District Student Achievement Team
October 2020
Welcome Back!
How can staying farther apart bring us closer together? Like millions across the country, we’re forced to adjust to a new sense of normal. This fall returning to school has been like none other that we’ve experienced. While the changes brought on by the pandemic have challenged us all, it has required us to thinking creatively, remain flexible, and respond with resilience.
While our collaboration through virtual meetings might not happen the same way as it does in person, connecting with each other, planning around the diverse needs of our students, and figuring out what works will remain essential in our current environment.
Our work this year will focus on progress, not perfection. As educators, we do not have all the answers. What we do have, however, is each other. Given the pace of change during this pandemic, there is a vast amount of critical information to be shared and high-stakes decisions to be made. This team will help us tackle these challenges together.
SCHOOL UPDATES
Instructional Technology Update
A lot has happened in the world of technology since the pandemic began. As learning models shifted, our entire community began to rely on technology more so than ever. Within the first four weeks of the 2020-2021 school year, our amazing educators held over 17,500 live Microsoft Teams meetings. To support our families, our technology team has repurposed every laptop cart in the district as well as prepared over 700 new laptops to be sent home to students who were identified as needing a device. Our individual buildings assembled teams of staff who worked tirelessly to get these devices into the hands of our students, and our three-person technology team has responded to over 500 different technology tickets.
Shifting gears, we are incredibly thankful to our community for the passage of the May 2020 bond program. There are numerous technology enhancements that will be happening over the next several years. To kick things off, our Instructional Technology Team held it’s first meeting on Thursday, October 8th. The purpose of this meeting was to reconnect, see how things are going, and gather feedback on how we can better support the ongoing technology and learning needs of our staff and students. We will next begin planning for the technology enhancements that will begin to roll out during the summer of 2021. More information to come in a future DSAT newsletter.
English Language Learners Supports
These funds also allow us the opportunity to provide extended learning opportunities for our bilingual students. The opportunities included small group tutoring support before and/or after school & scheduled breaks, as well as summer learning opportunities offered in partnership with the MISD.
Our plans have shifted slightly as we've been forced to adjust to Covid-19. More information will be provided in Ms. Sward's update to the team.
See attached resource below for an updated WWPS Assessment Calendar
NWEA Testing Update
On September 21st, Warren Woods Public Schools began our Fall 2020 NWEA MAP testing. We started by inviting our elementary virtual students to attend small group testing sessions hosted at each elementary school. While we made a dent in the number of students that need to be tested, we still have virtual students and our face-to-face students that needed to be tested. Therefore, we're offering remote testing opportunities to our families as well.
Like a doctor requesting health tests for a wellness visit, we request that our students complete these assessments to serve as benchmarks of what they are in their learning at that moment in time for reading and math skills.
According to the requirements of the state’s Return to Learn Plan, as well as the stipulations required by the Read by Grade 3 legislation, we must complete mandatory testing of our K-8 students. Due to the Read by Grade 3 Legislation, we are prioritizing the reading NWEA assessment for our students in grades K-3 in order to meet the state’s expectations. Other grades, as well as the mathematics assessment will be scheduled by the end of the month.
Your child’s teacher will be offering testing opportunities in the coming weeks to ensure we are able to review this important information used to guide instruction and support. Parents will receive their child's NWEA assessment results within 30 of the conclusion of our Fall testing window which is October 30th.
The NWEA assessments are designed differently and are unique. Your child will be asked some questions that are too difficult for them and some that that may seem too easy. Behind the scenes, the test is designed to determine the learning needs of your child. Because we are aiming to determine what your child is ready to learn and how we can support them, we kindly ask that families help support students with their technical needs only, including logging in but not with content related questions.
Each MAP test will ask approximately 40 to 55 questions. The items will be different for most students. Some questions will be at, below, and above their grade-level to fine tune the data as much as possible. Students are not penalized for incorrect answers. NWEA will provide scores based on the items each student gets correct and incorrect. It is important that students give an honest effort to ensure the accuracy of the results.
To watch a 3-minute video describing the MAP Assessment for Parents, go to: https://vimeo.com/230226438.
If you have questions regarding NWEA MAP assessments, please contact your child’s teacher or the administrator(s) at your child's school.
Read By Grade 3 Legislation Update
Regardless of the situation we find ourselves in due to Covid-19, the Read by Grade 3 legislation still applies. Due to the remote learning experienced last spring, the State had decided to postpone the retention piece of the legislation.
A component of the Read by Grade 3 legislation, as well as the Return to Learn plans mandated by the state, requires that we institute benchmark testing. The state had approved four assessments and encouraged districts to use an assessment that was familiar to our users. With this in mind, we're in the process of implementing our NWEA fall testing for both reading and math. Of course, in light of the RBG3 legislation, we've prioritized K-3 students test administration for the reading portion of the NWEA. The legislation requires that we complete the reading portion of the benchmark assessment, NWEA, within 30 school days from the start of school. The Return to Learn plan provides slightly more flexibility by requiring K-8 Reading & Math testing to be completed within first 9 weeks of schools.
Another component of the law requires further diagnostic testing of those students deemed at-risk as demonstrated on the fall NWEA results. Therefore, we've made plans to implement DRA and/or Literacy Footprints assessments. We'd previously only offered DRA, but with some of our students remote, it presented some challenges. To allow for access for ALL students we will utilize our digital Literacy Footprints, Pioneer Valley Assessment Kit resources.
After we've reviewed students' results, as a team, we will work on completing Individual Reading Plans (IRIPs) for identified students. These plans will be shared with parents either during the Parent & Teacher conferences or a virtual meeting scheduled separately by the building team.
About Us
Email: kbeal@mywwps.org
Website: http://www.warrenwoods.misd.net/
Location: 12900 Frazho Road, Warren, MI, USA
Phone: 586.439.4469
Facebook: facebook.com/Warren-Woods-Public-Schools
Twitter: @WarrenWoodsPS