CWCS March 2008 ES Agenda

Please read the agenda, along with each of its links (all links available in ES Manual for future reference).

The agenda quiz must be completed in your F.R.E.D. by 3:00 pm the day before the ES meeting.

 

CWCS Goals:

Improve student achievement in reading and writing

Improve student achievement in mathematics

Improve STAR attendance to 100 %

 

1) Dates to Remember and Dated Duties

 

a) March 3, 2008^: CAHSEE English Prep Course begins.

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b) March 4^th (March 5^th for makeups at some test sites): The STAR Writing test for 4^th and 7^th grade students. Testing begins at 10 EXCEPT at San Jose where it begins at Noon, and Oakland at 12:30. STAR Writing Tips.

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c) March 4, 2008: The CWCS Open House and Science Fair. Let your parents and students know about the Performers, Displays and Science Projects Needed! All ESes are encouraged to attend. If you will be attending, please email snelson@connectingwaters.org. Wear your new CWCS Name Tags, and if desired, your CWCS shirts.

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d) March 10, 2008: Please enter the Post High School graduation plans for each of your high school students in FRED using the information collected from the Graduation Requirements Agreement.. To enter the information, go to Student Detail, and click on "graduation" on the right hand side.

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e) March 11^th & 12^th: CAHSEE (available to potential graduates only). 12th grade students may only take the test 3 times, and 11th graders may only take it two times a year. 12th graders who have taken the exam two times already, should be encouraged to take the test in May so that they can have more time to prepare. 11th graders (potential grads) must take it in March and must pass in order to participate in the graduation ceremony.

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f) March 14, 2008: ESes must inform students about summer school.

The Summer School ’08 Policies, Procedures, and Information have been posted to the ES manual.

Note: ESes are required to inform their students about summer school by March 14, 2008, and the request form must be received by the office by Friday April 18, 2008.

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g) March 14, 2008: Last date to check out curriculum library items. Please share the Curriculum Library News with your parents.

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h) March 24, 2008: STAR Testing Begins: Remember to call your families before testing to make sure they know where and when to go.

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i) April 7, 2008: CAHSEE Math Course begins

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j) April 18, 2008: PO and IF Transfer Requests Cut off : April 18^th is the “F.R.E.D” Cut-off date for entering POs using this school year’s funding. ESes may need to give their parents a sooner cut off date to allow time to enter the information. All IF Transfer Requests must also be received by this date. Please check your budgets now to be sure that all of your accounts are in the black by that date.

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k) May Graduates: Reminder Dates for May Graduates:

(If you haven't done so already, remember to administer the Post-Scantron to each of your graduates. This may be done anytime prior to the end of the school year for 12th graders as they will not be using their scores to help them prepare for STAR..)

April 18, 2008- submit 2nd semester estimated grades

April 25, 2008- submit Graduation Packet to ES advisor as described in Graduation Packet Paperwork. Please note that the ES is now asked to enter in FRED the student name as it will appear on the diploma.

-E-mail stuassign@connectingwaters.org with a list of the names and student numbers of your planned drops and/or grads so that you can be assigned prospectives for next year.

Graduation Ceremony Information: Please show your potential grads the following Graduation News.

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l) April 22, 2008: WASC Visitation

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m) May 6^th & 7^th: CAHSEE for 10, 11, and 12^th graders. All 10th grade students that didn't test in February MUST test in May... no exceptions.

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n) Monday, August 18, 2008: Fall All ES Meeting. Mark your calendars now for this mandatory all-day meeting! There will be a two-day all ES meeting in February of next year.

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2) Things to Do

a) Portfolios Due

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b) Academic Probation for 2009: As stated in the August ES Agenda: The enrollment contract and academic probation policy will affect all new enrollees this school year (07/08), and all high school students beginning next school year (08/09). Please inform any families that this may potentially affect at this time so that they may strive to improve their grades and STAR scores this year in an effort to prevent being in academic probation next year.

