Teaching & Learning

April 20th: Early Release

April 15th-18th: Spring Recess

May 10th -VOTE!

“People are talkin’. Talkin’ bout people. I hear them whisper. You won’t believe it……….” (Now try to go on with your day and not have this song in your head.) ♪♫♪

I believe the whispers. I believe because they have gotten louder. The support, excitement, and possibilities the bond opportunity is bringing the city of Hays is incredible. You can feel the enthusiasm as the May 10th election day gets closer, and we don’t want that to stop! Let’s give them something to talk about. Something positive. Something to educate them. Something to grow together in.

The past few months our goal has been educating parents and community members about the bond by sharing the why, the benefit, the need, and the potential. Our goal will be the same over the next few months leading up to the vote. With that being said, we also want to make sure our district staff is up to date on the bond happenings and where we are with the promotion of the bond. Some of the best free marketing we can get will come from you, our district staff, discussing the bond with others. When in doubt, just direct people to our website usd489.com. There is so much information right there for people to dive into.

Below is a list of links and information sources about the bond. These are all on our website or district Facebook page. (Ctrl --› click on link)

Aerial View of New High School Land Plot

Renderings Draft

Bond Timeline

Mill Levy Information

Property Valuation Increase

Voting Dates

In the next few weeks, we will be hosting parent Q&A info sessions at each school. We want parents to have every opportunity to learn and voice their concerns or questions. Staff are welcome to attend to, but not required.

• Lincoln: Hosted last week and had great response
• Wilson: April 14th @ 6pm
• O’Loughlin: April 13th @ 6pm
• Roosevelt: April 7th @ 6pm
• HMS/HHS:(Combined): April 20th @ 6pm

Don’t be shy! Show your support for the bond. Yard signs will be available next week. If you would like one, please email c.crough@usd489.com. The bond committee will happily get that planted firmly in your yard.

Please let me know if you have any questions or ideas on how to reach different demographic groups. Reaching as many parents, groups, ages, etc. is imperative for the success of the bond.

Thank you for your support as we plan for the future.

~Chrisy Crough

Gina is a 4th & 5th grade teacher at O'Loughlin elementary.

The Challenge Awards recognize schools for outstanding achievements and uncommon accomplishments based on Kansas math and reading assessment results and other qualifying factors, specifically the sample size, ethnicity and social-economic status of those taking the test.

• Enter east doors next to the basketball court
• Thursday mornings from 7:00am-7:45 am
• Walk-up testing will no longer be available in any other locations within the district.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CalOYGyFV2x/?utm_medium=share_sheet

April Workshops & More...

Formative assessment is the process (not a test!) by which teachers plan and continually adapt their instruction to respond to their students’ academic progress; formative assessment does not necessarily include traditional tests or quizzes, nor is it necessarily graded.

The mini-tests are designed to be used frequently during instruction to provide feedback to help students, to evaluate students’ learning, and to aid teachers in adjusting instruction. In its most helpful form, the formative assessment uses classroom activities and discussions that require students to not simply answer questions but also reveal their reasoning that led to those answers.

In turn, teachers can immediately analyze their observations of these activities to determine individual students’ strengths and weaknesses so that they might help students address the specific mistakes they may be making or misconceptions they may hold.

(link PDF attached – Creating a Mini Test)

(Link to Interim Guide - https://ksassessments.org/sites/default/files/documents/interim/Interim_Guide_for_Educators_and_Test_Coordinators.pdf

When educators ask, what is the one action we can take to improve student learning, my answer is universal no matter the grade level or domain; Increase the Opportunities to Respond...

Read more here

Teachers,

I have witnessed, and had reported to me, several issues with audio loading properly for the AutoReading test on FastBridge.

If students are working on an AutoReading subtest and either don’t have sound or have scratchy/muffled sound, this means their page did not load correctly. They need to close the tab and log back into FastBridge. If they close the tab in the middle of a subtest, they will start back at the beginning of that subtest. Doing this has been successful with every student I have worked with (some did have to do it more than once – 4 is the winner right now).

