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Families and Schools Working Together in ProvidenceConnections Newsletter

Visit: www.providenceschools.org

C o N t e N tJuly 2012 | Vol. 9 | Issue 4

1 Superintendent’s Message 1 Summer Learning Tips 2 Teacher Evaluations Completed 3 Parent Conference 2012 4 Helping to Retain Math Skills

The Providence Public School District will prepare all students to succeed in the nation’s colleges and universities and in their chosen professions.

Greetings! This summer, it is very impor-tant for your child to retain the skills they worked so hard to learn during the school year. During the summer vacation, resolve to work with your child a little every day. Research supports the notion that children who keep learning throughout the summer months are less likely to experience “learn-ing loss” that often comes with the extend-ed summer vacation, making them better prepared to return to school in the fall and engage in new learning.

Based on the recent Parent Conference, we offer tips in this issue of Connections to help students retain what they have learned during the recent school year and ensure that they are ready for the challenges of the next grade level.

We are also featuring the work being done on teacher evaluations, as we recently em-barked upon an unprecedented districtwide teacher evaluation program. This process will be repeated annually for every teacher in our district to help ensure we are attain-ing the highest professional standards.

Have a nice summer!

Susan F. Lusi, Ph.D.Superintendentprovidenceschools.org/superintendent

Building Good Reading Habits at Home ○ Read with your child every day. ○ Read your child’s favorite book over

and over again. ○ Talk about the meanings of familiar

and new words. ○ Point to each word to help your child

learn that reading goes from left to right and to help your child understand that the words you say are the words you see.

Limit tV time and enjoy the outside ○ Develop routines for everyday reading. ○ Provide a variety of reading materi-

als (magazines, how-to books, arts & crafts, cookbooks, sci-fi, library books).

○ Help your child develop his/her read-ing strategies and skills in comprehen-sion, vocabulary and fluency.

○ Talk about books!

Help Your Child Love Writing ○ Show them how much you love it when

they write for you (shopping list, notes, etc.).

○ Do not spell words for them. Instead, have your child “stretch out the word” to hear the sounds in the words.

○ Fun ways to practice writing: Gro-cery lists, thank-you cards and notes, birthday cards, letters to faraway fam-ily members, diary of special events, summer journal or draw and label pic-tures

○ Help your child develop fine motor skills (strong hands and fingers) to help them write well by coloring and writing, cutting, doing puzzles, building with small blocks or putting coins in a piggybank. (Continued on page 4)

Message from Superintendent Lusi Summer Learning tips for Parents

○ Tell me what you are reading about ○ What does the book make you think

of? ○ What can you tell me about the

characters? (fiction) ○ What has happened so far? ○ Can you tell me 3 things you learned

from reading this? (non-fiction) ○ What did you find most interesting

or most surprising? (non-fiction) ○ What does this book make you won-

der about? ○ Visit your local library!

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This past year, Providence Public Schools became one of six Rhode Island school districts to embark upon an unprece-dented districtwide teacher evaluation program. Nearly all 1,900 teachers throughout our district were evaluated by trained professionals based upon established criteria to help them attain the highest professional standards possible.

“Teachers are on the front line of educational service de-livery,” said Colleen Callahan, director of professional is-sues for the RIFTHP union. “Therefore, evaluation, coupled with high quality professional development, is critical to the development, support and retention of the highest quality teachers.”

Teachers were evaluated based upon the Rhode Island In-novation Consortium (RIIC) Educator Evaluation and Support System Model developed with the national AFT and local RIFTHP unions. The RIIC system is built upon the belief that educator evaluation must be focused on professional growth, is based on evidence from multiple sources and provides teachers with the feedback and support they need to improve classroom instruction.

While every school district in Rhode Island was required to administer teacher evaluations, Providence Schools worked with five other districts to create our own model. The model is aligned with the R.I. Educator Evaluation System Stan-dards, the R.I. Professional Teaching Standards, and the R.I. Code of Professional Responsibility. It will be repeated annu-ally for every teacher in the district.

