M e s s a g e f r o m H e i d i . . .

Dear Staff,

I hope you have had a great start to the 2014/2015 school year. It is going to be another awesome year of accomplish-ing wonderful things for our students.

Please be sure to take a few minutes to read the first Teach-ing and Learning Newsletter of the year. There is a lot of information that you should be aware of.

Thank you for being a part of a winning team! It is because of you that our schools are great. I wish each of you a suc-cessful year. Never hesitate to contact me with any com-ments, questions, concerns, praise or needs.

S E P T E M B E R , 2 0 1 4

Teaching and Learning Parent Newsletter

TEACHING AND LEARNING

NEWSLETTER 2

014

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015

Math 2

14/15 MI Statewide

Assessments

4

iReady, PD, NGSS, 5

Book Drive 6

ELA 7

MISC. 8

Standards Based Grading

9

Score Card 10

For Sale 11

Teaching & Learn-ing, etc.

3

attachments

1. Standards Based Grading

2. Book Drive

3. Band Booster Flyer

Heidi Mercer Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning

BUSY SUMMERBUSY SUMMER

The summer months in the district remained busy. There were several summer school programs and classes held for students. In addition, we continued to offer and provide teacher training and professional development on various top-ics. We had a great turn out from both students and staff regarding these op-portunities. Based on our continued success and interest, we will continue to expand and enhance our summer offerings in the future.

Teaching and Learning

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News from MDE Puzzle of the Month The2014‐15and2015‐16schoolyearswillbringsubstantialchangeinstaterequiredsummativeassessments. 

InJuneof2014,legislationwaspassedrequiringtheMichiganDe‐partmentofEducation(MDE)todevelopanewsummativeassess‐mentforuseinSpring2015.UnlikethepreviousMEAPassess‐ments,thenewassessmentwillbealignedtoMichiganstandards,administeredinthespring,andmeasurecurrentyearversuspastyearstudentknowledge.Englishlanguageartsandmathematicswillbeassessedingrades3‐8and11.Sciencewillbeassessedingrades4,7,and11;andsocialstudiesingrades5,8,and11.Thisassessmentwillbeadministeredforoneyear,onlinewithapaperandpenciloptionforschoolsnottechnology‐ready.  Moredetailsandtestingwindows:http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7‐140‐22709‐‐‐,00.html

Howmanypages? 

    AprintingcompanyagreedtopublishabookaboutWesternhistory.Whentheywerenumberingthepagesofthebook,theynoticedthattheyhadused2989digits.Howmanypageslongwasthebooktheyagreedtopub‐lish?   Answerhttp://www.glencoe.com/sec/math/algebra/algebra1/algebra1_01/pow/A1ch2p3.htm

StartingtheYearOffRight AdvisefromNCTM 

http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=6344

Startalessonplannotebookorjournal.Somedaysyourlessonswillsurpassyourexpectations;otherdays,you‘llwonderwhatwentwrong.Createanotebookwithcopiesofyourlessonplansandtwosetsofworksheets.Keepnotesonwhatworksandwhatdoesn’t,writingdirectlyonthelessonplanoronecopyoftheworksheet.Whenyougobacktoreviseorrecreatelessonsforthenextschoolyear,youwillhaveagoodrecordofwhatworked—andwhatyoucanbuildon.

 Don’tsellyourclassshort.Avoidtellingyourclass“Thisiseasy,”“Thiswillbefun,”“Thisshouldn’tbetoohard,”or“Thisis

goingtobetough.”Ifstudentssucceedatataskyou’velabeled“easy,”theaccomplishmentseemslesssigni icant.Iftheydonot,theymayfeelworsethantheyotherwisewould.Whatiseasyforonestudentisdif icultforthenext,sokeepallyourstudentsontheirtoes,andcelebratetheiraccomplishments. 

Decorateappropriately.Takeagoodlookatyourclassroomdecor.Whatmessagesdoesitsendtostudents?Doesitre lectwhatyouaretryingtoaccomplish?Areyourclassroomrulesprominentlydisplayed?Doyourstudentsknowwheretolookforexamplesofgoodwork?Yourclassroomdecorcansayalotaboutyourpersonalityasateacherandwhatyouaretheretoaccomplish;don’tignoreit! 

Beconsistent.Studentstendtorememberyourrulesbetterwhentheystaythesameandareenforcedequallyandconsist‐ently. 

