Secondary Update

ELA Department Update

The WWMS ELA department is continuing to adapt and rearrange our curriculum maps to accommodate our new schedules. 6th grade is working on informational text with a focus on author's purpose and text structures. 7th grade is reading The Honest Truth, focusing on figurative language, haiku, and theme. 8th grade is reading Flowers for Algernon, focusing on science vocabulary and characterization. They will move on to poetry and Outsiders in 3rd quarter.

Math Department Update

The WWMS Math department continues to navigate through the unprecedented environment we find ourselves in. We, our fellow educators, students, parents and Warren Woods families, have all been affected by this pandemic in personal ways. Yet, we lead the way as one of the few districts to offer face-to-face learning to our Warren Woods students and families. Our curriculum has not missed a beat as we have spent time adapting our lessons to fit the needs of our students. As we head into the 3rd Quarter, we continue to develop activities and methods that replace pre-pandemic normal classrooms, still allow for a variety of learning styles, and continue to give our students a positive classroom experience.

Science Department Update

The WWMS Science department continues to clarify our students’ learning outcomes. Making sure our virtual and face to face class needs are being met with equity is a top priority. We are evaluating resources, examining student achievement, and discussing how to engage more learners.

Social Studies Department Update

The WWMS Social Studies department is currently in the process of reevaluating essentials for 2nd semester. Both virtual learning, and in person teachers (with current health protocols and social distancing recommendations) have found that learning progresses more slowly in a pandemic and necessitates further honing of essential skills and content-based knowledge for each grade level. We continue to search for better ways to engage students in learning while maintaining safety requirements. The Social Studies department has also received a subscription to Newsela Social Studies courtesy of a recent grant, and will be exploring ways to utilize this both in virtual and face to face instruction to support literacy goals.

POHI/CI Department Update

The WWMS POHI/CI focus has been on creating instruction that is easily adaptable for both the remote and in person learning format. We have been working on efficient ways to provide our students the supports they require to be successful in both settings. We are working closely with other team members to ensure that the emotional, academic, and social needs of our students are being met to the best of our ability. In addition, we have been working on new ways to assess student mastery and understanding of concepts. We continue to use these assessments to guide our future planning.

Semester 2 Learning

We will continue to offer students the choice of attending school online or in-person. Our teachers will be teaching students in both platforms simultaneously. While this is asking a lot of our teachers, it provides the best opportunity for all of our students. As of last check, we have 574 students signed up for Online learning and 569 students signed up for In-Person learning. Due to the nature of how we have organized things, students are able to move in and out of different tracks of learning, however, we do monitor the number of students requesting In-Person instruction to ensure class sizes do not get too large.

1st Semester Failing Grades

Despite the efforts of teachers, counselors, support staff and administrators, a many of our students have failed a large number of classes. We have made the decision to change all Semester 1 “F” grades to “NC” or No Credit. With an “NC” grade, students will still not earn the credit, however “NC” does not negatively affect the student’s GPA like an “F” would. As of now this is just for first semester.

Scheduling

Our counselors will soon be moving from make class changes to determining how Class Scheduling for the 2021-22 school will work. We will be coordinating with the Middle School on what 8th Grade Orientation will look like this year. This normally take place in the beginning of February and is crucial for getting 8th graders information need to select their classes.

No Exams

We decided not to administer final exams to students for first semester. In addition to the logistical difficulties of guaranteeing a valid score online, we determined that for many of our students, it could jeopardize poor grades even further. In leu of final exams, teachers were able to spend more time on direct instruction and were very accommodating with allowing students to turn in previous missing work.

Semester Pre-Post Tests

All teachers will be administering Pre and Post Tests during 2nd Semester. A Pre-Test will be given in each class during the first week of the semester. While this test will be graded, it will not be used as a student’s grade. The assessment will be based on the 7-11 “Essential Standards” that students need to know form that class. This will help teachers understand the areas of strength and weakness their students have. At the end of the semester, teachers will administer the assessment again and check for growth and understanding. This may also be used as a final exam for the class. In addition to helping teachers check for understanding, it will also be part of the high school staff evaluation data.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions, concerns, or ideas.

Email: kbeal@mywwps.org
Website: www.mywwps.org
Location: 12900 Frazho Road, Warren, MI, USA
Phone: (586) 439-4469
Facebook: facebook.com/warrenwoodspublicschools
Twitter: @warrenwoodsPS