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A Traveler's Guide to Route 12

May/June 2023

A Traveler's Guide to Route 12 May/June 2023
A Traveler'sGuide to Route 12May/June 2023
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In this Issue

  • Route 12 Podcast

  • K-5 Math Curriculum Implementation Updates

  • MTSS 22-23

  • Tech Tips

  • Self Care/Educator Well Being

  • Mentor Mindset

  • AVID Angle

  • Musings on the Art and Science of Teaching

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Upcoming Events

  • June 26-28th: PLC Institute
  • July 25-27th: AVID Summer Institute
  • August 9th: Math Expressions Getting Started Training
  • August 14th & 15th: AVID- Creating Engaging and Rigorous Classrooms
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How to Reach Us

Mark Grossklaus (x6006) - T&L Executive Director

Wendy Schroeder (x6006) - Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director of T&L

Laurie Shawki (x6147) - T&L Coordinator

Meg Rineck (x6029)- T&L Lead Admin Assistant


TOSAs:

Amanda Daeger (x6186)- Tech Integrationist, AVID, Assessment Coordinator

Nicki Frase (x6176) - MTSS, Gifted and Odyssey

Chris Ripken - Instructional Support (Sec), Mentor Coordinator, Professional Development (x6148)

Carolyn Ruhnow - Instructional Support (Elem), Mentor Coordinator, Minnesota State University - Mankato Supervisor (x6150)


Student & Family Advocates:

Kathy Cordero (x6103) - Supporting A- Har + Spanish speaking families

Ramla Iman (x6107) - Supporting Has-Paq + Somali speaking families

Matthew Thao (x6109) - Supporting Par-Z + Hmong speaking families

Leyla Elmi - Student Liaison; Somali Interpreter

Gisela Gomez de Murillo - Student Liaison; Spanish Interpreter

T&L Who?

Podcast

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The last Route 12 podcast of the 2022-2023 school year will be shared soon. Our final podcast of the year is Recap, Reflect and Celebrate. You can check out past episodes here: Route 12 on Spotify.

K-5 Math Expressions Curriculum Implementation

Thank you to staff at each elementary school site for the coordination to support our teachers in attending training for early implementation on May 4th and 5th! Over 60 teachers were able to attend the Getting Started training for Math Expressions.


The Getting Started sessions are a great start into our math curriculum implementation and we will continue to engage in professional learning focused on the Five Pillars of Math Expressions and mathematical mindsets during workshop week and the year ahead.


You can find the Math Expressions Padlet, Grade Level Manipulative lists and more in our Math Expressions Schoology folder.


Math Expressions Summer Learning- August 9th

Resharing: Our optional summer training date is August 9th. Staff who signed up have received information about their session. As a reminder, you will receive 3.5 hours of flexible planning and training time in lieu of completing a PD Choice activity during workshop week. Staff will be paid to attend the ½ day training session. Please reach out with any questions regarding the summer learning session.


Workshop Week- Thursday, August 31st

Resharing: Staff who choose to attend the Math Expressions learning session during workshop week will complete the training the afternoon of Thursday, August 31st during workshop week. Staff who opt to be trained in the fall will have the opportunity to timesheet up to 3.5 hours for planning and preparation during the 2023-2024 school year.

MTSS 2022- 2023

MTSS 2022- 2023 Focus: Tier 1/Core Instruction

Tier 1 Tips

Looking ahead to the 2023-2024 school year, we will continue our focus on quality, tier 1/core instruction. PLC’s will examine data to best understand student needs using the 4 questions to guide the dialogue. PLC’s and teams will collaborate to personalize instruction and scaffold supports to increase student growth. A tier1 high leverage practice to focus on at the beginning of a new school year is organizational routines. What AVID strategies can you incorporate as you implement your organizational routines? Check out the AVID WICOR playbook table below for ideas to get the most out of this high leverage practice.

AVID® / closing the Opportunity Gap in Education. AVID® / Closing the Opportunity Gap in Education. (n.d.-a). https://www.avid.org/

https://cloudfront-s3.solutiontree.com/pdfs/Reproducibles_BPT3E/figure4.1high-leveragetier1practices.pdf


What the Tech!?

End of Year Reminders:


Printing Reminders:

To ensure that staff, students, and families have what they need for the start of the school year, we are recommending that staff plan ahead and submit printing requests as soon as practical. Below are some details and timelines to be aware of:

  • We recommend submitting your requests prior to leaving for the summer. Please submit with a request date of 8/13/2023 in WebCRD (link to directions). This will help Print Center staff manage current and future print volumes most effectively.

  • Jobs requested before August 13th are guaranteed to be printed and delivered to sites for August workshop week.

Print jobs requested starting August 13th may be ready but cannot be guaranteed as this will depend upon the volume of print requests.


Computer Files and Data

  • Backup Data: Best practice is to backup your data often and have files in 1-2 different locations besides your computer hard drive. We recommend leveraging Google Drive and/or external drives such as a flash drive or hard drive. Note that the district does not have any services that automatically backs up local hard drives.


