October 2006 ES Agenda Compilation
ES Specific Info:
We had questions about the system of checking the service
POs “done” once the family had started attending classes. We all thought the
We were told by attending intake ESs
that receiving ESs have to go in and check the
student agreement created at intake and make sure it reflects the classes the
student really needs to take. The
intake ES does her best with the information she has at the meeting but receiving
ESs need to assess materials’ levels (a-g, basic) and
course needs once they know the student better.
Collecting
Materials- ESs asked if there could be a room at the
centers for older materials that could be used while waiting for ordered
materials to come. ESs have materials at home but are reluctant to turn them in
if
they will just be sent to IEM. Our
students should not be given obsolete materials from our school. It would
be helpful if returning families saved the new materials that are purchased for
the centers, for those students that are new that do not have enough funding
for their educational needs. Hopefully, the ESs have usable materials to bring to the centers. If they do, ESs should separate their materials/books by the 1998 cut
off date; old stuff 1997 and before can be boxed and Lori Freeman can go
through them to check for any that might still be good for use; all
materials/books 1998 and later will be shelved for other’s. Please take your
items to either the Ceres or the
Is it possible for the check stub to be broken down more in the Stipend area. ESs that do more than one thing, especially one time duties, have no way to track that they have been paid for specific duties as pay is lumped under one heading (StipendCert1190). Payroll has been great when asked to send a breakdown but this has to be requested every month. Response from Payroll: We do track them separately in Quickbooks but I am not having any success in figuring out how to put the info on the paystub. I will keep trying.
Some
ESs said they have trouble marking math standards in
an informed way. after some discussion, the group
agreed that they'd like an explanation of the standards for pre-algebra and
algebra; perhaps putting them in layman's terms with samples of what a problem
would look like that addresses a particular standard. Good Suggestion!
Educational Info:
-After hearing about using the “drop out” form for those
students receiving a Certificate of Completion, the question was raised: do we
do all the other graduation paperwork for those students? Yes, so that we can show that the student has completed all graduation
requirements except for the CAHSEE.
-One concern about the Holt materials for English: The answer keys for just the grammar section
are quite expensive (around $100). One
ES wondered if the school could purchase one answer key for each learning
center that could be used as a reference for parents. Good
suggestion. Lori Freeman will work on making a set available at each learning
center for onsite reference.
- Are recorders considered a consumable item since they are
put into someone’s mouth and can’t really be well-sanitized? Is there a policy on that? We have never considered the question.
Germs usually have a short life span and the recorder can be cleaned as well as
any other wind instrument, so should not be considered consumable.
If the student materials are delayed in arriving due to
circumstances beyond our control, what can be done for the students trying to
complete a-g classes in an abbreviated time frame? (ie:
books don’t arrive until mid-October even though they were ordered in early
August) It doesn’t seem fair to the student to have to double their work load
in order to complete the course because of something that happened with their
order. The ES should check out a book
from the
Suggestion for February All ES meeting: Can we have demos on
all the various on-line programs we are offering now? All of us at our meeting were feeling
overwhelmed and not sure which ones are better than others. The vendors for K12, Odysseyware,
and Global Student Network should have tables and be on hand for questions from
parents and ESs at the February meeting.
Will Institute for Excellence in Writing be doing another in-service/workshop for ESs and/or parents?
There is not one
planned at this time, but your request has been noted by administration.
Clarification
regarding the Writing Prompts:
-Does the rubric need to be attached to the sample?- no
-Who specifically scores them (for ex. Does it have to be the ES every time or if the parent wants to try it or work collaboratively with the ES, is this acceptable?)- the ES and/or the parent
-Can 2 of the samples be “the” English samples and the other
two placed in back of portfolio?- the
two writing samples may be the Reading/Writing Growth Area samples and the
other two writing samples are kept by the ES in the students file.
-If we can use an alternate sample (for ex. The prompts from Sara Jefferson or the Holt A-g writing assignments) do they have to keep with the assigned genres? No, you do not have to keep with the assigned genres.
Nicenet/Elluminate Comments:
–We have four students in our area using the program and they are all loving it. They are in Avis Minger’s English class and find her style very engaging. Avis’ perspective as a teacher was that it is still a “work in progress”, but she is finding more and more things she can do with the students.
- ESs said it has good possibilities, needs a few things worked out. Some students don’t take the responsibility to log on to the classes, some don’t have access-foothill kids, dial up kids (too slow), some students don’t like it because they are used to just book learning and think it is an extra step, may not be a good option for at risk kids, they might do better with an at home tutor. Things to do to help situation- one ES said the training session was helpful, give the kids the flyer so they can follow along step by step to sign up, show them how to paste the class key.
-Some problems with getting started: unreliable computers/connections; no headsets; how to actually log in; lack of parent interest
-Students working with HQT online need to be self-directed in order to be successful since meeting only once a month. This arrangement is probably not appropriate for students who need lots of help/instruction.
-Please clarify one more time the truancy question regarding HQT attendance. (Question from last month’s compilation: HQT- Is a truancy charged for missed sessions of Elluminate or Nicenet classes? No
-ESs liked the fact that students could log-in from home, and see and hear the instructions.