Createproblemsolvers.Starteachclasswithasetofquestionsandriddlesthatpromotelogicalthinking.Allowstudentstoworkinsmallgroups,andemphasizethattheyshoulddiscusssolutionstrategiesandhowtheygottheiranswers.Thisactivityshowsstudentsthatyourclassroomisaplacewherecommunicationandcollaborationisencouraged. 

Who’sdoingthemath?Bemindfulofwhoisactuallydoingthemathematicsintheclassroom.Thestudentsshouldbedoingtheirshareofthethinking,explaining,andreasoning.Givestudentsachancetostruggleandwrestlewithsomematheveryday!Suggestingasolutionstrategytooquicklydoesn’tgivestudentsachancetosolveproblems. 

Talkwithcolleagues.Trytomeetweeklywithagroupoffellowteacherstodiscussteachingstrategies,shareclassroom‐managementtechniques,andbrainstormwaystooffermoreopportunitiesforstudents.Considerpreparingamonth‐lymathdepartmentnewsletterforparents. 

Don'tjumptoconclusions.Regardlessofpastexperiences,trytogiveeachstudentacleanslatetoworkfrom.Ifyouarepar‐ticularlyworriedaboutacertainstudent,trygivinghimorherresponsibilitiesfromthestart.Havethestudenthandoutpapers,erasethechalkboard,orcollectpapersfromclassmates. 

Usequestions.Makeyourclassroomasafeplacetoaskandanswerquestions.Tryusingstudents’questionstodriveyourlesson,withstudentsworkingtoanswereachothers’questions. 

 Formoregreatideas,checkouttheEmpoweringtheBeginningTeacherofMathematicsseries.

S E P T E M B E R , 2 0 1 4

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NEW NAME

The Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Department has a new name:

Teaching and Learning Department

This new name encompasses more of the ser-vices and responsibilities of the department. It is shorter, too!!!

& NEW TEAM MEMBER

As the newest member of the Teaching and Learning De-partment, I would like to take a moment to formally intro-duce myself. My name is Kerri Anderson and I am the new Director of Curriculum Development for the Lake Orion Community Schools. Most recently, I was the principal of Carpenter Year Round Elementary. Prior to being principal at Carpenter, I was a Learning Consultant in Rochester Schools where I worked directly with developing curriculum and helping teachers to implement curriculum. If you email Kerri a message of welcome and good luck by 3:00 on Friday, September 19th you will be entered in a drawing for one of the Teaching and Learning Newsletter’s famous, fabulous prizes. I started my career in education as a mid-dle school ELA teacher in Romeo and from there moved to Rochester to teach fifth grade before becoming a Learning Consultant. I look forward to working in this new capacity for Lake Orion Community Schools. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need anything.

REMINDERSREMINDERS

FIELDTRIPS:

For daytime field trips send completed form to the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning fifteen (15) working days prior to departure.

Out of state field trips must be approved by the Board of Education 60 days prior to departure.

In-state, overnight field trips must be ap-proved by the Board of Education 30 days prior to departure.

Call the Transportation Department 5 days prior to departure to confirm paperwork was received and arrangements made.

Requests may be sent back, unapproved, if the above guidelines are not met.

MENTORING:

Compensation and Professional Development

Mentors working with first and second year teachers will receive 2 days com-pensation.

One compensation day will be earned each semester. Compensation days will be approved at the building level by the Principal/Director after the mentor has provided documentation with their log (printout from KALPA pd plan) that they have been meeting with their mentees as stipulated in the “Mentor Re-sponsibilities.”

Mentor compensation days can be used the day before or after a holiday with prior approval from Building Principal/Director and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.

Compensation days not used within that year will be added to the mentor’s sick bank. Once the compensation days are in the sick bank, they cannot be used before or after a holiday.

Mentors working with third year probationary teachers may use one of their already existing sick/personal business days before or after a vacation.

**Please request 3 days in advance of the actual requested day. 1. Mentor submits an email request to the building administrator/director. The

email must include dates for compensation as well as an attachment of the mentor log (printout from their KALPA pd plan).

2. The administrator/director will verify the availability of the dates being re-quested as well as the mentor hours (as referred in the mentor responsibili-ties section of the guidelines).

3. If the administrator/director approves, he/she will forward the request to Assis-tant Superintendent of Human Resources.

4. Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources will verify the compensation requirements and approve through an email to the mentor requesting and building administrator/director.

5. Mentor is responsible for requesting a substitute teacher through AESOP.

Regardless of the state test, Lake Orion will continue to focus on teaching the standards. We are not preparing students to take a test rather we are teaching students to think critically, problem solve, communicate and apply their knowledge. These skills will prepare students for

any test they will need to take. We must prepare our stu-dents for the world of today and the future. I am confi-dent that Lake Orion is doing just that as evidenced by our continued gains in student achievement.

There have been a lot of discussions between legislators and the Michigan De-partment of Education regarding state testing. Please see the update from the

State, below, regarding testing for more detailed information including the testing window for Spring.

Teaching and Learning

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S E P T E M B E R , 2 0 1 4

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HOURS AND TEACHER CERTIFICATION

As you are aware, teachers may now use some PD hours for teacher recertification. Principals must ap-prove the PD in order for it to be used towards recerti-fication.

To make this easier, conference request forms now have a “tag” box that principals can check before going to the department of Teaching and Learning. This con-ference will then be entered into KALPA, where the teacher can enter it in their PD plan.

For building and district planned PD the administrator facilitating the PD will contact Mary Johnston to provide her the information that is needed for teachers to then register for the PD and enter it in their plan.

Please note that teachers were notified at the end of last year that all PD must be registered and entered for in the teachers plan by the end of each marking period. Teachers are responsible for keeping their plans up to date. A PD attended in the second marking period, will not be entered after the second marking period. PD has always been important; however, it has become more im-portant now that it can be used for re-certification, again, this is the teachers’ responsibil-ity. Please see your administrator if you have questions regarding PD. Any questions regarding actual certification needs to be directed to MDE (Michigan Department of Education).

There has been very little happening with the NGSS. The last information was that the standards were expected to be adopted in December.

In the meantime, Lake Orion is working on instruc-tional practices that are required in the new stand-ards. These new standards are expected to be a big change. Teachers are encouraged to become familiar with the NGSS and begin revising their in-structional practice to those that are expected in the standards.

Lake Orion has been using Aimsweb to test our stu-dents in K-6 three times a year to ensure that our students are on target in their learning.

During the past couple of years, several new prod-ucts have come out to not only test students but to provide teacher resources and student modules that are directly aligned with the student’s level.

This fall Pine Tree, Carpenter, Oakview 6th grade and all of Waldon and Scripps’ curriculum are pilot-ing i-Ready.

We will be using i-Ready this year to determine whether we will adopt it for 2015-2016.

DEVELOPMENTAL KINDERGARTEN

This is the first year for Developmental Kindergarten in Lake Orion. We have three sections running. One section is at Blanche Sims and the other two are housed at Webber. We are very pleased with the interest in this program and the great start it has had.

Lake Orion Community Schools is committed to supporting authentic literacy development. By imple-menting the Reader’s Workshop approach to reading instruction, we are focusing on student choice, control, and independence. Our readers make important decisions about what they read, and their books are matched with their abilities and interests. It is therefore vitally important for all students to have a wide se-lection of appropriate books.

The average elementary student reads as many as two books a week during Reader’s Workshop. Each child reads 80 great books a year, and that means each classroom reads at least 2,000 books! For our younger readers that number doubles. Our middle school readers read approximately 40 books a year! The bottom line . . . our schools need more books. We hope you will be able to help us meet our goal of expanding the variety and volume of books in each classroom.

For the 5th consecutive year, Lake Orion Community Schools will collect books November 3rd through November 15th at all schools in Lake Orion. Drop-off will be available during school hours and during par-ent teacher conferences if applicable.

Donated books can be new or gently used. They may be of any reading level, preschool through adult. Teachers will select books appropriate for school use; these books will go directly to Lake Orion classrooms! Books that are not school appropriate will be donated to charity. With the LOCS book drive, all kids in our community benefit!

No books to donate? No problem. You are invited to become a book sponsor and support our book drive with the purchase of a gift card to Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Gift cards can be accepted at all Lake Orion schools.

Thank you for your supporting Lake Orion readers!

The Lake Orion Community Schools

Book Drive!

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Access to books is critical for students’ achievement in reading, motivation and ultimately engagement. While there is no magic number for what makes a classroom library an effective one, there are definitely expert num-bers to guide us. How does your library compare?