Need help? Learn how to save to Google Drive and/or an External Drive

Schoology - Backup Courses

  • Backup any Schoology course materials in two clicks by Saving a Course to Resources. Learn how with directions.



Retiring or Leaving the District?

ISD12 Technology Accounts will remain active for 1 day after the final staff work day.


▢ Save any files to an external drive

▢ Save any team files with colleagues through a Shared Google Drive

▢ Turn in your access card/fob to your building office staff

▢ Turn in any mobile devices and chargers (Laptop, Surface, iPad, Chromebook, ...etc)

Self Care/Educator Well Being/Mental Health

Summer Self Care Tips


As the school year winds down, start thinking about ways to refresh and recharge over the summer. Self care is different for everyone, so take time this summer to think about what you need. For some it will be taking a nap or reading a book at the beach, for others it is hiking or starting a new hobby. Try making a “Self Care” wish list of what you would like to try out over the summer. Brainstorm a few new self care ideas that you may have more time for during the summer such as visiting a museum or taking an art or cooking class! Getting outside in the fresh air is a great way to help you relax, reflect and refocus!


Reflection prompt: How might you spend time this summer creating healthy self care habits?

Egraham. (2022b, May 16). 8 tips for Summer teacher self-care. TeacherLists Blog. https://www.teacherlists.com/blog/8-tips-for-summer-teacher-self-care/

10 summer self-care tips for educators. Magoosh. (n.d.). https://schools.magoosh.com/schools-blog/summer-self-care-tips-for-educators

Underwood, M. (n.d.). Go back to school big this year: Big giveaways, appreciation, and more. Go back to school BIG this year: Big giveaways, appreciation, and more. https://blog.pitsco.com/blog/back-to-school-big

Mentor Mindset

Thank you to all the mentors that supported our new teachers this year! You are an invaluable resource to our district. Please watch for a form coming soon to indicate your interest in taking part in the program next year.


Thank you to all the new teachers that strived to help our Centennial students grow and achieve.

We appreciate everyone taking the time to complete the feedback survey. We received excellent ideas that we will incorporate into our planning for next year. (The links are included below if you haven't had a chance to do them yet).


And looking forward to next year...

According to the U.S. Department of Education, nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years under normal conditions. Many of them cite the absence of a strong mentor.

Great mentors act as teaching partners and provide individualized professional development. They also celebrate the new teachers’ successes, encourage their passions and interests, and address their frustrations and exhaustion. Mentoring requires effort and planning, but when it is successful, new teachers thrive and stay in the profession.


We are looking for staff members like you – willing to take on the challenge of mentoring for the next school year. We are looking for you to commit to weekly check-ins with your mentee, complete three learning activities, and attend several meetings during the year. You would receive a stipend of $500 per semester. Please complete the attached survey to indicate your interest in being a mentor for a new staff member.



Mentor Interest form for 2023-24


Have a wonderful summer! You deserve the break!


Chris Ripken and Carolyn Ruhnow


New Teacher Survey

Mentor Survey

New to Centennial Survey

AVID Angle

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We are excited to announce that we will be hosting an onsite AVID training Aug 14-15th titled: Creating Engaging and Rigorous Classrooms.


This Session is designed to engage all elementary through postsecondary educators in cultivating a community of learners by preparing educators, counselors, and site leaders to scaffold student success with rigorous content. This course lays the foundation that allows students to access rigorous coursework and content. Educators will explore the framework of AVID Digital Learning: The 4 A’s® to meaningfully integrate digital strategies and Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading (WICOR®) student-centered instructional practices to differentiate instruction and increase student agency. Participants will learn strategies to build connected communities through relational capacity activities to foster supportive and equitable learning spaces. All strategies, digital activities, and digital tools experienced can be leveraged in face-to-face, blended, or virtual learning environments.


If you are interested in this training please reach out to your Building Principal or AVID Site Team.

May 2023


During workshop week Teaching & Learning used the analogy of preparing for an adventure as we set intentions for the 2022-23 school year. As you look at the image below you might recall the parts of that analogy related to gear, training, companions, and a map.

Hopefully summer break is a “choose your own adventure” time where you can focus on rejuvenating your mind and body. And as you are most likely aware, summer vacation can slip away before you know. Perhaps in the next several weeks going back to the adventure analogy, this time with summer in mind, will be worthwhile. Trading in (gear) curriculum for novels and a comfy chair, (map) classrooms for cabins, and (companions) friends and family for your companions seems about perfect. Enjoy a well deserved summer vacation.

~Chris


P.S.

By the time we come back in the fall Artificial Intelligence (AI) will most likely have brought even more changes to our world. Here are a couple of videos about AI from an educational perspective:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJP5GqnTrNo


https://www.khanacademy.org/khan-labs#khanmigo

Credits

*A TLisCL Publication*

Columnists: Amanda Daeger, Nicki Frase, Chris Ripken, Carolyn Ruhnow, and Laurie Shawki.

Teaching and Learning | ISD 12