We recently completed our 2nd RTI - Voyager Sweep where we tested students' comprehension and fluency. 100% of students in Gina's classroom scored "On Track". This is fantastic news, and demonstrates how effective Gina is as an educator. She made significant progress with students in her support class over a short period of time. The gains will give these students an elective class 2nd semester and we'll leverage her availability in pushing in co-teaching in an identified classroom.
We are well on our way to equipping Trailblazers with the tools they'll need to become equipped with 21st century skills. In addition to developing close reading strategies and annotating text using Newsela, there's a fantastic, free Chrome Extension called "Kami". Once loaded, this tool allows teachers and students to annotate PDF files. You can save virtually anything as a PDF and have students highlight, underline, circle, etc. using this interactive tool. Give it a try! Pretty slick!
Dana just got published on "Middleweb's" website! Congrats! Here'e the LINK. She wrote about the welcoming committee that she manages for new Trailblazers. She frequently meets with students to provide academic and emotional counseling, coordinates the career day, supervises RTI sweeps, is our 504 Coordinator, mentors a counseling intern, and oversees before/after school tutoring programs. Fantastic work Dana!
This short blog post on "Teach Thought" argues that student emotions are at the core of engagement and learning. "Begin the learning with emotion, use it throughout the process, and end there." Praising students, emptying their cup, and understanding how to tap into their emotions translates directly to memorable learning.
Cari Briggs is new to Travis this year, but she's already demonstrating the work ethic and rock-star status of a seasoned Trailblazer. She's not only tackling 3 preps this year, but completing BTSA and her Master's Degree; just enough crazy to make her part of our family!?
We all know that teachers have a profound impact on the lives of students. Who knew this could potentially translate into the creation of a blockbuster movie character (Maz Kanata) from the Star Wars franchise? See this article for more details about how the creators of the "Force Awakens" integrated qualities of their high school teacher into this new character.
