equitable Grading Task Force next month. Thank you for everyone that has contributed already!

Tier 1 instruction is the first and most essential layer of support in our Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework. The Office of Instruction is focused on delivering a consistent, high-quality Tier 1 curriculum designed to meet the diverse needs of all students.

As the foundation for student success, Tier 1 instruction serves as the foundation, ensuring that every student receives strong, aligned, and equitable learning opportunities. By prioritizing consistency and fidelity in Tier 1 implementation across all classrooms, we provide students with the support they need to thrive academically.

A robust Tier 1 approach reduces the need for additional interventions and helps us meet our district's goals. It is the cornerstone of effective teaching and learning, and we are committed to supporting each of you in making it a strong, reliable foundation for all.

We’re excited to share some incredible news about the impact of our new communication tool, ParentSquare! Thanks to your efforts and dedication, we’ve seen strong early adoption from families across the district:

• 70% of parents/guardians districtwide have taken the optional step to activate their accounts, giving them direct access to messages, events, and updates.
• This engagement means that at least one parent/guardian has activated an account for more than 90% of our students!

These numbers show just how quickly ParentSquare has become a vital tool for connecting our families to the amazing things happening in your classrooms and buildings. Remember, families will never miss messages or important information but activating their accounts unlocks more potential for engagement.

PSQ’s student platform, StudentSquare, has been turned on for all students in grades 6-12 and is available to them via ClassLink.

While teacher-student communication regarding academics will continue in Schoology, StudentSquare can and should be used to communicate with families and now students regarding clubs, extra-curricular activities and athletics. Groups have already been created for various clubs and teams in each building. If your group is not available, please email communications@gateschili.org.

Students will receive information from StudentSquare in their student email, but can also download the StudentSquare app. Click here to download the StudentSquare Onnboarding Guide to share with your club or team.

Remember, there are other PSQ resources created and curated for you on the Staff Intranet, including step-by-step directions for creating Posts, Direct Messages, Sign-ups and managing a Group. To see those resources, go to gateschili.org/PSQSupport,

Check out the latest professional learning offerings now available in the district catalog. Be sure you are signed into Frontline before clicking the links below. You can also find these listed in Frontline > Activity Catalogs > District Catalog.

Streamline the Research Process with Noodletools - 6-12 Staff

Dates: 12/1/2024 to 12/7/2024

A.I. and Unit/Lesson Planning

Dates: 12/2/2024

Online Course - Learn Book Creator

Dates: 12/2/2024 to 12/13/2024

Canva Teacher Essentials Certification

Dates: 1/6/2025 to 1/27/2025

Bringing the Next Generation Science Standards into the 6-12 Science Classroom - Collegial Circle Part 2

Dates: 1/9/2025 to 3/13/2025

From Theory to Practice: Implementing the Writing Revolution 2.0- PART ONE *K-5 Instructional Staff*

Dates: 1/28/2025 to 3/4/2025

From Theory to Practice: Implementing The Writing Revolution 2.0 Part 1 *6-12 instructional staff*

Dates: 1/29/2025 to 2/26/2025

Respectful Representation: Understanding and Teaching about Indigenous Peoples

Dates: 2/3/2025 to 2/27/2025

Congratulations to Kelly Borcyk, Jason Fish, and Brittany Porter who were the first three to respond to last month's riddle correctly.

If you know the answer to this month's riddle, click HERE to submit your answer. The first three (3) people who answer the riddle correctly will receive a special prize in their mailbox next week!

Good luck!

November Riddle: How much dirt is in a hole that measures four feet by four feet by five feet?