On Thursday October 18, teachers and staff at Silvergate Elementary received professional development around using data to support the whole child. They engaged in rich discussion around why data is important, what areas should be monitored, and how to use the data to support and strengthen their Tier 1 instruction for academics, behavior, and socio-emotional learning. They looked at the continuum of assessments that can be utilized throughout the year: formative, benchmark and summative data. Teachers charted the assessments that they currently use at each grade level and across the school to determine students' strengths and areas of need. Some of these included observations, surveys, and subject specific tests. To strengthen Tier 1 practices, teachers began to examine things such as differentiation and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). They had opportunity to look at the differences between accommodations, modifications, and interventions as well as diving into what it means to be culturally responsive in teaching the diverse population of students that walk into our classrooms each day.
Students from Chesterton Elementary spent a day at Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet experiencing what it is like to be part of a STEAM magnet school. The fifth graders had the opportunity to meet with Principal Stephanie Brown who gave them a preview of the programs and experiences that await them at Montgomery. As part of their day, the Chesterton group toured the school stepping into the newly designed Siemen’s Genius Lab to watch as Montgomery engineers crafted designs using the new FUSE program. They also worked in the outdoor garden learning lab and spent time in the maker space building zip-lines that were later tested in the courtyard.
The visit by Chesterton students is part of Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet’s outreach to its neighborhood feeder schools throughout October and November. Fifth graders from Carson Elementary STEAM Magnet, Linda Vista STEAM Magnet School, Fletcher Elementary and Ross Elementary will visit the campus to experience the day as a STEAM middle school student.
At the end of each visit, fifth graders pose for a picture with Monty Wolf, Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet’s school mascot.
On Wednesday, October 17th the Children and Youth in Transition Team (CYT) presented a trauma informed practices presentation to about 150 Hoover High School staff members. The professional development training “Trauma and the Brain” is one of a series of fours presentations that the CYT department offers. The presentation focuses on building awareness and shared understanding of trauma. It also highlights how trauma affects the brain, health, cognitive development and behavior of our students. One Hoover Educator commented, “I’ve seen a variety of presentations on the topic, but I think that was one of the best.” Hoover High School is one of seven schools in San Diego Unified who have participated in the training in the 18-19 school year thus far. Interested schools should contact the CYT department to sign up for trainings.
Mira Mesa High School Automotive program was awarded $55,000 with a Clean Fuels Transportation Grant from the California Energy Commission. Only a few schools throughout the state were selected to be part of this process. The project includes the complete construction of a Zero Emissions Electric Vehicle to be hand-built by the students. On Wednesday Oct 17th, The California Energy Commission visited Mira Mesa High School and presented an award to the students in recognition of their cutting edge project. The Automotive Paint and Body students at Morse High School will also take part of this project as they will be responsible for the painting of the chassis and body panels.
Shushu Crevoshay, the ASB President of La Jolla High School, and Jerry Yang, the ASB President of Scripps Ranch High School, recently served as San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Student Board Representatives. The students joined the Board Members on the dais and provided reports about what has been happening at their schools both socially and academically.
Madison High School Football Coach Rick Jackson guided the Warhawks to a victory over St. Augustine in a game that had been suspended Friday night because of lightening.
Students representing the Student Equity Ambassadors, GSA Collaborative, Council of ASB Presidents, Wellness Ambassadors, Clubs & Organizations and Athletics came together to identify student equity topics that they would like to focus on for this school year. The students worked together to create visions, brainstorm and select topics, and take some time getting to know one another. Their work will be put into action at November's Student Equity Coalition at Clairemont High School. It is going to be a wonderful year with these students leading the way!
Educators and staff from Edison Elementary are partaking in a school-wide professional development series centering around Trauma Informed Care. Yesterday the Office of Children and Youth in Transition delivered the second part of the 3-part series on The Trauma Informed Classroom to the staff and educators at Edison Elementary during their staff meeting.
