OLL Middle School Communication

The 2022 Pasco Science & Engineering Showcase will happen on Saturday, Jan 29 from 8:00-4:30 (Secondary 8:00-12:00, Elementary 12:30-4:00).  We had intended for this year’s district showcase to be in person, however, after careful consideration and due to a shortage in available judges, we were forced to change this year’s competition to a VIRTUAL format. Like last year, this year’s fair will be conducted online using the zFairs Virtual Science Fair Platform.  All student presentations and judging will occur via the platform.  Teachers and Science Fair coordinators were provided your student’s judging times with the direction to inform the students on Friday (Jan 21^st).  

Below are some important details to consider and new guidelines for the change in venue:

• If possible, you may consider holding a quick meeting with your finalists to practice logging into the platform and watching the video on judging. 
• Device and Wi-Fi Concerns– Since the content is now virtual, we want to ensure that we make every attempt to help students overcome device or Wi-Fi concerns that may prevent them from attending their judging session. We will need to rely on your knowledge of your school’s finalists to identify these possible barriers. Device concerns may be solved through loaning a device, if possible. The platform runs smoothly on tablets and laptops. If Wi-Fi is an issue, we can alert a judging team that they can reach the student via the phone rather than video. Please email Maria Emerick if you need to alert us to a possible barrier with a finalist (memerick@pasco.k12.fl.us).
• Judging – We provided students with an hour window that brackets their assigned judging time when they should be available for judges. Students will only need to be available during their assigned window. For security, students will always have a team of judges with them in the virtual “zoom” room, never just one judge. Judges will use the scoring rubrics provided in the student module to score projects.  All students should be registered at this point and secondary students should have uploaded all their required paperwork. We have added information on the judging process to the student, teacher and judge information pages within the platform. This general video was created by zFairs to demonstrate the virtual judging process.
• Awards Gala– Right now, we intend to keep the awards Gala as an in-person event that follows health and safety guidelines to protect participants.  It is by invite only and will be held on Wednesday, Feb 2 from 6:00-8:30 at the Wesley Chapel Performing Arts Center.   Admin, Coordinators, Teachers, Parents, and Students will be notified via email of an invitation (indicating the student placed or are receiving a special award) on Monday January 31^st by end of school day. Students will only be allowed to bring two guests. Administrators are both invited and encouraged to attend.

Thank you for all you do to support science fair in your schools.

In January, Assistant Principals received  information regarding the instructional materials adoption process, the IMET tool for evaluating resources, and strategies for consensus building for school-based teams. During the February Early Release Day, secondary math teachers will engage in collaborative work and evidence collecting around the “Try-and-Apply” phase. There will also be new information shared from teacher questions around technology, assessments, etc.

We ask that schools hold their votes until after the new information is shared on February Early Release Day on February 2^nd.

Assistant Principals were asked to work with PLC’s and School Leadership teams to build consensus around which material will best meet the needs of Pasco County students. Consensus should be built by Feb. 17th.​ Each school should submit their vote by February 18, 2022.​

• Middle Schools Adoption Vote – form asks for 1 vote for 6-8, 1 vote for Algebra​
• High Schools Adoption Vote 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Melissa Caruso or Fran Howard.

The Office of Leading and Learning Interventions Team is re-starting our VLPT (Very Large Project Team) to get feedback, practice, and develop new strategies to support SEL standards and benchmarks in schools. We want to help create compassionate schools across our district and the VLPT will utilize various stakeholders in the process. 

We have invited previous members but know there have been many changes on campus since our last meeting a year ago. If you would like to recommend a staff member to this team, please fill out this form by Monday, January 31. Members will meet in the evening through zoom and will receive a paid stipend for their collaboration on this team. 

Any questions, please reach out to Deedra Mitchell, program coordinator of SEL/Compassionate Schools at dcopelan@pasco.k12.fl.us or 4-2791.

As part of a cooperative agreement with the CDC, Pasco County Schools is conducting surveys of principals and lead health education teachers (LHET) to assess the status of school health policies and practices at the middle and high school levels. This survey is called “School Health Profiles.” The data collected from the School Health Profiles are used to improve school health policies and practices in our schools. The survey collection period will open on February 1st. Principals will need to select a Lead Health Education Teacher. The LHET does not have to be a teacher. The respondent for this questionnaire may be your only health education teacher, the department chair, the most senior health education teacher, or the person who is most knowledgeable about instruction on health topics. Even if health education is not taught at your school, questions on the teacher questionnaire can be answered by any knowledgeable staff member.

Please email the name of the individual you would like to complete the School Health Profile survey as the lead health education teacher to: aemperat@pasco.k12.fl.us by Monday January 31st.

Additional information will be sent via inter-office mail. If you have any questions, please contact Antonio Emperator.

This can be utilized for any websites including digital resources like HMH Ed Platform.

OTIS has pushed out Immersive Reader extension for Chrome browser on all student computers. 

This will enable the option to use Immersive Reader for all web pages, including instructional digital resources such as HMH Into Reading.

