Our second IRLA Levels Accuracy window will be from January 14-29. Please complete and share the attached Levels Accuracy Reflection Document at the end of the window, to help us plan for additional support.  Please contact Courtney Lough if you have any questions.

Instructions for access to the 2^nd grade CogAT Screener results will be sent to Elementary testing coordinators on Friday of this week. In order to communicate next steps, two Zoom conference opportunities (times and links below) will be available on Tuesday, January 15^th.  Please plan to have an administrator from your school participate in one of the two time slots below. Please contact Kristin Ingold with any questions.

CogAT Results Zoom Conferences:

• Session 1: January 15^th @ 10:30am
  • Link to join https://zoom.us/j/512350890

• Session 2: January 15^th @ 2:00pm
  • Link to join https://zoom.us/j/854287989

The second district writing benchmark window will be open January 8th-18^th.  The prompts and text for this benchmark window are attached in this communication. The informational rubric to score the writing is located on the Elementary Learning Network under the writing tab. K-3 should use the district rubric and 4-5 will use the FSA Rubric.   If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Courtney Lough or Danielle Varcardipone. 

·         Kindergarten District Winter Writing Benchmark

·         First Grade District Winter Writing Benchmark

·         Second Grade District Winter Writing Benchmark

·         Third Grade District Winter Writing Benchmark

·         Fourth Grade District Winter Writing Benchmark

·         Fifth Grade District Winter Writing Benchmark

Pasco County Schools’ professional development program for aspiring leaders, is open through Friday, January 18^th. Classes will begin Tuesday, February 19^th. LEAD is a 6- night program focused on maximizing leadership potential by enhancing skills, knowledge, and experiences. It is open to both instructional and non-instructional aspiring leaders of all levels.

• Access the LEAD flier here
• Find out more detailed information and register here

IRLA PD for new teachers is being offered on January 22^nd and 29^th from 4:45-7:45PM. This training will be held at the district office in Portable 8A. Teachers must attend both sessions and will be paid a stipend. Participants can sign up in myPGS using section #13829.

There will be trainings for New Teachers in Year 1 and Year 2 in January.  New Teachers can select one of the date options to attend.  Please share with your new teachers and have them register in myPGS.  Please refer to the Upcoming PD section below for more details.  If you have questions, please reach out to Jenny Rinck. 

Nearpod is providing a series of webinars from January to April designed to address content in our K-12 curriculum. These webinars will highlight content that Nearpod provides in support of relevant curricular topics, engagement strategies, differentiation strategies, and assessment data from Nearpod reports.

The following is January’s webinar schedule:  

January 2019

Participants can click on the link to register.  All teachers with Nearpod access will  be sent an email with the webinar offerings.  The webinar series will also be recorded so that participants can view when convenient.

The Office for Leading and Learning is exploring options to expand opportunities for teachers to earn their reading endorsement.  One option we are considering is having each elementary school create a cohort of teachers who will progress through the endorsement courses together under the leadership of a building facilitator.  This survey is intended to gauge interest of folks who might be interested in leading such a building cohort.  These would be paid positions.  Please click here to complete the survey.

Building cohort leaders should meet the following criteria:

Required:

– Hold a master’s degree in reading, reading certification, or reading endorsement

– Have a minimum of three years of classroom teaching experience

Preferred:

– Demonstrated evidence of success in leadership roles (PLC facilitator, coaching, curriculum writing team member, etc.)

– Demonstrated success in the teaching of reading, particularly with at-risk students in need of intervention

PLEASE NOTE: This survey is just to gauge general interest. A formal application process for these positions will follow if necessary.

For the 19-20 school year Kinder Registration begins May 20th.  This date was revised in early summer after principal feedback related to the new May assessment window.

We are excited to announce that Vaughnette Chandler will join the Office for Leading and Learning as our new Leadership Development Program Coordinator. Vaughnette brings a wealth of experience in leadership in both instructional and instructional realms and has amazing ideas for how to continue to evolve all of our aspiring leader pathways here in Pasco county. Please join me in welcoming Vaughnette to the team and thank you in advance for your continued willingness and enthusiasm to partner with us in the creation and implementation of all of our leadership development programs and structures. 

Thanks so much to school based and district based staff who engaged in the materials adoption process. We are pleased to share that consensus has been built throughout the system around each adoption area. Below are the titles that will be recommended to the school board for adoption. This process includes public hearing, two readings and final approval along with a public challenge process prior to purchasing of materials begins. After board approval, we will have follow up conversations related to budgeting, ordering and purchasing procedures.

K-5 Mathematics: Great Minds Eureka Math

M/J Mathematics: Illustrative Math, Open Up

M/J World History: Cengage, World History Ancient Civilizations

M/J Theatre 1: Perfection Learning, Basic Drama Projects

M/J Theatre 2: Perfection Learning, Drama for Reading and Performance Book 1

M/J Theatre 3: Perfection Learning, Drama for Reading and Performance Book 2

Theatre 1: McGraw Hill, Theatre Art in Action

Theatre 2: Stage Agent

Theatre 3: Perfection Learning, Drama for Reading and Performance Book 1

Theatre 4: Perfection Learning, Drama for Reading and Performance Book 2

Acting 1: McGraw Hill, Theatre Art in Action

Acting 2: Stage Agent

Acting 3: Perfection Learning, Drama for Reading and Performance Book 1

Acting 4: Perfection Learning, Drama for Reading and Performance Book 2