English Department Coordinators August 2014 CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR ENGLISH

September 5 Staff Info Sheet due by noon September 17-19 Direct Writing HAT 8 and 10 September 8-26 Teacher Evaluation Pre-Test Window Sept 22-Oct 10 NWEA Testing Window October 7 HAT Scoring at Newbridge Auditorium October 13 Staff Development at Hermitage High School—8:00-4:00 (Lunch on your own) October 15 PSAT (10, optional for 11) December 8 – 19 Benchmark Testing Window—Middle and High Schools March 2-5 Paper Writing SOL Testing Window March 9-20 Online Writing SOL Testing Window April 13-May 1 NWEA Testing Window March 21 AP Saturday Session for Glen Allen, Henrico, Highland Springs, Varina March 28 AP Saturday Session for Deep Run, Freeman, Godwin, Hermitage, Tucker May 6 (8am) AP Literature and Composition Exam May 13 (8am) AP Language and Composition Exam May 4-29 SOL Testing Window INTRODUCTION OF NEW CHAIRS

 Brookland: Kim Meyers—Reading  Elko: Monique Flowers  Fairfield: Dana Fox  Rolfe: Ryan Wenger and Sarah Combs  Short Pump: Janet Deyo  Wilder: Terri Edlow  Varina: Christine Suders

STAFF INFO SHEET

 Information Requested: o Email o Teacher Last Name o Teacher First Name o Years of teaching experience o On Cycle? o Exceptional Ed? o Room # o Schedule (Please list classes according to course title (i.e. English 10, Advanced English 6), NOT course number; Please include the teacher's room number(s) next to each class if they float)

 Remember, I need these sheets for observations—so it needs to be clear; and, I need your school’s bell schedule as well!

 Teachers can go to the link (if signed into Google Drive with their Henrico info) and enter their information at your first meeting next week. Make sure they click on the correct tab for your school: https://docs.google.com/a/henrico.k12.va.us/spreadsheets/d/1VvJH-sEcsKbBLn79uE_OLywslm- LVtrdVC7KaS0y3mw/edit?usp=sharing 2013-2014 COMMITTEES (PLEASE SEND ME NAMES BY SEPTEMBER 12TH)

 M.S. Spelling Bee Member (1 per middle school)  M.S. Forensics o Sponsor o Time-keeper o Judge—H.S. teachers wanted for judging (usually first Thursday in May)

DIRECT WRITING HATS

 HAT Date: Wednesday, September 17 and Thursday, September 18 (Make-up September 19)  Middle school results to be used as part of Specialty Center Applications  Untimed prompt  School (Principal) Choice to administer this year

 Process: o Essays will still be done on paper. (Computers are NOT an option) o Format of administration will be determined by school team o All items will be packaged by School CAR (as normal) and sent to the scoring session on Tuesday, October 7. o We will “publish” the prompts electronically to CARs and Chairs the evening before o Teacher should project/print the prompt and checklists each day of the assessment. o Teachers need to have students bubble in prompt A or B on their answer document.

 Please review the Direct Writing HAT Examiner Directions before the week of testing

 The week/days before testing: Teachers need to expose students to the type of essays they will get, the new checklists and new state rubrics-- o Teachers should project or print checklists and rubrics for students at the beginning of the week o Teachers should go over what is an effective essay in their Monday lesson. o Teachers need to visit the DOE site: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/2010/online_writing/index.shtml

 Preparing for HAT Scoring Sessions (if your school administers to whole group or have large # of specialty center applicants) o HAT Graders — Select 2 teachers for HAT Grading. o Department Chairs also need to attend! o Teachers assigned to grading session must go to my blog site to view and complete all pre-training before the Scoring session (teachers will receive 5 additional relicensure points for completing these items before-hand) o Teachers should not attend the scoring workshop without completing the training Updated-Writing Workshop Training Attachment 1: Grade 8 Writing-Score Points Attachment 2: EOC Writing–Scoring Points Pearson Training

 HAT Scoring Workshop o October 7–Newbridge Auditorium, 8:00-4:30 o Training and Leveling–8:00-10:00 . M.S.—Gillian Lambert . H.S.—Emily Stains o Coffee, water and snacks throughout the day o Lunch will be provided  Please send the names and grade level for all teachers who will be attending to Judy Farmer ([email protected]) by Friday, September 19, 2014

