OLL Elementary School Communication

Thank you to those that RSVP’d.  As of now, we have over 200 Pasco leaders attending.  If you have not RSVP’d and would like to attend, contact Vaughnette Chandler at vchandle@pasco.k12.fl.us right away. 

Also, the conference agenda is attached for your reference. 

The Module 7 (Kindergarten) and 9 (Grades 1-5) Assessment is required to be administered and all data must be reported in myProgress. As a reminder, the required Performance Task Writing Prompt is included on the assessment. The 12 point scoring rubric that is linked on the ELN under each Performance Task Writing Prompt will be used to score student responses and report data in myProgress. The 12 point rubric has been chosen to keep the scoring total consistent within grade levels. However, it is acceptable to score responses a second time using the FSA Writing Rubrics or HMH Performance Task rubric. 

Copies have been completed and will be delivered to your school by Friday, March 4^th. Please be sure to use the Administering Guidelines linked below to obtain the final assessment materials. These guidelines will include any test question modifications and the removal of matching questions. Please be sure your teachers are using these final assessment versions and refraining from printing assessments directly from HMH for testing purposes.  

Module 7 Administering Guidelines 

Module 9 Administering Guidelines  

Fifth Grade  

Fourth Grade 

Third Grade 

Second Grade 

First Grade 

Kindergarten– Please note a modification to the verbiage for item 5 within the Foundations section of the Specific Guidelines for Administering the Module Assessment. It now reads, “Item 5: Say: Move to the fish. Choose the word that.” No modifications are needed to the student assessment.  

This memo is a reminder that funds in the accounts referenced below used to purchase instructional material at the school level will be taken to a zero balance on March 4, 2022. Please contact @Mayra Gabriela Pitts or @Francesca Howard with any questions. 

• 21505-Intstructional Materials and Textbook Flex
• 21504- Instructional Materials and Textbook requests

The notifications for the January 2022 Controlled Open Enrollment Plan School Choice window will be sent on February 23, 2022 by 4:30 pm.  Parents can access the parent portal to view the status of their application.  All opportunities for enrollment must be accepted by 4:30 pm on March 4, 2022.  The document below can be shared with support staff to help guide questions that may come into your offices and school campuses.  Please reach out to Francesca Howard or Samantha Del Valle with any questions or visit http://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/ed_choice/.

Support Staff Response for School Choice after notification.docx

Important Info + Dates

• The theme for this year is Contributing to a Better Society: The Future Depends on It

• Each school’s representative to participate in the district #PascoStudentsSpeak must be submitted to the district no later than Friday, March 11, 2022. The student PPT is due to the district by 3/30.

• The Pasco Students Speak project is an opportunity for students to engage in learning tasks aligned to Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards for English Language Arts, building knowledge, communicating through writing, researching, and speaking. The culminating event provides students with the opportunity to share their discoveries of their personal inquiry topic.
• Keep in mind topics should be age-appropriate and taken into consideration when approving or recommending a topic. Avoid controversial topics as it can distract from the experience and opportunities for students.

 Parent Student Info Letter 2022.docx

FYI Communication Sent to Point of Contact at the School Site Week of 2/21:

Thank you for your willingness to serve as your school’s primary contact for this year’s #PascoStudentsSpeak!  The Pasco Students Speak project is an opportunity for students to engage in learning tasks aligned to Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards for English Language Arts, while building knowledge communicated through writing, researching, and speaking. The culminating event provides students with the opportunity to share their discoveries relating to their personal inquiry topic. We know students have been working diligently on their speeches and appreciate all your time and effort in supporting this long-standing Pasco tradition.  Please keep in mind that topics should be age-appropriate, and that appropriateness should be taken into consideration before approving or recommending a topic. You will want to steer students away from controversial topics as those can distract them from the experience and event opportunities.

Click here for more information on next steps, agenda, location, behavior expectations, dress recommendations and Social media guidance.

As we begin March, we take time to remember the contributions of notable and ordinary women, in hopes that the day will soon come when it’s impossible to teach or learn history without remembering these contributions. It has been annually observed in the United States and other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia, every March since 1987. Please use this link as well as the suggested instructional calendars embedded in your learning networks to support instruction around this required instructional mandate: s.1003.42(2)(q), F.S., The study of women’s contributions to the United States.

March 25th – Medal of Honor Day

In Florida, March 25 of each year is designated as “Medal of Honor Day” and Medal of Honor has been added to s. 1003.42, F.S., Required Instruction. This is a perfect opportunity to embed the Medal of Honor Character Development Curriculum and promote these core values as we launch the 4th quarter

This link provides the most up to date list of staff who are reading endorsed and certified. Teachers in need of only a few courses are still able to take classes through the University of Florida’s Literacy Matrix, or through our district courses. The next round of Pasco courses will launch on April 18^th.  Anyone looking to take the K-12 Reading Subject Test (035) is able to do so until June 30^th, 2024. They can enroll in section 30847 to prepare for the Reading Endorsement test.

