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Families enjoy the back-to-school festivities at Goldrick Elementary on Aug. 21.
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Supporting Our Students During a Time of Uncertainty
Dear Teachers,
As the Trump administration has announced plans to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, I know this is a scary time for many of our students and teammates.
Ending DACA is shortsighted and harmful with a negative effect on thousands of our students, families and educators.
During this time of uncertainty, I want to assure you that DPS will stand up for all our kids and our families, no matter their background, and we will continue to educate all of our DPS students, regardless of their immigration status.
DPS does not and will not collect or maintain any information about our students' immigration status; all students are welcome to attend our schools and pursue an education without fear of being separated from the communities that they have been a part of for years.
And we in DPS will continue to speak out in support of our "Dreamers" and
advocate
to the fullest extent of our abilities for the enactment into law of permanent clarity and safety for our DACA students and educators.
I urge you as educators to host open conversations with your students about immigration and social justice issues
.
We want our students to know that we
are hearing their concerns
, and our schools are the best place to have dialogue and conversations about the
m
.
Please use
this resource page
for information on facilitating these conversations in your schools.
Warm regards,
Susana
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This Week's Top 5 Things to Know
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Now Available: Illuminate Data and Assessment Platform
All district-run schools now have access to the Illuminate DnA (data and assessment) platform through the
Teacher Portal
. Illuminate's reporting capabilities allow teachers to easily view data needed to inform instruction. Data from the 2016-17 school year, including CMAS, is now available in Illuminate. For additional information, view
Illuminate FAQs
.
Note: Certain schools will have access to more supports because of their flexibility choice.
- If your school is using Illuminate for their chosen assessment platform, you will receive training and support from an ARE assessment specialist.
- All users may take online courses in Schoology: Illuminate 101 (Course code N5T9B-72HDF) or DPS Data and Reporting in Illuminate (Course code MFRCR-T6TZV). You can access Schoology through Teacher Portal.
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Review Updates to the LEAP Framework
Based on feedback, changes have been made to the LEAP (Leading Effective Academic Practice) Framework, emphasizing the importance of students using language. There have also been significant changes to the appendix.
- Click here to see the changes to the framework and appendix, including a Summary of LEAP Framework Changes.
- Click Handbooks to request a hard copy.
The following are printing errors in the hard copy version. Please note and correct accordingly:
- Page 50: The last student behavior in approaching should read "Students sometimes ..." instead of "frequently."
- Page 44: Switch the position of the last two behaviors in the student effective behaviors so "Students constructively ..." is last. This affects the accuracy of the ECE appendix.
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Core Connections Integrated Math Resources Available
Teachers at schools that have opted-in to the district-supported math curriculum, Core Connections Integrated Math, should be aware that you can now access unit tests for Units 1 and 2 in Illuminate and teacher resources in Schoology. More resources will be added throughout the year.
This curriculum allows for better integration across statistics, functions, algebra and geometry, and is aligned to the PSAT 9, PSAT 10 and SAT assessments to support our students in becoming college and career ready. This curriculum also emphasizes content literacy to support cross-disciplinary learning and supporting students in developing academic language in mathematics.
Professional learning dates have also been posted; please
view The Commons and choose Integrated Math 1 or 2 to learn more. For more information, contact
Heidi Saunders.
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SAT/PSAT Beginner Training Oct. 2, Advanced Training Oct. 4
College Board is hosting a half-day training for teachers on the SAT Suite of Assessments: SAT, PSAT10 and PSAT9. Teachers will learn reporting tools and tips to bring interactive exams from the Khan Academy SAT practice course into the classroom. Lunch and parking is provided.
The beginner training will be offered at two times: 8-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. Oct. 2. Additionally, DPS is sponsoring an advanced training Oct. 4. Please sign up here to attend trainings. For more information, contact Joanna Lilley.
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Upcoming Leadership Development Opportunities
Teacher Leaders, including Team Specialists, should complete
this template
to set leadership goals and determine professional learning needs in the next two weeks. During the Leadership Development Weeks (Oct. 9-20) and the Leadership Symposium (Nov. 11), educators will participate in engaging and meaningful professional learning, both online and in-person. Registration for October sessions will be available in September.
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