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Message from Deputy Superintendent Dr. Marion Smith Jr
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Return to Learn Plan + THANK YOU
Whether it is in-person learning, blended learning (due to quarantines), or on-line learning (for those scholars enrolled in Edmentum), I am incredibly proud and grateful to work alongside staff who, each day, make great things happen for our scholars and families.
It may feel impossible some days, and yes, it has been exhausting, yet we are still here working together as we continue to meet this moment head on.
On behalf of all in the Academic Office, I want to say “THANK YOU!” What each of you have been able to accomplish (to ensure continued learning, services and supports to our scholars and families) amidst continued Public Health challenges, ever-changing information, and long, long, long work hours to be responsive and flexible to current realities can not be acknowledged enough. Check out my short JibJab video to say that SLPS STAFF ROCKS!
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Every year from September 15 through October 15, we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. The observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month first began under President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1968, when it was known as Hispanic Heritage Week. The week was expanded by President Ronald W. Reagan in 1988 to cover the current 30-day period.
During this month, may we take the time to celebrate the history, cultures, languages and contributions of Hispanic and Latino/a/x people in our school district, city and this country. This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our explicit commitment to diversity, inclusion and racial equity to our scholars, staff and families.
I encourage all to use this time to (re)affirm our scholars’ identities. May we know each scholar by name, need, strength and story!
Please join me in celebrating and recognizing our Hispanic and Latino/a/x community! ¡Celebra con orgullo el Mes de la Herencia Hispana!
Here are a few resources to support awareness and to deepen individual and collective learning and teaching in this area:
Personal Goals
As we continue to engage in our core academic work for this school year anchored in transformative LEARNING/UNLEARNING/RELEARNING, I offer this visual that summarizes my personal goals (a rebranding of sorts from last school year) for this unprecedented school year, as we continue to work together as an Academic Office and school-based staff in our collective work.
‘Smith in Schools’
A highlight of my day is when I am in schools interacting with staff and scholars. Each week, I spend at least ½ a day in our schools observing instruction, speaking with staff and listening and learning from our scholars. As we end the 5th week of this school year, I have been able to visit ½ of our 60+ buildings. If I have not visited your school yet, I look forward to seeing you in the next few weeks as I complete my initial school site visits.
Professional Learning Communities (PLC)
School Leaders– As you meet with staff, and share this past year’s MAP achievement data, and given the emphasis we as a country and as a district have placed on assessments and testing, I invite us to keep it in perspective, test scores are just one piece of information we use to inform our learning and teaching practices. While we will be taking a hard look at data from our state tests, and baseline and interim benchmarks, we will also be having conversations about other data sources that provide information about what scholars know and are able to do. This includes social and emotional information that is imperative to their continued growth and wellbeing.
As we create ways to use multiple sources of data to surface effective practices and outcomes and address ineffective/inequitable practices, we are committing as a system to leveraging professional learning communities (PLC) as one strategy for educators to have focused time to 1. Deepen their professional practices, 2. Analyze scholar achievement and growth data, 3. Plan standards-based instruction, and 4. Enhance culturally-responsive learning and leadership.
Below is a resource provided for those looking to streamline PLCs, redefine them or strengthen them this school year:
Equity-Seeking & Equity-Driven School System
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Mason Elementary Named One of the Best in the St. Louis Area
Let's send a big shout-out to Dr. Stacey M. Franklin, Mason faculty/staff, and of course all the Mason scholars!
St. Louis Public School’s very own Mason Elementary School is listed on Schoolsparrow.com’s list of 12 Best Elementary Schools in the St Louis Area. Schoolsparrow.com publishes public K-12 school rankings that normalize for parent income, elevating diverse schools to the forefront and shifting focus away from family income. Mason was hailed for their high test scores, community partnerships, and unique educational opportunities.
Review Schoolsparrow.com’s top 12 list and read more about Mason Elementary School HERE.
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SPOTLIGHT ON: Patrick Henry Reading Specialist Karen Evans
When you enter the doors of Patrick Henry Downtown Academy, there is no mistaking that this elementary school is serious about reading. When scholars arrive, they notice the reading nook in the hall just outside of the main office. When they leave for the day, there is a take-home book station at the exit. If that was not enough to show the school team’s dedication to reading and literacy, they have a secret weapon.
Meet Karen Evans, Patrick Henry’s Reading Specialist. “If anyone in this school -- scholar, teacher, or parent -- needs assistance when it comes to reading, tell them to come and see Ms. Evans. I’ll get them straight,” she laughed.
Karen Evans, the daughter of a retired SLPS teacher, began her teaching career in 2008 after retiring as a project manager from AT&T. Scholars who come see Ms. Evan for reading help get much more than that. “I brought the knowledge and tools from the corporate world into my classroom. My scholars use spreadsheets to keep track of sight words (common words) and I help them create PowerPoint presentations to assist with reading comprehension. When my students leave me, they leave with confidence and skills that will help them for years to come,” explained Ms. Evans.
