Weekly Teacher Download for the week of March 6, 2017

ALL TEACHERS

• District piloting new student assessment platform: For the 2017-2018 school year, teachers and students will have access to a new assessment platform to track student progress through TEKS-aligned assessments. The new system is called OnTrack and will replace EdPlan with an easier-to-use, intuitive format for users. The platform allows for a more comprehensive student learning profile through a variety of assessment options. Unlike any system HISD has had before, OnTrack features a student dashboard, giving students the ability to monitor their own progress and take increasing ownership of their learning. Click here to learn more.
• Goalbook March Live Webinars: The Office of Special Education encourages teachers to learn more about Goalbook by tuning into one or more of these upcoming webinars. This month’s topics are focused on fostering social skills and positive peer relationships within the classroom.  Our three-part Culturally Responsive Teaching series continues with providing opportunities for student voice and validating experiences. We will also focus on instructional strategies in Goalbook Toolkit designed to support students with moderate to severe disabilities.  Please click the links below each title to register: 

• Designing Instruction with a Focus on Social Skills and Positive Peer Relationships 
• Culturally Responsive Teaching & Learning: Validating Students’ Experiences and Providing Opportunities for Student Voice
• Using UDL Strategies and Goalbook Toolkit to Support Students with Moderate/Severe Disabilities

• Learn more about the district’s upcoming Special Education Conference: The Office of Special Education Services will host its fourth annual Special Education Conference on July 18-19. This year’s conference will focus on “Design with the End in Mind,” to share practices that support the academic achievement of students with disabilities and other learners who may be struggling or at risk of not achieving academic success. The conference will offer customized and contextualized professional development and support for general and special education teachers, special education administrators, campus administrators, and classroom support personnel. If you would like to submit a proposal to present during the Special Education Conference, click here. The deadline for proposals is March 24, 2017. Call or email Joan Anderson at 713-556-7025 or jander13@houstonisd.org if you have questions.

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

• Celebrate Read Aloud Month with your students: Although HISD celebrates every day as a day to intentionally read aloud to students, we are joining a national movement during March to recognize Read Aloud Month. In celebration of Read Aloud Month, we are providing two flyers – an English and a Spanish version – that can be shared with families and communities. The attached flyers suggest fifteen different ways to “Discover 15” minutes each day to engage with a child using Read Aloud activities. Share your Read Aloud moments, pictures and ideas on Twitter by using #Discover15. Click here for the English flyer and here for the Spanish version.

SECONDARY TEACHERS

• High School Literacy Lab touring Westside HS: Join the High School Literacy Lab’s tour of Westside HS classrooms on March 9 and see the work that they’ve done to improve the literacy of their students. We’ll dive into “quick wins” to increase critical writing in every classroom. The High School Literacy Lab meets monthly at various campuses around the district as a collaborative around increasing the literacy needs of our secondary students. Each lab focuses on classroom visits, a Reading Inventory update, and quick-win strategies that participants can take back and implement immediately on their campus. All secondary teachers, administrators, and everyone else with a role to play in student literacy is welcome. The tour is from 1-3:30 p.m. Thursday March 9, at Westside High School. Email Jessica Chevalier (jcheval1@houstonisd.org) for additional information.
• City of Houston essay contest for HS seniors: The City of Houston invites Houston-area high school seniors to participate in the annual Public Service Recognition Week Essay Contest. Seniors can earn up to $2,000 for college, gain a deeper understanding about the local government and learn about the broad range of career options serving the residents of Houston. To submit an essay and see contest rules, please have students visit the website: http://cohemployeenews.com/essay-contest. The entry deadline is Monday, March 20.

READ OF THE WEEK

• Are we innovating, or just digitizing traditional teaching?

TEACHER DEAL OF THE WEEK

• First United Mortgagehttp://www.joann.com/teacherrewards/?icn=Footer&ici=Teacher: Receive $200 off closing costs plus a $100 donation to you school. Email rgalatas@firstunitedbank.com for more information.: Receive $200 off closing costs plus a $100 donation to your school. Email rgalatas@firstunitedbank.com for more information.