SCHOOL DISTRICT OF SHEBOYGAN FALLS
220 AMHERST AVENUE
Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin 53085
Mary M. Lofy, Director of InstructionE:
Board of Education Update – October 28, 2013
Implementation of Professional Learning Communities
--Embrace “Learning” rather than “Teaching” as the fundamental purpose of our District.
As referenced in last month’s report, all K-12 Teachers and Education Specialists are in taking part in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for the 2013-14 school year in order to further their professional learning. When considering their PLC topic and group members, staff were expected to consider knowledge, collaboration and impact.
PLCs for 2013-14
A list of the topics and PLC members is listed below. It should be noted that staff were encouraged to find members outside of their usual work teams, and group size was determined by the members of the community.
K-2 Writing Curriculum
Cindy Ausloos, Cheri Pieters, Sandy Rotter, Carrie Schaefer, Gina Schibur
STEAM
Lindsay Aykens, Lori Schwab, Roy Schwab
Reading Strategies – Comprehension
Nicole Bohman
iPad Inquiry
Michelle Dawson, Laura Gustin, Nancy Mathieu, Tom Oetjen, Tami Rooker
Technology in the Classroom
Dana Dunton, Jill Floryance, Rachel Houwers, Kim Kamke, Roberta Nack, Kathy Nemecek, Lori Schad, Jodi Wagner
RtI – Research-Based Interventions
Erin Brown, Stacy Dippel, Lisa Drehmel, Erika Gould, Marisa Kluth, Mickey Krueger, Mary Beth Pritchard, Margie Reiter, Christy Richardson, Melanie Salzman
Music Curriculum – Developing SLOs
Sally Haines, Kerrie Levenduski, Bill Born, Carrie Winkler, Becky Charbonneau, Derek Beekhuizen
Tribes Talk Implementation in the Classroom
Kathy Ehrhardt, Nancy Jones, Hedda Hiles, Shawn Schliewe, Angela Bougher, Megan Risse
Community-based Art
Rocky Hoes, Andrea Andersen
Phy Ed Assessment – Collaboration with Sheboygan County Districts
Paul Houwers, Doug Johnson, and Sheboygan County elementary PE Teachers
Social/Emotional Development of 3-8 Year Olds
Sandy Kluz, Nancy Pfankuch, Kristin Vogel, Katie Webster, Liz Miller, Krystin Kruschke
Incorporating Technology to Enhance Parent Communication
Kayla Schmitz, Sharee Sense, Diane Miles, Tammy Scharrer, Judy Wolf, Kim Zimmer, Gina Koene
Project-Based Learning
Greg Schneider, Dan Winter
Math – Differentiated Instruction
Amber Large, Megan Onesti
Autism Academy
ES: Lisa Wisse, Sheila Kloepping, Erin Higgins
MS: Linda Henry, Jodie VanDixhorn, Carol Harpold, Karen Schircel
CTE Standards & Post-Secondary Investigation
Josh Loppnow, Vickie Meyer, Diana Woodworth
Communication between Spanish Learners and Native Speakers
Laura Dell, Stacie Simons
Exploring Community Resources
Patrick Uselding, Brittne Stanke, Nikki Humski, Bill Van Dyk
Scaffolding the Research Project
Justin Moore, Becky Bartels, Katie Meyer, Jenny Kronas, Bernadette Stahlkopf
Connecting the Community through Project-Based Learning
Matt Janus, Mark Thompson, Andy Jagow
Thematic Approaches to Social Studies Curriculum
Jamie Flagstad, Amanda Roethle
Integration of Soft Skills
Jason Peters, Collin Kachel, Ryan Fladvid
NGSS through Inquiry-based Projects
Tammy Huenink & science teacher from Howards Grove
Parent/Family Involvement in a 4K Program
Cassie Adelman, Sarah Eiring, Evan Perkovich
Investigation in Engineering Academies
Ed Hughes & Community Partners
Investigation of CTE Standards
Bruce Brunner & area Agriculture Teachers
Best Practices for Utilizing an Enhancement Period
Dale Kaster, Deb Wehrman, Dee Todd, Mason White
Integration of Technology & other Resources to create a more Student-directed Classroom
Mike Nikson, Marlee Clark, Brad Hoffmann, Deb Hasler, Brian Berlin, Sue Caine, John Henney
Research Evidence-based Practice Guidelines
Casie Schulz, Mark Bohman, Lori McCabe, JulieAnn Jarentowski, Laura Fiorini
Techonology and Assessment in Secondary PE
Matt Pfister, Cindy Dorn
Using Student Fitness Data
Jen Traas, Chuck Baranek, Deb Federer
Strategies for Parents to use at Home to Support Learning
Renee Moldenhauer, Doriann Meicher
CCSS ELA - Collaboration, Project-based, Self-directed Learning
Koreen Meyer, Anne Powers
Technology Integration for Social Studies Units
Karen Marx
CCSS Math: Integrating Technology and “Big Ideas” Math
Tammy Ison, Dick Bemis, Vickie Udelhoven, Brad Traas, Jake Frohling
Sue Hepp, Barb Pups
CCSS ELA: Improving Writing Skills
Laurie Haag, Karen Wodach, JulieAnn Jarentowski, Juliana Flavin
PLC Feedback
Teachers and Ed Specialists were asked for feedback mid-October. Below is a list of their responses.
