The Connector - esu10.org · PDF fileOur focus is on serving you! ... improve to catch Susan Evans from Teaching & Learning and the grand champion, ... systematic and consistent corrective

TheMarch 2017

ConnectorOur focus is on serving you!

76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org

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A Message from Dr. Bell

Educational Service Unit 10 just lost a great advocate. Darlene Boroff was elected to the ESU 10 Board of Directors in 1979 and has served continuously since that time. She has served on many committees and held various leadership positions. The other board members have elected her as Secretary of the Board for most of the twenty-three years I have been administrator here. She had a great passion for the ESU 10 mission and was a positive force on the board. Darlene will be missed.

All of the Nebraska ESU administrators had the recent opportunity to participate in an informational meeting with Nebraska State Senators at the State Capitol Building in Lin-coln. It was a great chance to highlight the programs and services being offered through-out the state. Senators must be experts on so many topics so it is always great when factual information can be shared with them to help shape their opinions as they create or modify laws. I would like to extend a major thank you for all of the Senators, and/or their staff members, who took time out of the hectic schedules to participate in this event.

At the time this article goes to print ESU 10 staff will have completed 20 school visits. It always amazes me that so many great ideas are submitted by school district personnel that can help propel this organization forward with better direction and purpose. There are many unique challenges that emerge, but I am also continuously surprised at the similarity of challenges submitted by many of our school district leaders. All of this input helps guide the use of ESU 10 resources to best meet identified needs as we “partner with stakeholders to meet changing needs through profes-sional expertise in providing services, learning opportunities and support.” This is not only the ESU 10 mission, it has become the abiding principle of the organizational culture. It is my hope that all visits will be completed before next month’s Connector goes to press. If so, an executive summary of all the visits will be shared with you as we take the next step forward to improve and grow to meet your needs.

With that said, it is time to prepare for what you have all come to know is one of my favorite times of the year, March Madness. I was able to finish as champion of the Administrative Department bracket last year, but still need to improve to catch Susan Evans from Teaching & Learning and the grand champion, Karen Verraneault, from Special Services. My downfall continues to be my inability to take Duke University past the early rounds. Maybe I need a consult with the ESU 10 Psychologists to get me past that mental block.

Since we recently finished our successful AdvanceEd accreditation process, I was randomly thinking of modifying our ESU 10 Motto by using a great basketball player quote since I enjoy this season so much. I thought I had it when I read that Shaquille O’Neal said, “Can’t nobody [mess] with me. I’m like toilet paper, Pampers and toothpaste. I’m definitely proven to be effective.”

On second thought, I think we’ll stick with, “Our focus is on serving you!”


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ESU 10 Workshops

CC0 Public Domain

March 07 Regional ALP - St. Paul

08 Regional ALP - Kearney

14 CIP Technical Assistance Follow-up (Years1-5)

15 Ubiquiti Unifi Wireless Training

16 Teaching Functional Skills to Middle & High School Students

16 PowerSchool - PowerScheduler

17 Academic Quiz Bowl (Grades 9-12)

22 Adviser Work Day

23 Title I Spring Meeting

23 Meraki Wireless Training

28 Nebraska Physical Education Standards

29 CRDC Report Workday

30 Aerohive Wireless Training

April 03 Special Education 4th Quarterly Meeting

05 LAN Manager Meeting

06 Instructional Coaches Cadre

07 PowerSchool - PowerScheduler

12 Adviser Work Day-Infinite Campus

https://odie.esu10.org/workshops/SectionDetails.aspx?SectionID=4463

































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Darlene Boroff 1939-2017

Condolences to the fam-ily of Dalrene Boroff, 79, of Wood River. Darlene passed away on Thursday, February 23, 2017. She began her 39th year as an ESU 10 board member in January of 2017, and served in sev-eral different roles on the board including secretary and vice president.

ESU 10 appreciates the support and years of service that Darlene gave to ESU 10 and the education community.

Middle School Quiz Bowl Winners

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Anselmo-Merna Kearney Sunrise

Grand Island Westridge Kearney Catholic


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Patrice Feller, ESU 10 School Psychologist and MTSS FacilitatorUniversal Supports for Social

Emotional Well-Being

Educators are becom-ing accustomed to expectations that they focus on im-proving the academic achievement of their students. They are gaining confidence in the use of effec-tive instructional practices, research-based interventions, universal screening, and data-based deci-sion making. It seems common sense that solid instruction in

core reading or math curriculum comes first as a means of preventing learning difficulties. This is followed by assign-ing some students to interventions that increase in intensity as their needs increase. Yet, when students struggle with social skills or behavior challenges, educators sometimes throw up their hands and say, “What do we do?” It seems they are less than confident in knowing how to promote students’ social emotional well-being.