The process began three years ago with the development of the evaluation model. It was piloted last year at Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School and E-Cubed Academy with teachers who volunteered to be evaluated. An educator eval-uation page was developed on the Providence Public Schools website with resources for teachers and administrators to use to complete the evaluations. A handbook was created for all teachers to explain the evaluation process, the timeline and deadlines. A Teacher Evaluation Committee met regu-larly to discuss challenges and to problem-solve.

teachers evaluated based onobservations, goals and student learning

The process was implement-ed gradually from January-June of this year. Four crite-ria were used to calculate the teacher’s final effectiveness score: formal and informal observations of the teacher in the classroom, professional

growth goals and student learning objectives.

Building administrators served as trained evaluators with the support of central office staff, who filled in for schools without principals and for those who needed support based on the size of their teacher staff. Principals were also evalu-ated by executive directors and they in turn evaluated their assistant principals.

teacher evaluations Completed DistrictwideTeachers underwent detailed training sessions between No-vember 2011 and February 2012 to become familiar with the evalu-ation procedure before it began in February. More than 40 sessions were held for teachers on each facet of the evaluation process.

Using the RIIC model, all classroom teachers as well as specialists in fine arts, physical education and health were evaluated based upon their planning and preparation, the classroom environment, instruction, professional growth, professional responsibility and student learning.

Social workers, school psychologists, nurses, librarians, speech and language pathologists, guidance counselors, dis-trict assistant team members and reading coaches will begin their observation process in the upcoming 2012-2013 school year using a different model and rubric still being developed.

To prepare for the observations, teachers submitted their lesson plans ahead of time. The evaluator reviewed the les-son plan and identified any gaps. To follow up, teachers had the opportunity to present evidence and clarify questions. During the scheduled 40-60 minute formal observation, the evaluator observed the lesson and collected evidence. Teachers were given an opportunity to submit their reflec-tions on how they felt the lesson went and what they could have done differently. During an informal unannounced ob-servation, the evaluator observed the lesson for 10-20 min-utes and collected more evidence.

Teachers were also required to establish professional growth goals in an area in which they have identified as needing im-provement through self-assessment. The goals are written using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound) goal process. Teachers submitted their goals to their evaluators and revisited them during the end-of-year conference while showing evidence that they worked toward meeting their goal.

During this year of gradual implementation, student learning will be measured using student learning objectives. By Janu-ary 2012, all teachers were expected to develop two student learning objectives. The building administrator approved them based on their priority of content, rigor of target and quality of evidence.

The final step is the end-of-year conference, where the teacher receives a summative effectiveness rating based on all of the evidence that was collected during the formal and informal observation process. At this conference, held dur-ing May and June, the evaluator provided the teacher with their Student Learning Objective rating using the RIDE ma-trix. Based on their scores, teachers were determined to be highly effective, effective, developing or ineffective. Their stu-dent learning measures are either exceptional attainment of objectives, full attainment, considerable attainment, partial attainment or minimal or no attainment of objectives.

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(Continued from page 2)Starting next year, teachers’ individual scores will be reported to the Rhode Island Department of Education. Teachers who score “Inefficient” for five consecutive years will lose their state certification.

“Many good things came out of this process,” said Cynthia Scheller, director of professional learning for Providence Pub-lic Schools, who oversaw the entire evaluation process in our district and helped to develop the model along with the dis-trict’s Educator Evaluation Specialist and Vice President of the Providence Teacher’s Union Maribeth Calabro. “For a district of this size to step up and complete every evaluation was incred-ible,” Scheller said.

“The professional conversations that developed about instruc-tion were the best thing that happened,” added Calabro. “It got the conversation going and got teachers and principals talking about instruction.”

evaluations expected to create more independent learnersHow will all this affect what goes on in the classroom? “We are going to see teachers keeping records of student’s data to measure student learning objectives and working together to create common assessments,” said Scheller. “There will be more conversations between teachers and between teachers and administrators about instruction in order to raise student achievement.”

Parents will also see more references to twenty-first century skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. “There will be more respon-sibilities on the student and they will be able to take more own-ership of their learning. The teachers will be able to serve as facilitators for that learning based on rituals and routines they have established in the classroom,” said Calabro.

