ASSESSMENT,  REPORTING & ATTENDANCE

Reporting

We are at the end of Week 5 which is half way through the Quarter.

We will be providing a report card at the end of Quarter 1 which will be supported by a parent-teacher conference. This report card will be very light on text (probably just a common blurb about what has been covered in each subject) but we will need to indicate where students are on a 1-4 scale in English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies.

Large specialist groups make this too difficult to use a 1-4 scale at this stage in specialist subjects.

The team leaders will meet soon to confirm our timeline and format but I just wanted to give a heads up to homeroom teachers that we will be reporting grades at the end of Quarter 1.

As we are halfway through the Quarter, this is the time that you will need to start thinking about which families you might need to check in with so there are no surprises when we report grades. The team leaders will meet with Patty and I to confirm the best way to do this. 

Assessment

Assessing what a student can do online is challenging. Just before school started, I sat in on some webinars that provided some really sound and practical advice on this. Here are some key ideas that I thought would be useful:

• Use the data that you trust the most – it doesn’t matter if it is summative (a test or final project) or formative (observations, discussion).
• All assessment is formative and it all counts!
• If you are unsure as to whether a student has mastered a skill or understands a concept, ask them to explain it to you. Generally, if a student can explain it, they know it.

That last point is I think important in any context, but especially online. It might mean that you do not have a lot of completed assessment tasks but you can take notes at any time with any discussion you have with a child and if you trust your assessment then those notes are valid evidence of learning – possibly even more so than a finished project or test. 

It is important to have a system to record your notes. Our Early Elementary teachers are masters of this if you need any ideas.

Attendance

Esther will keep sending attendance reminders out at 9:30am so she can check in with families early. But don’t worry if you haven’t had the chance to do it by then. The aim to have your attendance completed in the morning as soon as you can. 

We don’t want to introduce a formal Powerschool post-specialist attendance check in. However, if you have a student who is consistently not returning after a specialist class (or missing other classes) and, please reach out to parents with a friendly email…’We missed Milly in the afternoon today…’ Please blind copy Patty and I on those emails just so we know if we need to follow anything up. Parents will often be struggling to keep up with what their children are up to but is important that parents know if their children are missing classes when it comes to reporting on and explaining progress. 

WASC ONLINE ACCREDITATION VISIT: OCTOBER 5-9

INCLUSIVE PRACTICES AUDIT with Dr. Belinda Karge

Dr. Belinda Karge is an inclusion specialist who has worked with us for the last three years as part of our transition to an inclusive school. 

Over the last few weeks she has met with team and department leaders, our learning services team, and students to provide us with some feedback on where we are at and where we need to go.

Belinda is very impressed with the progress we have made in three years. In the Elementary School, Darla, Patty, Thet Thet, and Diana can take a lot of credit for the progress we have made in such a short space of time. Belinda was also struck by the willingness and expertise that our teachers have in differentiating for our students. Our team leaders were able to give clear examples of specific differentiaton strategies that we are using in our classes and Belinda really felt that we believe in doing all that we can to meet the needs of each and every student. This is obvious to me too and I know it is appreciated by our families.

Our team leaders were also able to provide some insights as to next steps and how to use the expertise we have among us to make even more of a difference. These insights will help guide our work this year.