SDE: Educator Currents Newsletter For All Oklahoma Educators

OK State Dept of Ed sent this bulletin at 04/19/2013 04:04 PM CDT

Save the date NOW for the 2013 VISION 2020 Conference for Oklahoma educators!

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear our dynamic slate of national keynote speakers present at VISION 2020, the Oklahoma State Department of Education's summer professional development conference.

The event is scheduled for July 9-11 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City and is free to all Oklahoma educators. The staff at SDE has worked hard to ensure that educators leave this conference with new ideas and tools they can take back to their school districts in the fall to create an atmosphere of innovative learning.

Keynote speakers are:

Tuesday, July 9, Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Executive Director of the Curriculum Mapping Institute and Director of Curriculum 21 Project and author of “Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World.” Dr. Hayes Jacobs will show educators in the audience how to become forward thinking as they work to transform curriculum and school designs to match the needs of 21st century learners. Teachers will leave this session ready to get back to the classroom in the fall and implement many of Dr. Jacobs’ ideas.

Wednesday, July 10, Ron Clark, New York Times Best Selling Author, Disney's American Teacher of the Year, and Founder of the Ron Clark Academy. Ron Clark brings high energy, wit and motivation to the stage as he talks about transforming learning for the students the works with – many of them inner-city, minority students from high-poverty backgrounds. Clark will inspire both teachers and administrators with creative ideas that will energize students into becoming life-long learners.

Thursday, July 11, Dr. Ryan Quinn, Visiting Assistant Professor of Organizational Leadership and Strategy in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University and Author of “Lift: Becoming a Positive Force in Any Situation.” Dr. Quinn presents scientific evidence on how true leaders LIFT people to excel and serve as a positive influence even when external factors, circumstances or situations become negative. Quality building leaders transform educational teams within a school into dynamic forces that produce high-performing students. Administrators will take away a wealth of information that will help them become a “positive force” in their school districts.

In addition to our keynote speakers, every curriculum area will have national speakers as well as state educators presenting during the more than 900 professional development sessions.

Vision 2020 offers learning opportunities for anyone from the engaged parent, the classroom teacher, counselor, librarian, technology instructor, treasurer, central office personnel, principal, school board member, district superintendent and others.

Tuesday and Wednesday are Educator-focused, while Thursday is Administrator-focused.

Online registration is available on our website along with other conference information such as hotel accommodations.

Standards Resources

The National Math and Science Initiative is providing access to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) resources. Educators have unlimited access to view and download these resources to help implement these standards in English language arts and math. Click here for the resources.

Arts Assessment Forms Due May 31

District arts assessment reporting forms are due Friday, May 31, 2013.

As stipulated by Oklahoma law, 70 O.S. § 1210.508, each school district shall administer to each student in the district in Grades 3-8 an assessment designed to assess the student in the fine arts area in which the student has received instruction. This method of assessing the arts in Oklahoma public schools has given school districts greater control and flexibility in integrating and assessing the arts in the classroom.

Click here to download the arts assessment reporting forms.

The following types of assessments may be utilized: Portfolio (PO), Performance Exam (PE), Written Exam (WE), Class Grade (CG), or Other (please specify).

If you have further questions, please contact Glen Henry at (405) 521-3034, or e-mail: Glen.Henry@sde.ok.gov.

The forms for Grades 3-8 must be completed and signed by the district superintendent. A complete set of district summary forms for all students in Grades 3-8 must be received in our office no later than Friday, May 31, 2013. Mail, fax, or e-mail to:

Glen Henry, Director of Fine Arts and Physical Education
Oklahoma State Department of Education
2500 North Lincoln Boulevard, Suite 315
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4599
Glen.henry@sde.ok.gov
Fax: (405) 522-5779

New to the SDE Website

Special Education Training

Special Education News and Updates

S.T.E.M.

General Resources

OSDE-FIRST Robotics Grant

OSU Coursework in Gifted Education Designed for Meeting National and State Standards

Oklahoma State University has a master’s degree that qualifies teachers to obtain coursework in Gifted Education for the Oklahoma Gifted Education Specialist (OGES). Currently approved to grant the endorsement, OSU coursework meets National and State Standards for teachers of gifted learners and prepares teachers to qualify for the OGES certification. Online or hybrid courses makes it possible to study at home or school. For more information, call Dr. Diane Montgomery at (405) 744-9441 or Stacey Coleman at OSU-Tulsa (918) 594-8527.

PARCC Releases Draft Grade- and Subject-Specific Performance Level Descriptors for Public Comment

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) has released the draft grade- and subject-specific performance level descriptors (PLDs) in English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics for public comment. Performance levels, sometimes referred to as “achievement levels,” are the broad, categorical levels used to report student performance on an assessment, and the PLDs further describe what that performance means.

Until May 8, 2013, the draft grade- and subject-specific PLDs are posted on the PARCC website. Interested parties can provide feedback through a survey posted on the PARCC website, answering questions specific to the PLDs for both ELA/literacy and mathematics.

All feedback will be reviewed by the state representatives and Achieve, PARCC’s project management partner. Revisions will be made accordingly. The PARCC Governing Board and Advisory Committee on College Readiness will vote on the adoption of the final PLDs during their joint session on June 26, 2013.

The draft grade- and subject-specific PLDs were informed by the College- and Career-Ready Determination Policy (CCRD) and Policy-Level Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) adopted by the PARCC Governing Board and Advisory Committee on College Readiness (ACCR), which established five performance levels for the PARCC assessments.