Please have any continuing high school student sign the enrollment contract when they sign their student agreements for next year. Place the contract in your student's files (do not mail it in to the office). A change was made to the form that includes a section for a parent and a student to sign if a student is placed on academic probation after the form is initially signed. The ES should keep the form in the student file so that this section can be used if needed.

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c) Additional Funding: This information regarding additional funding was sent on the ES Listserve. Please contact Sherri Nelson as directed if interested. (Additional note, the low STAR funding has been depleted.)

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d) 2009 Student Count: -Now is the time to start thinking about your student count for next year. If you would like to increase your student count, e-mail your advisor. If you would like to drop your student count, e-mail stuassign@connectingwaters.org

-Any Grads or Drops? Please e-mail stuassign@connectingwaters.org with a list of the names and student numbers of your planned drops and/or grads so that you can be assigned prospectives for next year.

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e) ES Checkout Paperwork in F.R.E.D. Just a reminder, since there isn’t an April Agenda. To find your ES Checkout Paperwork, Go to "View" ES Detail, and click on the button on the bottom left that says "Print ES Checkout". This button will prompt your computer to print two pages. You will need to "OK" both print windows. Please staple the two pages together when you turn them in for checkout in May.

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f) Student Placement Recommendations: IT has developed a new process for the Guidance Department to enter newly enrolled high school students' placement recommendations. When you receive an email that you have a new high school student, you may view the Guidance Department's Placement Recommendations by going to the Student Detail, clicking on the Graduation button, and then the Placement Recommendation button. This form will be blank for any currently enrolled HS students, but will be filled out for any new enrollees starting February 20, 2008.

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g) CWCS March Newsletter

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h) CWCS 2009 Calendar: Our calendar is currently being developed. We are planning to have our first day of school as 8/13/08, and the last day as 5/15/09. Please share these dates with your parents.

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i) WorldStrides Washington DC Trip: Changes for Washington DC trip!  In trying to get a larger group, the trip has been postponed until Spring Break 2009.  New registration packets are available for ESs to give to interested families of 8 – 11^th graders.  Fundraising packets will also be available at Open House and at the parent informational meeting (Date TBA).

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3) Training Items

a) Spring and Summer PO Requests: The Spring and Summer PO Requests document has been revised and updated.

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b) Summer School: Please read the Summer School info carefully as there are duties to be done by both the regular and the summer school ESes.

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c) Fall Student Agreements and Assessment Confirmation forms will be signed after STAR testing. We would like all Student Agreements mailed to the IEM Office by May 12th. Please understand that we do not expect you to plan an extra meeting in order to meet the deadline. Late Reports will be run on May 14th as a courtesy reminder.

DO NOT COMPLETE STUDENT AGREEMENTS AND ASSESSMENT CONFIRMATION FORMS WITH YOUR STUDENTS UNTIL AFTER THEY HAVE COMPLETED ALL DAYS OF THEIR STAR TESTING AS THEY MAY NOT BE RETURNING NEXT YEAR IF THEY ARE DROPPED DUE TO TRUANCY. According to the Truancy Policy, students that miss testing days, learning record meetings, etc.are dropped when they miss two school appointments..

-If you have a student that you feel may not be suited for Independent Study or one that is a high school student that is not working towards completing 25 credits this semester (late enrollees are the exception), contact your Advisor before discussing enrollment for next year. Please contact your advisor by March 30^th.

(Remember to have ALL high school students sign the Enrollment Contract and place it in your student's files.)

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d) Employment for 2008 School Year: We are already making plans for next year. If your position as an ES is not working out for you and you will not be returning next year, please notify the Executive Director as soon as possible. If this is your part-time job and you have another full time position, please remember that you will be required to work your equitable share of testing days (min. of 4 days) and attend 3 days of all ES meetings next year.

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e) HQT Tentative Fall Schedule: A tentative Fall 08/09 calendar has been created. The calendar is color coded for subjects. See bottom of page for more info. The lists with Classes and Texts per subject will be available mid-March.

