AIA Developments and Updates

Representatives from AIA

Brian Bolitho, Denise Doser and Michele Staples shared the latest information on AIA changes and fielded a wide range of question and concerns about the topics presented.

 

Changes announced include:

• ·         Modification to divisions based on sports
• ·         Centralized venues for AIA events to control costs and increase revenue
• ·         AIA concession management to re-direct revenues
• ·         Re-allotting the number of teams in playoffs on a percentage basis instead of a fixed number basis

Bolitho reviewed the proposed classification formula that is currently under design by consultants. In addition to enrollment, free- and reduced-meal percentages and MaxPreps four-year rankings history will be considered. The intent is to stabilize the divisions and reduce movement. The appeals process for promotion and relegation will remain.

 

A multi-year timeline was presented for placement and scheduling was reviewed.

 

Staples explained the requirements and rules for having an athletic trainer or qualified medical professional, or QMP, on site for regular season and AIA post-season events. Several attendees expressed concerns regarding the needed liability insurance and difficulty of identifying a QMP in rural areas.

 

After reviewing the AIA 2013 financial loses and review, Doser handed out a 2014-15 Service Charge Grid that outlined additional fees district will incur.

 

The final topic was the announcement that AIA has recognized robotics as an activity and will establish a state robotics championship.

Attendees left the session with lots of new information that generated a number of unanswered questions.

Helen Hollands
Mesa Public Schools

Breaking STEM Barriers Through Blended Learning Approach

Denise Birdwell

Higley Unified School District shared how to break through the barriers to provide an exciting STEM blended learning model. The district believes there should be no one set path when you start talking about technology for blended learning. It does not matter whether you start with one teacher, or one school; it is worth the journey. Don’t let obstacles, like money, stand in the way.

Blended classroom teachers say they don’t not use paper. Innovation in classrooms has been happening for years, some programs go away and some stay around. Technology is here to stay. It is important for the leader of the class to be comfortable with technology. Higley Elementary District utilized educators who were leaders in technology to pave the way for others.

National Board Certified Teacher Nancy Foote from Higley never planned to use technology, but now it is an everyday part of her classroom. She began using teaching videos in the early 2000s. As a test to see if they worked, she divided her students into two groups, video and textbook. She tested them and found 83 percent of video students mastered the topic vs. 71 percent of the textbook students. Her videos allow students to revisit lessons, and allow her to reflect on what works, what doesn't work, and to make changes. Students may speed up or slow down lessons to set their own pace. Her message in a nutshell:  Educators must ignite the curiosity in children.

Kyrene students use technology in the classroom every day. Through professional development, teachers learn to create new experiences that empower and engage children.

The district has teamed the Instructional Technology manager with curriculum specialists to address the needs of all learners and effectively integrate technology into the curriculum. The district implemented a 1-to-1 environment, where each student has access to a computing device whenever and wherever they need it.  This initiative is in two schools, and will continue to expand.

Mindy Blake

Amphitheater Public Schools

Parents Improve Your Grammar in Minutes

Dr. Phillips leading participants in grammar dance

Dr. Wanda Phillips grew up “in the hills of Pennsylvania,” with parents who “spoke the worst grammar you could ever know.” But with dozens of years of teaching and 28 books published on the topic, she is now an expert in teaching grammar to students, parents and teachers.

She presented a brief overview of her methods to participants in a Friday breakout session.

Dr. Phillips offers “grammar camp” free to parents in school districts across Arizona, she said.

“If I can come do a camp for you, they start correcting their children. Therefore, you have a better chance of those children learning to speak properly,” she told attendees.

She walked attendees through a lesson on irregular and regular verbs: “An irregular verb does not add ‘ed’ to the past and the past participle form. Use ‘has, have, or had’ with the past participle.”

“Parents who use irregular verbs incorrectly teach that to their children,” she said. “That kindergartner has had 5 years to learn it incorrectly and then they expect you to fix it.”

Dr. Phillips then dove into another lesson: adverbs. She included a handout to share with teachers.

“If it is an action verb, and you’re telling how, you must use ‘well.’ You may be a good cook, but you ‘cook well,’” she said. “I write well. I think well.”

Lessons need to be cyclical, taught and retaught. They can and should use song, movement and rhyme.

“In order to really succeed, we need to put a movement to it,” she said. “By then, they have mastered it.”

To teach direct objects, Phillips suggested throwing a ball across the room.

“I threw a ball. What’s the object? The ball,” she said.

Grammar lessons need to cover nouns, pronouns, compounds, subjects, verbs and more.

“We want children to speak using correct English at the automatic level. That’s the first thing that comes to the mind,” she said.

