Notes+from+Sunday

Is Berlin currently, or have they recently been a SINI school? Interview with teachers: Into the social and civic Have to know them. Base is social wellness Sophomores- just about every one 10-21 students in classes More than the required 90 minute blocks Total wellness LOTS of self-assessment- define their success Learning styles, multiple intelligences Self-collages @ the beginning Students comment on each other’s collages Work habits- blue collar ethics Not a rubric queen, but learning now Got Masters a couple of years ago- able to get up to date on new techniques NCES has been a big help Some “old-school” assessments Friday stories- students find them I don’t know how it happens, but it happens Working really hard to get to the school expectations Some self assessment, but not every project Projects on //A Child Called It-// student choice Lessons for life- every day- journal writers who don’t say very much Technology- power point Not a lot of technology here Some students have their own laptops Hot spots in certain areas SPED students included in the classroom Hetero grouped- can sometimes be frustrating, but the higher kids help teach- differentiate 1 person department National standards and expectations Tailor to the needs of the students General ideas of what students will do every day Some major things that are always covered (drugs, alcohol, safety, sex, mental illness and stress, nutrition) Notebooks on each theme 8 years left Alternative health Feel like they can share Roadmap project- Past, present, and future à whole family involvement Differentiate for the different pasts Everyone is an advisor à twice a week à Mondays and Fridays for 30 minutes Student led conferences Portfolios for each student Personality, learning profiles We’re not there (if students haven’t met the expectations) PBIS- Introduced two years ago with a big push- have to reinforce Posted in every classroom  Brit Lit- hetero, AP Lit (Sr. Honors), 10-2 (General English) Full block schedules SPED (Elements class next semester)- low performing students- significant learning needs 3 grades on one assignment- (doesn’t look like the school wide rubric) Memo Article Group Grade Research on Ancient Greece (posters this year) Use the yearbook or benchmark room to do the publication Cross curricular between 9A and 10A English and Social Studies Thou shalt write a memo (Brit Lit)
 * NEASC Berlin Site Visit**
 * Oct. 31-November 3**
 * Patty Hood**
 * Sean Conant**

