We chat every Tuesday night at 8:30-9:30 pm CST. All are welcome, especially EarlyEd teachers, leaders & experts. Co-founded & moderated by @techwnancy @JessicaCabeen & @VealHeidi
Good evening #ECEchat PLN! My name is Nancy. I am the very proud principal of Celina Primary School in North Texas. I am passionate about things #ECE and #EarlyEd#STEAM#STEM
A1: Collaboration, Communication & Consistancy #ecechat
Wanted to share what I made this week based on a idea last. 😀
Sorry @justincholbrook to interrupt.
A2: State standards should be aligned. Uniqueness of communities not aligned - Every community is differently made up with different needs and desires. #ecechat
A2 A district's purpose, vision, and expectations should be a message that is aligned and shines through across campuses. School traditions and personality are pieces that could vary from campus to campus. #ecechat
A2 A district's purpose, vision, and expectations should be a message that is aligned and shines through across campuses. School traditions and personality are pieces that could vary from campus to campus. #ecechat
A2: I believe in common access to resources, high expectations, and content per age/grade should be aligned. If students are highly transient within the district, this gives the student some foundation as well as his/her teachers. #ecechat
A2 A district's purpose, vision, and expectations should be a message that is aligned and shines through across campuses. School traditions and personality are pieces that could vary from campus to campus. #ecechat
A2: Attitudes should be aligned across schools. Standards matters and expectations are important, but an attitude is more impactful as it drives everything else! #ecechat
A2: Expectations of transitioning pre-K students to K. Building a bridge of communication and expectations between pre-K/K teachers for transitions. Alignment in this area would give ALL students a positive start to the K school year. #ECEchat
A1 Collaboration
Communication
Caring
#ECEchat shared these 3 words loud and clear as critical for successful transitions & successful school networks. #ECEchat
A2: I do not believe that STRICT pacing guides should be aligned... or exist. I am talking about pg. 5 on day 12 page 6 on day 13 kind of thing. Each classroom and student makeup deserves the pace for their needs. #ecechat
#ECEchat A2: Instructional Planning Guides/Scope&Sequence, rules & expectations (like, are cell phones / t-shirts w/ pot leaves, medicine in pockets allowed), and policies about homework/grades should all be relatively aligned. Specific procedures can be individualized by school.
A2. Alliance the curriculum and the process. Do not align process that respects the individual needs of the students. Keep that individualized. #ecechat
The WHAT should be aligned throughout the district. What are the academic, social, and emotional expectations. The HOW should be unique to the school and helps to create the school culture. #ecechat
A2: I think the more alignment within a district, the better it can be for staff and fams, especially in smaller districts where students may move around. It also allows staff within a district to be able to collaborate, building a stronger network beyond just a school. #ecechat
We are a preK-8 school. I think our mission, sense of community and site expectations should be aligned for all students. I want each classroom to have its own personality, quirks and fun! #ecechat
A2: children need to be taught what they “should be doing” - have verbal & nonverbal cues-clear expectations & routines- students should be provided w specific positive feedback- teach children to help each other & self monitor #ecechat
What a great way to answer! All of our WHY should be the students. For us, the WHAT is our mission and each teacher has the autonomy and flexibility to work out their own HOW. #ecechathttps://t.co/XFZIBl7Hgh
The WHAT should be aligned throughout the district. What are the academic, social, and emotional expectations. The HOW should be unique to the school and helps to create the school culture. #ecechat
It always amazes me how Ts can expect new students or students who have just transitioned to know the routine without any modeling or explicit direction, especially our littles! We can't expect common behaviors when the S has had non-common experiences. #ecechat
A3 This spring, I led Time for Kinder presentations for families at a majority of my district’s 40 elementary campuses. It was a great way to collaborate with campuses & support a smooth transition from PreK to Kinder. #ECEchat
The WHAT should be aligned throughout the district. What are the academic, social, and emotional expectations. The HOW should be unique to the school and helps to create the school culture. #ecechat
A3: We have district wide PLCs as a preschool team weekly, which I am thankful for because it allows me to see different ways things are being taught and approached. In addition, we use a lesson planning software that we can share plans on throughout the week. #ecechat
A3: This is an area I would like to see grow. Each building uses PBIS and has the same three 'rules' but this interpretation of this is so different that as a 5 year old I wouldnt know it was supposed to be the same. #ecechat
A3 We invite K Ts into our rooms to see how Pre-K does it. We share via gdrive Ss info going to K at the specific campus. We invite/visit many other districts EC schools.
