September 13th Edition

Happy Friday (the 13th)!  I have a lot to update you all on this wonderful September morning, as the school year is well under way!  So far, I've had a chance to get into  about 16 of our schools, with my goal of seeing the remainder before the end of the month.  I am seeing bright, beautiful buildings, the use of technology (especially in our secondary schools), planned teachers, and positive school
cultures.  Great examples of this are kids in Biology at Gratz (right) engaging in HMH and google classroom and kindergarten dual-language students at Molina (below) 

What I am also seeing is teachers almost executing the Common Foundation, but not always fully meeting the mark.  I am seeing scaffolds - lots of them, both written (think:  graphic organizers) and verbal (teachers narrating kids through the thinking steps).  When I see these things, I worry - I think about the level of cognitive engagement that is expected at a given grade level to truly independently engage in mastering standards.  I also think about equity, and what our students' peers in neighboring districts are experiencing.  To get a bit personal, my litmus test is always:  "would I be confident with this instruction for Max and Ev?" (my 4th and 6th graders).  Too, too often - the answer is a blatant "No".  Too, too often I see incomplete sentences, guided notes, students waiting for the teacher to walk them through a task, too little discourse, and "exemplars" that represent a lower grade's expectation.

How do we disrupt this? Let's start in the small spaces.  As you are coaching a teacher or an AP - make sure their exemplar matches the demands of the standard/task. Lift up trends to school leadership (using our Trusted Advisor framework of course).  Be unapologetic about program visits (but nice and supportive too).  And use, use, use and use some more the new Instructional Standards to build a shared schema for what rigor should look like.

UPDATES:

1. End of Year Data:  All of our EOY data is now in and should be loaded into Analytics.  If you haven't already, take time with your team to deeply go through it (down to the standards/DOK/evidence statement level) to ensure you have a good understanding of where our students shined and where there is opportunity.  Here are the summary memos the data team created for PSSA and NJSLA - there are some helpful insights.
   
   
2. Curriculum Adoption:  As you know from the Humanities Team, we are headed into a big curriculum adoption year for ELA next year.  After initial review, we're going to take a two-pronged approach: full adoption for K-8 (using new criteria for renewal) and re-upping on Springboard in 9-12 with an opportunity to build a coalition of ambassadors for the program and examine AP.  Shout out to to the whole ELA team for their due diligence to-date, setting us up with a short list of strong programs to start from.  I'm thrilled that we will be able to solve some existing problems (grammar/conventions in third grade, writing, etc.) and potentially leverage a more tech-savvy program.  Working Group invites will be sent next week!  If you are curious, here is what this looks like in our multi-year plan. 
   
   
3. NST Compensation Review:  Heads up that the Talent Team picked up Phase II of NST compensation review earlier in the summer and presented their findings to Chiefs last week.  The headline is that based on market analysis, some roles will be slightly adjusted (up) to be aligned to our comp philosophy.  While not everyone will be affected (we do a pretty good job of being aligned with the market within traditional K-12 jobs on the Academic Team) it is important you understand the philosophy.  Please make sure you join next week's Community Meeting to hear about more details from Serena. 
   
   

4. Instructional Standards and Micro Credentials:  Meaghann is hard at work managing our micro-credentialing process to ensure all leaders who manage teachers have received a credential before formal observations.  The deadline is next Friday, 9/20. 

If you haven't already completed your steps (TAS Policy Survey) - please do so ASAP.  Here is a snapshot of the network.

5. Technology Integration: Finally, so much happening in the tech integration space and shout-out to RJ for joining the most program visits ever but elevating the network vision for tech in our high-schools.  Here's our initial milestone data:

Milestone: >95% of Instructional Staff are using common foundation digital curricula, platforms, and tools in accordance with program guidelines

• 40/45 classrooms, (89%), are using common foundation curricula

• 4 Springboard; 1 HMH; curious about under-reporting with Math

Milestone: >95% of Instructional Staff organize Google Classroom in a student-friendly manner and post a frequency of assignments that is appropriate for grade level and course

• 25/45 classrooms, (56%), are organized and require no feedback

• Gratz: positive outlier

• Thomas: negative outlier

Milestone: >95% of Instructional Staff post homework in Google Classroom with clear expectations that is appropriate in frequency, duration, and rigor for grade level and course

• 28/45 classrooms, (62%), have homework posted

• No trends

6. Program Visits: we are well on our way for program visits! While I know the scheduling strain these cause, the number of courageous conversations you have to conduct, and the miles you are putting on your vehicle, this work is so foundational to our model and so important that I truly believe the effort is worth it! Here are our current results.

A few things to keep in mind as you finish these out in the next few weeks:

• Schools want to be successful. And, they are human. Give them the CFS in advance so they can meet the expectation.
• Try to rise above compliance-based framing or mindset. Connect the dots for them to how these visits will support their annual goals.
• Communicate strategically: batch/consolidate emails, pick up the phone or send a text to clarify, and leverage the NST captain role to streamline the interaction with schools.

I think that's all for this week!

Alright, for the Varevice Family this weekend - I'll be stopping by Costco on the way home from work to get my grocery shopping done before the weekend officially starts. Tomorrow, we have my daughter's soccer game and my son's "weigh in" for tackle football (he plays Center for Sirianni's son, who is the QB!), and the parish festival at our church tomorrow night. Hopefully Sunday will be low-key and restorative... with some time for dissertation writing. And some time in the sunshine (as I say - the sun is one of my therapists, there a few... :).

Have a great weekend!

JV

P.S. If you need a fun autumn activity, I just suggested to Rickia to go to Hill Creek farm for apple-picking.  So, so quaint.  And they have wine.