The Middle Update 4/18/20

The announcement from Governor Evers on Thursday afternoon provided some clarity for us as to how the end of the school year will play out.  Like Dr. Shappell noted in his Thursday evening message, there are many questions out there in regards to our plans for moving/renovation planning.  We are in the process of working through the planning of the logistics to make this happen.  We understand that we will have to balance the necessity to provide strong, meaningful learning experiences for our students right up through May 29th, and preparing for Findorff to come in and start the process of updating our building.  We will be working to organize how to get things packed up and moved sooner than if school had been in session like normal.

Resource of the Week
We have gotten off to a great start with our Remote Learning Plan, we have learned a lot, and we are sure to learn more as we go.  I want to thank each of you for your efforts and dedication to our kids!  I feel we have done a great job of reaching out and connecting with kids during this time when normal interaction is different, but also has never been more important.  The first resource I'm sharing houses a plethora of thoughts on how to do Remote Learning best.  The second provides a deep dive into the nuts of bolts of teaching empathy to our students....imagine a school culture where all students had a strong handle on empathy.  We'll continue to do our part to help students gain this all-encompassing skill.

A New Reality: Getting Remote Learning Right - Resources provided by Ed Leadership magazine

"Nine Competencies for Teaching Empathy" - by Michele Borba

Puma Pride Scores during Remote Learning
On Thursday, when reviewing student progress, we used a modified version of our "Follows Classroom Expectations" Standard.  The rubric is pretty general, but should give us common language to communicate about how our students are performing during this remote learning experience.  Sharing this information will give both students and parents more feedback about how well each student is doing in this environment.

Now that we know that our learning will be virtual till the end of the school year, we need to think about how we will examine the effectiveness of this experience for our students.  Moving forward, I'll ask that you assess students, at least once per week, using this rubric with the following understandings:

- We will not retroactively score students, we will start assigning scores this coming week (4/20).  I will send communication to both students and parents, sharing the rubric and explaining the rationale for its use at the beginning of the week.

- For our Students w/Disabilities, we will consult with Case Manager before we assign a weekly score.  Some students may have modified expectations, and we should all be on the same page with how they did each week.  This can be discussed during/after Thursday grade level meeting times.

I have consulted with the many different teachers last week about our plan, but am still looking for feedback about this plan as we move into next week.  If you have questions or suggestions, please email me and we can discuss further.  Thank you!

4th Quarter Grading Communication
A copy of the communication that was sent to parents this week about how students will be assessed for the remainder of this school year can be found HERE.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Relocating/Construction Prep Steps
With the recent news, we will be looking to organize all the moving that needs to take place before construction begins.  Findorff will be getting in and starting sooner now that we know "normal" school won't be back in session this year.  We will start by getting student belongings out of the building, then we'll focus on the moving of classrooms and renoation prep.  Much more communication about this will follow this week.

Something Fun for Students??
I have seen a couple examples of videos that teachers put together for their students, offering encouragement and letting them know they miss them.  I am interested to hear any creative ideas anyone may have about putting something together for our students.  Send me an email if you have an idea or are willing to help lead an endeavor like this.