Ms. Evans uses many different tools and techniques to help her young readers including chopsticks to point out sight words and hand puppets to reinforce retention and comprehension. She keeps a file on every scholar who steps through her door and she works tirelessly to address areas of opportunity and to reinforce individual strengths. She sends her students home with books to read and talks to parents and caregivers about building good reading habits. “I talk to parents. I talk to grandparents. I talk to sports coaches. I talk to anyone who touches the lives of my scholars and impresses upon them the importance of reading. Reading is the foundation for everything you do in life.”
Click here to read more about Ms. Evans and Patrick Henry's dedication to reading.
To view a video showcasing the District's dedication to literacy, click here.
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Blended & Virtual Learning with Natasha Mitchell
Virtual Learning Update – Quarantine Support FAQ
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Curriculum & Instruction: A Look Ahead
Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences
- The Fall 2021 Parent Teacher Conference Window is October 18-21.
- Conferences are to be scheduled before or after school.
- All Fall 2021 Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held virtually to address current Public Health guidance and restrictions
- Teachers should contact families who they know have documented technology access issues/concerns to schedule an in-person conference.
- More information is forthcoming, along with an extended guidance document about Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences, in the next Academic Office Newsletter on October 7, 2021.
Quarter 1 Report Cards
- Report Cards will be delivered to scholars and scholar-families during Parent-Teacher Conferences held the week of October 18-21.
- The Academic Office is collaborating with Technology Services to provide PD sessions to support educators with navigating the SIS Gradebook and completing student report cards.
- The first PD session was held on Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
- The second PD Session will be held on Wednesday, October 6, 2021.
- Links to join sessions will be posted in the Technology Resources Team. The code to join the team is DMM14AB. Teachers/Staff can register in My Learning Plan for the next session.
- More information is forthcoming, along with an extended guidance document about Quarter 1 Report Cards, in the next Academic Office Newsletter on October 7, 2021.
Grading Students with no Access to Technology During a Quarantine Period
- To best support ALL scholars with continuous learning, progress monitoring,and grade reporting, scholars who do not have access to technology at home should continue to receive Grade-Level/Course-Level Instructional Packets or District-Level Continuous Learning Kits
- All assigned work is to be collected and graded by the scholar's teacher of record
- Traditional letter grades should be given for each grade-reporting period
- Grades will be based on scholar performance on all work submitted.
- More information is forthcoming, along with an extended guidance document about Grading During Quarantine, in the next Academic Office Newsletter on October 7, 2021.
Common Formative Assessments
The Common Formative Assessments (CFA) deadline is extended to October 1, 2021 and there will be no Common Summative Assessment (CSA) administered for quarter one of the 2021-22 School Year.
- The deadline for completion of this CFA was initially extended to September 15th.
- Several factors, including prioritizing time for Culture Camp activities during the first 2 weeks of school, beginning of the school year enrollment shifts, and quarantines, have made it difficult to achieve 100% participation from schools.
- Acquiring baseline diagnostic assessment data is critical, thus the deadline has been extended to ensure that all scholars can take this assessment.
- Quarter 1 CFA data will be used to identify scholars for targeted/responsive supports to achieve standards-based learning expectations. One example: This data will be used to identify scholars who qualify for Individualized Reading Success Plan interventions; in grades 3-5, Reading Teachers have been hired to write, implement, and progress monitor Tier II and Tier III intervention supports in this area.
- Professional Learning opportunities are being finalized to best support school leaders and teachers in their continued efforts to use CFA data, and other formative data, to inform and impact their daily learning and teaching practices.
For more guidance, please contact Dr. Kimberly Moody, Director of Curriculum & Instruction - Kimberly.Moody@slps.org
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We Are ALL Math People
The Math team across grades PK-12 is an amazing, supportive community of professionals. Please join our Team(s) to collaborate and engage with your colleagues. The importance of disrupting traditional American math practices and implementing our standards-based curriculum is essential for changing the trajectory of historically under-resourced schools. Building systems around high-quality math instruction and curriculum is necessary to pay back the education debt we owe marginalized students. For decades, mathematics has been a de facto gatekeeper to future success and upward mobility for Black, Latinx, and students experiencing poverty. To make math a gateway to opportunity for all scholars we must examine and elevate experiences that students have in math classrooms. We are building strong mathematics systems around curriculum and instruction to support change in the district, school, and classroom culture. To make math a gateway to opportunity for all students, we must examine and elevate the experiences that students have in math classrooms. To guide our work, we have shared the SLPS Mathematics Department Goals, Instructional Framework, Teams Links, and Booster Session schedules.
Please don’t ever hesitate to reach out for support. We look forward to hearing from you.
