September 2020

In this issue:

• September Virtual Meetings
• Return to Learn: Launching Instruction Guidance Documents
• What We're Reading, Watching, and Listening To This Month

September Virtual Meetings

The monthly meetings that began back in April are going to continue throughout the 2020-2021 school year.  We hope to use the next few meetings to take a closer look at some topics related the unique start of this school year, and our goal with every meeting is to provide time for collaboration, affirmation, and discussion.  The schedule for elementary meetings, and the order in which they occur each month, is listed below.

• Reading Sufficiency - Every second Tuesday at 2 pm
  • Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 8th, 2:00-3:00 pm
  • Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/95317155583
  • Passcode: 886553
• Pre-K and Kindergarten - Every second Thursday at 3:30 pm
  • Next Meeting: Thursday, September 10th, 3:30-4:30 pm
  • Next Topic: Partnering with Caregivers and Childcare
  • Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/99239440298
  • Passcode: 952317
• Grades 3-5 - Every third Tuesday at 4:30 pm
  • Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 15th, 4:30-5:30
  • Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/99595922494
  • Passcode: 428727
• Grades 1-2 - Every fourth Tuesday at 4:30 pm
• Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 22nd, 4:30-5:30
• Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/95877148538
• Passcode: 879021

Return to Learn: Launching Instruction Guidance Documents

In August, the Curriculum and Instruction team held virtual meetings to debut the Return to Learn guidance documents for different grade bands and content areas. The Covid-19 Instructional Support page has categorized the documents by elementary, secondary, or all grades, and each document contains several sections that give resources and ideas for how to safely and creatively plan and implement instruction, both in-person and virtually.    For quicker access, links to each of the elementary guidance documents may be found here: Foundational Literacy Pre-K and Kindergarten Grades 1-2 Grades 3-5

What We're Reading, Watching, and Listening To This Month

• A beginning of the school year message from Tabatha Rosproy, Kansas preschool teacher and the first ever early childhood Nation Teacher of the Year.
• Edutopia article on 7 classroom management mistakes and the research on how to fix them.
• Talking to and Supporting Children and Ourselves During the Pandemic - a webinar from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
• The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast where Vicki David and guests discuss topics salient for educators in an easily digestible 10 minute format.  Check out her recent episode on Successful Distance Learning for Young Kids during your next lunch break.