Category Archives: Curriculum

Second Quarter Common Quarterly Writing Assessment – Informative/Explanatory

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Below you will find a link to Rubrics, Common Prompts and Directions for the Common Quarterly Writing Assessment for Quarter 2 – Informative/Explanatory.

The ELA Committee continues to refine and revise our Quarterly Writing Assessments.  Please be sure to read the directions, rubrics, and prompts before you administer the assessment.

ELA Common Writing Assessment Committee Members

LINK TO GRADE LEVEL RUBRICS, COMMON PROMPTS and DIRECTIONS

The Common Quarterly Benchmark Writing Calibration online course is available! This course offers teachers the opportunity to calibrate and score common quarterly assessment student writing samples with the district standards-referenced rubrics.

How to participate in the course:

1. https://kenai.avatarlms.com/login.html

2. Find Common Quarterly Benchmark Writing Calibration (click to add to cart and check out)

3. LAUNCH the course from your current class list

4. After reading the Overview page, SELECT YOUR GRADE LEVEL and you may participate in all the grade levels if you wish.

In addition…

Melissa is offering three Lync sessions to familiarize teachers with the online course.  Mark your calendars for one of the dates below!

December 15 @ 3:45 – Join Lync Meeting  Join by phone 1 (907) 714-8965

December 18 @ 3:45 – Join Lync Meeting Join by phone  1 (907) 714-8965

December 19 @ 8:00 – Join Lync Meeting      Join by Phone 1 (907) 714-8965

 

As always, feel free to contact Melissa Linton mlinton@kpbsd.org  with any questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blended & Online Learning

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KPBSD sent 17 educators to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) Symposium in California.  Through the Digital Learning Initiative Grant that the KPBSD received we were able to send a team of district teachers and administrators to learn about “Blended Learning.”  This conference focuses on showcasing districts, schools, and classroom teachers who are using new learning models considered blended learning.  The intent is to “level the playing field for students through the creation of new learning models, and to ensure that students everywhere have access to a world-class education that prepares them for a lifetime of success, no matter their geographic location or economic situation.” -iNACOL

 

What is Blended learning?  Blended learning is any time a student learns at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home and at least in part through online delivery with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace; often used synonymously with

Hybrid Learning. (Horn and Staker, 2011)

 

KPBSD hopes that this 3 year Digital Learning grant will help us to build the capacity of our teachers to learn how to and begin to apply blended learning strategies throughout our district’s 43 schools. Over the next three years the grant will help fund professional development and learning opportunities for three cohorts of 15 teachers per year. The teacher cohorts will learn how to implement blended learning/teaching strategies within their classrooms and to share what they have learned with colleagues in their schools so that blended learning can be implemented in more and more classrooms.

 

Blended learning is all about personalizing the learning experience for each student focusing their individual learning at a time, place, path, and pace that meets their unique learning needs.  By using digital learning tools  within the classroom setting, teachers are able to leverage these tools and skills to provide higher quality immediate feedback to their students about their learning and growth.  Some teachers in our district already employ blended learning strategies in their classrooms and we hope more and more of our classrooms will become blended in the near future.

2014 Informative/Explanatory Standard-Referenced Rubrics

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Attached are links to Standard-Referenced Rubrics for Explanatory/Narrative Writing.
The ELA Committee continues to revise these rubrics so feedback is appreciated and welcome. Our intent is to align our District Quarterly Benchmark Writing Assessments with Alaska State Standards. Common prompts will be available in late November.

The rubrics are meant to not only be used for assessment, but also instruction.

Note: The Rubrics for grades 8 and 11/12 will be ready at the end of the week and will be distributed as soon as possible.

2014 Informative/Explanatory Rubrics

 

 

 

Secondary Education & Student Activities Sept. Info.

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This information was shared with Principals at the Sept. 24, 2014 Administrator Meeting:

  • As of September 23rd the District Distance Learning Program has a total of 914 Semester class enrolments. This is our highest ever and if second semester enrollments follow the same trend we are on track to our highest enrollment year ever.
  • The Blended Learning Initiative Cohort for Year one of the grant has been selected.  We have a total of fifteen (15) teachers who are involved representing  upper elementary, middle school, and high school levels from across multiple content areas.  Two of the teachers are from our partner districts (Cordova and Bristol Bay).
  • Schools with 5th and 10th Graders in attendance will all be administering the Gallop Student Poll/survey as a means of establishing benchmark data for our KPBSD Key Performance Indicators on Emotional Well Being.  Tiffany Eck the Secondary Education Administrative Assistant is working with coordinators of the Gallop poll from each school.  Questions contact Tiffany.
  • CTE Department announcement:  Dan Bohrnsen our district’s CTE/WDC Coordinator is retiring at end of the 2014-2015 school year.  We will be working on a transition plan very soon.
  • High Schools should be focusing  on working with Juniors to make a decision on which College, Career Ready Assessment they will take and have the State of Alaska Pay for. Choices are the WorKeys, ACT, or SAT.  This decision needs to be made by October 15th and returned to Julie Williams in the Assessment Department.  Remember this is a graduation requirement replacing the HSGQE.

