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| Alison Arams (above right) is a second-year drama teacher at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College. |
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Teacher Feature:
Alison Arams and the Power of Student Voice
As a student who struggled in school and had challenges at home that impacted her confidence, Alison Arams found a creative outlet through theater. "Theater is a space where you get to be your true self, make things happen and be successful," she said.
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"MLK is special. We feel like a family."
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Ali, as she likes to be called, is in her second year teaching drama at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College. She always wanted to teach: "I remember having an amazing first-grade teacher and that helped me realize teaching was something I wanted to do."
Ali is excited that she has been able to combine two things she loves -- theater and teaching -- into a fulfilling career: "I dealt with my own hardship by bringing others together and bringing them happiness. Through theater and teaching, I have the ability to be a leader and create a positive space for others."
Contributing to that positive space is the culture at MLK, a 6-12 school in Far Northeast Denver
: "This is a special place where there is a real sense of family. The teachers here care so much about the kids, we have fun with our students and maintain good relationships with them. There are a lot of mentoring relationships that have been established between the teachers and students."
"Kids need to know they matter and that they have a voice"
Ali recognizes having strong relationships with students as critical to the teaching process. For Ali, the
student perception survey (SPS) has been a really valuable tool in helping identify areas where she can better connect with her students. "At the end of the day, kids need to be able to trust their teachers, know they matter and that they have a voice." The SPS is administered once per year in the fall to students in grades 3 through 12, and is one of the multiple measures used in the
LEAP growth and performance system to determine a teacher's effectiveness.
Last year, Ali examined her SPS results to look for trends or things that surprised her and then wrote a reflection. One of the things she recalled was, "My English language learner (ELL) students said the class what not challenging enough, while my non-ELL students said it was too challenging -- that was perplexing to me, but it helped me adjust my instruction and try to better differentiate my lessons."
Ali's students are currently working on a production of a modern-day retelling of the Wizard of Oz.
"It is important to give kids a chance to voice those things that are important to them and experience what they can relate to," she said. "We talk about our DPS Shared Core Value of Students First and what it's about."
When not teaching, serving students and families in rural Tanzania
When she is not teaching, Ali finds other avenues of fulfillment.
She lived in rural Tanzania for a year and has spent the last several summers there as part of the World Teacher program. In the area where she works, there are severe hunger issues. Working with a board of parents and teachers, Ali has helped design an agricultural model for breakfast and lunch in a local school that includes a sustainable maize farm. She intends to return this summer to help plan for and raise needed funding for a sesame crop.
Ali loves spending her time doing things she finds meaningful, whether teaching here or abroad: "MLK is special. From the kids to the teachers, we maintain strong relationships and really support each other. We feel like a family and that's what keeps you going."
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Teacher Leadership & Collaboration
Apply for a 2017-18 Teacher Leadership & Collaboration Role
DPS teachers are able to apply for in-building DPS roles -- including Teacher Leadership & Collaboration (TLC) roles -- before those positions are available to external applicants. First, use this document to determine your eligibility. Then, visit the DPS job board and use the search codes: TLC, TLCseniorteamlead, TLCteamlead, TLCregionalteamspecialist, TLCteamspecialist or TLCnewteacherambassador. Select your current school to see available roles. Roles can be posted by schools at any time so check the job board frequently for updated listings. Candidates looking for roles outside of their buildings can be selected after Feb. 22.
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Updated Immigration Rights FAQs for Families; More to Come
We have heard from a number of educators concerned about the impact of the recent travel ban on our students, families and communities. To assist with questions you may be receiving, we have updated our Immigration Rights FAQ in
English
and
Spanish
.This includes answers to questions such as:
Q: What should DPS employees do if they get a request for information about a student from a federal immigration official?
A: The DPS employee should not provide any information and should immediately refer the individual to the DPS Office of General Counsel, 720-423-3309.
Q: What should a DPS employee do if an immigration official tries to come on to school grounds or asks to interview a student?
A: Immediately contact DPS Safety, 720-423-3911, and the DPS Office of General Counsel, 720-423-3309.
Please understand this is a rapidly changing situation and we anticipate releasing additional guidance in the next week or two. If you have questions, requests for assistance or need additional communications support, let us know at
[email protected].