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f) ES Attendance/ IEPs: Please note, according to the ES Job Description, Essential Duties and Responsibilities, an ES is responsible for: "Attending IEP and other required meetings for assigned students." This must be done either in person or on the telephone.

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g) Last Learning Record meeting: Remember, all LR meetings must be face to face. The end of the school year can be difficult, so one possible way to meet all of your families at the end of the year for the last LR meeting is to schedule an end of the year “park day” where all of your families join together for a day at the park, or come to see you at a library or local public location. The 2nd to last learning record of the year can be used to view all current work and project ahead to what the student will be accomplishing over the next learning period. The last learning record can be typed beforehand, and then all that needs to be done at the last learning record meeting is review the work to see that it matches what was projected, and sign and collect the rollsheets. This date must not be prior to the last day of school. If this sounds like a possibility for you, you may want to plan ahead so your families will know about your “park day”! 

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h) Contract Programs: The following (italicized to show the addition) has been added to the Contract Programs Policy. “A PO may be submitted for up to 18 weeks worth of service (one full semester only), unless there is a special "year long" price, and the family has enough funding to cover that expense. (Businesses may bill monthly or wait until the end of the services to bill.) Be sure to include the correct unit/quantity so that the total amount will be listed on the PO. (i.e. if the PO is listed by months, be sure to enter the price per month and the number of months to be included, or if listed by semester, the price per semester and the number 1 under quantity.) Please note, if a PO is made out for a full semester, the parent should be aware that funding may be encumbered for the full amount and that refunds if the student drops from the course may not be possible. Note: If the vendor allows, in most cases, it is best to create the service POs using the number of months and the price per month rather than per semester.

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i) ES Transfer/Drop Checklist: The ES Transfer/Drop Checklist now includes a line that reminds the ES to cancel any CP Courses, Service POs or Product POs that are yet incomplete.

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j) Congratulations to the ESes of these students! The following CWCS students submitted their poetry to the Creative Communication Poetry and Essay Contest, were selected as finalists, and will become published poets in the anthology: A Celebration of Young Poets

Rachel Martin (grade 12),  ~ Poem Title "Grains of Color"

Jessica Campa (grade 7),  ~ Poem Title "Autumn Leaves"

Catherine Jost (grade 5), ~  Poem Title "Zinia"

Ericela Ruiz (grade 9), ~  Poem Title "The First Time"

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4) Messages from School Departments

Assessment News from Leita Barlow and Jodi Leonardo

*Scantron: All students enrolling late in the school year must post test before the last day of school even though there will not be 12 weeks between the pre and post test. Please make appointments with these students now so that the testing will be expected.

After your student’s scheduled appointment, check Scantron to be sure that they kept their Scantron appointment (if proctored by others) and that they successfully completed the tests.

* CAHSEE:

CAHSEE Intensive Options will be required in the 08/09 school year for Sophomores that score Below Basic or Far Below Basic on their 9^th grade STAR.

CAHSEE Math Prep and CAHSEE English Prep Courses

* CDE 0607 STAR Released Test Questions:  The 06/07 STAR released questions are located in Edusoft.com (Edusoft instructions) under the Benchmark tab and then go to Assessments. The questions are from previous years’ tests. The subject tests listed include: ELA, Math, Science & Social Science. There are several pages to each test. The students can print an answer sheet and read through the test online if they do not want to print out the full test. The answers to each test are at the end of each test.
This is a great way to prepare for the subjects that were difficult to purchase test prep for. It’s a great resource, so please take advantage of it!  We need to score high so that our school can continue our large gains and have good API scores! Make sure that your students are doing their test prep daily in preparation for the STAR exam! Begin giving your kids pep talks now!