#ecechat
oh we were just talking about having a building wide training for our new @toolboxtraining sel curriculum! I think it's so important that we start out the new year all on the same page. #ecechat
In reply to
@denzerfcl, @JessicaCabeen, @toolboxtraining
It always amazes me how Ts can expect new students or students who have just transitioned to know the routine without any modeling or explicit direction, especially our littles! We can't expect common behaviors when the S has had non-common experiences. #ecechat
#ECEchat A3: The elementary music teachers from my district are phenomenal. We often get a group email saying "does anyone have ___" and within minutes, someone replies that they'll send it right over. We have quarterly district meetings and summer book studies as well.
A3. We are a 1 school district. We go for face-to-face. The problem with this is we sometimes take proximity for granted and don’t talk enough. #ecechat
A3. Welcoming faculty members of students’ future schools onto campus to observe & meet with current teachers has been a great way to collaborate for smooth transitions. #ECEchat
A3: #ecechat my school is unique in that within walking distance there is a HS and MS. We collaborate for plays and Ss mentoring, but we have room to grow and maybe bring back traditions like a 3 campus 5K!
A3: Joint professional development sessions across schools. Also looking forward to a collaborative project between @RPEMS233 and @MedfieldHeights students in June! Kids can collaborate too! #ecechat
#ECEchat A3.2: There is also a "new teacher academy" that meets monthly, discussing management, lesson planning ideas, and more. What a gift for the fresh faces!
A3: I share my units with many other Ts in the district & allow other individuals to do this, too. If a S is transitioning, I ask what I need to do to prepare them. I'm always open to having individuals come to & provide feedback or see the awesome work my Ss are doing. #ecechat
A3: Pre-K T’s get a one Friday a month to do PD together and communicate and display strategies that are working in there classrooms. I love it. #ECEchat
I have worked in a school district like this. It is tricky business indeed. It is easy to think that because everyone is in the same building, just down the hall, they will be ready to transition with minimal challenge 😬🙅🏾♀️ #ecechat
It is a website provided through our district called Oncourse. We input our plans and can add users for sharing so we can see what each other are doing throughout the week and for different units coming up. #Ecechat
A3: we collaborate w #RISDPrek educators & dive into our @ConsciousD - have a great focus on SEL- in addition our district is embracing #RISDPBIS in our schools & we have buddy schools that we work with as well as Region10 #ECEchat
A4: Our kindergarten teachers meet with 1st grade teachers a few times throughout the year to discuss alignment and areas of strength and weakness in our curriculum. #ECEchat
We are a feeder pattern. Usually the high schoolers come and volunteer for our big events. We need to work better with our middle school for our 5th graders. #ECEchat
#ECEchat A4: The MS that we feed often come and meet with the students during their 5th grade year, to inform/interest them in their options for MS. When we find out that a student is going to switch schools due to moving, we try to reach out to those teachers and clue them in.