Her grammar camps include an assessment for parents, one she gave to audience members.

“Why is this so important? If children do not use the correct past participle form, it will affect their writing and teaching and people will judge you on your communication,” she said. “People assume you cannot learn. We can change every child’s vernacular to improve their options in life.”

Michelle Reese
Higley Unified School District

21st Century Collaborative Network

Dr. Gail Pletnick

Dysart Unified School District’s 21^st Century Collaborative Network is a framework of “Your CaLL,” peer mentors, 21^st Century specialists and tech specialists that empower all district staff members to contribute to Dysart’s College and Career Ready Graduate.

“Your CaLL” stands for Community as Leaders and Learners, in which any eligible employee can propose projects in lieu of the standard professional learning opportunities.  Projects are designed to build capacity and increase intrinsic motivation for professional learning while resulting in a product that can be replicated elsewhere in the district. The 21^st Century Specialists partner with schools in project teams to support specific needs within a school site in an effort to improve instruction, culture, and the integration of the collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking using technology.

A sampling of projects included Realign and Redesign Art through Technology, Flipped Classroom-Chemistry, and Simplifying I.T.; classified staff projects included customer service, communication development, and efficiency improvements; and a sampling of administrators projects were community outreach projects, recruitment and retention of staff, and culture/morale.

Dysart is building a community of learners and leaders through the collaboration of all employees.

Linda Jeffries
Alhambra Elementary School District

Feed Your Students: Increase Your Scores

Chad Ostrom

Chase Ostrom, principal of Sunridge Elementary and Dr. Desiree Castillo, principal of Santa Maria Middle School, both in the Fowler Elementary District, provided an overview of the benefits Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) can bring to schools. Studies have shown that eating breakfast at school has a positive impact on student outcome with a significant impact in testing, discipline and attendance.

Just as the name implies, students eat breakfast in the classroom at the beginning of the day or during morning break. Breakfast can be either hot or cold, depending on the school’s facilities. Students can stop by the cafeteria and pick up their breakfast in grab ‘n’ go bags before heading to class or carts can deliver the meals to classrooms.

Ostrom and Castillo outlined strategies attendees can take to effortlessly sustain a breakfast program, including a list of suggested items to ease implementation. With a partnership between the classroom teachers, custodial team and food service, a BIC program can greatly enhance the school experience for students. 

Danielle Airey
Peoria Unified School District

 

  

Impacts of the Four-day School Week

Bryan Lords

Rachel Savage, Superintendent, Melissa Ellico, business manager, Justan Rice, director of special services, and Bryan Lords, principal, discussed using a four-day school week in order to overcome budgetary shortfalls and minimize cuts to programs and positions. The team discusses what they have learned over the last six years.

 Challenges included:

• During the last hour of longer days students became restless and disengaged
• Studies show this model may negatively impact students from low-income neighborhoods or special needs students
• Childcare for working parents
•  Increased training for teachers in order to adapt to the four-day model 

Benefits included:

• Improvement of staff and student attendance
• Budgetary savings with daily operations
• Budgetary savings with staff salaries going from 40 hours to 32 hour work week
• Positive impact on staff morale and job satisfaction

The team shared a PowerPoint presentation with the positive and negative data from budgetary savings, attendance for staff and students, academic achievement, stakeholder perceptions, and athletic and extra curricular activities. For more information regarding the data gathered, contact Bryan Lords at blords@wusd2.org

Emily Broome

Isaac School District #5

Concho Bucks

Billie Bell

Concho Elementary District Superintendent Leon Buttler is stoked.  “The Concho Bucks Distribution Program is a full-fledged economic system in school tied to academic growth. There are points for family involvement. We now have 70 to 80 percent family involvement in family functions.”

Program elements, where incentives are used to reward students for appropriate behaviors supporting school-wide behavioral expectations have increased student attendance, decreased student behavior problems, demonstrated a positive influence on student grade-point averages including test scores, enhanced parental involvement and community involvement. This approach has resulted in an overall positive impact on the school environment.

Although Concho, is a community of 1,750 residents, Buttler firmly believes its Concho Bucks—Learn to Earn Distribution Program could be used anywhere, not just in rural areas. Watermarked and bar-coded, students have the opportunity to earn bonus pay for academic growth points, as well as participate in lay-away by bundling Concho Bucks to teach students to save and, just as important, learn to delay self gratification. For example, Concho Board President Mary Mills said, “The preschoolers bought iPads with Concho Bucks.”

Character education and drop-out prevention funds, gifts and donations, community events profits, Prop 301 monies and Student Success Funds are the program’s funding sources.

Mary Cummings

PR Consultant