1. Celeste Butler celeste.butler@alvord.k12.ca.us

3. “…Seek out best practices, test them in the classroom, continuously improve practices, and focus on results.”

4.  Teaching for 8 years  College and license in Utah  Rough first few years  New principals, new opportunities, but new pressures  FRUSTRATION and near burnout

5.  950 students  98% Socio-economically Disadvantaged  85% Hispanic  70% English Language Learners  API 735

6.  For me personally, a VERY busy year  4 Pillars ◦ Classroom Management ◦ Curriculum Design ◦ Cooperative Learning Groups ◦ Assessment  STRUCTURE and routine, finally!

7.  Continued work on the pillars  Improved grades, scores  Evaluation success!

8.  Still working on the 4 pillars  Adding science literacy—CCSS  Parent Communication  Interventions  MORE SUCCESS!!! ◦ Grades are higher than ever ◦ Higher scores on district Benchmark scores

9.  2 week set up  SNB-Clear record of progress and work in class and at home  Student accountability  Communication tool for the parents  Frequent and timely evaluation of student work  Goal for improvement: Helping the students see the SNB is a resource

10.  Beginning, Middle, End  Essential Concepts and Questions  Monday-Friday lessons/units  Predictable Homework  ROUTINE!  Goal for improvement: New labs, activities, and “middle” assignments—NGSS

11.  Student roles  Needed structure to prepare for NGSS  Students help students  Goal for improvement: More critical thinking opportunities and more accountability for roles

12.  Weekly Quizzes and Reflection  Stamp in SNB/Weekly check  Connections in journal  Frequent and timely evaluation of student work  Goal for improvement: More journal entries, especially at the end of learning  CCSS and NGSS type thinking

13.  CCSS ◦ Read and evaluate text ◦ Reflect on learning and progress ◦ Frequent writing  NGSS ◦ Structure and routine in place for students to work together ◦ Habit of focusing on an area and making improvements

14.  Continuous improvement  No burnout  Assist the Alvord Unified School District with Rigorous Curriculum Design and implementation of NGSS

15. “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”