Weekly Teacher Download for Jan. 10, 2022

ALL TEACHERS

Fine Arts–Dance

Dance Connect “Days of Dance”: Fine Arts is offering professional development for dance teachers and workshops for students in collaboration with prominent Houston dance organizations. “Days of Dance” will provide a variety of live virtual classes that will be streamed into classrooms across the district during instructional time as follows:

• Jan. 25: 6 virtual classes for early childhood and elementary dance (these classes will be made available to all dance and physical education teachers).
• Jan. 26: 5 virtual classes for middle school dance programs
• Jan. 27: 5 virtual classes for high school dance programs

The Arts Connect Houston dance organizations listed on this flyer will offer a variety of dance styles and stream live dance classes. Class details are included in this flyer. To register, email SKorman@HoustonISD.org.

2022 Data All Stars Summit, 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Feb. 5: Another big game day is approaching, and Student Assessment is here to help you shoot the ball into the net and score major points! Leaders and teachers will gear up with data-driven instruction best practices, call the right plays to avoid testing irregularities, block to ensure STAAR readiness, and complete a winning playbook as we countdown to STAAR. These sessions will include state accountability, designated supports, TEKS monitoring, and data-tracking systems, as well as critical reports for teachers and leaders. Lead4ward Rockin’ Review and other partners will count down to STAAR. Don’t miss the vendor expo and door prizes. Register for course #1464042 on Feb. 5 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information, see 2022 Data All Stars Summit and this flyer.

Academic Instructional Technology

Student Assessment

Free access to Adobe Software

HISD is providing high school teachers and their students access to the most popular applications of Adobe Creative Cloud and the premium version of Adobe Creative Express, both at school and at home. HISD is providing elementary and middle school teachers access to the entire collection of Adobe Creative Cloud applications and their students with access to the premium version of Adobe Creative Express, both at school and at home. 

For Creative Cloud, once you’ve logged in, you can choose the apps you’d like to download. Please visit the website at www.HoustonISD.org/Page/192234 for guides and tutorials. You can use Creative Suite in any browser. To access Creative Express, you can sign in through Clever or from your web browser. Go to www.adobe.com/express/. On the top right corner of the browser select “sign in.” This will bring up a new page. Select “log in with school account” on the right side of the page and enter your school email and password. For Adobe Creative Express, please visit our website at www.HoustonISD.org/Page/192202 for guides and tutorials. You can use Adobe Creative Express in any browser, including Chromebooks.

Tech Tuesdays

Learn the basics and more of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC on AIT’s Tech Tuesdays Jan. 11 and Jan. 25 from 4:15-5:00 p.m. Register for course #1461032 in OneSource.

Social and Emotional Learning

Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Club is the student leadership initiative of Sandy Hook Promise. Led by their Youth Advisory Board, the aim is to empower student leaders to take an active role in increasing school safety and preventing different forms of violence in schools and communities. Please see this flyer to learn more about this student-led organization, which is another way to help nurture a campus culture of non-violence.

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

Early Childhood

PK Lead Teacher Meeting #3, 4:00-6:00 p.m., Jan. 11 or 13: Learn about state and local updates and more. Register for virtual OneSource #1464078

Introduction to Savvas Three Cheers for Pre-K, 4:00-5:30 p.m., Jan. 11: Recommended for all new PK teachers or administrators, this session will provide an overview of the Savvas program and online platform. Register for virtual OneSource #1464082

School Specialty PK Literacy Kits Update: Campuses are receiving their Literacy Kits between Jan. 3 and Jan. 14. Each PK teacher (Pre-K, ECSE/PALS, Pre-K/K split) will receive four boxes labeled PK English, PK Spanish or PK Dual (teachers who are DL50/50 self-contained). These literacy materials support your workstations by providing each scholar their own set of handheld instructional items as an added safety measure. Click here to see the list of materials inside the literacy kits. Contact Ana.Valladares@schoolspecialty.com with questions.