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Negotiations Update from Feb. 6 Bargaining Session
Topics this week: LEAP, benefits and retention bonuses for teachers at schools in transition
Benefits
We presented
our proposal
to address a concern we've heard from you -- our benefit costs are too high, particularly for employees with children. We are proposing a change to the practice of paying employees a benefits allowance (or flex dollars) even when they do not sign up for a district health plan. DPS now pays $22 million a year to employees that don't take DPS benefits.The change would apply to new employees only
; current employees would experience no changes to their benefits allowance. Our commitment is to use the money saved to reduce benefits premiums for all employees. For next year, this would mean benefit plans that cover children would be $100 cheaper per month.This change would put us in line with other districts such as Cherry Creek, which began phasing out its benefits allowance for those who don't sign up for the district health care plan in 2006.
Retention Bonuses/Closure Stipend
We have made it clear that we are committed to providing retention bonuses for teachers at Amesse and Greenlee, and a closure stipend for teachers at Gilpin. We want to honor the commitment of those educators who stay with our students and recognize the additional challenges that staying may bring. For teachers at Amesse and Greenlee, where new programs will begin in fall 2018, we are committed to providing a $1,500 retention bonus for staying through the 2017-18 school year. For teachers at Gilpin, which will close after the current school year, we are committed to providing a $1,000 retention bonus for staying through the end of the year. Negotiations continue, but we want to make it clear these amounts will be available. Read our latest proposal.
LEAP - Leading Effective Academic Performance
We were excited to start discussing how we can improve LEAP, our teacher growth and performance system. DPS first proposed including LEAP procedures in our master agreement in August 2015, and we are eager to discuss what guarantees we can provide teachers in our contract. We know we can't make the gains we need for our kids without providing you, our teachers, with the supports you need to grow as educators.
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Nominate an Exceptional Para for a Full-Ride Scholarship
Do you work with rock star paraprofessionals? Are they interested in completing a degree to become a DPS teacher? DPS is committed to providing opportunities for paraprofessionals to grow their careers and become classroom teachers. That's why we're offering full scholarship opportunities so incredible paraprofessionals can finish their college degrees while continuing to work with our kids in classrooms. DPS has partnered with Guild Education and Western Governors University, the nonprofit, fully-accredited college ranked No. 1 by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). The application deadline is March 10, so nominate a paraprofessional you work with for a scholarship today at www.guildeducation.com/nominate.
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Review Updates to Grade 4, Unit 7 Bridges Content
Teachers should be aware of updates that have been made to the Bridges Grade 4, Unit 7 content. Updated materials will be shipped to school sites between Feb. 21 and Mar. 3. The following resources have been updated:
- Grade 4 Assessment Guide binder:
- pages 11-18 (Assessment Map in Section 2)
- pages 39-46 (Section 6 in whole)
- pages 153-175 (Bridges Unit 7 assessment section in whole)
- Grade 4 Unit 7 binder:
- All of the intro, Module 1, and Module 2 are replaced; the replacement consists of 85 sheets.
- Unit 7 Module 4 Session 4 is replaced; the replacement consists of 2 sheets (pages 17-20).
- Unit 7 Module 4 Session 4 Teacher Masters T5 and T6 are replaced (1 sheet, pages T5-T6).
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Professional Learning and Resources
Join the DPS Peer Learning Community on Schoology
The Peer Learning Community group on Schoology is for DPS teachers only and is dedicated to helping you share ideas and meaningfully collaborate with your peers across the district. Are you the only one teaching your content in your building? Do you need fresh ideas for planning and instruction? Need another pair of eyes to look over student work?
Group Members will be able to:
- Post videos of lessons, best practice and/or professional reflection for peer feedback
- Engage in collegial discussions around best instructional practices
- Post student work, lesson plans or assessments for peer feedback
- Share ideas and resources
Take Advantage of Discounted Spanish Classes
Are you interested in learning Spanish to better communicate with students, parents and the community? Fluency Fast is offering discounted Spanish classes for DPS faculty and staff.
If you have completed the Beginning Spanish course, you can receive $249 off the Beginning-High and Intermediate courses if you register for both at the same time. Enter code DPSSave249 at checkout. New attendees can save $160 if registering for all three classes with code DPSSave160.
Are you preparing for the Spanish Language Proficiency exam? Email
[email protected] if you are interested in attending a $149 prep course in March. Register
here. If you have questions, call 719-633-6000.
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