Fountas and Pinnell recommend approximately 600 books per room.

The International Reading Association recommends beginning with 7 books per learner and adding 2 books per year per child every year.

Levelled Materials are essential for making sure both the needs of higher readers and lower readers are be-ing met. Are your lower level materials (especially your fiction) equal in quality to your higher level fiction? Make sure your lower books aren’t also the least at-tractive books on the shelf. While most teachers use Fountas and Pinnell’s leveling system to mark books, this is not a district requirement. DRA level or Lexile level can also be considered. However, it is important that students know how to select their own books at their just right level range and that you have estab-lished a system that encourages independence and supports students doing this on their own.

Include diverse characters and settings so all students can find stories personally, as well as stories that ex-pand their world view.

Feature many formats or genres. Include picture books, chapter books, poetry, magazines or articles, narrative non-fiction, informational and graphic novels (if age appropriate).

Keep it fresh. While there are some titles in you library that you’ll want to keep forever, there are others that you may want to cycle in and out. Be sure to include new books with popular covers. Kids can’t always ap-preciate the Nancy Drew collection from your youth because they covers are difficult for them to relate to. Most loved classic books and series books from your childhood are now available with a modern cover.

Stay organized. The best classroom libraries are the ones where the teacher isn’t the only one who can find what he/she is looking for. Kids of all ages should know where to put the books back and where to find a book that interests him/her. How should my books be organized? Again there are no firm rules but generally;

Does Your Classroom Library Support All the Learners in Your Room?

K-2 (and sometimes 3rd grade) libraries tend to organized by letter level. Books are kept in bins for ease of shop-ping and browsing at titles. Featured topics and authors often have their own bin.

4-5 (and sometimes 3rd grade) libraries tend to be orga-nized by genre with the level as a way to secondary sort or the level band (see Kate for more details) on the inside, front cover or back cover. Fiction and Non-fiction are separated at these levels. Non-fiction is often sorted by topic and while many of the non-fiction books are leveled, rarely it is the whole collection. Books at these levels are usually still kept in tubs for ease of book shopping. Fea-tured authors are often displayed and series books are binned together.

6-8 libraries are usually sorted by genre with the level on the back or inside if it is available (most books beyond 8th grade reading level do not contain this information). Non-fiction books may be categorized by topic for ease of re-search. Books are sometimes kept in bins but generally are featured on book shelves with spines indicating the genre. Featured books are often displayed as a book store or the library would, with forward facing featured titles on top of book shelves or on counters.

If your library doesn’t measure up and you need support what should you do?

Mark your calendars for the first ever-Book Tasting. This free event will be held in the Teachers Lounge at Webber Elementary from 3:30-5:30 on Monday, October 13th. Free appetizers, refresh-ments and fresh titles for all levels of learners grades K-12 will be featured. This is a drop in event!

Mark your calendars for the annual Book Drive. Bring your own shopping bag to this free event held on the stage at CERC on November 24th from 3:00-6:00 PM. Participants generally bring home 20-30 books free of charge. This is a drop in event!

E-mail Kate DiMeo, she will help you to start to put together a plan to meet your learners’

needs.

Teaching and Learning P a g e 8 P a g e 8

For the last three years the district has been working to implement The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program in all buildings. This school year Blanche Sims, Carpenter and Webber will im-plement Olweus, which will result in all buildings having the Olweus Program.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

LAKE ORION WILL BE HOSTING 4 MAJOR

CONFERENCES IN 2014-2015

OCTOBER 11, 2014—LOCS PARENT WORKSHOP—8:30 A.M.—11:30 A.M. SCRIPPS MIDDLE SCHOOL

MARCH 13, 2015 – MAMSE WALDON MID-DLE SCHOOL

APRIL/MAY PARENT GREAT START CERC (TENTATIVELY)

JUNE 23-24, 2015—BEST INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES CONFERENCE FOR THE COUN-TY—HIGH SCHOOL

More details will be coming as we get closer to the dates of the conferences. We are excited about these opportunities to showcase Lake Orion Community Schools.

CURRICULUM MAPS AND ASSESSMENT CALENDARS

This is a reminder that all teachers are ex-pected to follow their department/grade level/content area’s curriculum map and assessment calendar.

