Florence Unified School District #1
June 2011 Board Report
Amy Vierling, Director of Differentiated Instruction
TRIAGE/ELL
· Observations of TRIAGE/ELL teachers are completed. Will continue to assist TRIAGE/ELL teachers as needed and requested throughout the 2011-2012 school year.
Gifted Cluster
· Observations of the gifted cluster teachers are completed. Will continue to assist gifted cluster teachers as needed and requested throughout the 2011-2012 school year.
· Gifted cluster teachers completed differentiated learning plans and submitted them to site contacts, site administrators, and the Director of Differentiated Instruction. A copy was to be placed in the students’ cum files before teacher checkout. The final round of gifted testing is complete at all sites. Written notification of testing results has been sent to parents via standard mail. Students who qualified for gifted services will be placed in a gifted cluster classroom for the 2011-2012 school year.
BEST (Beginning Educator Support Team for K-12 Educators)
· The BEST program for the 2011-2012 school year will be known as the TIPS program (Teacher Induction Program and Support). The TIPS program is a new educator teacher induction program. It is exclusive to educators who have no prior teaching experience. However, if a principal desires that an experienced teacher be part of the program, exceptions will be made.
· Mentors and mentees are being currently being paired up by principals and the Director of Differentiated Instruction. Decisions of these relationships are based on school site and grade level or subject.
· The Director of Differentiated Instruction will continue responsibilities for meeting and supervising TIPS mentors. The new Director of Curriculum will be responsible for meeting and supervising TIPS mentees for the upcoming school year. The first TIPS training for mentees and mentors will be held on July 14, 2011 at Poston Butte High School.
ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces) Math Curricular Software Program
· All ALEKS site coordinators are supervised by the Director of Differentiated Instruction.
· Collaboration between the Director of Differentiated Instruction and ALEKS representatives for next year’s trainings and the future purchase of ALEKS is ongoing.
· The first training for ALEKS coordinators will be held on July 15 at Poston Butte High School. The ALEKS representative will be leading the training along with the Director of Differentiated Instruction.
Professional Development/Additional Projects
· The Director of Differentiated Instruction is currently working on the professional development catalog for the FUSD Kids First! Academy. Trainings will be offered based on data collected via an online survey that was conducted in May.
· Plans for 2011-2012 New Teacher Academy are ongoing. The New Teacher Academy will be held at Poston Butte High School. New teachers will attend site based trainings on July 11 and a bus tour of the district in the afternoon of July 11. District based trainings will be held from July 12-July 14. New teachers will return to their individual sites for trainings on July 15. Training topics include, Beyond Textbooks, Higher Order Thinking Skills, Balanced Math and Literacy, The Teaching Edge, Technology, Special Education, and much more.