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Teaching and Learning Update

The outcomes of our professional learning during our late start on Thursday, September 24th, were actualized and meaningful. As a part of our continuous improvement planning as a district, we are focusing on the unity of purpose in achieving the following goals (see the attachment for the Teaching & Learning Update presented to the Board of Education at the September meeting):

Objective 1 (Goal 1): The Superintendent will provide leadership in the enhancement of high impact research based strategy of clear learning targets and ongoing formative feedback for all students in Grandview Heights City Schools’ classrooms. (July 2016)

Objective 1 (Goal 2): The Superintendent will provide leadership to ensure student learning will be maximized through personalized opportunities and responsive instructional design to engage all students. (July 2016)  

The two hours of professional collaboration provided our staff with the invaluable time to focus our learning in the following areas:

K-8 Teachers and Administrators analyzed student data to develop differentiation ladders to support instruction. We looked closely at student achievement and how to meet the needs of students who are ready to be enriched and how to support students who have not mastered the content. Please see the attachment to learn more about Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) and how our teachers are using this information to shape and guide instruction. Teachers will be sharing this information with families through parent teacher conferences and principals will be sending home information the second week of October.
 
9-12 Professional Development centered on the role that inclusivity plays in our school as a learning community. The high school PBIS team chose "Inclusive" as the #1 word in "The Bobcat Way" due to the importance that we feel it has in the lives of our students and value to our overall school culture. Staff viewed a presentation that was followed by collaborative discussion and problem solving efforts to identify and design solutions to inclusivity challenges in the high school. The predominant outcomes as a result of professional development were for staff to have a stronger ability to 1) Know the issues 2) Support 3) Educate and 4) Advocate.
 
Student Services joined together for the first segment of 10 hours of training helping us to prepare to Build Better Lives.  The training is based upon Dr. Bruce Perry's, Neurosequential Model in Education (NME).  Our first session provided participants with teaching tools and focused on brain organization.  It is important for us, in the field of education, to understand a bit about this concept and what happens when a trauma, or another "abnormal" exposure, interrupts brain development including the following:

To serve children and families with awareness that trauma and an environment of trauma can have a significant impact on child development, behavior and ability to learn, and that trauma may be one of many sources for a child's behavior.

To serve children and families with the understanding that when trauma occurs it can result in specific deficiencies in the development of a child's brain and ability to develop skills, form relationships and learn.

To serve children and families by taking every opportunity to learn, train, and develop core competencies in developmentally appropriate trauma-informed care concepts.

To serve children and families by helping children increase their resiliency and strengthen the protective factors that help them resist the effects of trauma.

Thank you very earnestly for providing our staff with this time to learn and collaborate. We value your support so much and are very appreciative.