The Bear Necessities Volume 3

Just what you've been anticipating - the latest edition of Bear Necessities!

In this issue, we invite you to embark on a journey of rediscovery and ask yourself the question, "What is my why?" As educators, we walk purposefully through the school doors each day, fueled by our unwavering commitment to the art of teaching and the joy of watching our students learn. Throughout this academic year, our dedicated team has assembled a treasure trove of resources, enriching training sessions, and robust support systems, all crafted with your empowerment in mind. Are you still on the journey of increasing your efforts by 1% (Ron Clark) this year? Join us as we spotlight what’s new in Teaching and Learning and unravel the essence of finding your why and its potential in enriching your classes.

"When you know your WHY, your WHAT becomes more impactful" ( Michael Jr.)

Students in Mr. DeLoach's accelerated World History class recently learned about the causes of World War II by using the Jigsaw collaborative learning method. This method is unique in that students become "experts" on different parts of a topic and then teach each other.

Here's how it works: The teacher divides a topic into several parts. Students are split into small groups, and each student in a group is assigned a different part of the topic. Each student studies their part and becomes an "expert" on it. The students then form new groups where each group has one "expert" from each part of the topic. Each "expert" teaches their part to the rest of the group.

According to John Hattie's Visible Learning research, the Jigsaw approach has an effect size of 1.20. This means that properly utilizing this strategy can lead to over three years of student growth for one year spent in the classroom - making it one of the most impactful teaching methods available.

The 8th grade math teachers know the power of collective efficacy. Recently, they targeted a challenging lesson by incorporating the jigsaw method to introduce students to functions and their various representations. One teacher commented, "There was a lot of work on the front end preparing the lesson, but on the days of the lesson, it turned out to be one of the easiest days in my teaching career. The students were engaged more than usual and the responsibility of learning was on them." Another teacher commented, "I wonder what other topics we can use this strategy for teaching." The teachers actively reflected on the lessons and discussed adjustments for when they teach it again next year.

For many teachers, it is often difficult and out of one's comfort zone to try something different; however, the 8th grade math teachers embraced the strategy and took the risk. The strategy enabled students to discuss the content and peer teach. The collaborative effort paved the way for students to have an opportunity for active processing and communication about the foundational concept of functions which will allow them to have a deeper understanding of the material for future lessons.

The BCHS Literacy Team launched a school-wide book study of the book The Freedom Writers. Students received their personal copies of the book and viewed the movie on launch day. Each week, students or staff will read a diary aloud on BearWatch News. Students will be challenged to write their own diary entries and these will be compiled for BCHS' own Bear Diary. They are planning a culminating event in a few months. All educators are supporting this book study (effect size=1.34) and are being celebrated as well.

Seventh grade math teacher Lakesha Lane for provides Just-in-Time feedback (effect size=1.01) to students using the Stop-n-Jot short-cycle formative assessment strategy. Ms. Lane has incorporated the strategy to blend with the HMH format cycle of instruction. After presenting the lesson, Ms. Lane has students "Stop" and "Jot" their answers to the check for understanding on a sticky note. Students place their sticky notes on the back of a vertical whiteboard, so others cannot see the responses. Based on their responses, students are then placed into small groups with assignments for their level of understanding.

Ms. Lane had developed a classroom culture where students feel safe to make mistakes without fear of punitive consequences. She is working hard to provide Just-in-Time feedback so students are able to make adjustments in their learning before a graded assessment.

Morphology (effect size=0.62) refers to the instruction and interventions that focus on the structure and meaning of words, particularly the meaningful parts of words, called morphemes. These strategies can include teaching students about prefixes, suffixes, and root words to help them understand and decode complex words. Morphology strategies have the potential to positively impact students' word recognition, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension. We recently found morphology strategies embedded in Mrs. Blackburn's classroom as well as the high school biology classes!

SGA has been focusing on strengthening collective teacher efficacy sharing their expertise among one another. Teachers are always trying something new and deciding what works and what doesn’t. We can learn so much from one another, we just have to find the time to share what great things are working. Kindergarten and 5th grade, have shared their data and how they’ve collaborated to plan XL (SGA’s intervention period) according to student needs.

