staff development 3.15

8/9/2019 Staff Development 3.15

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Creating Empowered Community MembersThrough Real-World Education

What does this mean? It means we work hard toexpose students to a variety of experiences in thelocal community. It means that we want our students out learning from the world and feelingempowered to have an active voice in changing the world. It means that we want our studentsgetting their hands dirty and their minds active as they grow as young adults.

2010

Rainshadow CommunityCharter High School

s

hine

RAINSHADOWSTAFF

DEVELOPMENTVOL. I ISSUE 4

Summer School Offerings

InsidethisissueSummerSchoolOfferings 1ToDoListforStaffDevelopment 2CurriculumMap

2ThemePossibilities2TrackingandTheBestSchools3PositiveBehavioralSupport 4SchoolEventsandRubrics 5

Students, faculty, and community enjoy aperformance by Tree Woods at the firstever Talent Show and Open House.

EnglishThere will be at least two offering of

English classes. One will have a media/

journalism aspect, and one will have a filmaspect to it. One course will be offered in themorning, the other in the afternoon.

Social StudiesThere will be at least one offering of social

studies. At present, it is unclear what form ofthis class will be offered, as it will depend on

what is needed by the majority of students inthe class.

SpanishSpanish will be offered for one morning

class. This class counts either the art/humanities

credit or the elective credit.

MathAt present, there is one offering of math.

This course will be offered for three weeksimmediately following school for 5 days aweek.

Community CoursesWe are looking to add some courses for

the community in the arts and drama. Also,there will be opportunities for people to rentspace for events. These details will be sent outto all appropriate leaders. If you think you

might be interested, please let Toby know later than April 1, 2010. This informationbe publicized by Spring Break. See attacinsert about the schedule for summer.


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Theme PossibilitiesThere are a number of ways we canprogress with these themes or other

themes entirely.

1. Yearly Theme

We can choose one of these topics tobe a yearlong theme.

2. Quarterly Theme

We can follow an entire year with thethemes outlined quarter by quarter.

3. Grade level Theme

We can use the themes in core coursesas a model for the class focus, eachcore looking at a different component

of the map.

4. New Theme

We can look at creating a whole newtheme to guide our pursuits.

Once we have chosen a

thematic idea, core courses

will collaborate to make sure

that the theme is being

implemented in the core

classes. At the start, thismeans that math and science

will be paired and social

studies and English will be

paired. Ultimately, the goal

will be to have a school-wide

project in the spring of 2011.

.

The Charter Curriculum Map: Yearly Themes

To Do List for this

Staff Development

3/15/10

9:00 a.m.Meet in Sams Room

Summer School Schedule

Tracking or alternateprograms to add rigorfor college bound students

Mandatory course pacing

guides

Theme for 2010-2011

Interdisciplinaryconnections and ProjectClass

Rubric breakdown

Discipline: Discovering abetter progressive plan

Year 1:

The Quality ofLife

Year 2:

An ExpandingUniverse

Year 3:

Microworldsand Models

Year 4:Mapping,

Documenting,Remembering,Dismembering

Exploring Our

Town

Explorers of

Yore- From Pre-

Columbians to

Columbus to

Fremont

The Truckee

Microcosm

History Far and

Near: Personal

and Global

Science,

Technology,

Society

Telescopes and

Intergalactics--

Aristotle to

Galileo to ?

The Lives of a

Cell

A History of

Language and

Writing

Social and

Human Resources

Science Fact/

Science Fiction/

Science Future

The Lives of an

Atom

Knowledge

Systems

Ecosystems Your Expanding

Universe

Utopias and

Dystopias:

Individual and

Public

The Book of

Myself: A

Knowledge=Able

Autobiography

Drs. Steve Tchudi and Steve Lafer mapped out a progression of themes across four years. The idea

was that a Rainshadow student coming in as a freshman would follow this progression in their

classes. The way it worked out, however, has been more of a yearly whole school theme instead of

a grade progression. As we look at this list, we are coming out of a theme for the first quarter of

year 2. How we proceed is up to us...


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Positive BehavioralSupport

When you become aRainshadow student, you

agree to our T.E.R.M.S.:T rust

E qualityR espect

M aturity=

S uccess

A year ago, we talked with Jeff Freemanabout a possible school wide positivebehavioral support plan. He shared that weshould develop some sort of slogan. Many

years ago, we attempted to use the EightKeys of Excellence, however the buy in wasnot really there.

Last spring, as I looked to build up myEcho Effect class as a team, the class came upwith these four words as non-negotiable rulesof the class: Trust, Equality, Maturity,Respect, or TEMR. I go back to this conceptwhenever I think the group needs to berefocused. When I was going through arefocusing period, I thought perhaps it wouldbe useful to others. I spoke first to Alissa,then to Steve about it. Both agreed it couldbe useful, so they presented it to theLeadership Team.

The Leadership Team is also on board.Each ID class will look to teach a lesson about

one of the areas to come up with how therules of Rainshadow link to these words, andwhat these words mean to a Rainshadowstudent. Once this has been done for eachterm, the Leadership Team will put togetherposters for the school.

So, What Exactly DoesEquality Mean?

Rainshadow has gone through somechanges over the past year. One of thebiggest changes was our student dynamics.

We must begin to help break down thesebarriers within our smaller classrooms, andwe cannot allow our students to dictate howthey will segregate themselves. At present,we are looking to collaborate with JenniferMahon at University of Nevada, Reno.However, there are some tools you can begin

to use before we look at a bigger event.

