Imani Education Charter School - Building Update

While there is much work to done and many deserving students yet to be sponsored, we wanted to make sure and show that one person’s generosity can have a dramatic impact…even half a world away.

Please consider joining Meghan and members of JP’s Responsive School Network™ in supporting the life-changing work happening in The Gambia through the dedication of Dr. Francine Fulton and the Imani Education Circle.  Click here to help!

JP Partner Debra Brantley Named Georgia Special Education Administrator of the Year!

from: The Baxley News-Banner

The Lillie N. Moncus Special Education Administrator of the Year Award is presented annually by the Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education (G-CASE) to a Georgia special education administrator who best exemplifies the concern, enthusiasm, outstanding contributions, and dedication of Lillie Moncus, who was one of Georgia’s true leaders in the field. Debra Brantley, Special Education Director for the Appling County School System, was nominated by her peers from across the state. Several letters were written on her behalf by consultants, special education directors, superintendents, and teachers who have worked with Brantley during her 34 years of service. She exemplifies these characteristics with her caring attitude for the students she serves, for her devoted staff, for her peers, and for the members of G-CASE.

(click for the full story at the Baxley News-Banner)

From: Hamburg, AR (Hamburg School District):

Congratulations to Hamburg School District! They made the OEP Awards! The University of Arkansas (in Fayetteville) created an Office of Educational Policy in 2003 and recently produced a report highlighting the top perfoming schools around the state in the annual education report entitled Outstanding Educational Performance Awards (OEP).

Hamburg Lower Elementary school is listed as number 7 on the "Beating the Odds - Top Schools Serving Low-Income Students" in Mathematics, 2009. This section highlights the Top 20 performing "High-Poverty" elementary and middle schools across the state based on the Arkansas Benchmark exam.

Portland Elementary ranked number 2 in the Top 3 Grades in "High-Poverty" schools on the "Beating the Odds - Top Schools Serving Low-Income Students" list for mathematics.

Portland Elementary and Hamburg Lower Elementary both made the list for the Top 20 Elementary "High-Poverty" Schools in Arkansas for Benchmark Scores in Literacy, also. Portland is number 4 and Hamburg is number 6 on the list.

This report can be viewed in full by going to http://www.uark.edu/ua/oep/ and then clicking on the green box on the bottom right of the page.

Hi Janie-

I just wanted you to know that again, JP Institute is the most valuable professional development conference that our teacher leaders and administrators attend every year.  EVERY time we find something valuable that we can take back and use.  We have used a lot of things this year that we’ve heard about or learned about at JP Institute:

1. I showed the Children of the Code videos to our entire faculty this year at the beginning of the year.  I have referred back to them several times already in discussing behavior management and academics with our teachers at Della.  That has provided a really nice frame of reference for our staff.  Those videos have captured what we try to instill in our teachers.
2. I learned a lot about Response to Intervention through the JP Institutes over the last few years.  This year we have been required by the state to write an additional School Improvement Plan (on top of the one we already have to have for the school as a whole as a part of not meeting AYP) specifically for our English Language Learners that are receiving ESL services.  I had already been working on RTI plans for that category of learners here to start this new year and I am able to use it for our School Improvement Plan for ELLs too.  It’s coming together very nicely.
3. From some of my sessions with Doug (am I saying the right name?) this year on Leadership, I got an idea to implement a system that will be more timely in responding to teacher needs as far as pacing and mastery is concerned.  All of my Team leaders are meeting with me on every Monday afternoon to analyze Pacing Guide data from the previous week.  We use a chart to look specifically at pace and at testing report sheets to identify mastery concerns.  The Team leaders bring their team’s PGs with them and go through them, then report to me.  I keep a weekly master log of concerns and do targeted observations/evaluations/coaching and I can better direct our Academic Coach on a week by week basis, delegating some of the concerns to her.  Each team leader also makes themselves a follow-up list for things like multiple absences of kids, incorrect/incomplete PGs or report sheets, incomplete retesting, etc.

Anyway, thanks again for giving us such high quality professional development!

Take care, Jenn

http://www.lighteducation.org/tsn/articles02.htm