Recently the second-grade teachers created a video clip demonstrating actual lessons from their XL time. They also explained how they use data to drive instruction. As each of the grade levels present, the other teachers make note of one thing that stands out to them. Then after the presentations they partner up with and other teacher to share what they noticed and how they might take the information back to their classroom.

Waynesboro Primary School launched the first of their learner dispositions. Mr. Chiles was live on location during the morning announcements to launch the Learner Disposition - "Asking for Help". He led the first lesson for the students. All of the teachers received a copy of the Asking for Help Poster. The lesson was promoted for a week during the morning and afternoon announcements and students and staff shared how they asked for help through that day.

As a reminder, teachers should prepare students for the new DRC INSIGHT Enhanced Student Experience. To support teachers, there is a new video tutorial that prepares students using DRC INSIGHT for Georgia Milestones testing. To access the video, go to Experience Online Testing Georgia and click on the Tutorial button.

Work has begun to align the BEACON mathematics assessments with the new mathematics standards. The GaDOE anticipates the assessments will be available August 1, 2024.

As a reminder, the Georgia Milestones mathematics predictions will not be available until the 2024-2025 school year given the technical work that needs to occur in summer 2024. It is anticipated that mathematics predictions will then be in place at the opening of the BEACON window, August 1, 2024.

The Individual Student Report (ISR) for Georgia Milestones is getting a new look starting with the EOC Winter 2023 administration. The new format will include a parent-friendly reporting framework for domain-level achievement, which will help parents and educators learn about students' relative strengths and arreas of need. A sample ISR may be viewed on the Georgia Milestones Resource Page.

Starting February 10, ACT will offer an online testing option at select locations nationwide. Burke County is among those online testing sites and is scheduled to administer the online version to 55 students. College Board is following suit with the digital administration of the PSAT last Fall, and an online administration of the SAT on March 9, 2024. There is still time to register for the March administration of the SAT at Collegeboard.org.

As part of a collaboration between Burke County Public Schools, Georgia Library Public Information Network for Electronic Services (PINES), and the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System, all students are offered a free PINES Library Access for Youth (PLAY) Card account. The PLAY Card account provides each student with access to thousands of online resources from the public library and the ability to check out books from any library branch in the network. Read more about it on the district's information page.

Poll results from last semester indicated that nine Burke County teachers would be interested in using generative AI technology, like ChatGPT, with their students if we could provide a safe and controllable environment. These nine teachers will be experimenting this semester with Chat For Schools by Skill Stuck, which provides teachers with the ability to turn the AI on/off for their students and maintains a detailed log of student chat prompts. If you missed the poll and would like to be included in the next rollout of this service, you may submit your name by completing the survey.

High school ELA teachers Leigh Lovett and Patrick Farmer are experimenting with a Google Docs add-on called Revision History, which monitors student writing. The free add-on combats AI dishonesty and possible plagiarism by showing teachers where a student has cut and pasted large segments of text. Revision History provides a time-on-task metic and is capable of playing back a video of the document creation at high speed.

Speaking of tools to combat AI dishonesty on writing assignments, check out this genius tip! Play the video on the left to see how this teacher inserts a trojan horse inside her writing prompts.

Recently, the state of Georgia won a national award for the work they have done to make accessing standards and resources especially helpful for teachers. There will be a training on the morning of March 15th at 9am for all secondary educators. It will be worth your time! The login information will be sent to your email.

You have asked and we are delivering! Vertical planning sessions are being finalized. As we finalize plans, we will release that information to you. Principals were polled for the specific timeframes for these sessions.

We are now in a season of reflection and adjustment. Please provide feedback on the professional learning you have received so that plans can be adjusted as needed. Feedback plays a prominent role in the continuous cycle of improvement. While you have to login to google to complete the form, it will not collect identifiable information. Please complete the form for each coach you partner with separately. PL Mid-year survey.

When our HMH coaches are not on site, how can we access support? One way is through Live Events on Teacher's Corner. Here is the link to their calendar.

All of the Burke County kindergarten through third grade teachers are taking the LETRS Reading professional development course. LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) is comprehensive two-year professional learning designed to provide teachers and administrators with deep knowledge to be experts in the science of reading. The course is a blended training with on-line, face-to-face and PLC study. This training will give our teacher the tools to put our students on track for reading success!

