AYP/STUDENT IMPROVEMENT

Summer Workshops Offered to Area Educators

As the school year comes to an end the AYP service providers are busy preparing a summer training schedule. The following meetings and workshops will be held at the new South Central Service Cooperative Conference Center, 2075 Lookout Drive, North Mankato. To attend, please register online: www.mnscsc.org, click on “events.”

June 11 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Reading in the Content Area

Reading in the Content Area participants will learn strategies that they can implement to increase comprehension of text and vocabulary. Participants will also review the elements of Wide Reading. The content of the workshop will include research-based strategies and formative assessment techniques to insure higher student achievement within the course content.

June 16–20   8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
This Ain’t Your Mother’s Algebra: Revised Algebra Standards

The new requirement of algebra for eighth graders in 2011, requires districts to look ahead and begin planning now. Current fifth graders will be the first grade level needing to meet these standards and should now be receiving instruction based on the revised standards. Due to the urgency of this requirement, during the week of June 16-20 a workshop will be held for general education majors wanting additional background with the revised algebra standards. During each of the five days, the morning will be spent on algebra content covered under the standards and the afternoon will target instructional strategies based on the standards.

June 27  9 a.m.–3 p.m.
AYP Regional Leadership Team Meeting

Successful collaboration requires leadership skills in sustaining a vision, group problem solving, conflict resolution, and negotiation. On the path toward higher standards, the challenge is most attainable when educators work together, pooling their talents and ideas. The school improvement cycle involves a team effort. Representatives from regional districts, including individual administrators and teachers, examine and engage in continuous cycles of improvement. It is a self-regulating cycle—the team decides for itself what its schools should be, how they should operate, and in what ways they should change and improve their approaches to teaching and learning. Topics include: Data Mining, The Role of Teacher Leaders, The Minnesota Quality Indicators Survey, and Preparations for Data Retreats. (This meeting is for AYP Needs Improvement Schools/Districts only.)

July 16  8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Differentiated Instruction—Grades 5–9

Differentiated instruction is key to helping all learners meet high levels of achievement in their standards work. Participants will learn strategies and implementation tools to make differentiation happen. The work of Carol Ann Tomlinson as well as other experienced practitioners will provide the backbone of the workshop. Participants will be able to use the strategies and materials in their classes “tomorrow.”

July 23–24  July 30–31
8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
Data Retreat and Improvement Plan Writing

Improvement Plan Writing: Schools and districts not making adequate yearly progress as determined by NCLB are required by law to develop improvement plans. Over two days, the plan will be written by leadership teams and taken back to the school/district for implementation. Minnesota’s current plan has eight elements for a district plan and ten elements for a school plan. (This workshop is for AYP Needs Improvement Schools/Districts only.)

July 28  9 a.m.–12 p.m.
AYP Regional Advisory Council Meeting

AYP Regional Advisory Council Meetings are a time for district leaders to share information and ideas with other district leaders and AYP service providers. The meetings are informal, flexible, and small group. (This meeting is for AYP Needs Improvement Schools/Districts only.)

August 11  8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
ELL Observation & Instructional Leadership for Administrators

School administrators often face the problem of leading and supervising the teaching staff in the instruction of ELL students. The work of the classroom teacher is the key to overcoming the learning gap between ELL students and other students. This workshop will give building principals and other administrators with supervisory duties the information and tools that will make a difference in guiding instruction for ELL learners. Materials will include the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol criteria as well as problem-solving techniques and research-based teaching strategies for ELL achievement. The instructor is Jana Hilleren-Garcia.

August 12–13  8 a.m.–3 p.m.
ELL for the Classroom Teacher

This is a two-day event which will feature training in key ELL strategies and Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol. The instructor for the course is Jana Hilleren Garcia from Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative. Garcia is an expert on ELL education, and she has received extensive training on the SIOP model. She is currently a practitioner with ELL students in schools in southwest/west central Minnesota and has experience in urban schools and in other ELL educational settings. The term “sheltered instruction” is used to describe those instructional practices that help general classroom teachers make content more accessible and comprehensive for ELLs. The SIOP model and the other key strategies are research-based and field-tested.