TEACH Newsletter--October 2017

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Graduation and Assessment Requirements Changes—HB 2224

OSPI has launched a new webpage with resources on ESHB 2224—High School Graduation Requirements—Assessment—Various Changes: http://www.k12.wa.us/Assessment/StateTesting/ESHB2224.aspx.  Current updates include:

Additional resources related to this assessment bill will be posted as available, so check back often.

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Arts Graduation Requirement Increase

The arts graduation requirement has increased from one (1) credit to two (2) credits beginning with students who will graduate in the Class of 2019. For more information about this requirement and other graduation requirements, please go to http://www.sbe.wa.gov/graduation.php#.VgA0Xjbn_DC.

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NEW Paraeducator Modules and Certification

OSPI recently released 12 online professional learning modules created specifically for paraeducators. Each module in the series, Paraeducators: What We Do Matters, is organized to include:

  • Video insights from experienced paraeducators, teachers, and school administrators.
  • Examples, problem-solving challenges, and best practices, specifically from the perspective of paraeducators.
  • Reflection prompts that allow you to draw on your own experience and expertise.
  • Real-world activities for applying new strategies in your school.

By September 2019, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1115 law will create three new paraeducator certificates—general paraeducator, subject area paraeducator, and advanced paraeducator—based on the requirements established by the Paraeducator Board administered by PESB.

The Pareducator Board met for the first time in September and meets again in November. A monthly PESB Paraeducator Board Newsletter will document the work, discussion, and decisions of the board. Please visit the PESB Paraeducator Board website for more information, or contact Cindy Rockholt at OSPI with questions about implementation of ESHB 1115 at cindy.rockholt@k12.wa.us.

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McCleary Bill FAQ

A Frequently Asked Questions document for Engrossed House Bill 2242, the Basic Education Funding bill, also informally known as the McCleary bill, may be found at http://k12.wa.us/SAFS/Misc/BudPrep17/ESH2242BillFAQs-v1.1.pdf.

For more information or questions, please contact Lisa Dawn-Fisher at 360-725-6111.

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90-day Listening and Learning Tour

The leadership team of the Office of System and School Improvement (OSSI) will conduct a 90-day Listening and Learning Tour of more than 25 representative schools in the fall and winter of 2017–18. This tour is to acquire an understanding of the strengths and challenges of schools in improvement to inform ESSA implementation, moving towards a more diverse and comprehensive set of services and technical support offered to districts and schools. For more information, please contact Kristen Wong Callisto at Kristen.Wongcallisto@k12.wa.us.

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Open Educational Resources (OER) Project

Open photo by Tim Mossholder | Unsplash License

We’ve moved! Explore the new digs of the OER Project website and be sure to check out the just released K2 ELA reviews of full course openly licensed materials!

Highlights include:

  • An updated OER Library with a new design, ADA compliant downloadable reviews, and just-released teacher reviews of K–2 ELA materials from Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) and Bookworms.
  • An OER 101 section with links to helpful OER development tools like a Quick start Guide to Openly Licensed Images and a Guide to Copyright and Open Licensing.
  • Suggested sites to explore for OER in all content areas.
  • A link to our Washington OER Commons Hub for reviewed and developed resources from OSPI, OER Project grantees, and collaborative groups.

Contact Barbara Soots, Open Educational Resources and Instructional Materials Program Supervisor, with questions or to inquire about an OER training in your district at 360-725-6102 or barbara.soots@k12.wa.us.

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Instructional Materials Online Guidance

The face of instructional materials is changing and so is our website guidance.

In response to the updated Course Design, Selection and Adoption of Instructional Materials model policy (WSSDA Policy and Procedure 2020), OSPI has created an online guidance section that serves a twofold purpose:

Cycle for strategy for the regular review of courses based on district needs

  1. To provide a cyclical strategy for the regular review of courses based on district needs.
  2. To provide state policies, guiding questions, useful resource links, and district examples, that will help define best practices for considering instructional materials.

We understand that many districts have already made the decision to adopt new instructional materials soon. In this case, we are creating specific Instructional Materials Adoption Toolkits. The first of these focuses on mathematics. In parallel with this toolkit, we have partnered with school districts and ESDs to offer Instructional Materials Adoption Leadership Trainings in Spokane, Vancouver, and Wenatchee. District teams collaborated with colleagues to explore resources and learning around the process of instructional materials adoption.