You may have noticed a new icon on your Classlink page: "Curriculum." This link will take you to an index of all the shared folders for curriculum. You will be able to access the appropriate grade level/subjects for the area(s) you teach. Special thanks to Mr. Torek for making this happen!

The new ELA standards are expected to be implemented in the Fall of 2025. The 24-25 school year will be a year of learning about the new standards. We are currently developing plans for the work will we do unwrapping the new ELA standards so that teachers become familiar with the content. You can get a head start by reviewing the standards here.

Each student in grades 1-12 are required to participate in the Fitnessgram through their P.E. class. The results of the FitnessGram are uploaded to the state. PE teachers, please let your principal know if you are experiencing difficulties accessing the FitnessGram platform.

Students who read at least 2 NewsELA articles and complete teacher assigned tasks per week gain an additional 3 months of literacy skill growth as compared to their peers who do not integrate literacy in all content areas? Read the research here.

Here are a few resources to support implementation:

• February Content Calendar
• Black History Month Collection
• HMH Unit Aligned Collections - select grade level and unit on the left. Units may have a different number, but are aligned to our units

The instructional framework for mathematics has been updated to reflect the drastic changes in the expectations of the modern mathematics classroom. The "I do, We do, You do" approach to mathematics is replaced with Engage-Explore-Apply-Reflect.

Kudos to special services staff and students, and to all who support them on a job well done! The 2023 CCRPI data was release and indicates that the areas of English Language Arts and Math performance students with disabilities at the elementary level made progress and students at the middle and high school level not only made progress, but met the improvement targets. Keep up the good work! A link to the scores can be found by clicking the GaDOE CCRPI picture.

Assistive Technology (AT) Devices are items, pieces of equipment or products which are used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of students with disabilities. AT devices can be standard “off the shelf” items or modified, or customized to meet the individual needs of the student. Many AT devices are “no tech” or “low tech” and require little accommodation and minimal expense. Some examples of “no or low tech” devices include magnifiers, raised line paper, pencil grips, an adapted cup with large handles, or colored reading filters. These easy to obtain items can help students with visual and physical difficulties be more independent in their school work. There are also many other low tech options that can help students who have other disabilities. AT devices can also be very high-tech. High tech items can be things such as electronic communication aids, screen reading software, or mobility devices. Whatever the technology (no, low or high tech) The need for AT devices should be documented in a student’s Individual Education Program (IEP). A Myths and facts document shared with GaDOE from the United States Department of Education is linked through the Assistive Technology Graphic.

Check and Connect is an intervention to reduce dropping out of school. It is based on monitoring of school performance, mentoring, case management, and other supports. The "Check" component is designed to continually monitor student performance and progress. BCPS has been implementing this program since 2022 with select student at BCMS, BCHS, and BCLC. The data shows that this program is helping students make positive gains. Through this mentor program we have seen an 86% decrease in the suspension rate and a 33% decrease in the rate of absences of the students supported by this program. Academic grades for students in the program shows an average increase of 8 points.

An Intellectual disability is a GaDOE identified area of eligibility for students defined as a student with disabilities requiring specially designed instruction who have both a cognitive deficiency (IQ less than 70) and adaptive deficiencies within a similar range (2 standard deviations below the norm). These students are often instructed with Alternate Content Standards (ACS) and assessed by the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA 2.0). Changes for many Georgia districts are on the way due to USED no longer allowing states to request waivers to have more than 1% of students receiving ACS and being evaluated with the GAA 2.0. OSEP has provided facts about students with intellectual disabilities that can be found here.

For information and guidance on how we oversee the compliance for the provision and implementation of special education services and supports please refer to our local compliance manual. Also note that federal law (IDEA) and GADOE rules will always serve as the foundation of our practices, procedures, and processes for special education.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gPhmFv4blFIq0djVJl6JonB_jkqK9bIP/view?usp=sharing

The saying, "Data drives instruction" has become increasingly correct as schools across the nation are searching for more ways to improve student learning outcomes. When planning quality instruction and implementing school processes, data is critical to the critical to the MTSS process at all tiers. Districts and school leaders should ensure that all assessment data is used to make informed decisions for all students.