Students will engage in wider use of technology with more em-phasis on life and career skills. They will be required to take more leadership roles, take more initiative and be more inde-pendent learners. “They will learn to work with their peers and work things out themselves,” Scheller said. “They will be learn-ing from one another with teachers as a discussion leader.”

Students will also get better feedback so they will understand their expectations. “There will be greater expectations for be-havior as well as learning because teachers are being evaluat-ed on their classroom environment, which includes classroom management skills and techniques,” she added.

“The outcome of all this is that we will have better instruction. If we have better instruction, our students will learn more,” con-cluded Scheller. “This process will help students to develop the skills they need to succeed in college and in their careers.”

For the 2011-2012 school year, the final effectiveness rating was collected for developmental purposes only. In the nine In-novation Schools, teachers’ ratings will count as a baseline. The baseline rating will be used to assess the type of professional growth plan and support required during the upcoming school year.

Providence Schools Superintendent Dr. Susan Lusi encourages par-ent participants to support summer learning.

Parents enjoy an activity during the Science tips Workshop, where they learned how to interact with their children about science.

Parents attentively listen to guest speakers from the Logan Square Neighborhood Association of Chicago, which serves more than 7,000 adults and children.

Logan Square Neighborhood Association representatives listen to conference participants. the LSNA is a model for the highest level of parental engagement and involvement.

Parent Conference 2012

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Published for parents of the Providence School Department by the Office of Communications

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Help Your Child Retain Math SkillsPrimary Grades

○ Count with your child. Count anything. ○ Ask questions like “What number

comes after 3?” and “What number comes before 6?”

○ When you’re doing activities together, ask “How many more?” and “How many less?” questions. (We have three forks. How many more do we need for dinner?)

○ Play “Find the shape.” Wherever you happen to be, ask your child to find objects shaped like a triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid or hexagon.

○ Talk about time using the clock. ○ Talk about the day. (Today is Thurs-

day. What day will it be tomorrow?) ○ Solve problems together. (We have 24

cookies and we want to share them with everyone in the room. How many does each person get?)

○ Look at things and compare them. (Which building is taller? Is your hair longer or shorter than mine?)

○ Play One More, One Less. (Choose any number. Ask your child to name or show you one more or one less. You can also play this game with two more, two less or other numbers.)

○ Play Guess My Number. ○ Talk about more, less and equal. ○ Measure household items with your

child using a ruler or measuring tape.

Intermediate Grades ○ Teach your child to solve equations by

taking numbers apart and “chunking” parts together: 379-230 is 300+70+9 minus 200+30.

○ Play “Find the shape” with 3-D shapes (rectangular prism, triangular prism, cone, sphere, pyramid, cylinder.)

○ If you have access to the Internet, you can find great math games and web sites that explain math concepts. Google “math games” and select the grade or age level.

○ Get your child a clock or watch. Talk about being on time and what time things will be done.

Whatever you do with your child, make it fun. You will not only reinforce what he or she has learned, you will make the transition back to school much easier. In the meantime, your child may even learn some new skills. Enjoy your time together this summer!

Visit www.providenceschools.org to view parent roadmaps that will help you support your child in math and English language arts. The roadmaps will allow students time to master key concepts and skills in a more organized way throughout the year and from one grade to the next. It will also call for teachers to use rich and challenging content and to engage students in solving real-world problems in order to inspire greater interest in math. In English language arts, students will continue reading and writing, but they will read more texts that provide facts and background knowledge. They will read more challenging texts and be asked more ques-tions that will require them to refer back to what they have read, helping them to also build a strong vocabulary.

If you’ve missed a call

from your child’s school

or the district, you can

call (866) 208-9465 and

listen to any and/or all

the messages we’ve

sent to you. We call to

invite you to parent-

teacher meetings,

parent conferences,

school board sessions,

and special events.

Call (866) 208-9465

and listen to your messages

(Continued from page 1)

Don’t wait until

Augustto registeryour childfor schoolRegister your child for school from now until the end of August for grades K to 12. We are located at 325 Ocean Street, in Providence.We very much look forward to wel-coming your child to the classroom!