The ILT Minute

We are excited to share some updates on the progress of our Freshman Academy at each HS campus. As part of every freshman's schedule this year, students participate in a Freshman Seminar course, experience a career fair, visit a college campus and decide which Career Academy they will begin in 26-27. Additionally, we're monitoring their attendance, behavior and academic achievement. Through 1st semester, as compared to last year's freshman class, the Class of 2029 has seen a 6.4% increase in 90/90 attendance, a decrease of ODRs by 17.7% and a decrease of Ds/Fs by 17.5%! This progress is a direct result of the hard work of each Freshman Academy Team at RHS and SHS. Way to go Bluejays and Cardinals-let's keep going!

Thank you to our teachers and students in grades 4, 8, and English 2 for their strong participation in the Winter RQS Writing Benchmark. Through thoughtful preparation, focused effort, and consistent implementation, the benchmark was administered successfully and provided meaningful insight into students’ writing skills. We look forward to coming together during professional learning on February 11 to collaboratively review the data, identify strengths and needs, and determine next instructional steps as a team to continue strengthening writing instruction across the district.

This year, one of our collective commitments has been to move beyond talking about our Instructional Framework and truly live it in classrooms every day. Grounded in the New Art and Science of Teaching, or NASOT ("nay-sot") for short, our framework gives us a shared vision for high-quality instruction and a common language for feedback and growth.

First-semester walkthrough data shows this work is happening in a BIG way. With principals completing 10 walkthroughs per week and assistant principals completing 5, building leaders are consistently present in classrooms across the district. Over the course of the first semester, more than 6,000 instructional elements were observed, named, and documented during walkthroughs. Those numbers represent real instructional practices in action. Elements tied to strong classroom culture and clarity were noted hundreds of times, including establishing rules and procedures (555), demonstrating withitness (488), and organizing the physical layout of the classroom (485). Instructional moves such as chunking content (477), processing content (514), and structured practice (499) were also frequently observed. Just as importantly, leaders intentionally acknowledged effective practice, with adherence to rules and procedures recognized over 400 times.

Behind every data point is effort. Teachers planning intentionally. Leaders showing up, observing, and giving feedback. Conversations focused on growth. The volume of walkthrough evidence tells a clear story: our Instructional Framework is not theoretical. It is alive in classrooms every day.

Thank you to our teachers, principals, and assistant principals for the hard work, consistency, and commitment. The work is visible, the impact is real, and it is absolutely worth celebrating. This is how we win. Keep doing that.

Strategic Plan Update

The district site for the Strategic Planning Overview is linked here. The Strategic Planning Dashboard linked here provides an overview of the 41 Strategic Planning Projects that will occur during the 25-26 school year. Each project is aligned to a Board of Education Goal.

Strategic Plan Project Spotlight: Equity Council and Tier 2 Intervention Effectiveness

As part of the work of this year's Equity Council, each school is tracking how many students they can move to proficiency as a result of Tier 2 interventions from each instructional unit. The goal is move at least 25% of students during a Tier 2 cycle. Through January 27, RQS has seen 75% of Tier 2 cycles meet at least 25% growth (or have moved enough students to get to 75% of total proficiency). This success is a result of collaborative and strategic instructional and assessment best practices from each campus!

FOCUS Update

The FOCUS team attended the annual FOCUS user’s conference last week. They were able to learn about updates to current modules. Among the many updates to the software, FOCUS is adding the option to exclude secondary enrollments in the communication module. This would help send messages to the primary enrollment for students. FOCUS is also working on an update to allow parents to move through online enrollment screens easier. Parents will be able to select the specific screen they would like to work on. The team also attended classes on setting up the FOCUS analytics module. This module would help the team create interactive graphs and charts with the reporting they have already created in FOCUS. We are developing a plan to get this set up for the district this summer. As we get closer to summer, we will continue to provide move updates on new features being added to the software.

As we approach spring GLA and EOC testing windows, our district approach is centered on one key principle: effective Tier 1 instruction remains the best preparation we can provide for students. Building leaders have received the district’s state testing resources and are working with their teams to develop a site-based GLA/EOC preparation plan. These plans should reflect intentional, thoughtful preparation that builds student familiarity with question types, tools, and expectations without pausing or replacing grade-level instruction.

This work is not about stopping instruction to “practice for the test.” Instead, it is about embedding readiness into daily learning in meaningful ways. While schools have flexibility in how they schedule, group students, and use resources, there are a few non-negotiables. Tier 1 instruction should continue throughout the testing season. Students should have opportunities to practice using online tools and structured supports within authentic instruction. Collaborative Teams should continue meeting to review data and adjust teaching, not shift exclusively to test practice.

A measured, sophisticated plan matters. When preparation is embedded within strong instruction, students gain confidence and are better able to demonstrate their learning. Building-level plan outlines are due to Curriculum and Instruction by Friday, February 13. We appreciate the intentional planning happening across schools to keep learning at the center while preparing students for success.

Schools across the district have been working hard during Tier 1 instruction this year! During CT's, teachers spend time collaborating, looking at student data, reflecting on student work and assessments, and making instructional commitments

Because we have teachers and schools with many strengths, this section of the newsletter is meant to highlight some of the ways teams are organizing their CT folders with all of their collaborative forms.

While the most important things we do in collaborative teams isn't the organization of our folder, sheet, or doc, it does make it easier to access things for one another when we are collaborating during our team times! Is there one idea from these videos that might help your team? You have been challenged!

Video Highlighting Southwood

It was impressive to see the way Southwood has organized all of their information related to units of instruction. When diving into their CT folder I could easily find their current unit, their instructional commitments and their data according to the various units! One thing that impressed me was a few pics of student work which is one of the best ways for teachers to collaborate and calibrate their instruction and the scoring of student work!

Video Highlighting Eastwood Hills

Shoutout to EWH Elementary for their organization. One thing that made their CT folder stand out was that one click brought me to their grade level and then Math or ELA folder. Teachers are able to open their folders for the selected subject and they have a one stop shop for all of their resources, including: TACA forms, Essential Standards Charts, Student Data, Instructional Commitments and more. While this isn't what makes collaborative team time meaningful, it does help teachers to have what they need at their fingertips.

Video Highlighting South High

Last but not least, shout out to the math team and their leader Brandon Davidson at SHS. Their team utilizes tabs and links from their agenda each week to make finding their data, commitments, and other forms easy for all teachers! Check out the video to see how their organization could help you.

• January 30-February 4: 1st grade Challenge Universal Screening

• February 2-6: National School Counseling Week

• February 2-13: DESSA SEL Universal Screener Rating Window #2

• February 2 - Little Blue Learning Walk

• February 3 - Blue Ridge and Southwood SOS Day

• February 5 - Norfleet Learning Walk

• February 6: End of WIDA ACCESS testing window

• February 9 - Board Meeting

• February 10 - Eastwood Hills and Laurel Hills SOS Day

• February 10 - Curriculum Council

• February 11 - PL ½ Day

• February 12 - Norfleet and Robinson SOS Day

• February 12 - Fleetridge Learning Walk

• February 12 - SPED Learning Lab

• February 16 - No School - Presidents Day

• February 17 - New Trails Learning Walk

• February 18 - Principals Meetings

• February 20 - Career Academy Reveal for Class of 2029

• February 24 - Equity Council Meeting

• February 26 - Southwood Learning Walk