I M P O R T A N T D A T E S

May 1: 4th grade Language Arts PD 8:45-11:45 am in the PDC

3rd grade Language Arts PD 12:30-3:30 pm in the PDC

May 8: Curriculum Ad Staff 9:30-11:30 am in the special ed. conference room

May 13: Geometry & Algebra II PD 8:00-3:00 in the PDC

May 15: 6th grade Language Arts PD 8:30-11:30 am in the PDC

5th grade Language Arts PD 12:30-3:30 pm in the PDC

May 21: District reading support meeting 12:30-3:00 pm

May 23: Professional development

May 26: No school

May 29: 1st grade Language Arts PD 8:45-11:45 am in the PDC

2nd grade Language Arts PD 12:30-3:30 pm in the PDC

H A R T L A N D C O N S O L I D A T E D S C H O O L S

C U R R I C U L U M N E W S L E T T E R May 2014

Laurie Mayes

Assistant Superintendent

810-626-2112

Chuck Hughes

Assistant Superintendent

810-626-2114

Renee Braden

Administrative Assistant

810-626-2107

SRI WINDOW

SPRING: 3/3/14—5/23/14

(HS required)

DISTRICT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SCHEDULE FOR MAY 23rd

AM SCHEDULE

Department / Grade Level PLCs K-12 8:00 to 9:50 am @ buildings

Principals

School Improvement Plan Work K-12 10:00 to 12:00 am @ buildings

Principals

HS/MS Counselors Program Visits 8:00 to 3:00 pm

Chuck Hughes

PM SCHEDULE

Grade Level 2014-15 Prep Meetings 1:00 to 3:00 pm @ buildings

Principals

Hartland Consolidated School students had their artwork on display at the Howell Opera House.

The creativity that goes into these pieces is absolutely phenomenal.

Page 2 C U R R I C U L U M N E W S L E T T E R May

Congratulations

2014 Recognized

Green Schools Once again, all of the HCS schools were

recognized as Michigan Green Schools.

This is a wonderful accomplishment if you

consider that each year the buildings have to

reapply for this recognition. This exemplifies the

consistency by students, staff, and the

district with which we continue to modify

practices and procedures to ensure that we remain

aware of our environmental footprint.

Evergreen Status

Hartland High School and Lakes Elementary

Emerald Status

Farms Intermediate and Hartland Middle School

Green Status

Creekside Elementary, Round Elementary,

Village Elementary and the Hartland Educational

Support Services Center

"More testing does not make

children smarter.

More testing does not

reduce achievement gaps.

More testing does nothing

to address poverty and racial

isolation, which are the root

causes of low academic

achievement.

More testing will, however,

undermine the creative spirit,

the innovative spirit, and the

entrepreneurial spirit that has

made our economy and our

society successful.

Used wisely, to identify

student-learning problems,

testing can be useful to

teachers. But testing should

be used diagnostically,

not to hand out rewards or

punishments".

Diane Ravitch, Reign of Error, page 73

(Thank you Steve Livingway for sharing this quote)

http://commoncore.fcoe.org/sites/commoncore.fcoe.org/files/resources/FCOE_TechSkills_Flowchart_2012.pdf This site provides key digital literacy and technology skills needed to support what students are asked to do within the Common Core State Standards. Teachers across content areas are always asking how they can support students with our move to these new standards. Here is one way!

http://commoncore.fcoe.org/subject/administration Open this link and take a look at potential state assessment questions if the legislators adopt Smarter Balanced Assessments for Common Core State Standards.

https://www.graphite.org/standards/common-core This site houses an easy to use cross reference application to help educators, parents, and students find digital resources to support specific common core standards for math and English language arts.

Thank you Michele Dale-Cannaert for your help in locating some of these sites.

C U R R I C U L U M N E W S L E T T E R May Page 3

During the past two years teachers from all grade

levels have been engaged in the work of realigning our

current math curriculum to the Common Core Math

Standards (CCMS). They started by cross-walking the

grade level and high school content

expectations (GLCEs and HSCEs) with the CCMS and

then created progression of learning charts for each

grade level. They followed this up by learning about

the alternative assessments that the state is

considering for measuring student understanding of

these standards and how Webb’s Depth of Knowledge

(DOK) plays into the higher order thinking expecta-

tions of these standards. The bulk of their work has

been centered on realigning the district curriculum

documents and common assessments while attaching

the standards being assessed and at what DOK level.

