Happy New Year, fellow educators! My name is Darmecia Crane. I am proud to be a 5th grade ELA teacher at Milton Elementary Middle, as well as a Teacher Leader Advisor.
If you are like me, then you spent much of the summer and the first two months of school waiting as patiently as you could for your students' assessment results. When the results came in, I found that although my students scored significantly higher than the state and district average- results that both they and I worked very hard to achieve- I was not satisfied. I recognize that my students still have growth to make before I will feel confident that they are truly college and career ready.
As we head into the New Year, here are some ways I'm planning to take my teaching and my students to the next level:
- Take advantage of high-quality resources. The Teacher Support Toolbox is always a good place to find strong resources. I am also excited to use the forthcoming 2015-2016 Practice Tests for grades 3-8 to help me and my students understand the format and language of the assessments and to help me assess my students' understanding of specific standards. Last year, I used the practice tests as bell ringers or cold reads and plan to do the same again this year.
- Collaborate with fellow educators. We are each other's greatest resource. I encourage you to register for the January Teacher Leader Collaboration Events as well as to take advantage of opportunities to collaborate with peers in your school. My colleagues and I shared our data with each other and discussed which resources we found to be successful.
- Remember why. I teach because I love my profession. And with this simple reminder I give myself permission to have high expectations for myself and for my students, and use hurdles along the way as motivators to do even better in the future.
Being a Teacher Leader is not about always succeeding according to a specific formula; it is, however, about finding your path that leads to the most growth and learning for your students. Happy teaching!
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Register for the January Teacher Leader Collaboration Event
- January 20: Baton Rouge
- January 25: Thibodaux
- January 27: Natchitoches
- January 28: Lafayette
Sessions at the Teacher Leader Collaborations will include information on: instructional strategies for ELA, math, social studies and science, preparing for 2015-2016 end of year assessments, using data from 2014-2015 to inform instruction, and choosing the right high school pathways for LAA1 students.
Click
here
for more information about these events including session descriptions and how to register. Each meeting has a limited number of spots, which will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Register today to reserve a spot!
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2015-2016 Practice Tests
The grades 3-8 English language arts and mathematics paper practice tests will be released over the next two weeks. The mathematics paper practice tests will post to the
Practice Tests page
the week of January 11 with the ELA practice tests to follow the week of January 18. The online practice test is anticipated to remain on time, releasing at the end of January. If you have additional questions please email us at
assessment@la.gov
.
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Download the Newly Released Science Tasks
- incorporate a variety of sources for students to read,
- include rigorous writing prompts, and
- can be modified to meet the needs of the students in your classroom.
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Register for Upcoming MDC Trainings
The Math Design Collaborative (MDC) provides quality trainings for middle and high school math teachers. Sessions are led by Louisiana educators and focus on integrating high quality tasks into the curriculum, fostering rich math conversations among students, and analyzing student work.
Register
today for sessions in Bossier on February 24 and Lafayette on March 10 (new date). Contact
LouisianaTeacherLeaders@la.gov
with questions or to find out more information. Registration is free for all participants.
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Save the Date: 2016 Teacher Leader Summit
The 2016 Teacher Leader Summit will take place at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on May 31-June 3. The Department will release additional information about this event, including the sessions that will be offered and how to register, in the coming months. Stay tuned!
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*This e-mail has been sent to all nominated Louisiana Teacher Leader participants.
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