It is very important that we are planning and ensuring that we are covering all of the standards expected in every class. Not get-ting through all of the standards creates a gap in student learning. That is a gap that we can control. It is essential that all standards are covered especially with how the state standards are designed - building upon one another.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are more than a week behind the curriculum map, please make sure that you talk to your administrator so that support can be provided to get back on track.

S E P T E M B E R , 2 0 1 4

K-3 implemented standards based grading this year. Below is a letter that was sent to parents explaining standards based grading and Lake Orion’s philosophy and approach.

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STANDARDS BASED GRADING

The Lake Orion Community School District is moving to standards based grading this school year for grades K – 3.   

Let me begin by explaining that Standards Based Grading is a fancy way of saying that we want to report to you and your student(s) about their pro‐gress toward Michigan Academic Standards, or learning targets for your student’s grade level.  Each content area, like reading, wri ng, math, social studies, science, art, physical educa on, etc. has its own standards, which tell us what students need to know and be able to do at certain points in learning in these content areas. Standards Based Grading allows us to have common language and prac ce across our system in what we expect of students at various grade levels and various content areas. Standards Based Grading allows for parents and students to understand the expecta ons and their next steps toward being on grade level. 

Standards Based Grading works in a way that provides a learning con nuum. As teachers plan for lessons, they use units of study that align to these standards and determine what assignments and assessments students will do along the way.  Once completed, teachers then look at those assign‐ments and assessments and determine student progress toward the standards.  When an assignment or assessment is assessed, it is assigned a 1, 2, or 3.  The descrip ons of the 1, 2, and 3 level work for final grading purposes can be found in the gradebook repor ng criteria for each content area.  It is through the gradebook repor ng criteria that we support common expecta ons for student performance across our en re district. 

In addi on to gradebook repor ng criteria for final grades, teachers also use assignment or assessment criteria to let you and students know what expecta ons are of student work, as well as how our student did on a par cular assignment or assessment.  O en the criterion for certain assign‐ments or assessments is in the form of a rubric.  For example, if students write a poem in a poetry unit, the teacher might share a rubric with stu‐dents that describes the elements of quality poetry.  Some mes teachers even create these rubrics or criteria for certain assignments along with students. 

One very common misconcep on around Standards Based Grading is that students may not receive a 3 un l the end of the school year.  This is FALSE. Students may receive a 3 at any point in the year.  The common theme in 3 level work is that students take what they know about a standard and apply that knowledge to new and unique circumstances. Likewise, it is typical for a student to earn a 2 throughout the year with the expecta on of a 3 at the end of the year. Teachers are working to make sure students have opportuni es all along the year to apply their knowledge to new and unique circumstances.  At any given point along the year, students will be given opportuni es to apply their learning at a level 3.  Please also note that if a student is performing at a level 3, then he or she is performing at proficiency for that grade level.   

One other important understanding is for you to know that your student can and should have the opportunity to show progress toward a standard mul ple  mes.  Many teachers allow students to re‐do work, or re‐take assessments a er further prac ce, to show progress toward standards over me.  A student’s grade will not be averaged, which allows lower performance on assignments and assessments to bring down a grade.  Instead, 

your student’s performance will be looked at over  me. 

We are excited about the poten al of Standards Based Grading as a tool to support common expecta ons for all students in all standards. Each ele‐mentary school will be hos ng informa onal mee ngs regarding Standards Based Grading on the same evening as curriculum night.  If you cannot a end your home school’s informa onal mee ng on curriculum night, you are more that welcome to a end the mee ng at another elementary that fits your schedule.  Addi onally, you can find informa on on our website under the Teaching and Learning tab.  A ached is more detailed infor‐

ma on with some frequently asked ques ons regarding Standards Based Grading.            SEE ATTACHMENT 1 

We have been looking forward to this change in our grading system and feel that it will provide our students, parents and teachers with more spe‐cific informa on about how each student is performing on the standards. 

Thank you for your con nued support as we work collabora vely in the best interest of our students. 

Please see below the schedule of report card training sessions. The mee ngs should run approximately 30 – 45 minutes.  You are free to go to any one of these that is convenient to you .

BUILDING DATE 1ST SESSION 2ND SESSION

Blanche Sims September 17 7:25 P.M. 8:05 P.M.

Orion Oaks September 11 6:30 P.M. 7:10 P.M.