At this point in their work the kindergarten team

has designed a skill checklist for each future unit of

study. First and second grade teachers have drafted

some units of study within the curriculum documents

and assessments. These teachers are in the process

of discussing how to best pace instruction. Third and

fourth grade teachers have completed draft

curriculum documents along with some common

assessments and are working on linking the CCMS and

DOK levels to each assessment item. Fifth and sixth

grade teachers completed some draft curriculum

documents for units of study and assessments that go

along with them. The seventh and eight grade

teachers have also completed some draft curriculum

documents and have realigned many of the common

assessments. The bulk of the Algebra, Geometry, and

Algebra II teacher work is geared toward incorporating

more DOK level 3 and 4 items into their teaching and

assessment practices.

Second grade teachers Lynn Luck, Lisa Villar, Erin Your and Jennifer Hull ponder their work

on realigning the math curriculum and assessments for roll out in 2015-16.

First Grade Teachers Doreen Avenall, Nicole Mitchell, Pat Single, Katy Butzier, Christine

Griffon, and Lisa Hatfield work on realigning the 1st grade math curriculum and assessments.

C U R R I C U L U M N E W S L E T T E R Page 4 May

Web links worth checking out:

http://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/ngss/files/EQuIP Rubric for Science %26 Response Form_Finalv1.pdf

This is a link to the Next Generation Science Standards Rubric for Units of Study and Lesson Design.

http://www.readworks.org/physical-science-passages?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=042214 Physical Science EST

Physical Science passages for teaching reading comprehension. Will need to create a free account. http://map.mathshell.org/materials/index.php

MAP project math lessons that support the Common Core Standards and Math Practices in grades 7-12.

2014-15 TENTATIVE STATE ASSESSMENTS

AND CALENDAR ANNOUNCED BY MDE

The MDE has provided some tentative guidance to school districts in anticipation of replacing the

MEAP/MME with an alternative assessment. Please note that this information is subject to change as the

process moves through the state legislature.

Spring 2015 Tentative Assessments

Smarter Balanced Assessments : English Language Arts and Math

Michigan Assessments: Science and Social Studies

Dynamic Learning Maps: For students with significant cognitive disabilities

WIDA: English Language Learners

Note: The legislators approved moving forward with the Common Core State Standards for ELA and

Math. This same legislative body is currently debating the approval of an assessment tool for measuring

student achievement and growth.

Tentative State Assessment Testing Windows

Grades 5 and 8 April 13, 2015 - May 1, 2015

Grades 4 and 7 April 27, 2015 - May 15, 2015

Grades 3 and 6 May 18, 2015 - June 5, 2015

Grade 11 April 13, 2015 - June 5, 2015

Grade 11 ACT TBD

Grade 11 Work Keys TBD

C U R R I C U L U M N E W S L E T T E R May Page 5

It is that time of year when we have to ask ourselves, “What did I do to demon-strate leadership in my profession as an educator?” The school year is coming to a close and we naturally feel a need to reflect on the role we played throughout the year to get our students and school to where they are today. How To Thrive As A Teacher Leader, by John G. Gabriel, ASCD (2005) is a wonderful book that shares insights into the world of profession-al leadership. Qualities such as leading by example, honesty, being ethical, organization, the ability to influence peers toward reaching a prescribed goal and the ability to analyze data toward meeting benchmarks are discussed and elaborated.

One thought that I gravitated to was, “your feelings have no place in a memo; never state that you were upset or disap-pointed by something the recipient has done.” I think this strikes me because I can recall moments during my leadership voyage when I did this and things did not always turn out as I had hoped. I have learned that when I am disappointed or concerned I need to engage in dialog with

those with whom I am upset. The author shares how leadership requires the ability to acknowledge when things have not gone as planned so that adjustments can be made in a timely and efficient fashion.

The author shares experiences and advice on how to make yourself invaluable to the school organization in order to best prepare for effectively filling official leadership roles within the school setting. One of my favorite pieces of advice was, “a good general rule of thumb is never let your administrator be blindsided.” So often I have witnessed individuals who could have avoided issues had they simply picked up the phone, called their supervi-sor, and shared that something may have gone wrong. Ultimately, “leading during a period of success is relatively easy. It is how we deal with adversity, challenges, and change that shows our mettle – or if there is inconsistency between what we preach and what we practice” (p. 80).

If you are interested in reading this book, it is available in the curriculum office.

by Chuck Hughes

“How To Thrive As A Teacher Leader”