Elementary Administrivia and Start of Year Information

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The following is a summary of the information provided during the start of year administrator meeting from the Department of Elementary Education.  Please contact me if you have questions or need assistance.

Christine

  • The 2014-15 ElemEdCurricPD Org Chart of the departments and folks I work with is attached for reference.
  • Use of the district’s Standards Referenced Report Card is required for elementary schools.  View the 2014 Standards Referenced Reporting K-6 memo for important information and an action item (it’s also posted on the deadlines list).  Training tools and resources are available in the ‘S’ folder of your computer, and communication tools are available on the Elementary Education department website at http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/departments.aspx?id=28323.
  • The 2014-15 Calibration Visit Guide docs are posted on the Instructional Blog and in the Admin/Director file.
  • Contact me by 8/20 regarding which teacher you would like to involve in the Student Growth Map Pilot project.  Contact Natalie Kohler if you need information about which day (8/25 or 8/26) you should attend.
  • Early Entrance screening kits were provided to all principals with Kindergarteners at their site.  Please review the 2014 Early Entrance memo with information about the timelines for reporting on Early Entrance to this office (it’s also posted on the deadlines list).
  • AS 14.03.072 (enacted in 2013) requires parents be notified annually of their school’s grade retention standards and policies, and that parents also receive their child’s early literacy assessment information.  AS 14.03.072 Communication will meet the annual notification requirement and is also available online at http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/Workarea/Downloadasset.aspx?id=31270. You are absolutely welcome to provide parents with additional information, if you wish.  Your school must also provide parents/guardians with the early literacy assessment data- and you may either do this with the October/March/May report cards, or you may send the report home after each testing window.  Whichever you choose, please be consistent throughout the school so your parents know when to expect the information.
  • A PD series on Early Childhood has been scheduled for Sept. 23, Jan. 22, Apr. 30th in Soldotna.  This series of PD is targeted for elementary principals, Title I Pre-K teachers and Self-Contained Special Education Pre-K teachers, plus a kindergarten teacher-leader from each site and (if applicable) the school’s interventionist.  It is particularly important that the involved teachers be a positive leader in your school community who will be able to support your site’s effective practices related to early childhood education.  A willingness to learn and consider recent research, and contribute to an examination of school practices in a positive light is essential.  Subs and mileage will be provided.  Please register in Generation Ready by Sept. 5th and contact me if you have questions about who could/should participate.
  • Please make sure you have and wear your district ID badge to all PD activities, and help your staff remember to do the same.  The PD Department is no longer printing name tags for every event and the handwritten ones don’t reflect the professional image we seek to reinforce.
  • Avatar is now called Generation Ready.
  • Effective Instruction Coaches have been assigned as the primary point of contact for PD Site Facilitators and principals.  Sites are not limited to support from just that individual, the ‘assignment’ is meant to put a name and face on who can help gain access to the PD information or resources needed. The list of coaches and site assignments will be provided by Michelle Thomason.
  • I will continue to offer the quarterly “Coffee” or “Tea” sessions via Lync.  Watch for an electronic invitation in your email later this month or in early September.

Leadership Academy – Day 2, Effective Feedback MS and HS Breakout Presentation

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Below are the links to the PowerPoint Presentation and handouts Mr. O’Brien and Melissa Linton presented on day two of the Leadership Academy.

EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK PRESENTATION

Distortionof Grading through 0 Handout – 100 point and 4 point scale

Modified Tuning Protocol

Secondary Education 4-30-14 Admin. Meeting Presentations

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Here is the inforgraphic and the powerpoints  that were presented at the 4-30-14 Admin. meeting:

A-Glimpse-into-the-Future-of-Learning-Infographic_0

CTE Presentation

KPBSD College Readiness Indicators Spring 2014

i-Safe Information

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  1. Teaching internet safety is required annually as a condition of continuing our E-Rate funding.  KPBSD adopted the i-Safe materials to provide teachers with the resources, background, and support information necessary to be able to teach these skills and the related content.  Teachers in multigrade sites should choose one grade level of content to focus on each year, and rotate the materials so students end up learning from all grade levels at some point in their school experience.
  2. Principals must collect the verification forms each year from their teachers.
  3. The forms are due (for the whole school at once- not to be submitted one class at a time,) annually to IT by May 1st (it is on the deadlines list.)

All the teaching materials and verification forms are available online from the curriculum webpage by selecting “i-Safe,” which is listed under “Health” or by following this link: http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/departments.aspx?id=22489

 

Ed Tech Committee Meeting Minutes 9/26/13

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The minutes from today’s meeting of the Ed Tech Committee are posted below.  Members of the committee are:

  • Mick Audette, DW Ed Tech Coordinator
  • Amanda Adams, Distance Ed Teacher
  • Stephanie Cronin, Seward High School
  • Kristi Felchle, K-Beach Elementary School
  • Robanne Stading, Nikolaevsk K-12 School
  • Beth Swaby, Soldotna High School
  • Lisa Rolph, Kenai Middle School
  • Karla Barkman, DW Librarian and Ed Tech Coach
  • Jason Bickling, Principal at Seward Middle and Moose Pass K-8

9.26.13 EdTechCommittee Notes