Assessment Types:

-Universal Screening: Administered 3 times per year (fall, winter, and spring); used as early warning signal for students who may be at-risk in the areas of academics, behavior, and mental health

-Diagnostic Assessments: Used to get information needed to understand student knowledge and engage the whole class; focuses on more specific skills to determine strengths and weaknesses

-Progress Monitoring: Used to determine the effectiveness of Tier 1 instruction and evidence-based interventions

Burke County Public School System believes that children are most successful when the needs of the whole child are met. The Wraparound Support Program is, above all, an initiative that focuses ON STUDENT VOICE. Students who need interventions, whether those who deal with academic achievement, social-emotional learning, physical or mental health, or community resources/ family supports, will learn best when those needs are addressed. The program will facilitate partnerships between students, schools, families, and community stakeholders. As such, the school district has a variety of services available to help students and families.

All schools have a minimum of two full-time Counselors on staff, a Parent Coordinator and a district School Social Worker are available to support needs beyond those that can be served through our counselors or would be more appropriately handled through social work resources. Our School social worker is well-acquainted with the resources available in the school and community and works to remove barriers to learning by supporting students and families.

According to Attendance Works (2018), the concept of chronic absenteeism gains traction across the country, some people are under the mistaken impression that it's just a politically correct way of saying truancy. Educators, policymakers, and journalists often use the words interchangeably, describing the same, old problem with the same, old solution.

View the diagram to learn the difference between chronic absenteeism and truancy.

As you all know, the Parent Portal is a great way for parents/guardians to stay connected and to give parents and guardians access to pertinent student information such as attendance records, class schedules, and class work. After a recent update in PowerSchool parents and students are now able to access an unofficial copy of a transcript and their Standards Based and Course based report cards.

The Current Student Information Update Option for the 2023 – 2024 school year is now closed. If parents/guardians need to have any changes made after they have updated their child’s information for this school year (23-24) they will need to contact the SIS Specialist at their child’s respective school. This information may be updated by the SIS Specialist only if the parent/guardian has already updated their child’s information for this school term and by submitting this request by email.

Also, the SIS Department will be sponsoring a drawing every nine weeks. Parents who have updated their child’s information for the 2024-2025 school year will have a chance to have their name entered in a drawing to win a prize. Two parents per nine weeks will be selected.

The mission of Federal Programs is ​to provide technical assistance, program monitoring, ​ and resources to local educational agencies (LEA) to ensure that all children have an opportunity to obtain a ​high-quality education and to achieve proficiency on the state's high academic achievement standards through the allocation of federal funds. ​ The federal funds that are allocated to the LEA have to meet federal regulations before they are expended. Items purchased with federal funds are monitored and must be meticulously accounted for. Each school utilizes the federal funds to best support their educational programs.

Parental outreach and input are key to determine how funds are utilized in the schools. Please support parent coordinators as they host various meetings to give vital information to stakeholders as well as gain their feedback. If you have any comments or questions please speak with the Parent Coordinators at each respective school.

Nita M. Lowery 21st Century Community Learning Centers

The purpose of Georgia’s Title IV, Part B, 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program is to provide federal funds for communities to establish or expand activities in community learning centers that operate during out-of-school hours and serve three specific purposes: ​​​

· To provide opportunities for academic enrichment and tutorial services to help students meet state and local academic standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math​

· To offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program; and

· To offer families of 21st CCLC students opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their children's education.

The 21st CCLC program is currently being offered at BCMS.

February is CTAE Month. The month will be filled with career pathway promotion and career related activities at our schools. The mission of the CTAE is to educate Georgia's future workforce by providing experiences for Georgia students that will prepare them for workplace success. The vision is that CTAE will provide educational experiences of superior quality and value for students that drive prosperity for all. BCPS CTAE works to fulfill this mission and vision through classroom instruction, community partners, field trips, Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) membership, guest speakers, and job shadowing experiences. Our wonderful CTAE instructors are always willing to give information about CTAE and opportunities it provides for our students.

This month BCHS students had an opportunity to participate in Job Shadow Day organized by our WBL coordinator Ms. Kathy Johnson. Students were able to experience various careers and responsibilities in several different industries. Students spent time at Starbucks, Ingevity, Burke County Probate Court, Burke County Transit, and Richmond County District Attorney's Office. Our industry partners raved about well our students conducted themselves on the job site and our students learned valuable lessons from some of our industry partners. It was a great day for all parties involved.