A parallel with multi-tiered system of supports for academ-ic development can be made with students’ social emo-tional and behavior development. In the academic world, educators start with assessments to determine what the stu-dents know or do not know, provide solid instruction, apply effective instructional practices, use research-based inter-ventions, monitor progress, and make data-based decisions. In the social emotional behavior realm, effective educators start with assessments to determine what the students know or do not know, provide solid instruction, apply effective instructional practices, use research-based interventions, monitor progress, and make data-based decisions. Educa-tors actually do know what to do to promote students’ social emotional and behavior development, but many have not thought of the parallel with academic instruction and supports. Children learn social behavior in ways similar to the way they learn academic skills; thus, teachers can teach social skills using a similar approach.

To address the concerns related to social and behavior challenges, educators are beginning to take collaborative responsibility for meeting students’ academic and behavior

or social needs. Competence in academic skills is im-portant to social emotional development and vice versa. To achieve both competencies, schools are advised to establish universal supports for all students. Individual-ized supports are then built on those universal practices for students who have greater needs. Most importantly, educators work collaboratively with parents and other professionals (i.e., counselors, behavior specialists, etc.) in response to existing needs.

What universal supports are helpful in promoting both academic and social emotional behavior development? Effective educators start by relating to students. They intentionally work to establish and then to maintain positive relationships with their students. However, when something occurs to damage a relationship, edu-cators consciously and systematically work to restore relationships with their students.

Also, teachers work to create learning environments that increase the probability of student success. They inten-tionally design the physical arrangement of space and materials to benefit student achievement. In addition, educators develop routines and schedules to maximize the effectiveness of their instruction. Finally, the structure of the learning environment includes physical cues and verbal prompts for student completion of expectations.

Next, effective educators develop clear and positively stated school wide behavioral expectations that are modeled, taught, practiced with guidance, and moni-tored. When students use and then master these expecta-tions, they are consistently acknowledged. In the same manner, adults teach social competencies suggested by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning: self- awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Students unskilled in use of the expectations or competencies are provided with corrective instruction. Students who continue problem behaviors are given systematic and consistent corrective consequences.

Additionally, teachers might consider adjusting instruc-tion when several students have difficulty learning an expectation. Lane, et al., 2015, suggest that student data be used to determine what supports teachers need to differentiate for groups of students. Teachers might intentionally adjust their instruction to use teacher-level strategies that have a greater

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probability of supporting positive behavioral outcomes. Sometimes altering classroom practices and adopting the use of evidence-based instructional strategies (for example, increasing behavior specific praise, providing pre-correction, or increasing students’ opportunities to respond) result in significant changes in students’ behavior as well as their academic performance.

Supporting the academic and social well-being of students is a full time job. According to Terrance Scott (2017), “We have an ethical responsibility to select the practices, interventions, and procedures that provide the greatest probability for success.” Luckily, educators have the basic knowledge of practices and strategies that will support their universal efforts in promoting student social emotional well-being—they sometimes just lack confidence. Luckily, more and more schools are embracing a systems-level approach to serving all students. It is in this manner that teachers will be supported, develop self-efficacy, and realize their own improved well-being.

References:• CASEL. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.• Scott, Terrance M. Teaching Behavior: Managing Classrooms through Effective Instruction. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Corwin, a SAGE, 2017. Print. • Stormont, Melissa, Timothy J. Lewis, Rebecca Beckner, and Nanci W. Johnson. Implementing positive behavior

support systems in early childhood and elementary settings. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2008. Print.

Universal Supports for Social Emotional Well-Being (Cont.)

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The Impact of Leadership and Learning by Dallas Lewandowski, T&L Coordinator

John F. Kennedy once said, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” These two characteristics have played a key role in one of our districts participating in the Academic Literacy Project. It has been exciting to watch as teachers fine tune their craft with the instructional strategies they have learned through this project. However, this doesn’t happen without a strong commitment from the leadership in the building. In Jim Knight’s book, Unmistak-able Impact, he talks about the importance of understand-ing the target. He states, “If professional learning is to have a positive impact, all leaders of professional learning must have a deep understanding of what everyone is learning. Impact requires deep knowledge.”

In the fall, the district revisited their school improvement goal and determined that the strategies they were learning through the project would benefit them as they infused reading and writing across all content areas. The leadership devoted time to revisiting the strategies during professional learning oppor-tunities where a clear focus on writing instruction was defined and action plans were made for implementation.

During our recent learning walks, fifteen teachers were observed and there were seventy-six opportunities for feedback in the debriefing sessions. The administration and teachers have built a level of trust with one another and participate in a collaborative & supportive environment. They are providing each other with effective feedback that is concrete, specific, and useful and helps them to achieve their goals. This type of environment and the commitment to their school improvement goal also helps to generate results for students.

It was thrilling to watch as they incorporated sentence frames, writing frames and prompted their students to use academic language in structured discussions & writing. These specific strategies allow students to communicate their thinking and learning through collaborative conversa-tions with their peers or in written form.