If they don’t tell you they couldn’t hear until they finish, you will have to delete their score before they can redo it. The steps to delete a score are linked below and have been added to the Canvas/Seesaw courses.

https://fastbridge.illuminateed.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260802484609-Deleting-a-Score

~Allison Kitchen

• USD 489 - FastBridge Assessment Overview 2021-22
• Logging into FastBridge for the First Time
• Forgotten Password
• FAST Assessment Estimated Administration Times
• Quick Sheets, Student Materials and Demo Videos can be Accessed on the Assessment Page HERE
• How To Access the List of Student Usernames & Passwords for Your Building
  

A Teaching and Learning SeeSaw (elementary) and Canvas (secondary) page has been created and shared with teachers throughout the district. The goal for creating these courses is to share resources, dates, and general information in a one-stop-shop method. In the course you will find a calendar with PD dates, assessment windows, days off, early releases, etc. You will also find resource folders/modules with several tutorials or info for FastBridge, eduCLIMBER, ELA, Math, Progress Monitoring, and more. If there is anything you would like to see added to this page let Allison or Marie know.

Creating an Incident in eduClimber

USD 489

For more information and FAQ's, click here

With grief, sadness is obvious. With trauma, the symptoms can go largely unrecognized because they mimic other problems: frustration; acting out; or difficulty concentrating, following directions, or working in a group...read more here

Episode seven of the Kansas State Department of Education’s “Insight Podcast” is now available. Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson, and host of the podcast, sits down with KSDE’s Shanna Bigler, mental health education program consultant, to delve deeper into social-emotional growth.

Watson also introduces listeners to Susanne Stevenson, a fourth-grade teacher at Beeson Elementary School, Dodge City Unified School District 443, and the 2022 Kansas Teacher of the Year.

These 20- to 30-minute monthly podcasts enable Kansans to access education news when it’s convenient for them.

Please feel free to share this podcast with parents, educators and community members by providing a link to it in your school and district newsletters and through your social media accounts.

Access this month’s “Inside Podcast,” as well as previous podcasts, by visiting https://anchor.fm/ksdeinsight.

I have been excited to see the growth that our district has made in the pursuit of students with disabilities participating with their same age peers. The use of tools such as Read and Write has given more students access to grade level content and has shown that students understand more than we have given them credit for. The embrace of universal design for learning and co-teaching strategies has led to Hays Middle School doubling the number of co-taught classrooms for next year. We have to keep this momentum going to make sure we have a lasting impact on the learning and opportunity for students with disabilities.

Some ways that we can support this movement include:

• Using the Adaptation Hierarchy from CARA’s Kit to make the learning environment more supportive of the student’s needs.
• Switching from using special education as core replacement, and instead using it for discrete skill building. When students participate in core instruction with their peers, they learn more than when it is done separately in the resource room.
• Using consultation and teacher training to support students with fine motor, gross motor, and communication needs instead of direct services from OT, PT, and speech providers.
• Starting with small amounts of pullout time for special education services that may be needed. It’s easier to add time if more is needed, than it is to remove time once it is in the plan.
• Ensuring that student strengths and interests are considered and actively planned for within the general education classroom.

If you have thoughts or questions about how to improve student access to grade level core instruction, please reach out to your principal and me (kcarlin@usd489.com).

~Kyle Carlin

The KSDE Teacher Leader Team is excited to announce the kick off dates and locations for the HGSS Regional Professional Learning Communities.

JOIN US!

We know how busy your social studies teachers are and

how hard they're working.
(And maybe they need some help with KSDE's
state assessment!)

We also know that their need for professional learning and college credit never goes away.
So we've developed a series of self-paced online learning opportunities designed just for social studies teachers. And the first four courses in the series are available now!

Hosted on ESSDACK's Teachable platform and available anywhere anytime, each course provides a variety of resources, strategies, and tools all focused on increasing their impact in the classroom. Adaptable across grade levels and content areas, your teachers are sure to find just want they need!

Let me know how I can help!

Glenn Wiebe

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Grades 5-12 Options

Acing the Kansas State Classroom-Based Assessment:
All You Need to Know About the Social Studies Classroom-Based Assessment
0.5 graduate credits / $49

The Kansas State HGSS standards supports the ability to think historically, make claims using evidence, and solve problems. The required Classroom-Based Assessment is designed to measure a student's ability to demonstrate those skills. But what can the newly designed CBA actually look like? This video based course has the answers.

