Sherry preparing for an interview tomorrow for Director of Curriculum position.
Tasks involve ELA (English Language Arts).
She feels prepared and confident about the presentation.
Great encouragement and support from colleagues expressed as “all the prayers” and “positive vibes.”
Expecting results to possibly take a while, unless there’s an immediate follow-up interview.
Discussion Points
Job Candidates
Sherry mentioned that seven candidates are being interviewed for the position, with her being the only internal candidate, which may provide some advantages.
Having existing knowledge of the district’s inner workings could be beneficial.
Upcoming Board Meeting
The next board meeting is scheduled for the 17th, implying potential communication of results shortly after.
Curriculum Updates
Phonics Program Discussion
A building reported achieving 95% success in phonics.
Officials questioned Sherry about adopting this phonics program district-wide based on claims from the successful school.
Sherry proposed researching existing data instead of moving forward with purchases, preferring a unified curriculum approach rather than piecemeal implementations.
Data comparison showed no significant growth in students from programs, suggesting the need for a more holistic view of phonics education rather than solely adopting a new program based on one positive report.
Comprehensive School Review
DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) visited the successful school to evaluate their approach.
Sherry had taken the initiative to pull data for a comprehensive review comparing schools with similar demographics to justify decisions.
Collaboration and Communication
Contact with Terry
The need for communication with Terry was acknowledged.
Roxanne mentioned having Terry’s cellphone number but forgot to save it initially. Sherry provided the number for immediate access.
Emphasis on the importance of discussing elementary initiatives post-job interview results for Sherry.
Teacher Training Feedback
Roxanne reported positive feedback from training sessions conducted with teachers, indicating that certain teachers were utilizing resources effectively, including a teacher named Miss Lansing who showed high engagement and adherence to training models.
Identified the need for more structured training to align teaching practices properly across classrooms as others showed a lack of fidelity in implementing lessons.
Middle School Program Development
K-12 ELA Programming
Sherry confirmed a green light for the comprehensive K-12 ELA programming for grades 6 to 8, rather than piecemeal implementation for just a single grade.
Importance of establishing a uniform system for ELA education was reiterated.
She intends to utilize existing data from students on RSPs (Response to Intervention) to inform future programming decisions.
Resource Allocation
Identification of a new middle school (East Middle School) that primarily serves eighth graders requires additional resources since they are starting from minimal provisions compared to other middle schools.
The board's decision process would likely influence how resources are allocated and any new curriculum enhancements made.
Program Implementation Challenges
Training Issues
Acknowledgement that some teachers are struggling to implement training due to confusion over program materials.
Sherry emphasized clear modeling and instruction for the ELA program, specifically addressing teacher engagement and understanding of how programs correlate to student learning.
Teacher Licenses and Resources
Discussion about current teacher and student licenses for the program
150 student licenses available.
15 teacher licenses corresponding to various middle school sites being discussed.
They are tracking resource distribution to ensure proper access and materials for all teachers, particularly focusing on decodable resources for small groups in classrooms.
Professional Development (PD)
Future PD Initiatives
Planning a full-day on-site PD for teachers, potentially in early August.
Discussion surrounding ongoing coaching support and training modeling at schools across the year.
Implement an initial PD day, followed possibly by continued coaching thereafter based on teacher feedback.
Budget and Resource Allocation
Financial Planning
The team discussed aligning budgets with district financial planning, emphasizing careful tracking of expenditures.
Exploration of resource packages to balance between what is essential versus what is available through vendor negotiations, moving from previous bundled discounts to a more flexible system.
Preregistration for board discussions around expenditures around April/May, requiring precision in projected allocations to each school.
Closing Remarks
Sherry to keep everyone updated on her interview results and next steps for team initiatives.
Ongoing communications to ascertain support for teacher training and curriculum needs as they rollout the ELA program for the upcoming academic year.