As I reflect upon the success of the district’s implementa-tion of ALP, it truly boils down to their consistent, daily actions to build and reinforce a strong culture built on trust, commitment and focus. The leadership has nurtured this culture and it is making a positive impact on both teacher and student learning.

Knight, J. (2011).Unmistakable impact: a partnership approach for dramatically improving instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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Building a Culture of Literacy by Susan Evans, Teaching & Learning Coordinator

One of my most rewarding moments in my teaching career came last summer at a wedding. My children and their friends, whom I taught, are at that age where there are many weddings during the summer months. At the recep-tion of one of these joyous events I had the opportunity to join a group of young people gathered together around the punch bowl. To my surprise, they were talking about read-ing class in 6th grade and reminiscing about the Iditarod Unit and the unit on the Middle Ages. At that time, we engaged students in multi-disciplinary units, and it wasn’t until this wedding years later that I realized how much it meant to these young adults. They talked about the books we read in small groups and about the read-alouds. The conversation was enjoyable and life-affirming for me as their “old” teacher.

Fast forward to today. I was reading an article in Educa-tional Leadership from February 2017, written by a princi-pal, Barry Gilmore, titled “10 Ways to Promote a Culture of Literacy”. This article discusses a philosophy of learning that will help to instill a culture of valuing reading, writ-ing, and discussing as roads to learning. By sharing what I learned and the beliefs about literacy that were affirmed in my mind by reading this article, I hope to encourage school leaders to build a culture of literacy.

1. Publicly celebrate reading. This doesn’t have to mean the pizza party for the class reaching their reading goals. This can simply be providing opportunities for sharing and discussing books that have been read; i.e., posting teachers’ favorite reads, student favorites, book talks before, during, or after school. These are smaller celebrations but may be more valuable.

2. Create classroom libraries. This means the science room, the PE teacher’s office, and even the math teacher could have a classroom library. I thought since I loved to read I couldn’t be good at math. One of the myths that we have, hopefully, busted.

3. Share word walls. Let the students understand that learning the prefix meta- can assist them in learning many words in different content areas.

4. Make time for collaboration and get students talking. This is a combination of two of Gilmore’s suggestions. This is time for teachers to collaborate so they can plan opportunities for students to discuss their learn-ing. Think about what adults do when they finish a great book; they want to talk about it!

5. Read and write across the content areas, value disciplinary literacy, and provide authentic writing experiences. This is another combination of three ideas that go hand-in-hand. Let’s help each other out by connecting the subjects together and planning units collaboratively so that students see the value of literacy in life, not just in English. Writing for a real audience can go a long way in making a writing experience meaningful.

6. Invite browsing and promote reflection. These two steps toward a culture of literacy can help students take their reading and writing further. Share book displays in creative ways and in venues not normally associated with literacy (a basketball game). When students reflect on their own literacy practices they may set goals that get them on a life-time trajectory of reading for learning.

There are many ways we can create a culture of literacy; however, let us strive to make this culture school-wide in order to develop a school community that values learning and collaboration.

Gilmore, B. (2017, February). 10 Ways to Promote a Culture of Literacy. Educational Leadership, 74(5), 72-76.


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Teaching and Learning Workshops

ELD Curriculum Building

June 29

Reading Instruction that Makes a Difference

June 19-23

Services for High Ability Students in Nebraska Schools

June 14

Blending Technology & Tradition to Transform & Engage

June 8

Strategic Leadership:

Making Connections

to AQuESTT

June 6-7

Reading Mastery Alignment to ELA

Standards

June 5

CTE Laser

Engraver Training

June 2

CTE 3D Printer Training

June 1

CTE Laser Engraver Training

July 20

Science in Motion: Learn, Create, Do

July 19

CTE 3D Printer Training

July 19

Write Tools TDA Training

July 18-20

CHAMPS: A Proactive Approach to Classroom Managment

July 17-21

SUMMER 2017On the Digital EDge: Technology Breakout Sessions

July 6

Culturally Responsive

Teaching

July 10

Cultivating Growth through Mindfulness

July 13

Selecting & Writing a

School Improvement

Goal

July 17


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Teaching and Learning Workshops

Developing Mathematical Mindsets

October 4, 2017Show It! Solve It! Explain It! Building Problem Solvers in Grades K-2

January 24, 2018Teaching Conceptually - Taking the "Magic" Out of Math

March 7, 2018Math Professional Learning Network

October 5, 2017Show It! Solve It! Explain It! Building Problem Solvers in Grades 3-6


March 6, 2018Math Professional Learning Network

October 6, 2017Mathematics Curriculum and Assessment for Student Success


February 27, 2018Math Professional Learning Network

Documents

The Connector - esu10.org · PDF fileOur focus is on serving you! ... improve to catch Susan Evans from Teaching & Learning and the grand champion, ... systematic and consistent corrective