TEACHER EVALUATION

. All teachers must conduct growth assessments and collect data on all students in all core classes . Any activities you have done in class to enrich/assess the skills should be added to the document as proof of growth o Grades 6-8, Reading, RTI Reading . Measure 1: NWEA pre and post RIT scores (overall or specific category) . Measure 2: NWEA pre and post RIT scores (overall or specific category)  Grade 8 (additional tracking for School Improvement Sites if determined by principal) o Direct Writing Score from HAT to SOL o Grades 9-12 (regular, honors, AP, IB) . Measure 1: Annotation . Measure 2: Précis Statement or Summary Statement  Grade 10 (additional tracking for School Improvement Sites if determined by principal) o Direct Writing Score from HAT to SOL o Drama (only for those drama teachers who do not teach English/Reading or another core) . Measure One: Theatre SOL Tracking Chart . Measure Two: Student Portfolio

ENLGISH BLOG

. New look for 2014-2015 o Admin Resources o General Information o Core Resources by content/grade level o Newsletters

OCTOBER STAFF DEVELOPMENT

. October 13, 2014 . 8:30-4:00 . Hermitage High School . See handouts or blog for more details

AP SATURDAY SESSIONS

. PREP SESSION #1 - EAST END - to be attended by students from Glen Allen, Henrico, Highland Springs, and Varina o Date: Saturday, March 21, 2015 o Location: Highland Springs HS o Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 pm

. PREP SESSION#2 - WEST END - to be attended by students from Deep Run, Freeman, Godwin, Hermitage, and Tucker o Date: Saturday, March 28, 2015 o Location: Deep Run HS o Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 pm

. TEACHER INCENTIVE o Teachers who present will be paid for 8 hours and receive recertification points. o Teachers who attend but do not present will receive recertification points.

. Please have your teachers complete the teacher interest survey by clicking the link below: o AP English Teacher Commitment Survey NEW INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNERS

Q/A from Staff Development/School Improvement that was shared with your principals

Question: How will teachers and administrators receive training on the Instructional Planner?

Answer: During the summer there will be many opportunities to attend training sessions for both teachers and administrators. Ongoing support will also be provided during the school year by Specialists and ITRTs. Teacher trainings during teacher work week or you may attend:

August 22, 2014 Session 1: 8:30- 11:30 --Glen Allen High School Auditorium Session 2: 1:00- 4:00 --Glen Allen High School Auditorium

Question: Will the Instructional Planner be completed online or on paper?

Answer: The Instructional Planner will be completed online through Google Drive; therefore, building a repository of exemplar lessons to assist teachers throughout the school division.

Question: Is the Instructional Planner a daily lesson plan that must be filled out each day?

Answer: No, the Instructional Planner is a unit plan that is created for a week or two depending on the content/topic and grade level. During this smaller time frame, data collected from multiple formative assessments will assist teachers in designing differentiated instructional strategies that will provide deeper student engagement and achievement.

Question: Will each teacher have to complete an Instructional Planner for each unit that is taught?

Answer: No, during this first year of implementation, HCPS is requiring that each teacher complete ONE Instructional Planner for each marking period. Individual principals may choose to have their teachers complete additional Instructional Planners, based on student data.

Question: Can teachers work together to complete an Instructional Planner?

Answer: Yes, we encourage teachers to collaborate; however, each teacher will be required to submit an Instructional Planner (one per each marking period) that will meet the differentiated needs of his/her students.

Question: Do all teachers need to complete the Instructional Planner even if they do not have SOLs?

Answer: All teachers will be completing the Instructional Planner even if they do not have SOLs.

2013-2014 ALL HENRICO READS

. April 1, 2014, Glen Allen High School, 10:00 a.m. Featuring Tayari Jones . Stories include Silver Sparrow, The Untelling, and Leaving Atlanta . Focus on high schools (but middle schools are welcomed) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT/SOL IMPROVEMENT

. Mandatory items for Wilder, Elko, Rolfe, Fairfield, Brookland, Highland Springs H.S. . Suggested items for Byrd, Hungary Creek, Hermitage, Henrico, Varina . Create a road map (See Chart) of your plan for both writing and reading this year . Drop plan in Google Docs (English Plans of Action) by Sept. 26, 2014--Please use school name as your file name . Give students a multiple choice pre-test for writing (8th and 10th) between Sept. 8-16 to help you create starting points

NEW NAMES TO KNOW

. Jill Nogueras—Secondary Literacy coach o Assigned to Elko, Fairfield and Rolfe o Will help with resources for other school improvement sites . Kendall Hunt—Staff Development Instructor for Reading K-12 o Focus on middle schools in school improvement o Will provide staff development for school improvement sites

MEETING DATES (TIMES AND LOCATIONS TBA)

Oct 13: (After SD—Lesson Planning, Walkthroughs) Nov 17: Observations; Data; Benchmarks Dec.: Email Updates Jan 12: Benchmarks; Spelling Bee Feb 9: Writing SOL reviews Mar 16: Conference Updates; All Henrico Reads April 20: English Reading SOL reviews June (End of Year!)