Shortly all elementary schools will be receiving some updated flyers to distribute to your tier 3 students to encourage enrollment in the New Worlds Reading Initiative. This initiative provides books to student’s homes each month to promote a love of literacy and put books in the hands of students with a reading deficiency. Students who have been added to your tier 3 list or who are now deficient, according to our K-12 plan, are eligible to participate. Please share flyers with eligible families as they arrive. They will be coming from New Worlds Reading out of the College of Education at the University of Florida. If you have any questions, please contact Danielle Varcardipone.

The articulation process has begun and will continue through May for gifted students in 2^nd and 5^th grade. Each school’s Gifted Resource Teacher will be contacting teachers to provide support in obtaining the necessary input forms. 

The timeline for articulation can be viewed below: 

March 4^th – All input forms (teacher, student, and parent) should be completed and ready for retrieval by GRT.  

March 7^th – 11^th: GRT’s will collect all articulation forms from elementary schools and check for completion. 

March 21^st – 28^th: GRT’s will deliver forms to receiving 3^rd and 6^th grade teachers. 

March 25^th – May 13^th: Teachers of Gifted will draft EP Plans and hold meetings.  

Thank you for supporting the gifted articulation process within your school. Please contact Kristin Ingold with any questions. 

It is that time of year that you will be actively hiring for next year. The new teacher team wants to ensure that all new hires are invited to some welcoming and learning opportunities this summer. Please share this flyer with them and help them register for the New Teacher kickoff on Monday, July 25^th from 8:30-4:00pm. The kickoff will be at Land O’ Lakes High School. Yes, in person! This event is required for all new hires to attend.

All new hires whether they are coming to us with experience or not are invited to each of these events. Our goal is to be able to connect with them at the district level as quickly as possible. Along with your help we can make this happen! Please see below for details and if you have any questions reach out to Charlotte Kralik.

New hires packages will be sent to each school. In this package are postcards with information about the new teacher year-long induction and PDCP. Colored copies of the summer events flyer as well as a poster to be hung in your front office. Please be on the lookout for this package and hand out to these to all new hires!

The Office for Leading and Learning is excited to welcome newly hired teachers into the alternative certification program in the 22/23 school year.  The program has been revised to better meet the needs of teachers with no classroom experience.   If you are hiring teachers without an education degree, please give them the attached flyer and refer them to Tricia Graham at pgraham@pasco.k12.fl.us for additional information on enrollment and coursework.

We currently have several 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.

Today we are sharing a link to our Coaching SMORE.  This is one of the key structures we use to communicate with our stakeholders.  In the SMORE, folks can find links to our  Instructional Coaching Dates 2021-2022.docx, meeting information and links for upcoming events, highlights on best practices around equity, data usage & display, and other key coaching skills.  We also offer nice-to-know information around professional development opportunities and state updates.

Our last monthly content coaching meetings are coming up at the end of this month.  We are offering live sessions at the district office in many cases in hopes of besting Zoom fatigue and to inspire connection and engagement.  Moving forward, we are working on plans to limit the number of times a coach is pulled from your building.  We will stack the ELA and Math content days onto the same day so that folks that wish to attend both will only be out of the building one time

The Summer Coaching Academy is designed for both coaches and administrators to work together around coaching in your building.

Summer Coaching Academy:

June 21st or 22nd (PHCC Porter Campus) 8:30-3:30pm

Sharon Thomas from Jim Knight’s Instructional Coaching Group provides professional learning where admin teams and coaches work together. Each school will join the event for one full day of learning.

Here are sign-ups for teams to choose the date that will best fit their Summer Plans.  Thanks in advance for booking your day and letting us know how many folks from your team will join.  Stipends are provided for School-Based Coaches for this Summer event.

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

Pasco County Schools is once again able to offer a unique opportunity for those aspiring to become Assistant Principals.  If you hold an Educational Leadership Degree or are currently enrolled in an Educational Leadership Program and are interested in engaging in a high quality administrative internship at a participating school, this may be the program for you.  Click here for more information. 

Saint Leo University is offering Customized cohort based program in partnership with the District School Board of Pasco County starting in May 2022!

Check this flyer for details.

What is a better way to ease back into your classrooms after your Spring Break? A “Mindfulness Practice”! We are encouraging you to use this as a personal and professional journey! Start exploring the practice now to better prepare for the challenge. To access Inner Explorer, Go to your “MyPascoConnect” dashboard and add Inner Explore to your apps! For questions, please connect with Deedra Lee Mitchell dcopelan@pasco.k12.fl.us or Susanna G. Haberle shaberle@pasco.k12.fl.us Feel free to send us your journey experience!

We hope you are enjoying this series of technology tools and how to use them for student engagement. If you missed any of the videos, no worries. You can access them here on the PD Hub. You may also join our myLearning course to get a deeper understanding of each tool. Just enroll with this link. Each day has options to watch or read more about it. There is also a discussion board to post on and view how other staff members plan to use each tool within their scope of work. A great place to read, like, and comment to gain a bunch of ways to build your toolbox for each of these engaging tools.

The deadline for the course is Friday, April 1st. You will get two professional development points for each module for a possibility of 10 professional development points for completing all modules.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Charlotte Kralik, Arti Lele, and Natalie Wanamaker. 

Be on the lookout for more tech weeks in the future!

OTIS and OLL