Paint Creek September 11 5:00 P.M. 7:15 P.M.

Pine Tree September 4 5:30 P.M. 6:45 P.M.

Stadium Drive September 11 6:00 P.M. 6:45 P.M.

Webber September 4 7:30 P.M. 8:30 P.M.

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SCHOOL SCORE CARDSSCHOOL SCORE CARDS

On August 13 MDE  made public the Michigan School Accountability Scorecards for Districts and schools. The Scorecards replace Michigan’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report cards that were required under No Child Le  Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Michigan received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Educa on in 2012 that allowed for the development of a new repor ng system for school performance. This is the second year for this report.  The system is par ally a point based system which uses school specific Annual Measurable Objec ves for all stu‐dents and subgroups. Each school or district earns an overall proficiency percentage which corresponds to one of the colors in the five color system. Scorecards use a color coding system in place of an AYP status. In order of highest color to lowest, they are: Green, Lime, Yellow, Orange, and Red. Colors are based on mee ng targets in the different Scorecard components. Missing targets in some components will automa cally lower the overall Scorecard color even if the school or district is mee ng all other targets.   Overall, the Lake Orion Community Schools and all of its elementary and middle schools met the proficiency tar‐get (green) for All Students in Reading, Mathema cs, Wri ng, Science, and Social Studies. However, the final overall Scorecard color for the District and schools was lowered to a yellow or lime because one or more sub‐groups is not on track to reach 85% proficiency or did not test over 95% of the popula on. In addi on, this year we had students test at CERC through the Learning Op ons program and the alterna ve high school students. CERC did not meet the proficiency target (red).  

     

Addi onal informa on may be found at mischooldata.org  

There is also a PowerPoint presenta on on the  Lake Orion  website under the Curriculum tab. 

In addi on to the Scorecard system, MDE has also ranked schools on a Top‐to‐Bo om list, which may result in a specific school designa on of Reward, Focus, or Priority. We are proud to announce that the following schools have been designated as Reward Schools: 

•    Carpenter Year Round •    Orion Oaks  •    Paint Creek •    Pine Tree •    Stadium Drive •    Webber   

Includes paddle Color - Orange Length - 10' 4 Width - 31.75 Height - 14" Cockpit - 38.38" x 20.5" Capacity - 300 lbs Weight - 45 lbs Adjustable padded back rest Adjustable seat cushion Adjustable foot rests Cup holder Rear storage hatch Deck bungees Rear drain plug Front and rear carry handles Made of high density and durable polyethylene acurtis@lakeorion.k12.mi.us

Brand New Kayak For Sale

STILL IN PACKAGING!!!

We LOVE it, but don't have time to use it. Drastically reduced price in hopes that a great family snaps it up! Still plenty of time to enjoy this year (Halloween camping, anyone?!)! Beautiful Starcraft Centennial 3608 (2006)- $5,000. Features include: - pristine flooring/cushions/mattresses, sleeps 6 with 2 queen-size heated beds & 1 convertible bed, slide-out for dinette/bed, super clean gas stove and oven, microwave, three-way refrigerator, AM/FM/CD with interior and ex-terior speakers, cable TV hookup, furnace, Super Fan, interior cassette toilet & shower, exterior shower, potable water tank, water heater, two propane tanks, awning, internal and external storage access, and hitch. Can count as a second home for tax purposes. $5,000 (comparable campers listed on RVTrader for $8,000).

For more photos/info, visit: http://www.teamlareau.com/camper or email us at camper@teamlareau.com

AWESOME HIGH-SIDED POP-UP CAMPER FOR SALE

$325

Standards-Based Grading Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What grade levels are moving to standards-based grading?

For the 2014-2015 school year, kindergarten through third grade will be using standards-based grading. More grade levels will be added in upcoming years.

Why are we moving to a standards-based grading system?

We want to improve student achievement for every student. Research supports standards-based grading as a basis of communication that will help students learn more effectively through better feedback. Providing specific and frequent feedback has proven to be a factor in increasing student achievement. Standards based grading aligns more closely with this type of feedback.

What is standards-based grading?

