Greetings!
Greetings Strong Foundations Implementation LEA Leaders!
Welcome to a new school year! We hope you had time this summer to rest, relax, and recharge. As you begin the Strong Foundations Implementation journey, you will be collaborating with your Approved Provider (AP) to create the systems and practices that will support successful implementation. Your AP is there to coach your LEA through every step of the grant, ensuring the creation and implementation of the most impactful deliverables and professional learning experiences.
The August newsletter contains important information to support your LEA in preparation for the school year. Thank you for your commitment to excellence in education!
Warm regards,
The Strong Foundations Implementation Team
Milestones
Action Items
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PAST DUE: SFI Contact Form
- Complete the SFI Contact Form to create a roster for all participants at your LEA.
- PAST DUE: HQIM Implementation Goals and Progress Monitoring Plan
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Professional Learning and Flexible Supports
- Plan with your approved provider (Product Advisor) for the delivery of professional learning and flexible supports for district and school leaders, coaches, and teachers.
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Collaborate with Implementation Advisor
- Collaborate with your approved provider to receive support for pre-launch best practices, implementation goal setting, and planning for progress monitoring.
- Submit completed Action Plans to your approved provider (Implementation Advisor) by the date agreed upon.
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Deciding What to Teach Versus How Best to Teach Teachers use planning time to internalize high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), which already include all teacher and student materials. During internalization, teachers spend time deepening their understanding of lessons and deciding how best to teach the content. TEA Resource: Deciding What to Teach Versus How Best to Teach is a great resource that highlights the difference between internalizing with HQIM and lesson design.
Reminders and Next Steps
Upcoming SFI Surveys (August 12th, 2024)
Participants will receive communications from the Strong Foundation Implementation (SFI) Team via Qualtrics regarding quarterly survey distribution. The first survey (pre-implementation survey) for LASO Cycle II will go out on Monday, August 12th, 2024.
Survey participation is a crucial element of program success and continuous improvement of the grant, please ensure noreply@tea.texas.gov is whitelisted for all participants at your LEA/schools. Doing so prevents important SFI emails from being marked as spam and being routed to your junk folder. Read more about how to whitelist email addresses.
Reminder HQIM Learning Labs
Sign up to visit one an Innovator Learning Lab! Learning Labs provide LEAs an opportunity to visit an Innovator district to see students engaged with rigorous, grade level content in real time and learn what planning happens in the background to implement HQIM effectively. HQIM Learning Labs will be hosted in fall 2024 and spring 2025. The Innovator Website will be updated in late June with new dates and additional innovators.
Reminder Upcoming Leader Community of Practice (CoP) Opportunities
The SFI Implementation Team is excited to announce the opportunity to join a community of practice for leaders to collaborate, reflect, and share experiences. Please share Leader CoP information with other district and school leaders and register to join.
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The SFI Executive Leader CoP sessions provide collaborative learning for district executive leaders implementing HQIM. It is a platform for leaders to engage in short bouts of new learning from a featured keynote speaker, while also experiencing focused small-group discussions.
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Executive Leader CoP Sessions
- October 10, 2024, 9:00–10:30 a.m. - Communicating the Instructional Vision to Stakeholders
- January 9, 2025, 9:00–10:30 a.m. - Aligning Educator Experience, Selection, Support, and Collaboration to HQIM
- March 13, 2025, 9:00–10:30 a.m. - Focusing on Continuous Improvement and Sustaining Implementation
The SFI School Leader CoP sessions allow school and program leaders to continuously improve HQIM practices on campus while building their capacity as instructional leaders. Leaders who attend these sessions will foster resiliency in their schools as they are equipped to support the strong continued use of HQIM for students. Each session will be delivered twice to provide flexibility in the leaders’ attendance.
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School Leader CoP Sessions:
- September 17 and 19, 2024, 10:00–11:30 a.m. - Campus-Based Instructional Coherence and Instructional Management
- November 5 and 8, 2024, 10:00–11:30 a.m. - Instructional Leadership in HQIM Implementation
- February 18 and 20, 2025, 10:00–11:30 a.m. - Sustaining the Change and Synthesizing the Learning
Engagement Opportunities
We are always looking for ways to connect with our partners in the field!
From site visits, to review opportunities, to focus groups, there are numerous ways to connect with TEA and support the field of education. If you are interested in participating in an engagement opportunity, sign up by clicking the button below.
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