ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CHAIRS’ “EMERGENCY”MEETING
RIVERSIDE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
SEPTEMBER 4, 2007
Department chairs in attendance:
Ramona: Linda Tirabassi, Anita Parada Young, Arlington: Stephanie Niechayev, North: Chris Lorenzi, Poly: Kim Marlowe-Konowal, MLK: Jennifer Radeka, Sierra: Louis Romero, Central: Tom Corcoran, University Heights: Erin Sullivan, Amanda Kraft, Earhart: Marie Coover, Jill Stearns, Chemawa: Fernando Hurtado, Julia Hodges
Our state/district English program, for several years now, has been, and continues to be, standards-based, not literature based. The focus of instruction is the standards set for each grade level course, not the literature associated with that course.
This month, the district was named a “Program Improvement” District based on failure to meet NCLB targets for last two years. This means that all sites will be responsible for collaboration, reflection, and following the state requirements associated with this status. Curriculum must be exclusively state approved materials (Holt).
Schools will be asked to do a self-reflection/analysis and create a plan to meet the needs of all students, particularly identifying the sub-groups which are presently not meeting targets. Sites have not yet been told the details of what has to be in the analysis, but some material from the WASC report could possibly be used.
RUSD is being very proactive with this, putting interventions and procedures in place to show that we are actively addressing student needs. It is hoped that this will allow us to follow protocols developed by RUSD teachers, principals, and district administrators which have been tailored to our students’ needs, rather than be mandated to follow procedures such as implementing the Holt “red-line” pacing guide.
Because of the above, it is IMPERATIVE that all teachers follow the new grade level pacing guides for English. These guides were created by teacher representatives for every grade level from every high school; they were not created by a district administrator, consultant, or textbook representative.
Pacing guides may not be modified nor the order changed. We will not be able to assess the guide if sites/teachers make individual modifications to the schedule. 9-12 have a great deal of flexibility within the month, but it is assumed that site grade level teams will collaborate to refine the pacing at their site within the parameters of the document.
All items which appear in bold print in the pacing guides MUST be taught within the indicated time periods to ensure that all students are receiving instruction in the standards. For the purpose of re-teaching or review, teachers may choose to select other pieces from the anthology or listed on the pacing guide, which teach the skills/standards covered by the required piece. This document is a living document which means we will review as we go along and make any necessary modifications for the 2008-2009 school year.
Teachers have a time frame in which to teach the required standards and should make sure that they have done so. Core concepts and skills are identified in bold print. This does NOT mean that a visit to English classrooms on a given day would mean that one would hear each teacher mouthing the same sentence. Your personal style, delivery, and method of instruction remain unique to you.
Because RUSD has reduced the 9-12 reading test to one per semester, it is expected that site assessments will become more important. This means that subject-matter team teachers should have standards completed within the pacing guide time frames, so that a common test can be given and the data shared and discussed.
Because multiple standards are being taught simultaneously within a given time frame(one part of the 8th grade guide, for instance, has 29 standards to cover), it is clear that all standards cannot be taught to mastery within the allotted time. Some of the standards will be a review of those from a lower grade level; some will be recursive, introduced and worked on throughout the term and/or year.
Supplemental materials MUST be district-approved. The state says only material approved by the state can be used in Program Improvement schools.
A form will be provide if a site/teacher has identified a gap in the Holt materials that could be filled by supplemental materials. Materials can then go through a review and approval for classroom use.
This process of supplemental materials approval does NOT apply to such things as:
Simple texts, children’s books, articles, etc. used to teach strategies
Song lyrics, etc. to introduce a story, concept, or literary device
Use of an OCCASIONAL newspaper or magazine article which supports the curriculum may be used, but it should not be a daily/weekly practice. Teachers should clearly understand and be able to articulate how this material is linked to instruction and what standards it addresses. The department chair and/or principal should be apprised of these materials as well.
Because they are not state approved, old anthologies, grammar and vocabulary books, short stories, plays or novels from sources other than those approved for the course can NOT be used in class. The exception is that you may use an elementary story, fable, tale to teach a concept. For example, many teachers use The Real Story of the Big Bad Wolf to teach point of view.
Dara Mosher will be forming a Professional Learning Community(PLC) to look at resources which teachers are currently using and would like to have approved. This will result in shared materials which have received district approval.
Secondary G.A.T.E. scores declined last year. Board members have expressed concern over the depth and complexity of schools’ Honor/Gates classes. Some of these students are currently not showing consistent, district-wide growth. This issue is a current RUSD Board goal. G.A.T.E./Honors classes are required to follow all pacing guidelines set forth for the regular curriculum. It is essential that teachers build higher levels of critical thinking, deeper analysis, and on-going student achievement. While Honors classes are required to complete the mandatory core texts, skills, and concepts, once students demonstrate mastery of these, they should move to other challenging assignments.
If students show mastery of a standard/skill, then move on, extend the materials or select a different selection, build critical thinking, questioning, and analysis of the materials. Differentiate instruction. Honors teachers can and should create more complex, higher-level learning assignments for students using the designated Holt materials. Differentiated instruction means struggling students may require addition time or lessons to re-teach.
Williams’ Act- EVERY student must have an anthology which is personally checked out to him or her. Classroom sets and Interactive Readers do not meet this requirement. The district is undergoing a compliance review NEXT week. Students at specific sites will be asked by compliance review visitors to show them their textbook or if they have a book. PLEASE do a book check to make sure that all students have checked a text out. Librarians will work with students to get a textbook into their hands.
Strategic classes have been put in place at almost high schools and middle schools to support struggling readers in the below basic reading category. The purpose of these classes is to preview the standards and skills which students will be taught in their English class. Strategic teachers must work closely with grade-level teams to coordinate lesson plans and check for effectiveness. Without collaboration, the students will not be able to experience success in the regular English class with grade level materials.
Schools receive the most “credit” on NCLB for moving students from FBB to BB and BB to B.
No students in grades 7 to 11th can be assigned a novel for in-class direct instruction before the CST’s. Novels may be assigned for outside reading, but they should be geared to the students’ comprehension level and not require intensive teacher clarification or explication, i.e. they could be used for independent reading. Honors (or any) students can be assigned novels as independent reading with class participation every 2 weeks or so with strategies such as Socratic Seminars, Literature Circles, Levels of Questions, or other collaborative discussion strategies.
Twelfth grade Honors AP, IB, and the Expository reading classes can teach novels as they are required by their curriculum.
It has now been finalized that Independent Reading must be completed outside of class. Independent Reading may be assigned as homework, assignments connected to the reading should be grade level standard specific. Strategies such as Lit Circles, Book Fairs, projects, or any other tasks deemed appropriate by the teacher may be assigned and assessed for credit. Accelerated Reader at middle school is still an effective tool. Middle schools with an independent reading period should hold site discussions to determine how to make this time the most effective. English teachers could be a valuable resource for teachers unfamiliar with how to support an independent reading program. Additional suggestions for independent reading will be forthcoming.
Magazines for independent reading are not appropriate unless they are tied to such standards as technical documents, and students are given a specific criteria/task related to them.
F
raming Your Thoughts can still be used for grammar instruction. Additional training for new and/previously untrained teachers will be offered Oct. 8 and 9th. Sign up through My PDC.