In a standards-based system, teachers report what students know and are able to do in relation to the Michigan and LOCA Standards. The system includes:

• The improvement of student achievement of required learning outcomes in all content areas,

• The mastery of defined learning outcomes instead of the accumulation of points, • The reporting of student achievement toward meeting learning outcomes at a given time

by analyzing recent trend information based on various forms of evidence, • A record keeping system that provides teachers with information that allows them to

adjust learning practices to meet the needs of students, and • A system that encourages student reflection and responsibility

What are the purposes of standards-based grading?

The purpose of standards-based grading is to increase student achievement by clearly communicating students’ progress towards learning outcomes in a timely, accurate, fair, and specific manner. In addition, standards-based grading allows teachers to report student progress specifically on the standards. It us to have a common language and practice across our system in what we expect of students at various grade levels and various content areas and make sure parents and students understand that expectation and their next steps toward being on grade

level. Standards-based grading accurately communicates student achievement to students, parents, and educators. The influence of work habits on student learning is reported separately from the academics.

How does standards-based grading work?

Traditional grading averages a student’s achievement data with other characteristics, such as work habits. Standards-based grading removes extraneous factors and focuses solely on a student’s academic achievement and continued mounting evidence that indicates a true assessment of the student’s present attainment of learning. Other characteristics are reported separately.

How is standards-based grading different?

The student’s grade more accurately represents the progress toward proficiency of standards than traditional grading does. Subject areas are subdivided into big ideas related to standards and their respective learning outcomes that students need to learn or master. Each target is assessed. Scores from activities that are provided solely for practice will not be included in the final assessment of the learning outcome. The influence of positive and consistent work habits on student learning is reported separately from the academics.

What are the advantages of standards-based grading?

Learning outcomes are clearly articulated to the students throughout instruction. Parents and students can see which learning outcomes students have mastered and which ones need re-teaching or re-learning. Standards-based grading can change the complexion of at-home conversations between the student and the parent/guardian from, “Why didn’t you finish your work?” “Did you make up that quiz you missed?” and “Have you finished your project?” to “”Tell me your understanding of this standard,” “How does your teacher connect your in-class work to the unit’s objectives?” or “What more do you need to do to achieve this standard?” Some students struggle at the beginning of units, fail assessments and give up; with standards-based grading, the door remains open to achieving standards.

What are the disadvantages of standards-based grading?

Of all aspects of our education system, none seems more impervious to change than grading and reporting. Changing long-held traditions is a difficult and lengthy process.

Why aren’t grades just averaged?

Because the purpose of standards-based grading is to report what students know and are able to do, averaging does not represent an accurate picture of where a student is in his/her learning. A student who struggles in a class at the beginning of a grading period and receives poor grades, but who keeps working and by the end of the grading period can clearly demonstrate competence in the subject, should receive a grade that reflects that competence. The average is a fixture in most grading systems, but the average does not always represent the data accurately. Consider two students, Stewart and Maria. Stewart earns the following scores: 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85 and 85. The average is not difficult to calculate, and Stewart’s grade is posted as a B. Maria struggles in math and turns in this performance: 50, 60, 65, 70, 80, 85, 90, 90, and 90. Her mean score of a little over 75 would result in a C on her report card, but it is obvious that Maria now understands the math even though she struggled in the beginning.

How are we going to teach our kids that in the real world or on tests such as CSAP, ACT, etc., that they must do their best the first time or on a continuous basis?

Our goal is student learning. We all know students learn at different rates, and students have issues that may affect their testing ability on a given day. Many real life final tests such as driver’s license, ACT, SAT, bar exam, etc. offer multiple opportunities for mastery with no penalty for number of attempts. There are still deadlines within units and some of the practice work is time bound. There are indeed cut off times for assignments per teacher discretion when late work will simply not be accepted because the unit is over.

How will student progress be measured?

The Michigan standards were synthesized into major learning goals (report card criteria) to provide clear and concise information to parents regarding student progress. Teachers collect evidence of student understanding through observations, class work, projects, and test data then evaluate overall performance using the following scale:

3 - Consistent understanding of the end of the year standard

2 - Progressing towards the end of the year standard

1 - Limited understanding of the end of the year standard

DONATE NEW OR GENTLY USED BOOKS

TO BENEFIT

Lake Orion Community Schools

To volunteer your time or for more information on this event contact Kate DiMeo at kdimeo@lakeorion.k12.mi.us

November 3rd - November 15th at ALL

Lake Orion Community Schools Book Drop available during school Hours and Evening Events

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mschwartzmiller

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