I enjoyed how the information was organized and shared. This is information
I needed to be able to improve in my role as math coordinator.

Instructional Materials Adoption Training participant

To discuss bringing the Math Instructional Materials Adoption Training workshop to your region, contact Anne Gallagher, Mathematics Director, or Barbara Soots, Open Educational Resources and Instructional Materials Program Supervisor, by calling 360-725-6419.

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Grant Opportunity to Increase College Readiness in English Language Arts

OSPI English Language Arts is partnering with California on an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant to increase college readiness of students. The OSPI analytics on Post Secondary Remediation show that many students still need to enroll in remedial courses in college. This grant will provide the opportunity to both increase students' college readiness in English Language Arts (ELA) and to be part of the conversation shaping the issue nationwide.

OSPI is seeking 12 Washington high schools to be part of an Investing in Innovation grant in partnership with West Ed, Fresno County Schools, and 30 California high schools. The grant will provide training, materials, coaching, and stipends for implementing and evaluating the Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC), developed collaboratively between college and K12 instructors. The curriculum involves in-depth study of rhetorical reading and writing, including informational and literary texts. Through a previous i3 grant, the ERWC demonstrated positive impacts on students’ English language arts (ELA) achievement in post-secondary courses.

In addition, the grant offers a unique opportunity for professional learning for ELA teachers and curriculum in being part of high level research and cross state collaboration.

For more information, contact Molly Berger, ELA Specialist, at molly.berger@k12.wa.us or 360-725-6070.

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Celebrate Civics!

OSPI’s Civic Education Initiative (CEI), in its fifth year, seeks to ensure that every student is provided a high-caliber civic education from kindergarten through high school graduation. Each year CEI celebrates strong civics programs from across the state at Social Studies Showcases. To join these celebrations, please contact Carol Coe, Social Studies Program Supervisor, at 360-725-6351 or email carol.coe@k12.wa.us.

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Congratulations, Social Studies Teachers!

Two extraordinary social studies teachers from Washington state have been selected to represent their peers and their profession.

Beth Doughty, a teacher at Chief Umtuch Middle School in Battle Ground School District, is Washington’s 2017 History Teacher of the Year. The award is presented annually by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, a national organization dedicated to K–12 American history education.

Steven Cross, a teacher at Marysville Getchell in Marysville School District, is Washington’s 2016–17 Social Studies Teacher of the Year. The award is presented by the Washington State Council for the Social Studies. At the time of his selection, Steven was teaching at Cedarcrest Middle School in Marysville. He is a member of OSPI’s Social Studies Cadre of Educators.

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Poetry Out Loud – 2017–18 School Registration is Now Open

Any school serving students in grades 9–12 may register to participate in the Washington State Poetry Out Loud program. The Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) joins other state arts agencies in partnering with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to support Poetry Out Loud, a poetry recitation competition that encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. For more information, please go to: http://www.arts.wa.gov/arts-in-education/poetry-out-loud/registration-and-key-dates.

Registration is open until November 17.

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Utilizing the NEW Health and Physical Education Standards in Your Teaching: An Active, Healthy Professional Development Opportunity

Educators and administrators will take a deep exploration of the new Health and Physical Education K–12 Learning Standards, participate in lessons using new learning outcomes, and reflect on how to incorporate the standards into their education practice. Educators will leave this session prepared to implement the new health and physical education standards into their classrooms and schools.

Recommended Audience: All health and physical education specialists, educators who teach PE and health with other classes, and district curriculum and instructional leaders. Six clock hours offered (free).

Register: November 29, 2017 | Educational Service District 105 (Yakima)  

Register: December 1, 2017 | Focused Fitness (Spokane Valley)  

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Sexual Health Education Resources and Training

The 2016–17 Sexual Health Curriculum Review Report is now available on the OSPI website. This interactive report, which includes results for several comprehensive curricula and two supplemental materials, describes content and consistency with state Healthy Youth Act and AIDS Omnibus Act requirements. New training opportunities and resources are also available on our website.

Upcoming Trainings (click to register)

FLASH teacher trainings:

KNOW teacher training:

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Other Learning and Teaching Updates

Check out some of the other newsletters coming from Learning and Teaching:

To subscribe to other OSPI newsletters visit http://bit.ly/OSPIsubscribe.