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| Updates Around The District
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Professional Growth & Learning
Frontline Professional Growth Update
Colleagues, we thank you for your patience in working with us as we support all Professional Learning and Growth activity within our Frontline Professional Growth System. To that end, please note the following updates:
- During the district rollover, some staff member profiles were duplicated, resulting in the system automatically assigning them an observation period that spans 2022-2023. As a result of this error, the 2021-2022 observation cycle for these individuals cannot be accessed. Any staff member on your observation roster with a date span of 2022-2023 will be unable to be accessed via the system. This error must be corrected by the frontline system developers. It is on their radar but can take weeks for the designers to rewrite. We will notify AICs and Networks to communicate when this error has been resolved.
- Reminder that IPDP,s should be entered by September 30, each year. Some staff members are getting an error message due to approval routing that was preset in the system. If you receive this error, please send those individual names to Dr. LaTisha Smith, who will get them resolved as expeditiously as possible, in the order received.
- Finally, Mentors should be documenting their initial meeting with their Mentees in Frontline, and Mentees should also have these activities documented in their Frontline accounts. Assisting new staff in navigating their Frontline accounts is an expected Mentor-Mentee activity. Mentor contracts are being forwarded by the close of this week.
Thanks so much for all you do to support teaching and learning in SLPS.
For more guidance please contact Dr. LaTisha A. Smith, Director of Professional Development - LaTisha.Smith@slps.org
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After School Supper Program
The SLPS Food and Nutrition Services Department is proud to offer the Afterschool Supper Program through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsored by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The CACFP provides funding for snacks and suppers for schools that offer organized educational or enrichment activities an organized and structured afterschool program. In addition, the students will get to enjoy additional snacks and meals during after school hours.
CACFP provides funding for snacks and suppers for schools that offer organized afterschool programs such as educational and enrichment programs along with athletics. Schools can receive cold or hot food meals.
This year, due to a special waiver, all students have an opportunity to take home a grab-and-go snack at the end of the day. In addition, along with the snack, students will receive nutritional education information to read while enjoying their snack at home.
Times of Operation:
Students will receive their grab-and-go snack before boarding the bus. Schools will be required to take attendance using the check-off roster process as each student receives the snack. The program starts Monday, October 11, 2021.
Please allow us to collaborate with your school:
If you are interested in participating, please contact Althea Albert-Santiago MPH, Director Food and Nutrition Services, at 314-934-5302 or Tenecia Williams, Accountability Specialist, at 314-345-3208 in the Food and Nutrition Services Department.
Please note:
Until further notice, St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS)/Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE) are to be the sole collaborators for all breakfast, lunch, supper and snacks.
For more guidance please contact Althea Albert-Santiago, Director of Food & Nutrition Services - Althea.Albert-Santiago@slps.org
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Creating Opportunities To Improve Literacy
The Fall Young Writers Contest sponsored by The St. Louis Writers Guild is OPEN to submissions. We are strongly encouraging electronic submissions. It is fast and easy to submit online! The links are below.
High School Level Young Writers Contest has just been announced. Go to https://www.stlwritersguild.org/ywa-high-school for details and submission forms. Additional information for 4th-5th and 6-8th grade contests can be found at www.stlwritersguild.org/young-writers-awards
We had a fantastic response last year with submissions from 12 districts and look forward to another great year for young writers. Please encourage students to participate in our expanded Young Writers Programs as well as the contests. The Guild has expanded youth programs and added resources to support and encourage young writers. New Associate Membership is open to kids, teens, and young adults. Our goal is to help young writers shine.
Every writer has one dream; to get published and share their work. We are excited to announce that the winners will be PUBLISHED! The deadline for this event is October 22, 2021.
I am looking forward to receiving entries from St. Louis Public School students!
Thank you for participating and sharing this event information!
If you have any questions, please contact cherie@clpostill.com
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Employee Referral Program
SLPS is looking for talented individuals to join our team for the 2021 – 2022 school year! Know someone? Refer them to the Recruitment Team. If your referral is hired for one the following positions, you will receive a referral payment:
Instructional Care Aide, Teacher Assistant, Custodian, or Safety Officer - $100
Teacher - $250
The first 50 people to refer a candidate will get a free T-shirt, regardless of whether their referral is hired.
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Standards-Based Learning Corner
Click here to explore past topics related to Standards-Based Learning and Grading in SLPS.
For more guidance, please contact Dr. Kimberly Moody, Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Kimberly.Moody@slps.org
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Curriculum Specialists:
- Dr. Esther Palsenberger, Elementary ELA, 314-779-5939
- Judine Keplar, Secondary ELA, 314-532-6427
- Zehra Khan, Secondary Math, 314-532-3574
- J. Carrie Launius, Elementary Science, 314-934-5258
- Dr. Valentina Bumbu, Secondary Science, 573-544-6835
- Dr. Glenn Barnes, Social Studies, 314-934-5267
- John Grapperhaus, Visual Arts, 314-934-5320
- Kaye Harrelson, Performing Arts, 314-934-5445
- Dr. Taresa Wright-Fraser, Elementary Math, 314-943-5266
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Resource Reminders
TECH TIPS:
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES:
FOR STAFF:
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Miss an Issue?
Past issues are uploaded on a regular basis.
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