Weekly Teacher Download for August 21
ALL TEACHERS
Please take this survey: All teachers are encouraged to take part in a confidential survey to capture information on policies and practices that influence teaching and learning for students with disabilities and students identified as at-risk. The survey, conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR), is part of a larger review by the third party consultant. Please click here to take the survey. The data collected will be analyzed and reported alongside analyses of several other data sources, including a parent survey that will launch the first week of school and interviews and focus groups with district and school staff over the coming months.
NEW! Instructional strategies and ready-to-use resources: The Office of Special Education is excited to share the updates that have been made to the Goalbook Toolkit and Goalbook Pathways. This week, we’re featuring dozens of new instructional strategies with ready-to-use resources. All resources are designed to help teachers implement research-based practices so that ALL students can succeed. Click here to see the updated Goalbook Toolkit.
Storing and sharing files: Are you storing lesson plans on your laptop or on a jump drive? Not sure what the “Cloud” is or how to use it? Struggling with how to add email to your phone? The HISD Information Technology Department is here to help and answer your questions. Click here for solutions to some of the most common problems.
ELEMENTARY
NEW! PK-5 Parent Guides: HISD has produced grade-by-grade guides for parents in English and Spanish that offer a detailed look at what their child should be learning and achieving in each grade level throughout the school year. The guides cover academics, social and emotional learning, parent empowerment, and important dates and tools for success. Every grade level has a guide. For elementary, there will be a total of four guides for the year, one for each nine-week period. PK-5 guides for the first nine weeks are available at www.HoustonISD.org/ParentGuides. Please consider downloading, printing, and distributing these guides to your parents at open house events, meet-the-teacher nights, or during parent-teacher conferences.
SECONDARY
NEW! Grades 6-12 Parent Guides: HISD his produced grade-by-grade guides for parents in English and Spanish that offer a detailed look at what their child should be learning and achieving in each grade level throughout the school year. The guides cover academics, social and emotional learning, college and career readiness, parent empowerment, and important dates and tools for success. Every grade level has a guide. For grades 6-12 there are two guides for the 2017-2018 school year, one for the fall semester and one for the spring. The fall semester guides are available at www.HoustonISD.org/ParentGuides. Please consider downloading, printing, and distributing these guides to your parents at open house events, meet-the-teacher nights, or during parent-teacher conferences.
Additional LIM Materials: As part of the comprehensive literacy plan, Literacy in the Middle, HISD is providing additional instructional literacy materials for the 2017-2018 school year. All campuses will continue to receive both paper and digital copies of Scholastic magazines. They will be available through the HUB, and passwords will no longer be needed. All students in grades 6-8 will have full access to Achieve 3000’s collection of non-fiction articles and tools. Training will be held on your campus in September.
DEAL OF THE WEEK: Dynamo Back to School Night August 26
