30 Days Has November.....

I am hearing the most wonderful things about your observations....
This really is an amazing staff filled with highly "Proficient" educators....

I am sure you are glad to have Round one of the observation cycle complete....

Be sure that you take a moment to fill out the BIL Survey linked here!
I will use your survey input for the next round of observations I do with the BILs.

As always.....any questions.....concerns......funny stories.....please share!

Next up in terms of paperwork is the MID YEAR review....this year will be just a little different because you will need to talk about your "Best Practice".....

So a heads up....this might be something to talk about in an upcoming PLC....just to be sure you are on track for the end of January check in!

Thanks for all you do to make this whole big BIL thing pretty smooth sailing!!!

Mark YOUR Calendars....This Thursday!

 The November Observation Window is 

NOW OPEN!!!!

Please come to a whole school PLC..

Thursday after school!





This "PLC" will focus on planning for all 3 observations!

Bring your computer....

We will discuss all of the different components you need to focus on through the year!

We will talk about which components work best with different kinds of lessons!

You will look and plan out the things you want to have scored for each observation!

You will have opportunity to schedule your November observation time with your BIL!

Sounds like a deal!



This little cartoon seems to capture the "essence" of
the PSI attitude toward being the best at "everything even managing our stress!

Seriously....the goal of this meeting is to help you "work smart" and relieve any stress you might be feeling about observations as well as clarify any questions or concerns you have!
See you there!

What in the World is Inter-rater Reliability?

If you are a trained ATPPS Observer you are eligible to do observations for your colleagues even if you are NOT a BIL.

Each observation you do makes you eligible for a $50 stipend.

 BUT.....there is a hoop that you need to jump through first...

You must attend the
 PSI INTER-RATER RELIABILITY GALA

This fabulous gathering will be held
Monday, October 29th in the Media Center!

Mark Your Calendars now...

You won't want to miss it :)

Just for a giggle, I looked up Inter-Rater Reliability on Wikipedia and this is what I learned:

In statistics, inter-rater reliability, inter-rater agreement, or concordance is the degree of agreement among raters. It gives a score of how much homogeneity, or consensus, there is in the ratings given by judges. It is useful in refining the tools given to human judges, for example by determining if a particular scale is appropriate for measuring a particular variable. If various raters do not agree, either the scale is defective or the raters need to be re-trained.

Here is a simpler explanation of what this meeting will entail!

• We will gather together to watch a couple of video examples of teachers teaching.
• We will use the ATPPS Rubric to score the lessons.
• We will talk about how and why we scored the items.

The shared conversation will help us have a common sense of what is Proficient or Basic.  This will make our observation coaching more consistent and cohesive.

 Remember....this meeting is mandatory for you to be on the list to do observations!

 
 If you have any questions about this....don't hesitate to ask!
I will send more information about the videos in a week or so!
Let me know if you need a copy of the scoring rubric.

October ATPPS Update!

The BIL team will be meeting on Monday after the PD Committee Meeting!

We will discuss these things:

PDP Plans:

• check in with each BIL to find out how far along people are with writing PDP's

• FYI: NWEA MAP Scores for Math are available for grades 3-5

• NWEA MAP Scores for Reading are available for grades 3-5  by Monday and by the end of the week for Grade 2 

 Overview of Plan for ATPPS Paperwork Procedures:

• I have created a document for each of you with the title- nameATPPS2012 

This is the ONLY Official version of your ATPPS paperwork 

This document is SHARED with ME....Your BIL....and YOU!!!

You can share this document with any observer who is NOT your BIL when they do an observation for you

• Be sure to use this document when you write your PDP

ATTENTION ALL TRAINED OBSERVER!!!

Since the first observation window begins the first of NOVEMBER....we will be selecting the dates for the inter-reliability training.

REMEMBER:  If you want to be an observer this year....YOU MUST....complete an inter-rater reliability session.  More information about this will be in the next post.

Personal Development Plan Due October 30th!

More alphabet letters for our Soup....

Well....not really ASAP since you have over a month until your PDP is completed.

Your PDP (Personal Development Plan) needs to be completed and approved by your BIL before October 30th.

A refresher:

• Your PDP is your Smart Goal Statement with supporting information, data and a implementation plan.
• Your PDP statement is at the BEGINNING of your ATPPS Documentation.
• Usually teams write the same or very similar goal statement so that the work they do in PLC can support everyone's goal.
• YOU do NOT have to write a goal that is MATH related, even though the building ATPPS goal is MATH.

NEW STUFF!

• There is no longer a separate BEST PRACTICE reflection like last year!
• This year the best practice reflection has been added to the PDP as part of your action plan and year end reflection.
• This means you need to think about the best practices that support your goal from the outset.
• At the Mid-Year Check you will be asked to reflect on how you are using these best practices.
• At the Year End Check out you will need to reflect on how the best practice affected student growth.

 

 The Stipend attached to the PDP is as follows:

Writing a SMART PDP = $200

Attaining goal in PDP/Reflections = $500

All of our PDP and ATPPS Documentation will be kept in  GOOGLE DOCS This year!

• I have created folders/collections for each BIL with your ATPPS Document in it.
• Each of you has a document titled with your last name and ATPPS2012 (for instance, mine is BloomgrenATPPS2012)
• This document is currently shared with you, your BIL and ME!
• This is the "official" copy of your ATPPS work.  If you make a copy and add to it, you will need to be SURE that those changes are reflected on this document.
• This document has your PDP, Observations, Mid-Year and Final Checkout on it!

I am meeting with the BILS on October 8th to go over this, so if you have any questions....let me or your BIL know what you need!

PSI ATPPS Building Goal for 2012-13

"In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia."
Author Unknown

This is the  PSI ATPPS Building Goal that was submitted this week!