Practice touching base with each ofyour students. Lets be honest: if there isdrama going on behind the scenes, your

students arent learning. This goes back toArmstrongs ideas about a curriculum thatfocuses on human development. We need tofind ways to talk to our students on a dailybasis-- allof our students, event those wedont naturally connect with. Take time out totouch base with each of your students.

Use the art of classroom discussion.This can mean giving up a little control, and itwill only work if you set some ground rules.See insert for a good lesson about discussion

ground rules. A benefit of working atRainshadow is that issues can be met headon. If you need support in your classroom

because there is some issues about equality,please dont hesitate to talk to Alissa or Toby.Perhaps a class discussion is just what isneeded.

Mix it up. Dont let the studentsalways determine who they will work with inthe class. Think about how you can mix thegroups in other ways. Give them a teambuilding problem to solve together. Allowthem to discuss common experiences theyhave had in their lives. One idea includes:

passing cards out to all the students andgrouping students together by color orsymbol. Use any innovative, and non-judgmental grouping tool you can think of,and if you need ideas, see Toby.

Use the Privilege Walk to begin adiscussion of commonalities. It is powerfulwhen students can see past their dif ferencesto what makes them all the same. Openingthe door for a discussion is always powerful.

Dont take sides. If you have issuesbetween groups in your class, it is importantthat you do not get pulled into one side.Remember, there are always two sides, and

we must be as impartial and non-judgmental ifwe hope to alleviate the issue. This can behard at times, so practice breaking downbarriers in your classrooms as much aspossible.

The Power of ConflictThe following was an earlier article that

seemed appropriate to re-visit in light ofsome of the current issues. Please feel free tolook at the website for more classroom ideas.

When something that has created conflictin the classroom occurs, how do you respond?

Using the conflict as a catalyst for newunderstanding and relationship building willsupport growth. This is a prime time to havea classroom discussion, allowing students toshare their feelings about the issue andproviding them with the opportunity to learnnew ways to handle the issue should it ariseagain.

Conflict is a key step in the learningprocess as well. It is a time when the studentexperiences a clash between what they haveexperienced already and something new they

are experiencing. This clash can allow fornew understanding-- so, without conflict, newunderstanding cannot occur.

Sometimes, conflict cannot be resolved.But through discussion, and openness to admithere is a conflict on the teachers part,students can learn ways to handle the conflictand live with it. Living with conflict, over timemakes the conflict less important. At thatpoint, new understanding can be reached.

Conflict can be the first step to a new

and more productive classroom if it isembraced as a learning opportunity. Theteachers role in this process is to facilitate an

open dialogue. Think about how you can useconflict for the good of all students, and howyou will respond next time to conflict withinyour classroom. Check out http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/ for even moreinformation related to conflict management.In a democratic classroom, conflict must bedealt with head-on. It cant be the issue of theadministration or an individual teacher;students must be involved and active in theprocess.

Remember, you have the power to effectthe most change as an instructor. You areable to help students to productively takepart in the mending process. There are manystudents who have never had this opportunitybefore, and they dont know how to do it.Use your strong relationship to help themthrough this process. It will strengthen yourelationships with students, and students

relationships to the school and themselves.

Peace is Every Step

Every day, you have 24 brand newhours to breathe, smile, eat, sleep, walk,and live in the present moment. Practiceliving in the present moment, rather thanin the past or future. Do this even for

just a few minutes in your day, and youwill learn to achieve happiness. Practicethis mindfulness with your students:

Breathing in, I smile. Breathingout, I know that I am alive.

-Thich Nhat Hanh
http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/


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School March April MayEventsThe followin dis la s

9-11Proficiency Testing

6Solar Inauguration

10Professional Development Day

upcoming events, discussions,accreditation concerns, etc. 18

College and Career Fair

12-16Spring Break

31Memorial Day

22-25Spirit Week

24Prom

25End of quarter, Half Day

March Spirit Week:22: Nerd Day23: Decade Theme

24: Bling Day25: Pirate Day

*Congratulations to EmilyOrellana, who won Poetry OutLoud for the state of Nevada

for the second time. Shecompetes on April 25 inWashington D.C.

Final Thought...

Teacher loan forgiveness:Check out:

http://nde.doe.nv.gov/

TeacherShortage.htm

Standard Whole SchoolRubrics

Last spring, we began a

discussion of using whole schoolrubrics to support our school.Luckily, we did not map those out

completely as we are now goingto be looking at linking our

rubrics to the common corestandards:www.corestandards.org . Some

of the common rubrics that wemight wish to include are:

1.Writing2.Discussion

3.Research4.Work Ethic/conduct: this

includes working independentlyand taking pride in ones work

5.Presentation

6.Portfolio/Weebly7.Participation

The next phase of this idea

would be to look at developing anew progress report that looks atthese common items as important

to a Rainshadow student. In thisway, parents might receive more

than just a grade on a piece of

paper that corresponds to apercentage. You would be able

to share with a parent wheretheir strengths lie, as well as their

weaknesses.It is with this idea in mind that

we may have to think more

clearly about what we wouldwant to include on this progress

report. It might be some of the

common elements above, but itmight also include things like

Rainshadow CommunityParticipation-- The next question

is, could this be linked to thetheme as well? Could it be linkedto our new positive behavior

support theme?

Dont forget to look in your book for grea

ideas, or check out www.edliberation.org
http://www.corestandards.org/http://www.edliberation.org/http://www.edliberation.org/http://www.corestandards.org/http://www.corestandards.org/http://nde.doe.nv.gov/TeacherShortage.htmhttp://nde.doe.nv.gov/TeacherShortage.htmhttp://nde.doe.nv.gov/TeacherShortage.htmhttp://nde.doe.nv.gov/TeacherShortage.htmhttp://www.edliberation.org/

staff development 3.15

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