December 2015 - Romoland School District

 December 2015 Romoland School District Educational Services Division RES Dance Team Chase Cheer Team Educating the Whole Child Trevor Painton The demands of preparing our students for college, career, and meaningful citizenship in our society require that we move beyond using a single test score to determine a child’s success in school. Our emphasis on a broad, well­rounded approach to educating the whole child, gives us the opportunity to more effectively prepare our students for the challenges and opportunities of the future. Romoland School District’s Local Control Accountability Plan has provided guidance and resources that allow us to focus on rigorous academic experiences, creating equitable learning experiences for all students, improving school climate, increasing family engagement, promoting safe and healthy learning environments, and supporting our own individual development through capacity building. Below are some basic tenants of a whole­child approach to education: Fitness Equipment Each student learns about and practices a ​
healthy lifestyle​
. ●
Each student is​
e
​ngaged in learning​
and ​
connected to the school​
. ●
Each student has access to ​
personalized learning​
and is ​
supported by qualified, caring adults​
. ●
Each student is ​
challenged academically​
and ​
prepared for success​
. While we have many examples across the district that would fall into each of the above mentioned categories, one area receiving attention over Winter Break will be the health and fitness of students at Ethan A. Chase Middle School. The school applied for and received a ​
Menifee Community Health Investment Grant​
t​
hrough Valley Health Systems in the amount of $55,000. This grant is designed to improve the overall physical fitness of our students by providing ​
outdoor fitness lab stations designed to build muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility in our middle school students. We are excited about this great opportunity that will impact middle school age children throughout the Romoland School District. Did You Know? When children exercise, their brains produce a thin layer of cortical gray matter, which can lead to stronger math skills. ●
Quote of the Month: “To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.” ­Edmund Burke Instructional Resources Tween Tribune TED­Ed Newsela EL Resources CABE Californians Together ​
Coaches Corner Isabel Soliz Over the last couple of months, our certificated staff have participated in a Language Objectives​
workshop either through a PD Wednesday or through PLC sessions. The focus of this workshop has been to provide an understanding of “what” language objectives are, their importance as they relate to academic achievement (the “why?”), and to guide in the development and writing of them (the “how?”).
Prior to these workshops, certificated staff completed a four­question survey in which they were asked to rate their students’ abilities in the four language domains: Reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The rankings mirrored the SBAC levels: Exceeds standard; meets standard; approaching standard; and below standard. Most of the teachers who participated in this survey ranked their students’ ​
reading and ​
writing​
skills as ​
below ​
and​
approaching standard​
across grade­levels kindergarten through eight. Very concerning are the Long­Term English Learners who have been in our system for more than five years and are still classified as English Learners. With this information, how do we improve the reading and writing skills of our English Learners? What came came to mind are the various ELD related workshops I have had the pleasure to conduct with our certificated staff. As I delved into the importance and role of language objectives, I realized we as teachers need to utilize this critical strategy along with the many others we have at our disposal. According to the research, language objectives can impact our students’ academic achievement (the ​
“why?”​
). Language objectives articulate for learners the academic language functions and skills that they need to master to fully participate in the lesson and meet the grade­level content standards (Echevarria, Short, & Vogt, 2008). The ​
“how”​
t​
o develop a language objective was introduced with use of a recipe. The recipe for a language objective includes the following components: (1) the language function (verbs for listening, speaking, reading, writing), (2) the content vocabulary and (3) the support/resource (scaffold for student support). Language objectives are a way of thinking about all lessons. When offering students the three elements (language function, content vocabulary, and scaffolds) in every lesson, the foundation for integrated ELD is provided. If you need my support in developing language objectives, please contact me, and I will be happy to support you. Early Childhood Education Vanessa Rodriguez Romoland School District’s State Preschool Program is currently fully enrolled with 96 students program wide. This state­funded program operates at Romoland and Harvest Valley Elementary Schools. We