Page 2 - PPPS Pride & Progress-Spring 2017

A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT Technology at Home

Building Blocks of High-
Performing Schools - and at School
Frequent Monitoring of By Jeremie Coplin
The PTO presented a special event for parents that was
Teaching and Learning
geared around technology use. The topics for the “Tech Talk”
By Sonia Lark where Social Media, Internet Security, and Your Digital
SUPERINTENDENT Footprint. Technology is around us everywhere, from watch-
One of the aspects of a high-performing school is the es that can be placed on your belly to hear your baby's heart-
practice of frequent monitoring of teaching and learning. As beat, to depositing a check using your phone's camera. We
professional educators, it is our responsibility to work collab- live in a world where your fingerprint and passwords are just
oratively with teachers and parents to establish routines that as sacred as your social security number. However, technolo-
promote a good review of ongoing student achievement and gy isn’t an advancement if you didn't grow up with it.
data-rich collegial conversations about instructional strate- For example, parents do not think light bulbs and colored
gies used to promote academic growth. Paw Paw Schools television are advancements. Why? They grew up with that
accomplishes these tasks in a variety of ways. technology, they did not have to learn how to use either of
them, and it came natural. Now, look at the example of photo
ASSESSMENTS depositing a check. The same parent that was comfortable
• Daily classroom projects and assessments - Well- with colored televisions thinks photo depositing of a check is
designed lessons have rubrics for evaluation and these are an advancement and may not be comfortable using it. Why?
used give scores which are recorded in teachers’ gradebooks. They need to learn how to use the new technology, it is not
• Interim assessments - Our Star assessments are short natural. Let's look at millennials. Millennials have grown up
test that provide teachers with learning data. They are given with photo depositing as a way to deposit their checks. Why?
on the computer and are adaptive, which means they adjust to It is natural, no change or learning is needed. This is also the
each answer provided by a student and then become easier or case for social media, it is natural for a millennial.
harder to determine a student’s achievement level at that In this day and age data has proven if you give a 3-year-old
time. The interim assessments for early literacy, math, and a mobile device they will begin navigating it without any
reading are given three times a year. The the assessments are assistance. The iPad comes with no directions or user man-
researched to be both norm-referenced (results compared to ual, therefore, one must learn by using it. The philosophy of
thousands of peers across the country who take the test dur- learning by doing applies to most technologies today. As par-
ing the same time period) AND criterion-referenced (results ents there is no user manual on how to parent cell phones,
compared to the standards set that determine proficiency on tablets, and iPods. With that being said, we need to make sure
state assessments - MSTEP). parents lead by example.
• State Assessments - Currently MSTEP, SAT, and
SOCIAL MEDIA 101: ARTICLE
WorkKeys assessments are given once a year in the spring to • No texting while driving!
designated grade levels. • No phones/tablets at the dinner table!
RESULTS AND INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING • No phones/tablets at restaurants!
• GradeBooks - Our Synergy online gradebook system • No email or social media 13 and under
allows parents and students to see their ongoing achievement. (It is against the law)
Paying close attention to these grades helps teachers, stu- Parents, you must be allowed full access to your son or
dents and parents to work together as a team to build inter- daughter’s device/s. That means passwords to games, logins,
vention strategies when student learning gaps are deter- (Continued on page 3...)
mined.
• Star Reports - The Star results are distributed in report district are available at the website www.mischooldata.org.
forms to parents to see the progress of their student. The At Paw Paw Public Schools, the building principals and
reports are also given to teachers who meet in grade level and their teachers work collaboratively during staff meetings and
department teams to pour over data, identify learning gaps professional learning days to accomplish the important work
and trends and establish plans for the use of instructional of data analysis. By frequently monitoring teaching and
strategies to close the learning gap. learning, these professionals can support students with core
• MSTEP Reports - These reports are typically available in instruction and supplemental inter-
the summer after spring testing in finished. Student reports ventions for ON-TIME learning as
are sent to parents and the aggregate results for a school or the school year progresses. PP

2 FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT www.ppps.org P S