* STAR Test Prep Workshops

* STAR: ES Assessment Checklist to be used during STAR testing

*STAR Site Changes: (As sent in an ES listserve message) A change in test dates at the Turlock test site has been posted on the CWCS website. PLEASE be sure your families know about the changes of the test dates. We will send out replacement test site letters so they have hard copies of the information as well. We are very sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for being flexible.

*Assessment Page Updated: The STAR Site information, ES STAR Assignments, and STAR 3-day and 4-day Schedules have been updated on the Assessment Page.

Math News from Debbie Kutz

*Thank you for participating in the survey of anticipated math courses needed for next year. We used those survey results to put together a tentative schedule for next year. We hope it will meet the needs of as many students as possible. We have added a few general (not a-g) classes, since those seemed to be the area of greatest need. Contact dkutz@connectingwaters.org if you have a need that is not addressed by our course offerings.

 

Guidance News from Mary Halter and Melissa Cripe*

*Class of 2009 Guidance Appointments:
The guidance department will be offering meetings for ALL of your 2009 graduates…let’s catch them early!!!! Please have your student contact Mary Halter to meet either by phone, online, or in person to provide guidance counseling. The goal is to review academic progress, to discuss post-high school career plans, and to provide the resources for attaining personal and academic goals.

*From February’s agenda, please note that the following policy applies ONLY if students want to have the community college course posted on their high school transcript! This is optional for students!
" Documenting Community College Courses on Transcript: An addition has been made to the Community College Policy. "If your student is taking a community college course, and would like to have the course documented on the high school transcript, the course will need to be referenced in the “comments box” on the transcript. The ES will assign a course title and units(if the course is UC/CSU transferable, the course title should have the “a-g” designation if available). In this case, the grade issued by the ES should match the grade earned at the Community College. Upon completion of the course, the student will request an official transcript from the Community College to be sent directly to Student Records at IEM. Student Records and the Guidance Department will coordinate to accurately document the course in the “comments box”. The ES should be aware that the number of units assigned to the course by the college may translate into a higher number of high school credits. The ES should consult with their advisor to determine what the number of credits may be, and keep in mind the Maximum number of carnegie units allowed.”

 

IT

* Dell ES Laptop Battery Issues. Contact information for ES Dell Battery Issues.

* Student ISPs: When setting up an ISP for your students, please remember to use the cwisp@connectingwaters.org address (not isp@ieminc.org). Thanks!

* Gizmo Computer Services, now keeps a  webpage with updated instructions for CWCS. This link is in the ES manual under CW Computer Repair Process.

 

Vendor Relations

* Note from Vendor Relations: After literally years of negotiation, no longer will your staff have to re-ship items that come from Glencoe, McGraw Hill or their subsidiaries!

This also includes the vendor Science Kits & Boreal Laboratories.

Effective today, I have negotiated with these last remaining vendors to drop ship directly to the ES…

There have been over 700 PO’s w/these vendors this school year alone (for all IEM charters).

It is my hope that this change in shipping will also resolve the accounting problems we have had over the years with these vendors. This should free up some valuable time for employees previously doing this task!

 

5) ES Networking

a) ES Networking Questions-working with at-risk students:
1. Do you have any high risk students, ie, students who are underachieving?
2. What major "roadblocks" do you find with your high risk students?
3. What strategies have you used? What has been successful?
4. What curriculum strategies have been effective with your high risk students?
5. If your student is qualified to use Basic curriculum, has its use increased their test scores or improved their academic skills? Why or why not?
6. What specific things could CWCS offer to help at-risk students be successful?
7. What accountability measures that are in place do you feel work best? Least? (CAHSEE intensive plans for seniors, PLIPS, academic probation, AESS, etc.)
8. What curriculum do you use to help at-risk students meet their grade level standards? Have you had an opportunity to use some of the new Glencoe Essentials or Holt Interactive texts? If so, please share your success stories!

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b) Parent Workshop Training team would like to know from ESes what prevented their high school students from attending the Career Expo and what suggestions do they have to get them to attend next year

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