Verona Public Schools Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment Progress Summary Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Verona Public Schools Verona Public Schools Mission Statement “The mission of the Verona Public Schools, the center of an engaged and supportive community, is to empower students to achieve their potential as active learners and productive citizens through rigorous curricula and meaningful, enriching experiences.” 2

Verona Public Schools District Goal: Facilitate the creation or revision of assessments and performance tasks that will be common to the department and that will reflect levels of complexity and depth of knowledge.

Verona Public Schools Verona Student Growth Objectives: Road Map of Success District SGO Average: 3.67

Verona Public Schools Teacher Evaluation Updates Domain 1: Classroom Strategies & Behaviors (70%)  For , we formally observed our teachers over 400 times!  The average district score for formal observations was  NJDOE created a scale:  = Beginning  = Developing  = Applying  = Innovative  Administrative Team performed co-observations throughout the school year.  Additionally, we informally visited each teacher’s classroom on a regular basis to provide instant feedback in between formal observations. For , we will continue to practice formal observations and informal visits to support our teaching staff!

Verona Public Schools Teacher Evaluation Update Final Evaluations Domain 2: Planning and Preparation (10%)  Element 43: Lessons within Units (Stage 3 of UbD)  Submission two sequential weeks of lesson plans, formal observations & post-conferences, informal visits & follow-ups Domain 3: Reflecting on Teaching (10%)  Element 54: Monitoring Progress Relative to the Professional Growth and Development Plan  Review your PDP and discuss how you have made progress/met your goals Domain 4: Collegiality and Professionalism (10%)  Element 55: Promoting Positive Interactions with Colleagues that Promote and Support Student Learning  Element 56: Promoting Positive Interactions with Students and Parents Element 59: Adhering to District and School Rules and Procedures

Verona Public Schools VHS – Advanced Placement students271 tests administered students368 tests administered students402 tests administered students392 tests administered New for : AP World History AP Human Geography

Verona Public Schools Exploring for : College Algebra/Pre-Calculus Medical Biology Astronomy Speech Arts Elective Creative Writing Elective students60 Total seats students63 total seats students122 total seats VHS – Dual Enrollment

Verona Public Schools Google Teacher Academy  Teachers who were selected from the committee will benefit from the following:  Receive Google Chromebook  Participation in a Google Summit PD Conference Summer 2015 (July 14th & 15th) at Ramsey, NJ  PLC collaboration on a monthly basis during academic year  Lead PD seminars for Verona educators on Google Apps for Education (GAFE)  Join online Google learning communities  Receive top priority scheduling of Google Chromebook carts in their respective school 9

Verona Public Schools Google Teacher Academy  And the selected members (20) are the following:  Elementary Schools  Teacher representation from each school; Library/Media  Reading & Writing Workshop, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science  HBW  Core Courses and Each Grade Level are represented  English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, Special Education, Technology, Library/Media  VHS  Core Courses are represented  English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, Special Education, Technology/Business, Library/Media 10

Verona Public Schools Orton Gillingham Training  Partnering with FDU to provide training and certification to ten (10) staff members to our first cohort: 8 teachers/2 administrators  Orton-Gillingham is a direct, multisensory structured, phonetic approach to teaching reading.  FDU will offer the first of four courses in its nationally accredited Orton-Gillingham Teacher Certificate Program beginning in September  The classes will meet once each week beginning at 4:15 pm in the HBW Media Center.  Reading Intervention training will occur with twenty (20) of our 1 st & 2 nd grade students! 11

Verona Public Schools Curricular Initiatives Curricular Alignment of Instruction & Assessment  VHS  Introduction to Psychology (new)  CCSS: Algebra I (revision), Geometry (revision)  AP Calculus AB/BC (Collegeboard ----> UbD)  NGSS: Biology, Environmental Science, Medical Biology, Astronomy, AP Chemistry  HBW  ELA Grades 5&6: A Differentiated Approach  ELA Grades 7&8 (revision)  CCSS: Math 7 On/Above, Math 8  Technology, Education & Design (TED): Grades 5-8  Computer Science 7&8  Elementary  ELA K-4: Reading & Writing Project  Math 3&4: Create enriched materials  Social Studies: Grades 3-4 (revision)  Project AdventureBound: Grade 4 12

Verona Public Schools Curricular Initiatives New Course Offerings beginning September 2015  VHS  Humanities Course, Speech Arts Course: Grade 12  AP World History, AP Human Geography  Introduction to Psychology  Astronomy, Medical Biology  HBW  Technology, Education, and Design (TED): Grades 5-8  Computer Science: Grades 7&8  Next Generation Science Pilot: Grade 5-8  English Language Arts: A Differentiated Approach, Grades 5-6  Elementary  Project AdventureBound: Grade 4  Next Generation Science Pilot: Grades

Verona Public Schools Science K-8 Pilot  Next Generation Science Standards  Adopted by the State Board in August 2014  QSAC Compliant by September 2018  Partnering with Carolina to provide training and support with one unit, grades 1-8:  Grow the program over the next three years  Inquiry based learning in each grade level …  a7b7/Best%20Practices%20for%20Teaching%2 0and%20Learning:%20Inquiry-Based%20Science a7b7/Best%20Practices%20for%20Teaching%2 0and%20Learning:%20Inquiry-Based%20Science 14 Carolina: Curriculum for Science and Math Science and Technology Concepts (STC) Program Grade 1: Solids and Liquids Grade 2: Changes Grade 3: Motion and Design Grade 4: Microworlds Grade 5: Experimenting with Forces and Motion Grade 6: Exploring the Properties of Matter Grade 7: Understanding Weather and Climate Grade 8: Electricity, Waves, and Information Transfer

Verona Public Schools PARCC Update  Consolidate testing into One Window  States will have up to 30 school days to administer  New single window will end at 90% mark (May)  Cuts testing time up to 90 minutes in all grades  Uniformity of Testing Units  Reduces the Number of Test Units  Preserves Performance Tasks  Except for Algebra II 15

Verona Public Schools Questions… 16