May 28, 2021

Simplifying Language

• Responses to last week's Hive survey indicate that I may have caused some unintentional upset regarding rewording our mission, vision and commitments. 
• I did not mean to convey a sense of disrespect or disregard for the work that had come before
• The fact that some people felt that way lets me know that I was not precise in my language. 
• The goal is to simplify our language so that it is accessible and understood by all members of our community including families. 
• This is not something we have to do. It is the right thing to do.
• I have been here two years. Granted they have been strange years, but I have never heard a family refer to our mission as to why they are here. Or candidates say that our mission as we explained it in an interview was why they chose to work here. 
• What we do here is special and we should have concise statements that we know and live when talking about our work, our community, and our goals. 
• A new practice that I have been doing is to check the readability level of everything that I am sending home to families as part of my personal accessible language goal. 
• I did this with our mission and covenant
• The readability level of our current mission and covenant is at a college graduate level. 
• I am hoping that by re-writing these key documents and being sure to have them translated who we are will be clearer to families. 
• I am also hoping that the precision of language will help as we write our school plan and gain the ESSER funds we need
• What I put out last week were drafts. The bold is because I should have bolded the word draft last week
• I often will use a draft to get an idea and then come back to that draft at a different time. 
• This is the very beginning of a process.
• We will not spend a lot of time wordsmithing our mission, vision, and agreements. I find that when people start wordsmithing they start choosing lots of words and the meaning starts to get lost in favor of having a "perfect" statement
• We will spend time unpacking any statements we adopt or are considering as we move forwards to see what it means, to build common understanding, and to truly live by it. 
• My intention was to check where people's minds were as we think about the future and the launch of next year. 

EOY Literacy Updates

• As a school, we will not be requiring the administration of end-of-year reading benchmark assessments.  
• Instead, we will have a spreadsheet for teachers to fill out that will list the approximate end-of-year text reading level (instructional) for your students and a space for listing some strengths and areas for growth for each student across all areas of literacy (not just reading!).  
• You can use an upcoming CLT to fill out the document or teachers can fill it out independently.  The estimated time for this task will be approx. 30-40 minutes total (vs. 20-30 minutes per kid for the BAS!) 
• This information will be used by teachers next year as a starting point for student instruction and further assessment. 
• Sarah will send the spreadsheet to teachers by Tuesday morning. 

Needs Assessment 

• This week's Hive Survey is a needs assessment for staff
• It is a longer survey than you will typically be asked to fill out
• This is an initial step in planning for our Quality School Plan and the possibility of ESSER funding. 
• Parents will also be asked to complete a parent version of the needs assessment via survey or phone call
• At dismissal next week, parents will also be asked to add to a visioning board that has the following question:
• A good school is designed to meet the learning and emotional needs of children in school.  Sometimes children have things in their lives that make school hard.  Please give us your thoughts about how we could help your child and/or other children in our community be more successful in and out of school? 

Masks Outside

• We will continue to follow all previous mask guidance per the district. 
• Masks must be worn at all times

Scheduling Evaluation Conversations

• I have identified all open blocks from now until 6/16 on my calendar as Evaluation Conversation Meetings.
• Everyone, please choose a time that works for you to schedule a conversation to discuss your evaluation and closing out the year. 
• Appointment Calendar

Building Visitor

On the morning of June 2nd, Corey Harris, the District's new Chief of Schools, will be paying us a visit.  Make sure you say hello if you see him and tell him about the great work we are doing!

End of the Year Celebrations

I am still waiting for district guidance on this topic

Coming Up

• ESSER Equity Roundtable
• Professional Development Calendar
• End of the Year Celebrations