The policy-level PLDs included policy claims that describe the educational implications for students who attain a particular performance level on the PARCC assessments, as well as general content claims, which describe in broad terms the knowledge, skills, and practices students performing at a given performance level are able to demonstrate at any grade level.

These new draft grade- and subject-specific PLDs further articulate the knowledge, skills, and practices that students performing at a given level should be able to demonstrate in each content area at each grade level to be on-track for college and career readiness.

“I encourage all Oklahoma educators interested in reviewing the PARCC PLDs to do so. It is so very important that our state has a voice in the process of creating next generation assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards,” State Superintendent Janet Barresi said. “The information teachers receive from assessments must indicate if students are performing at a level indicating they will succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing courses in institutions of higher learning or in the workforce.”

“The draft PLDs are a collaborative product of K-12 and higher education content experts from across the PARCC states. An innovative approach was used to develop the PLDs,” said Dr. Maridyth McBee, Assistant State Superintendent for Accountability and Assessment at the State Department of Education, who helped lead the development of the PLDs. “We eagerly anticipate the comments made by the public so that we can refine the PLDs.”

Superintendent Barresi said, “I want to commend Dr. McBee, and her team of Oklahoma educators who are working on this PARCC project. They have worked hard to assure that these assessments are of the highest quality and yield productive information so Oklahoma teachers can be effective in the classroom.”

Working with McBee are Joyce DeFehr, Sonya Fitzgerald, Judy Godwin, Josh Flores, Sara Snodgrass and Levi Patrick from both the Office of Instruction and Accountability and Assessment departments.

For more information, FAQs or to view the PLDs, visit http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-assessment-policies.

Century Chest to be Opened Monday, April 22

To the History Classes Across Oklahoma;

The First Lutheran Church, 1300 N. Robinson, Oklahoma City, buried a Century Chest on April 22, 1913, which will be opened on April 22, 2013, at the church. The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is assisting in the removal and preservation of the Chest and its contents. Go to the OHS website, www.okhistory.org to explore the historical significance of the Chest and its items. Also, look for upcoming events involving the Chest that was left by the pioneers of Oklahoma in 1913 as gifts to the members of the church in 2013.

OETA will be live streaming the opening of the Century Chest opening on April 22, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. This link: http://jwplayer.onenet.net/OETA/OETALIVE.html will be live on Monday.

Editor's Note: Below is a column shared by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, written for Oklahoma’s Year of Mentoring.

Mission Mentoring: How One Community Mobilized to Mentor Students in Need
By Rocky Burchfield, Superintendent, Fairview Public Schools

A few years ago, I was invited, as the superintendent of Fairview Public Schools, to attend a school musical produced by fourth-graders in my district. At the end of the show, many of the kids had parents proudly march down front to hug and congratulate them. But there was a large number – more than 25 percent – of the students who had no family or special adults there to cheer them on. They were visibly disappointed, and I was heart-broken for them.

On my six-mile drive home, I thought we must do more to give kids the love and support they really needed. Two community members had previously approached me about the needs of so many children in our district. We wanted to do more to increase student achievement and decrease the dropout rate. With a population of 2,500 people and nearly 700 students in the school system, how could we best meet the needs of children in our community?

Our research led to the development of Mission Mentors, a mentoring program for first through 12th-grade students in Fairview. In 2010, a board of directors was formed to oversee the community-led effort. They dreamed big and spent many hours working up a plan, developing paperwork, talking with citizens about the students’ needs and recruiting volunteers. Prospective mentors were screened with an OSBI (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation) background check and matched with students based on common interests.

For grades one through six, mentoring takes place in the school. For grades, six through 12, mentoring is community-based. Mentors commit to spend an hour a week with their mentees and participate in a variety of activities, including school work, sports, crafts, games and enjoying the outdoors.

The program is funded through private donations from individuals and businesses throughout the community. A fundraiser dinner is held before a football game every year and raises the bulk of the money. The funding supports the salary for one part-time employee; insurance; and an end-of-the-year banquet for mentors, among other activities.

Now in its third year, the program serves 85 students with the help of 85 amazing volunteers. Teachers can attest to the improvement in self-esteem, confidence, attendance and academic achievement. The program continues to grow, improve and make a difference in the lives of so many of our students.

Our success stories have attracted other communities to explore mentoring. One example is 91-year-old Geraldine Burns, an icon of Fairview and 1987 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, who was matched in 2011 to Heather, a second-grader. The moment they met, Heather looked at Ms. Burns and said, “I think you’re beautiful.” They fell in love, and the rest is history. Ms. Burns mentors Heather at school several times a week and even invites her and her three siblings over regularly for dinner and movies. When Ms. Burns applied to be a mentor, she said she wanted to volunteer because she “still had a lot to give.” She does a great job with Heather, whose grades are improving.

Mission Mentors has an additional goal of helping other communities establish mentoring programs. There are too many good people in Oklahoma and too many needy kids to not experience the “Power of an Hour.” For any school district or community leaders interested in starting their own mentor program, please visit our website at www.missionmentors.com or contact match support coordinator Randi Lackey at (580) 744-1402. The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and its David and Molly Boren Mentoring Initiative also offer training and resources for new and developing mentoring programs. For information visit www.okmentors.org or contact Beverly Woodrome at (405) 236-0006.

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