The percentage of all students enrolled October 1 in grades 3-5 at Park Spanish Immersion School who earn an achievement level of "Meets the Standards or Exceeds the Standards" on the MCA MATH (all accountability tests) will increase from 82.6% in 2012 to 84.6% in 2013.

• Math was chosen because our Math scores have seen a downward trend for the last few years.
• The MCA Reading test will change this year, making documentation of improvement more difficult to calculate for ATPPS purposes.
• MDE requires a percentage increase of at least 2% for numbers below 90%.
• The stipend tied to achieving the Building Goal this year is $200.

If you have any questions about this, be sure to stop in and hopefully I can answer!

Building ATPPS Goal

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. "

~ T. S. Eliot

Staff members who attended the data retreat in August reviewed the scores achieved by our students in reading and math in 2012.

The overarching goal statement for all staff in SLP is the following:

All staff will support the goal that 100% of students will be proficient in reading and math as measured by MCAs by 2017.

Corey, Maria R., Sally are finalizing the exact target numbers for the building SMART Goals for Reading and Math.  They should be available early next week!

The Building Goal that is the focus for the ATPPS Stipend will be the MATH  this year.

WHY?

No seriously....

• the change to the MCAIII makes the process of comparison of the data from last year extremely complex!
• Many of the planned PD activities will focus on Math Strategies.
• Math is the area that showed more need from last year's scores.

 

REMEMBER....

 

the building goal for ATPPS is DIFFERENT than your PD Goal!

And Speaking of your PD Goal.....

THIS IS DUE AT THE END OF OCTOBER!

 

I will be meeting with the BIL team next week to go over the 2012-13 Paperwork.

I have worked with Nate to build a sensible way to keep our documentation....he and I will demo this at a Tech Time Monday!

 

Your BIL will work with you to be sure you have the information you need to complete the process. 

THE FINAL FORM is still being worked to reflect the suggestions of the Lead BIL team.

Many of you will use NWEA/MAP data for your goals.....and that testing won't be complete for at least 3 weeks.....

So the message about PD Goals.....keep thinking about it but don't worry about it!

Read this instead!!!

You know you're a teacher when...

You want to slap the next person who says
"Must be nice to work 8 to 3:20 and have summers free."

You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.

You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says
"Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."

When out in public you feel the urge to snap your fingers
at children you don't know and correct their behavior.

 You get annoyed when politicians speak about education, because
you know they wouldn't last 5 minutes in a classroom.

You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly
which one belongs to the child out of line.

You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.

Your classroom is decorated nicer than your home.

Your closet is separated into two distinct sections: one side with
"teacher clothes," and the other side with "going out clothes,"
and sadly, you rarely get to the going out side.

You've trained yourself to go to the toilet at two distinct
times of the day: lunch and prep period.

You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped
with a margarita machine.

You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made
was a "good choice or a bad choice."

You want to strangle Bloom and his damn taxonomy.

You have more red pens at your house than you do blue or black pens.

A student has legitimately and seriously asked you
if you have an overhead projector at your house.

You dread being absent, because you know what
your classroom will look like when you return.

You've mastered "the glare".

You find yourself using all of the phrases you swore you would never use ("I'll wait for you." "Let me know when you're ready to learn."
"Ears open, mouths closed." etc.)

Enjoy your Weekend!!!

 

 

THIS Week's ATPPS News!!

I Hope Week One of 2012-13 went well for you!

I will be attending the first Lead BIL meeting on Wednesday Afternoon. 

If you have any questions that you want me to ask at that meeting, shoot me an email!

Corey and I have been meeting to write the Building ATPPS Goal.  

This is actually an finalization of the work that the members of the Data Retreat began in August.

The building will have both a Reading and Math Goal.

ATPPS requires that we choose one of these to focus on (and receive compensation for).

I will keep you informed!!

I do know that the compensation schedule will look a little different this year.

This plan was agreed upon by the LBIL Group at the end of last year.

I will go into more details about this at our first ATPPS presentation at our staff meeting.

Here is the basic information:

• Achievement of the Site goal = $200
• PDP writing and attainment = $500
•  Best Practice Reflection = $200
• Observations = $1,100

For a grand total of $2,000 for this year's ATPPS general stipend!

Lastly....I am trying to make an appointment with Nate Tangen to get all of our ATPPS documentation in a sensible organizational structure in Google Docs!
I tell you this so that you don't spend time doing it yourself.....Hopefully we will have it done for you to cut down the confusion!

I will leave you with a couple of funny teaching "quotations".....hope they make you smile!

oohhh....hope you can say the word "arse" on a school blog....if not.....hmmmm!

Welcome Back and Welcome to Alphabet Soup

Welcome to the PSI ATPPS Blog.....ALPHABET SOUP!

When I thought about a catchy title for this blog, I began to think of all the acronyms we encounter every day in our work.

Think about it....DRA, FAST, ATPPS, VP, RC, NWEA, MCA, MAP

and the list goes on and on.....


Sometimes I feel like we are swimming in a thick broth of Alphabet Soup!

I hope our Alphabet Soup recipe will do what soup is supposed to do.....Fill our educational nourishment needs so that we can help our kids find success.

The purpose of ALPHABET SOUP is to give you a regular does of nourishment too!
 My goal is to "feed" you with the information you need to navigate the ATPPS program by posting information when you need it.

The great thing about a blog is that you can read a post today.....and then if you need to go back to see the information....

just check the archives....it will be there waiting for you.

So enjoy....and most importantly....subscribe to ALPHABET SOUP by email....then whenever I post something...it will come right to your email box...and you won't ever miss a single important serving of information!