Do you know a STEM teacher in your community who goes above and beyond for their students? Nominate them for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)! Click this flyerfor more details on the award and the link to make your nomination. Please be sure to review the eligibility criteria on the nomination form. Nominations close on March 1, 2019. Please email Arti Lele the name of your school’s nominee(s) so that we can recognize them at a future School Board meeting.

The course adoption process for the 19-20 school year will take place through the Secondary Design Team meetings. The final meeting for this process is February 7^th.  To have a course reviewed at the February 7^thmeeting please complete this form by January 25^th. OLL has worked with the Secondary Design Team to create course progressions in each content area.  Please reference these documents prior to submitting a course adoption request to ensure this course would be needed in the content area. We welcome any feedback schools have on the new course progressions. For courses outside of these subject areas (CTE, ESE, AICE, IB, etc.) please reference the course catalog in myStudent to see what is currently adopted. The course is only adopted for use in brick and mortar schools if there is a Z suffix on the end of the course code number and it is listed as active in the system.  If you are unsure of how to access the course catalog reference these directions.  Please contact Tonia Shook or Samantha Del Valle with any questions you may have.

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

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.

Attached is the draft schedule for secondary math and ELA learning walks (day 2 of Core PD) for your review.  Learning Walks are an optional opportunity for teachers who attended Day 1 of Core PD this past fall.  Please contact Ben Aguilar (math) or Rachel Hatten (ELA) if you see any problems with the schedule.  This draft schedule has not yet been shared with teachers or coaches.  We appreciate your review and input!

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