Here are relevant items for Alaska State Standards from the administrator meeting training:
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html
Alaska Standards training 5/1/13
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Category Archives: Secondary Education
Important Instructional Policy/AR and ASAA/KPSAA Changes
Information you need to know: Please forward to counselors, AD’s, or other staff you feel need to be aware of this information.
1) (AR 6146.1) This policy/AR was passed at the last board meeting. I will be in contact with middle school principals who have current students taking high school algebra regarding communicating this change to parents and determining which of your students can get high school credit for this year’s class and if parents wish to take advantage of it. Additionally, David Henson and I will locate any currently enrolled high school students who took Algebra in 8th grade and offer the credit if they meet the criteria.
Regarding the Advanced Placement change, this will take effect for next year’s AP students. Currently enrolled AP students (this year’s group) do not need to take the AP exam in order to get the bump in GPA. Starting next year if a student wants to get the extra 0.021 they will have to take the AP exam. It is suggested that you charge a class fee for AP classes and that a portion of that go towards paying for the $89.00 exam fee. Just like for any class fee, students could use the waiver process if this causes a hardship.
Summary of the AR 6146.1 High School Graduation: Middle School Students taking algebra at the middle school will now be able to get high school credit if they earn a grade of C or better both Semesters. This will be retroactive for current 8th grade Algebra students and for current high school students who took Algebra in the middle school and received grades of C or higher both semesters.
Additionally, Advanced Placement Students will need to take the AP exam in the spring if they wish to receive the bump in GPA.
2) I am currently working on KPSAA language, forms, and a process for implementing AS 14.30.365 The new non-district student Home School access to athletics change. There will be a pre-season pre-registration process, check list, guidance, eligibility verification forms, and enrolment verification process that will need to be followed.
Basically, any non-KPBSD home school student who is enrolled in “alternative education programs” (Military Youth Academy, Raven, IDEA), or any accredited home school program will be able to participate in our high schools in any ASAA sanctioned activity (sports, DDF, All State Music, etc…). THIS IS ONLY FOR HIGH SCHOOL. NOT MIDDLE SCHOOL ACTIVITIES.
More information and clarification will be forthcoming before the end of this school year. This takes effect July 1, 2013.
If you have questions please do not hesitate to give me a call.(#8882)
Alaska State Standards Overview
This post is a follow up to the presentation at the March 26, 2013 administrator meeting.
We will continue to provide training and resources to schools, teachers and administrators as we transition to the new state standards and the assessments as they become available.
Here is the presentation:
Effective Leadership and Collaboration
This post is a follow up to the presentation from the March 26, 2013 administrator meeting. Please note that the foundation of our collaborative culture is from DuFour and his Learning by Doing book. Also, the study referenced in this presentation is from APQC located at:
Look for the study titled: 01-9300 – Final Report – Evaluating Professional Learning Communities
Below is the presentation:
KPBSD Intervention Webpage
Below is the link to the KPBSD Intervention Webpage. http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/departments.aspx?id=26796
You can also get there from the home page by clicking Departments, the use the All-department Quicklinks drop-down menu to select intervention.
This page includes the I-team manual, the district programs that Intervention manages and video tutorials.
Effective Instruction Update 2.21.13
Revision of Effective Instruction teacher evaluation system – meeting the needs of the new State regulations. These are proposals at this time.
New Math Curriculum Course Flow Chart
Special Education Discipline
The Pupil Services Department is held accountable in several areas. These include the following:
Academic Achievement
State and Federal Paperwork compliance
Federal/State Performance Plan Indicators
Disproportionality
Eligibility
Civil Rights of students
Special Education Discipline
Parent/Student rights
Disability specific training (Autism, FASD, etc.)
Secondary Transition
Transition from part C to B
Student behavior and social emotional considerations with studets
Budget compliance
Staffing
On this blog sight, I will begin a series of posts that talk about all of these areas and what is happing in our district in regard to each. Today I will focus on suspension of students with disabilities.
All students may be suspended for up to ten school days per year. What happens when a student idnetified as having a disability has 10 consecutive days of suspension, or has over 10 cumulative days of suspension? What if a student is suspended for drugs, a weapon, or serioulsy harming someone? Rather than write an answer to all the possible scenarios, I reference you to the below special education discipline flow chart. The flow chart provides a step by step guide to suspension and expulsion. If you follow this process you will have no problems in this realm. This flow chart is found in board policy as an exhibit.
http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=15402
Please remember to always contact your assigned school psychologist to help in these situations and to contact the Pupil Services Department to help you determine if a pattern of exclusion exists (10 cumulative days suspended).
Thank you, and contact me if you have any questions.
Math Curriculum and Placement Information
Hello Principals and Counselors…with the adoption of new Math courses by the curriculum committee there will be a new procedure needed for placing high school students into pre-algebra which will be re-named to Algebra Readiness.
The entry base level expectation for math placement in grade 9 is Algebra. Obviously we will have students who have taken Algebra in middle school and those students will move on to Geometry in grade 9. When it is the recommendation of the math instructor in middle school that an exiting grade 8 student is not ready for Algebra a student may be placed in Algebra Readiness (formally Pre-algebra) with the recommendation of the IEP team (for a special education student) or the recommendation of the Intervention Team (for non- special education students). As high schools start building schedules in February it is important to anticipate these new placement procedures.
Middle School Math courses will consist of:
-7th Grade Math
– 8th Grade Math
– Algebra I (high school level) —Alaska Performance Scholarship Approved
High School Math Courses include:
-Algebra I (year-long) —Alaska Performance Scholarship Approved
-Geometry (year-long) —Alaska Performance Scholarship Approved
-Advanced Algebra (year-long) —Alaska Performance Scholarship Approved
-Pre-Calculus (year-long) —Alaska Performance Scholarship Approved
-Calculus or Advance Placement Calculus (year-long) —Alaska Performance Scholarship Approved
-Personal Finance (semester long course)
-Business Math (semester long course)
-Algebraic Modeling (semester long course) —Alaska Performance Scholarship Approved
-Statistics (semester long) —Alaska Performance Scholarship Approved
-***Algebra Readiness (formally Pre-Algebra IEP or I-team placement only)
PLEASE PASS ALONG THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR MATH TEACHERS, INTERVENTION TEAM, AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS.
Reading Intervention Matrix
Descriptions for reading interventions with web links