-An ES suggested it would be very helpful if AESS ESs could have an account of their own to “meet” with their
AESS kids. They thought was that it would be much easier to help with
math problems then trying to explain them over the phone between
meetings. Also thought that they could give online
assessments to more than one student at the same time. Also
thought more ESs would be willing to take more AESS
if they could “meet” with their AESS students using Elluminate in place of some
face-to-face meetings. Wonderful suggestion!
The goal is to use this technology extensively in the coming years. This is
only the beginning!
Curriculum Options for those enrolling late in the
year:
-Use on-line sites for worksheets and teaching ideas for new parents who don’t have their materials. www.worksheets.com or www.enchantedlearning.com
-History/Science- take a look at the standards- choose one to research- use the library or the internet-
-Pick a president or world event to research and submit a biography or summary.
-Accelerated Reader program is a great way to get the kids reading right away. The books can be found at most libraries.
-Networking with the area group works well also. Email your AF and have her send out an email to the group requesting materials to be used for a particular grade level.
-Starline Press since it is less expensive than other curriculum options
-Spectrum workbooks from Rainbow Resource and Saddleback
-Literature based units as there are a lot of novels at the learning centers.
-Research based projects
-Web scavenger hunts
-Essays
-Petition families with unused instructional funds
-Assign research projects covering contemporary issues
Example: One ES assigns a research project on the
- Give assignments using standards for ideas
Example: Grade 10 history: List the principles of the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights (1689), the American Declaration of Independence (1776), the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789), and the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791).
-Give informal placement tests found in teaching resource books and online
Here are a couple of good sites:
http://www.writersdigest.com/writingprompts.asp?goto=closead
http://www.geocities.com/jhwayne/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/narr.html
http://jc-schools.net/write/prompts.html
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/index.html
Writing Curriculum:
-Institute for Excellence in Writing- DVD program by Andrew Pudwea, he teaches workshops in the area occasionally.
-Holt- Elements
-Glencoe’s Write Choice
-Saddleback’s Step up to Writing
-Write Shop
-Write Hand
-Write Guide
-Oak Meadow (not aligned, but excellent program)
-Draw Write Now
-McDougall-Littell’s correlated history and literature texts
-Read Write Think.org
-Learning Experience Approach (LEA) for Kindergarten, 1st
-Write At Home- on line workshop or semester class with a project for the week, teacher gives feedback on their paper, kids like the feedback, they need to be able to type in their papers, goes through high school.
-Use the CST teaching guide for CA writing in a group, grade each other using the rubrics.
Writing Strands
For the test use Spectrum or other test prep booklets to learn format.
-Have students write a Blog, or use MySpace, or other chat rooms for homeschoolers. There is peer pressure to write well when your peers are reading it.
-Doing a google search for writing prompts for any grade level (“writing prompt grade 5”) will bring up a wide variety of interesting topics.
-8 Kinds of Writing with the Number 8 by Walsh-junior high to high school-includes prompt, graphic organizers, etc.-found at Rainbow Resource
-
-Teresa Matranga’s Writing Class
-Write Guide-fast instructor feedback and improved writing
-Holt’s website-interactive essays available
-
-Flat
-Scavenger Hunt found on-line requiring writing and thinking
-Responses to Literature
-Journaling
-Writing for Excellence-interactive CD Rom
-Many families are using standards aligned curriculum which covers standards driven writing strategies and tests based on standards.
-One ES has unit studies for several books including The Chosen, The Giver and Romeo and Juliet She also had an excellent suggestion about using debate for its various language components – research and comprehension, persuasive and expository writing, oral presentation, critical thinking, specialized and/or descriptive vocabulary and grammar and essay skills.
-Another ES works a lot with creative narratives for writing with her AESS students. She has her own rubric and uses separate criteria to evaluate work for content and mechanics.
-A third uses units based on composition, literature and grammar components. She uses various combinations to cover all three area, for examples:
Writer’s Choice (chapters on grammar and composition) with literature units from Saddleback
Holt Literature and Language with a separate source for grammar
“The Write Guide”, an online writing tutorial, Easy Grammar, novels and novel studies
-ES’s discussed the difficulty in obtaining an accurate writing assessment through STAR at grades 2,3,5,6,8,9 since the assessment is only made up of multiple choice questions. Most writing curriculum (including all of the above recommended curriculum) does not test the child’s writing progress through a series of multiple choice questions, therefore, alternate test prep in the area of writing conventions, etc. will be needed at other grade levels to show success in STAR testing at these grade levels.
Ideas for At Risk students-
- tutoring, AESS, ROP classes, Measuring Up text
-ALEKS- Online Math course. $32 a year and now has CAHSEE Math Prep course. aleks.com
-Nutshell Math- Cher Silva told us about Nutshell Math, an online program that is in process for being approved. It costs $72 a year and she felt it was a great program. Parents are paying for it now, until it is approved.
-Personal Professor- Online classes. Previous classes are archived for student viewing.