We have enjoyed being able to work on things that are important to us as teachers in growing as professionals rather than having Wednesday's that might not have as much importance/value to our growth.
Teachers have really appreciated being able to choose a group that fits what they really want to learn more about. They also feel the trust that administration has given to allow them to work without having to report back each meeting time. One negative I'm starting to hear is that the teams have less time to work together; this is probably something the ES teachers are noticing more because Wednesday is their only group time.
The time Wednesday allotted to PLCs for wonderful. So far, I've enjoyed the way this has been organized, it makes sense to me, and gives teachers the time and space needed to learn and collaborate.
I have enjoyed the PLC time. I think it is interesting how it was something that I didn't even realize I needed, but now since I have the time it has allowed for collaboration on more projects. It has also allowed conversation to happen that generally didn't happen before or only happened with the people you were used to seeing.
Our PLC is going very well. During the 4th week of September we met with eight other teachers from surrounding school districts. This was a great 90 minute meeting that was used to collaborate and share ideas. I did a follow up e-mail with all the teachers that participated and they were completely satisfied with what went on. At our next PLC meeting we are going to again share lessons and talk about different ways of that we assess students. I believe that this PLC is very valuable to our profession. A member stated that our first meeting was better than any PE conference he had ever been to.
Our PLC choose to explore ways utilize iPads in our classroom for both student and teacher usage. The iPad is portable and easy to use and ignites students' motivation for learning. We have been meeting on a frequent basis to share our discoveries of ways to implement the iPads. Barry has helped us teach our classes how to create, share, and use Google documents. The students are very excited when we use the iPads. We are continuing to meet as a PLC to find new ways to use the iPads to reduce paper, record data, and improve student learning. The introduction of iPads has been very positive for both teachers and students.
The Professional Learning Community experience for the Sheboygan Falls Middle School teachers has supported our growth in using a common language for instruction. The time to debrief on our self-selected topics based on our book studies and investigations continues to promote consistency in the high quality of instruction that we deliver in meeting the Common Core Standards. We appreciate the time to collaborate as professional educators in meeting the wide-range of students' needs.
We are studying best practices, scope and sequence for teaching good research skills. We have thus far examined "A Suggested Scaffolding of Research Skills"(from Texas Education Agency) and will be reviewing several articles as well as the curriculum "The Big 6 Skills" (Eisenberg and Berkowitz). The Big6 is described as a "process model of how people of all ages solve an information problem.”
So far our PLC created an outline of what community resources we would like to focus on each month. We decided that for November we are going to come prepared to our meeting with our current resources and some research related to those.Also, we are going to spend time in November contacting different resources in order to receive information about what kind of holiday help they offer. The information has been shared and will be distributed to families.
We are thankful for the opportunity to select our own focus of professional learning, as well as the trust given that we will use the dedicated time in ways that will benefit our not only our own professional growth, but also will benefit our entire school community. As educators, we often have numerous areas we'd like to explore, as well as colleagues we'd like to collaborate with more often, however with limited time to do so. The opportunity for us to form our own PLC team, partnered with the time to work together toward our focused goal, is exactly what we need.
My PLC person is from a different district so we have been meeting in the evening and normally working for 2+ hours each time. With our focus on NGSS we are looking at the progression from 5th to MS and how what she teaches leads to what I teach. Then we have been looking at materials that we both can use for lessons to help incorporate NGSS. This process is helping us both understand the standards better.