This professional development picks up where the first presentation (Trauma and the Brain) left off. The main goal of the training is to outline what it means to be trauma informed and how incorporating this mindset shift in the fabric of the school culture positively impacts students and staff members alike. The educators learn various strategies and are empowered to create their own trauma informed practices to incorporate and employ within their school climate. This paradigm shift incorporates social-emotional learning into classroom curriculums and the results are energizing and truly rewarding for everyone involved in the education field and the school’s culture.
For more information on how to include or provide the district’s 3-part Trauma Informed Care series at your site or for your staff, please contact your Children and Youth in Transition support counselor.
Many excited Crawford Colt students sat for the ASVAB Career Exploration Program assessment last week. These students have demonstrated a serious interest in their post high school future by taking this opportunity. When they receive their results, they will know if they qualify for entrance into the United States military and they will be provided results from an award-winning career exploration program. The results from the ASVAB assessment provide them with a complete profile of their strengths and abilities, and how they relate to specific military and CIVILIAN jobs. We are very proud of our Crawford Colt students who are actively taking steps to ensure they have meaningful options upon graduation. GO COLTS!
Parents, staff and community members are invited to join our students at the 2018-19 Student Equity Coalition events. The students plan to lead conversations around school safety, civic engagement and opportunities and other areas that they feel are important. The first Coalition is being held on Wednesday, November 7th at Clairemont High School, the second Coalition is being held on Thursday, December 13th at Patrick Henry High School and the third Coalition is being held on Wednesday, February 6th at Morse High School. All Coalitions are scheduled from 5:00-6:30pm. For more information, contact Stacey Seiders at sseiders@sandi.net or 619-725-7125.
There are so many fantastic ways to incorporate learning resources into the 21st century history-social science classroom. More and more teachers are engaging students in reading, writing, listening, and speaking as historians. Historians travel to new places, meet new people and conduct interviews, research through reading primary and secondary sources, and report out in a variety of ways: in their own writing, through interviews, presentations, videos, and firsthand experiences.
While most history-social science teachers see a need for engaging their students in meaningful ways, finding new resources and taking time to learn how to use them requires teachers to go outside their classrooms and comfort zones. In the last two weeks, nearly 50 middle school history-social science teachers took time out of their classrooms to engage in professional learning that enabled them to network with other SDUSD grade-level content area teachers and put themselves in their students’ shoes to experience learning activities from free resources such as California Education and the Environment Initiative Curriculum and the History Blueprint, a project funded by the California History-Social Science Project. They were able to step out of the student role and put their teacher lenses on to debrief the lessons and discuss ways they may help their students successfully complete the learning activities. Students are sure to find new ways and new materials to generate new interpretations of the old history.
In the future we will all need to go back to working with our hands. That or at least knowing how to run the machines that will rule the world. We can now 3D print a home, robots can drive semi-trailer trucks and bus can be automated. If we can prepare students today to work with machines to innovate creative scientific solutions to everyday problems they might be prepared for the inevitable technological future. Teachers from San Diego Unified gathered to understand how to integrate their Genius Labs into their science curriculums. Not everything may get automated, but are you willing to sit back and let the technology go unlearned?
In the 11th grade classes at Kearny Digital Media and Design, students are currently engaged in a unit of study where they are learning about the context of the 1960s in preparation for their grade level project with the volunteers aboard the USS Midway. They have been researching and making connections in each of their project classes: examining the scientific context in Physics, learning about “Civil Disobedience” in American Literature, and applying design skills to the topics in their multimedia production class. This week they continued to synthesize their learning through the production of a Zine, a magazine in a one-page format that pulls the ideas together in one place. At this point in production, students are building background knowledge, synthesizing ideas, developing proficiency in literacy standards, and learning industry standard software, all preparing them for success in both their project and academic experiences.
Students from Chesterton Elementary spent a day at Montgomery Middle STEAM Magnet experiencing what it is like to be part of a STEAM magnet school. The fifth graders had the opportunity to meet with Principal Stephanie Brown who gave them a preview of the programs and experiences that await them at Montgomery. As part of their day, the Chesterton group toured the school stepping into the newly designed Siemen’s Genius Lab to watch as Montgomery engineers crafted designs using the new FUSE program. They also worked in the outdoor garden learning lab and spent time in the maker space building zip-lines that were later tested in the courtyard.