host a morning class as well as an afternoon class that runs Monday through Friday for 3.0 hours a day. Our program offers free preschool to income­qualifying households with children ages 3 to 4 years old. State Preschool classrooms run at a ratio of 1 adult to every 8 children with a maximum group size of 24 students. In these classrooms there is 1 lead teacher and 2 instructional assistants. We currently participate in California’s Race to the Top Grant through RCOE. THrough this grant, Harvest Valley was rated in the Spring with the Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) and received a 4 out 5 ranking and received $15,000 as a result of their high ranking. Congratulations! Rankings are based on classroom interactions as well as program quality. Romoland was recently rated and we are anxiously awaiting the results. Ms. Sarina Johnson, the Lead Teacher at Harvest Valley has been teaching our State Preschool students at Harvest Valley for the past 4 years. She has an exceptional eye for detail and ensures that each child in her classroom receives the highest level of early education that she can offer through a very language rich environment. Ms. Dawn DeVolder, the Lead Teacher at Romoland was welcomed to our District this fall. She joins us from Lake Elsinore Unified where she worked with Head Start for the last 5 years. Ms. Dawn’s passion for developmentally appropriate practice and her desire to put her individual student’s needs first is evident daily. Together, these two devoted teachers make a truly special State Preschool Program. RES students practicing pedestrian safety. Early Childhood Ed Romoland State Preschool Students 73% ­ English Only 27% ­ English Learners Hour of Code Trevor Painton Hour of Code This past week many of our classrooms across the District have participated in the Hour of Code. This is an annual event designed for all ages and is intended to introduce the basics of computer science by demystifying computer coding and demonstrating that anybody can learn the basics. Utilizing a computer has become a necessary component of most jobs throughout society and developing a deeper understanding of the inner workings of a computer can prove beneficial as our students progress to adulthood. So why is introducing our students to computer science so important? Well, the state of California currently has over 85,000 job openings related to computer science, which is almost 4 times the average demand rate in other industries throughout the state. Additionally, the average salary for a computing occupation in California is $105,000, which is significantly higher than the state average of $53,000 for the rest of the state. As you can see, the computing industry can be a major factor in future employment and also play a role in the standard of living for our students. ​
Give the Gift of Attendance Ricky Alyassi Attendance Facts ❖ Chronic Absence:​
In California, chronic absence is defined as being absent for any reason ​
(excused ​
or unexcused​
) for at least 10% of the school year. ❖ Chronic Absenteeism: A student that misses 10 percent​
or more of the school year is a chronic absentee. ❖ Attendance Math: 10 percent of 180 Days of School = 18 days of the school year missed for chronic absenteeism. 18 days divided by 10 months = 1.8 days a month of missed school. Approximately 2 days of school missed each month throughout the year results in student chronic absenteeism Stressing the importance of attending school daily during the holidays is certainly a difficult message to send. All families want what is best for their children, but they don’t always realize how absences can add up to academic problems. Sometimes they allow children to miss school when it’s not absolutely necessary. This often happens before and after the winter holidays, as families try to squeeze a few more days out of the vacation season. At the same time, results of a parent survey conducted by ​
attendanceworks.org​
suggest that families would be willing to shorten vacations if they believe the absences are affecting their students’ academic success. Principals and teachers have an opportunity to reduce holiday absences by ensuring that parents and students understand the toll that absenteeism takes on achievement. Here are some simple, key points presented by the Office of California’s Attorney General, ​
Kamala D. Harris​
regarding chronic absenteeism and dropout rates that, when communicated to families, can be a way to raise awareness on the need for consistent attendance, especially during the holidays: These staggering statistics illustrate the need for consistent daily school attendance, even when the weather is cold/wet and the holidays are among us. The Romoland School District is sending the message to our community that our teachers are teaching and our students are learning right up until the day vacation starts and the first day back to school to stress the importance that daily school attendance has on education. So, this holiday season, let's give our students the gift of an education by teaching our students and families the habit of daily school attendance.