Get signed up

Teaching With Your Mouth Shut:
Integrating Inquiry Into Your 6-12 Social Studies Instruction
1.0 Graduate Credits / $99

Inquiry-based learning is at the foundation of high-quality social studies instruction. In this course, you'll explore the research more deeply, play with a variety of effective integration strategies, and uncover materials and resources that will help you as you integrate an inquiry-based instructional model in your classroom.

Get signed up

Using Fiction & Nonfiction Literature in the Secondary Social Studies Classroom
1.0 Graduate Credits / $99

We know how powerful fiction and nonfiction stories can be in creating connections between our content and students. But what can it look like when we integrate literature into our social studies instruction? Using the work of Essdack Literacy Consultant Carmen Zeisler, local librarian Megan Yoder, and Essdack Social Studies Consultant Glenn Wiebe, this course can help answer that question.

Get signed up

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Want lots of learning? Need lots of credit?

You need the Success Series Bundle!

Get access to all three courses and 2.5 graduate credits for just $199 saving you 20%.

Grab the bundle

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Grades 2-6 Option

Using Fiction & Nonfiction Literature in the 2-6 Classroom

1.0 Graduate Credits / $99

What does it look like when we intentionally integrate picture books, fiction, and nonfiction stories into our social studies instruction? Explore the research, browse book lists designed for ELA / social studies, play with a variety of effective integration strategies, and dig into all sorts of materials and resources. The course incorporates the work of Minnesota Historical Society expert Jessica Ellison and Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year Lori Rice.

Get signed up

• How to Strengthen Tier 1 Phonics? Ask your ELASS for help in implementing effective instructional routines.
• LETRS Professional Learning Overview
• LETRS FAQ
• K-3, Morphology Scope and Sequence Drafts - Scope and Sequence drafts
  

FHSU Science of Language and Literacy Flyer

Teachers College Phonics Videos - https://vimeo.com/showcase/6802092

Teachers College Entire Vimeo Video Collection - https://vimeo.com/tcrwp/videos

In order to better support the needs of Kansas Science teachers we are so pleased to announce the opportunity of science content based VIRTUAL PLCs. These Professional Learning Communities are open to anyone who is interested in learning more about how to best implement the NGSS routines.

Come once, or come every month.

Biology: (Register Here) Chemistry: (Register Here)

Physics: (Register Here) New Teacher: (Register Here)

KSDE STEM Grants

Middle School Perkins Reserve Grant: Searching Career Opportunities through Research and Exploration (SCORE) Grant #06080. This grant will provide funds ($22,000) for the specified teacher groups to develop course STEM based unit supports that align, integrate and elevate multiple career pathways and work based connections. A total of 10 districts will develop 3 units a piece with the intent of making 30 STEM units widely available for statewide use at the completion of the projects.

Link to Grant Application / Information (Link)

State Assessment- CALL FOR REVIEWERS

Have you ever been curious how assessment items are developed? Have you ever wondered how you might help make sure they are aligned? THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY!

This paid opportunity, the KAP External Review of Items and Passages for Science is planned to be a live event held in July 25-29 in Lawrence.

We are looking for participants who

• have experience working with a wide variety of students and student needs.
• are current practicing educators, former educators, community members, scholars, or professional representatives of diverse populations.

We want to ensure we have

• representation from each of the 10 Kansas educational districts.
• a mix of urban and rural districts represented.
• a demographically diverse group of participants.
• a cadre of educators with experience teaching science content, as well as educators with experience teaching EL students, students with disabilities, and students with diverse experiences.
• If you are interested in participating in one or more of these events, select the following link to complete the interest survey by Friday, April 15, 2022.

2022 KAP Summer Interest Survey

Once we have collected information from interested individuals, KSDE staff will select participants and KAP staff will notify you by email using the kap@ku.edu email account. Thank you for your interest in KAP events!

Email kap@ku.edu if you have any questions.

Best regards,
KAP Staff
785-864-006

KS Department of Education: https://appspublic.ksde.org/TLL/SearchLicense.aspx

Speech/Language Pathologist: https://www.ksha.org/licensing.php

KS Board of Nursing: https://www.kansas.gov/ksbn-verifications/search/records

KS Board of Healing Arts: Link does not work. Go to website.

KS Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board: https://licensing.ks.gov/Verification_BSRB/Search.aspx