Put it into a different form Beowulf rubric is new- with the school language The schoolwide rubric was sprung on them- not a lot of input Not really usable in their current form- the school’s is a three-point rubric Not sure how it is going to be tracked Take from it and make it work for you How do you use data to drive your instruction? Hasn’t had to deal too much with the prep of the test Thrust has been on teaching to the test leading up to it- sample test questions, Pull-out day on how to approach questions Encouraging teachers in the department to mimic the format of the NECAP Always felt we teach the stuff, but the format was unfamiliar Sit down after the scores come back and take a quick look Focus this year on the short writing Department Chair presents the information (don’t know where he gets it) How do you plan your lessons/units (do you use UbD)? Sit around and tweak it State standards and such Which learning expectations do you/your department focus on? How do you change/adjust/modify your instruction based on data? How do you meet the needs of all students? Do you feel all students are challenged? How were standards of proficiency established? Do students see examplars? Do you have the ability to collaborate or integrate with different subjects? Do students have access to technology? Do students self-assess? Do they get a chance to revise? Some self editing Sometimes able to resubmit (very valuable, esp. for AP) Projects can get to the abilities of all students Vary assessment on observed capabilities Is there a standard that everyone has to meet? If they do the work and show progress No major changes based on data Consistent curriculum- do less every year Block scheduling I think kids have changed- not the best and the brightest Decline in capabilities Have to adjust what and how you teach Parents access Edline- paperless progress reports every three weeks Students get feedback on their written work  Print shop- very hands on Jobs to do for companies. Junior and senior levels paired up. Learning in a work environment. Rubrics aren’t really being used because they don’t relate (maybe writing) Series of rubrics for each project and the overall class (different levels) Art- everything hands on Data doesn’t pertain Attempting to use the rubrics, but not super relevant Lots of self reflection Math- Doesn’t seem to be any observations done by the administration Admin has never been in the classroom in 6 years Mentoring program for the teachers Higher end math classes are being dissolved to create more lower end à punishing the high achievers SPED- No problems with budgeting or scheduling 30% IEP/504 rate Classes that are no longer being offered due to budget PD- not enough, no funding Spanish- Tailoring rubrics to her projects and showing how they match up to the school rubrics Welding- Rubrics are personalized Come from the national associations and competitions Can tell you how they match up Come out with welding cert out of high school Drafting- Likes the rubrics and adjusts them to meet his needs Students and parents know the mission Cross-curriculum (writing and math) FCS- Likes them, adjusts them Cross-curriculum (writing and math) Students do not know enough about the mission- talk about it in advisory Faculty website where they can share ideas Berlin was always supportive of education, but not so much now à flat budget Business teacher- Questioning whether teachers dress appropriately- morale downer Teachers see it as an attack on professionalism Complaints that the labs weren’t being used as recommended- not true Math- High energy, love for kids Thought they lost their rigor for a while New math chair increasing rigor Never been observed by the principal- Dept. head has no training to do this Believes there needs to be more PD People always teaching the same thing Junior members may be afraid of teaching calculus Economics- Kids follow the rules and expectations because they came up with them Kids post what THEY are proud of Drop dead date for students to revise and review Peer tutors will also help and review Open to other forms of evaluation Science- Bog project UNH is sending up a grad assistant one day a week PowerPoint of what the kids were doing Peer evaluation Living the mission- applying knowledge out in the field Paid for field guides out of her own pocket Freshman English and Global Studies Came together Don’t like the rubric- using it as a self reflection Top students are getting 60-70% Tweaking the verbage God passed it down 0 field trip funding 0 reimbursement for PD Some grant money, but not publicized English cart- no wireless- glorified typewriters Computer lab does have enough, but can only sign up for 3 days in a row 10 Mimio boards and 10 SmartBoards Need PD (Edline) English- Classes are segregated by specialization of student Leveled Has them for 2 years and requirements for them to be there (English III and IV)- invitation PD was project-based à classes formed out of that Knew of some cross-curricular studies, but not part of them SS- Uses hours for PD- takes courses and sends them to Superintendent He’s never been turned down to take a course Touted the one-day workshop in October Some Primex, some DI (20-30 teachers), English HAD to go, some PBIS Technology – no true tech educator- teachers have to teach the skills and the content SS doesn’t feel like they have access to the computers (like the cart) Lunch is set up by floor, so not a lot of natural interaction Mimio, Smart, LCD projectors- but not connected SPED- (there are 4, one intensive and 3 on the floor) à only 3 for 24-30% of studnets Co-teaching model of SPED in general education Some teachers allow co-teaching (rephrasing or from a different perspective) Some classes she feels more like an aide Surplus that is taken back at the end of the year Paraprofessionals ONLY work 1:1 (not in the classroom) // 20 paraprofessionals in the report // Building Trades- Builds a house a year 15 AM, 15 PM Works under his own rubric (feels like a bit of a loner- largely unsupervised) Comes up with his own competencies and curriculum English- Newest guy in the door (7 years)- went to Berlin Let him do what he wants- took over classes from the person before Discouraging if you never get the top kids Social Studies- Morrissette Went to Berlin Does the rubric encourage what Berlin needs? No. Some people aren’t connected to it. Chemistry- Was a math teacher who was cut- so rehired Ability to pre-assess math skills, à adjusts curriculum to meet the needs of the students Standards class- kid who struggled Advanced- teaching technical writing and labs (these were eliminated before) What about the kids you have a hard time reaching- they don’t always take you up on it when you reach out Notifies admin of steps she has taken to reach out PE- Teaches 9-12 mixed groups Writing assignment based on the mission Uses rubrics for the different skills he teaches Lots of modeling (learning himself) Lots of outdoor activities and learning the value of their environment Old librarian bought 20 sets of snowshoes- tie between the library program and gym (they are IN the library) Elem Ed in CTE- Conferencing with the parents with the student led BHS backers Involvement with the community- kids going out and working in the area Also in the nursing home and hospitals Kids presenting portfolios to experts in the field Businesses helping to support homecoming Wonderful refurbishment of CTE program Highly touted the maintenance crew Equipment is adequate Not involved with planning for the future Budget- dept. of 1 Math- SmartBoard doesn’t work- maybe in a couple of weeks Talk of the 8th grade moving up Budget- Wish list Running Start program SPED- Unofficial Dept Head Coordinating with JPPOs PBIS coordinator- checks on certain kids regularly- plans on catching them doing something good Cooking class combines with a business teacher- lowest students Blind student- Braille – create menus and simple meals to sell with the business class Field trips to the market Arrangement so the kids can use cash SPED department has parent info night- district-wide once a year SS- Civics classes have access to the courts and city council meetings Used to do mock trials Assigns council meeting as HW Score the city council meetings (Robert’s rules) Any technology has been paid for by a grant Repairs fall to her Tech person is shared with the town and entire SAU Pretty good relationship with PSU- student teachers and speakers Don’t utilize WM Community College Advisory- Worksheet they use that is tied directly to the mission- use it over 4 years Freshman pick an activity to journal out on (find more on this) Lack of technology is impacting instruction Auto and other CTE Aware of the school-wide expectations Feel more under the gun over state competencies No communication with CTE and general curriculum Meet as a department Real-life learning in courses Tech driven- but repairs are iffy Local funding isn’t there, but Perkins money is (federal funds) Does that create a wedge between them and the rest of the faculty? Interships are set up by school to career person, but they have no input with/to that person Disconnect in communication on curriculum Math- Really tries with limited technology Science- NECAP scores- Physical Science teacher went out and purchased new books No Asssit. Super or Curriculum Coordinator = chaos Vertical alignment maybe happened 6 or 8 years ago? No central office person to go after grants  Student Work: Clarify level, track, elements, etc. Country to [cbvp1] Write 2 articles inMS Word and [cbvp2] Collaboration Clear standards and expectations Examplar included Rubric is 3 pt scale Specific feedback Is a 3 pt scale limiting? Advanced Elements Newspaper project Not clearly connected to SW language Novice scale of 0-70 is huge Personalization (something cool you did last summer) Paper Not clearly tied to SW Technology (MS Word?) Dystopian tied to PERSONAL experience Chance to revise? Rubric- extensive, but where did it come from? Biology A 10 Paper- lab report Aligned with standards Purpose is there Rubric present with SW Physical Science 9 B Groupwork Bog project Rubric is pretty sparse Physical Science 9 B Groupwork Student-driven inquiry Peer review Sparse rubric Report Out: Referencing SW rubrics, but then doing their own thing No consistency in the rubrics Some had read-write-speak Some rubrics didn’t have any numbers Some were higher order thinking and differentiated based on course Some of the rubrics weren’t assessing what they were supposed to be (on the poster, not on the physics) Identify different parts of the computers School-wide indicators were wrong- not tying it to anything other than the class Projects were fine, but the rubrics and coversheet were unclear Coversheets were for us, not them No PD to help people understand how to do this Culminating project is not a means of education How well did they use things that you learned? Saw revision on a SS-English piece Math test- no feedback on how the 10 points were assigned Standard chemistry class- tied to what was coming next (incentive) Applying made a difference
 * Reflect out on interviews with teachers:**
 * English 9, project**
 * English 3, grades 11-12, project**
 * Brit Lit/World Lit, grade 12**

[cbvp1] Global awareness Integration of SS Personalized areas of interest [cbvp2] Technology