To utilize Immersive Reader, follow these simple steps:

Highlight/select the text that you want Immersive Reader to help you read

For Windows devices, right click and select “Help me read this”

For Macs, right click and select Speech => Start Speaking

The Office for Leading and Learning is excited to offer the following Spring 2022 certification exam prep courses for teachers who would like help preparing for the exams:

General Knowledge Math Subtest Prep course: This course will focus on helping teachers prepare for the Math subtest of the General Knowledge exam. The course will review key aspects of math that teachers may need to refresh prior to taking the exam. The course will be offered as 1-day training, on a voluntary basis, on the following dates:      

 Saturday, April 2                          District Office/Building 2 Oak Room;  8:30 am – 3:30 pm Section # 31063

General Knowledge Reading Subtest Prep course: This course will focus on helping teachers prepare for the Reading subtest of the General Knowledge exam. The course will review key aspects of reading that teachers may need to refresh prior to taking the exam.  The course will be offered as 1-day training, on a voluntary basis, on the following dates: 

Saturday,  February 19                District Office/Building 2 Oak Room;  9:00 am – 1:00 pm Section # 31067

Professional Ed Test Prep course (must be a current teacher to enroll): This course will focus on helping teachers prepare for the Professional Ed Test Exam. The course will review best practices in the classroom, as well as the school environment. The course will be offered as 1-day training, on a voluntary basis, on the following dates:

Saturday, March 5                        District Office/Building 2 Oak Room;  9:00 am – 1:00 pm Section # 31064

All courses will be available on myPGS on Monday, January 17, 2022 at 8:00am.

Please register for all courses in myPGS using the course numbers listed above.
**Please note** There are no walk in’s allowed at any of the courses.  You must pre-register on myPGS. 

If you have any questions about any of the courses, please contact Tricia Graham at pgraham@pasco.k12.fl.us.

Pasco County Schools is hosting the 2^nd annual virtual College and Career Fair on March 8^th from 5-8 p.m.. The purpose of this event is to ensure information is shared with families across the district as they plan for college entrance and/or careers after high school. We will be hosting representatives from state and local universities and colleges, members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and community work force partners.  Registered attendees can sign up for presentations on the following topics: 

• ACT/SAT Test Programs
• Career Exploration Resources
• College Admissions Process
• Collegiate Athletics
• Financial Aid & Scholarships
• Florida Bright Futures Program
• Selecting Mathematics Courses for Your Future Pathway
• Options After High School
• Resources for Students with Disabilities

Posters and flyers (in both English & Spanish) have been distributed and should arrive to all middle and high schools soon.  Click here to access them digitally. Additionally, you can use the website below to access an FAQ document to help families with questions they have about the event. Please feel free to share this with support staff who may receive calls about the event.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Jennifer Batchelor, Melissa Caruso, or Lynn Young. 

Registration opens Feb. 14^th, 2022

https://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/oll/page/college-and-career-fair 

Coaching Pool Interviews

We currently have a number of open instructional coaching positions and are looking to systematically add highly qualified coaching candidates to our pools for Learning Design Coaches and Instructional Trainer Coaches.  If you have teacher leaders or folks who are looking to apply for coaching positions, please communicate our Coaching Pool Interview plan and dates.  Thank you.

Trail Blazer Cohort:  Winter 2022

Coaches and teachers team up in our fourth Trail Blazer Cohort!

Create learning environments in which all students are engaged, challenged, feel safe to take risks, and are supported to learn

Demonstrate expertise in content knowledge as well as pedagogical techniques

Share knowledge and new learning with colleagues

Exhibit flexibility, responsiveness, and a commitment to continuous learning

Check out  our flyer with the details and dates.

Participants can sign up at this link:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/DesignPage.aspx?fragment=FormId%3DaaJT4khSVE6bZ7duOoYiIMZgN9a_mNdLrvXwMcNuUx5UODZYQUFTRDdKT1I0UDdWOTRZRFRXOFExRC4u%26Token%3D417b7a2e5b5d40a5b20df5b2bf8045c7

Coaches can sign up for 1:1 connection w/ Craig week of Jan 17-21   Shareable Calendar

Cohort 3 Launch w/ both Teachers and Coaches will be 2/7 virtually 5:30-7:30PM

We are excited to announce that the process to become an Approved Assistant Principal Candidate will open soon. Applicants must be approved as candidates in Pasco County Schools to be considered for assistant principal vacancies.

To learn more about our Internal Candidate Selection Process, visit the following link.

The application window will be from Monday, January 31, 2022 to Wednesday, February 9, 2022.  All required documentation must be submitted before the job ad closes to be considered during the application window.

The 2022/2023 Preparing New Principals Program (PNPP) application window will open from 4/4/2022 to 4/15/2022.

You will find the official job ad in Talent Ed beginning April 4^th and will need to apply there.  In addition, you will find the entire application process on our Leadership Development website.  All of the application information will be made available on this site beginning April 7^th.  You will need to review the application information prior to applying via Talent Ed, as there are additional application tasks that you will need to complete.

What are the required qualifications?
An internal candidate must demonstrate at least three years of successful experience as an assistant principal (and currently be in this role), hold Educational Leadership on their Florida certificate and complete the PNPP application process (can be found on our Leadership Development website beginning 4/4/2022). A candidate who applies and is accepted to this program will become eligible to apply for principal positions (unless otherwise determined by superintendent staff) upon entry into the program. Successful completion of the yearlong PNPP program will complete the principal certification process. 

PNPP Information Session

An ”Am I Ready for PNPP” information session will be held on Thursday, March 10, 2022 from 5:00-6:00.  During this virtual session, we will review the program qualifications and engage you in a self-assessment process to determine readiness.  Please RVSP below if you plan to attend.  The Zoom link will be sent directly to you as we get closer to March 10^th.

Information Session RSVP

Admissions are  now open for Summer and Fall 2022 cohorts for USF’s Master of Education in Educational Leadership program. 

Please see the Program Flyer and FAQs for more information.