1-4-08

**January 4, 2008 Meeting - PM (12:00 - 3:30) Room 112**
//__Minutes are listed under each agenda item.__//

AGENDA

 * =Act 48 Hours for Meetings=

= = __**Minutes:**__
 * =January Inservice Agenda - Harcourt Representative=

Clarify the use of cross-content centers during LA time: If Harcourt recommends a connection to Math, SS, Science, etc., is that acceptable?

Word Work: How best to reinforce/integrate High Frequency Words/Vocabulary?

Use the questions that were developed by faculty to direct the discussions.

We like the format that was set for November, with the ability for teachers to select workshops to attend.


 * = = =Learning Walks=
 * **District Purpose Statement from Dr. Sharp 11/9/06**

//Dear Avon Grove Teachers:// //As a professional development activity, the Avon Grove School District Administrative Team has been engaged in learning about school improvement strategies and efforts that are proven practices for improving teaching and learning. One strategy that has received attention nation-wide is walk-throughs, sometimes referred to as learning walks. The administrators have been engaged in a variety of professional development activities and have began to conduct learning walks within the schools in the district.// //What is a Learning Walk?// //A school learning walk is a means of seeing first hand what is going on in a school. A learning walk can provide important information about learning both inside and outside classrooms within a school. Learning walks provide an opportunity to visit many classes in a short time period to gain snippets of information. Over time, these snippets are analogous to individual tiles within a mosaic. With more visits you get more tiles and a more complete picture of instructional practices and student work in a particular school.// //Who Participates in a Learning Walk?// //Building administrators, district administrators, and teachers can all participate in learning walks.// //Why Conduct Learning Walks?// //Learning walks provide an opportunity://
 * //to engage in a professional development activity for the participants by broadening one’s repertoire of instructional strategies and deepening one’s knowledge of the curriculum;//


 * //to determine how well professional development activities are taking hold across a school or district;//


 * //to access consistency in implementation of curriculum and instructional practices;//


 * //to gather data regarding the alignment of curriculum and instructional practices across a school or district;//


 * //to gather evidence of strengths and weaknesses in our instructional programs;//

//The Avon Grove School District Administrative Team is committed to conducting learning walks for all of the reasons mentioned above. We look forward to teacher involvement in this process as this process evolves.//
 * //to assist with decision-making based upon first hand knowledge of the teaching and learning occurring in classrooms across a school and a district.//

__**Minutes:**__ LLTs feedback from initial use of the F&P Benchmark Assessment System:
 * **Power Point Explanation of Learning Walks by Kevin McCune, Lamar CSID, Texas**
 * **Review**
 * **Use for 1/9 Faculty Meeting**
 * __Minutes:__**
 * //Questions about Learning Walks from PLE - LLTs://
 * //Should the Learning Walk focus be shared with the teachers before the Learning Walk? General ideas? Specific ideas?//
 * //What should the follow-up look like?//
 * //What does a Learning Walk look like? Note-taking? Speaking to teachers? Speaking to students?//
 * //What is the end result/vision of this process?//
 * //How are classrooms selected? Are all rooms visited? Can teachers "sign-up" to visit specific lessons?//
 * //Can teachers be surveyed at the faculty meeting? "What would you like to see if you were on a Learning Walk?"//
 * //Is there a Learning Walk reflection form in use at PLE?//
 * //We suggest that Margie's email description of AG Learning Walks should be distributed to staff at the faculty meeting.//
 * //Marie met with the group and the questions listed above were discussed. Signing up for visits to specific lessons may be done at some point in the future. LWs will initially focus on the implementation of Harcourt, with either small or whole group focus, depending on the time of the visit. **The LLTs will do a LW on January 16th from 8:50-9:20 through the Yellow and Green Families. The focus will be student engagement during whole group instruction. NOTE:** The LLTs are scheduled for a 1/2 day meeting the morning of January 16th.//
 * //The group reviewed the McCune Learning Walks Power Point; we then went through the PP and deleted slides that we did not feel were needed to share with the faculty.//
 * //On Wednesday January 9, we will show the LW PP, share our plans for the 1/16 LW and participate in a LW discussion with the faculty and Marie & Gail.//
 * = = =Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment=
 * **What data have we collected?**
 * **What have we learned about the use of F&P to share with staff?**
 * **Plan staff development for the use of F&P.**
 * Showed comprehension problems with "good readers" (readers who can decode without difficulty).
 * Showed use of reading strategies during a cold read.
 * Did not take a long amount of time.
 * Concerns were expressed about paper consumption. Do we need to copy all of the pages in the book for each story?
 * Agreed to ask the faculty to use the scripted running record form, as we did, to develop understanding and familiarity with the program. At a later time, we will discuss the option of using our exisiting running record form in conjunction with the F&P comprehension assessment forms.
 * There were benefits to computing the wcpm over several minutes, rather than one minute.
 * It showed good comprehension for readers who had difficulty decoding.
 * The assessment pointed to instructional needs.
 * The guidelines or "cheat sheet" on p. 25 and the inside back cover were helpful. We should copy this for staff.
 * The reading rate guidelines differ from our exisiting requirements.
 * Levels J & K: Current - 90 wcpm F&P - 75-100 wcpm
 * Levels L & M: Current - 90 wcpm F&P - 100-120 wcpm
 * We will have to determine if the current or F&P standards will be used at PLE.
 * The fluency rubric was helpful. Fluency is more than a number.
 * The "Sources of Information" area on the running record is confusing. It is probably best used for diagnostic purposes.

Professional Development: [Not done yet.]
 * F&P will be shared with faculty in grade-level groups on Tuesday, January 9th.
 * LLTs will overview the kit contents, the use of the calculator, and allow time for teachers to read p. 20-40 in the Assessment Guide.
 * Teachers will be asked to read through the Assessment Guide & acquaint themselves with the materials.
 * The following week, Tuesday, January 15th, teachers will discuss their reading, watch portions of the DVD training, and receive copies of the assessment forms. Teachers will be asked to assess 1-3 students of the same or differing reading levels.
 * The summary form will be optional for now. Some LLTs used the summary form and found it to be beneficial. However, there is concern that completing the summary form and copying the information to the progress sheets would be a duplication of work. Perhaps the summary form can be incorporated into the progress sheets.
 * The goal will be to use the benchmark assessment to determine if a student is ready to move to the next stage, in the same manner that we have been using benchmark assessments with our current benchmark books.
 * = = =Assessment=
 * **Refine the listing of all of the PLE Language Arts Assessments.**