CIRCLE Assessment MOY: The second CIRCLE Assessment wave (MOY) started Jan. 5 and ends Feb. 9. Teachers must administer this assessment within the MOY window dates and use the results to plan and differentiate instruction. All students should be assessed unless otherwise indicated in an IEP. This school year, prekindergarten teachers will access the CIRCLE Assessment through CLEVER. Click here for instructions. If access to the assessment is needed for new pre-K teachers or administrators, email ECH Specialist Claudia.Azcarate@houstonisd.org. Required Wave 2 Subtests: A list of required subtests was created to help teachers track the progress of the assessment completion. Suggested CIRCLE Testing Schedule: Suggested testing schedules were created to help teachers pace themselves throughout the assessment window. 

Elementary Math

Virtual Math New Teacher Cohort (K-5): Join us from 4-6 p.m. on Jan. 10 to meet, collaborate, and grow in a professional learning community that supports growth and development relating to classroom management and organization, mathematics best practices, and content strategies. Participants will engage in activities designed to provide ongoing, engaging, and reflective learning to help build the capacity of new math teachers (1st-3rd year).

Virtual HB3 Math Academies Grade 2 Building Content Capacity: Problem Solving Part 2: Join us from3:30-5:00 p.m. on Jan. 11 to delve deeper into grade-level specific concepts by exploring strategies that build conceptual thinking and teaching of mathematics.  Strengthen content knowledge and instructional delivery by exploring TEKS-specific strategies for upcoming mathematics concepts. 

Virtual HB3 Math Academies Grade 3 Building Math Content Capacity: Join us 3:30-5:00 p.m. on Jan 11 to delve deeper into grade-level specific concepts by exploring strategies that build conceptual thinking and teaching of mathematics.  Strengthen content knowledge and instructional delivery by exploring TEKS-specific strategies for upcoming mathematics concepts. 

Virtual Supporting RtI Math Students: Join us 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Jan 13 to explore intervention strategies and best practices to answer the question, “How do we respond when our RtI students don’t learn math?” Walk away with explicit routines and tools to integrate into the core classroom, as well as strategies for small-group instruction.

Kindergarten TX-KEA Assessment MOY Window: Jan. 10–Feb. 11 

Elementary Science

Spring 2022 Elementary Science Sessions: Sessions will be offered synchronously (facilitator-led) after school. To view spring science sessions, see this link. Share your experiences via Twitter and tag @HISD_ElemSci.

Lead Teacher Collaborative: Join us 4-6 p.m. Jan. 25 or 26 at Alliant Group for a face-to-face Lead Teacher Collaborative session. Participants will learn trends outlined to district and state data, collaborate on best practices for increasing science outcomes, and plan for delivering learning to build campus capacity.  The session will be styled within a ToT model. Register for OneSource #1464090. 

Grade 5 Science Instructional Planning: Join us from 3:30-5:00 p.m. on Jan. 13 for Unit 11, the Sun, Earth, and Moon System & Cycle 4 Cumulative Project. Participants will leverage teacher-facing and student-facing resources to plan for the upcoming units of instruction and practice difficult concepts that are noted within data. Register in OneSource #1461118 (Teams meeting).

Grade 5 Elementary Science STAAR 2.0 Item Types: Join us 3:30-5:00 p.m. on Jan. 20 to learn about the new item types, implications for checking for understanding, and practice creating using Google slides. Register in OneSource #1464078 (Team meeting).

Virtual Learning Opportunities for Students and Families: Students and their families are encouraged to engage in hands-on, minds-on science investigations at home. The Houston Museum of Natural Science, in partnership with HISD Elementary Science Curriculum & Instruction, presents a series of videos and activities aligned to tough-to-teach standards in kindergarten through 5th grade. Click here to access these engaging resources. Additionally, Elementary Science Curriculum & Instruction has compiled a list of science activities and resources for students and families to explore at home. Click here for the Science at Home Symbaloo web mix.

SECONDARY TEACHERS

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Please view this week’s CTE bulletin, January 2022, Volume I. Visit the HISD Career Readiness page here for all CTE bulletins. The next Teacher Service Day (no students) for CTE is Monday, Feb. 21, 2022.

Spotlight on CTE: To bring awareness to the district’s CTE programs of study and post-graduation opportunities, campus personnel are invited to showcase campus events, student work, and more. Please submit using the CTE Spotlight Form. You may enter:

• Photos
• Videos
• Event flyers
• Business partnerships
• Campus initiatives
• Professional learning
• Best practices and more!

Submissions will be highlighted on the Career Readiness website and social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, YouTube). Contact your campus’s designated senior CTE program specialist with any questions.