A4: We have transition plans in place with information sheets about our students (likes, dislikes, strengths, areas they are working on, etc.) that we send with the student to wherever they head next from our programs. #Ecechat
A3: We are blessed to be in a city where PreK4 is a program with lots of support. This initiative allows for PD to be developed and offered to teachers around the city in different districts. I have loved every one I have attended. #sa300#SAproud#ecechat
A4: As a 1st grade teacher, I work closely to check in with the K teachers every time they are in the building. I always compliment the strong skills Ss entered with. This led to Ts asking what they felt might be lacking. Now we have open dialogue and its not judgmental. #ecechat
A4: I also try to talk to our 6-8 teachers about what they are teaching and explain what I am doing in 1st that builds the foundation for their concepts later on. We don't know what we don't know, and we won't know if we never say. #ecechat
A4 We used to have a day where our PK students would go visit all the Kinder classrooms, or the Kinder teachers & students would come visit the PK classrooms & share about the next year! #ecechat
A4 We provide many opportunities for students to visit the next bldg during the year. And, we invite our K’s back in Sept to parade w/ their new 1st grade teachers. #ECEchat
I organize monthly #PreK Unite gatherings that give the PreK teachers from across my district the opportunity to be together, connect & and share w/ each other. #ecechat
A4: Our S transitions are a bit different and can occur anytime throughout the year. I try to keep open communication and invite the Ts to come meet the S and see the S in the classroom. I do collect data, but I want them to get to know the S, too. #ecechat
We are supposed to have Lower School (preK-5) divisional meetings monthly but they sometimes get bumped. We're hoping to go weekly next school year. #ecechat
A4: Networking. Get kids working together on projects. I also find edcamps as a great structure to connect schools in our large district of 90,000 students. #ecechat
ooh! Our Step Up Day is coming up. My current kindergarteners are excited to spend time with the 1st grade teacher and I'm looking forward to formally meeting the current preK4s. :) #ecechat
@ChrisBjerklie With upper grades, we did a interschool science fair and each school created a classroom world history museum and visited each other. #ecechat
A4: As an aspiring teacher, I would say having an open line of communication and building strong relationships with those so we can sorta get Ss ready as best as possible before they transition up #ECEChat
#ECEchat A5: I think basic busy-ness! We have many options for collaboration, but we get so caught up in the day to day, that we don't take advantage of them as often as we could.
A5: Our students feed into two different schools. Once we know what school they are going to, we take them on a field trip there before the school year ends. #ECEchat
A5 We are all stand alone campuses, so its hard to build connections when you can't see what else is going on; we work around it by scheduling visits with each other #ecechat
A4: our Ss go on MS visits in 5th grade. I invited the admin from MS/HS to come and read with 5th graders during RAA week. I’d love to see a HS/ES mentor program at my school I know a few other in the county are working on that #ecechat
A5. Time and opportunities to collaborate always have the potential to be obstacles. We have to be proactive to not let the be excuses for a lack of collaboration. #ECEchat
A5: Time and distance. Utilize technology such as twitter to provide PD in your PJs. Also teacher attitudes. Plan face to face collaboration to build relationships and trust. #ecechat
A5: Our kinders are housed at an ECE center; start the elementary in 1st. They have NO CLUE how to act in a school with 11 and 12 yr olds. Ive been working to plan a "Kindergarten Round Up" where they come tour a 1st grade room, sit in on a lesson, and take a school tour #ecechat
A5. Getting past our self imposed barriers: no time, they don’t want to know, they are the elementary school, they don’t do it our way, we already know what they are going to say. #ecechat
RT Q5: What are the largest obstacles to building connections and a successful transition within your school network? How do you address them? #ECEchat
A5: Finding admins to take the time to understand ECE. But, that’s okay! I look at the situation from what leverage do I have to bring administrators on board? How can I lead them as a teacher to understanding the importance of building conn for my pre-K S’s #ECEchat
It’s an after school gathering, 3:30-5:00, once a month, in a teacher’s classroom. We have a different topic at each meeting, typically chosen by the host teacher. I just facilitated the last on of the SY today about #STEM & math in #PreK. #ecechat
It’s an after school gathering, 3:30-5:00, once a month, in a teacher’s classroom. We have a different topic at each meeting, typically chosen by the host teacher. I just facilitated the last on of the SY today about #STEM & math in #PreK. #ecechat
A6: Great question! We currently do not have a formal way to evaluate the effectiveness of our process, but a Google Survey would be an easy way to gather feedback for improvement. #ECEchat
A5 time,fixed mindsets; not sure exactly on how to overcome, but looking forward to future possibilities and determined to be more intentional in seeking out and attempting; made suggestion for K “step up” for next year #goals#ECEchat
#ECEchat A6: If it works or not - best informal "rubric" ever! I try to chat with my colleagues in the upper levels as often as possible to find out what gaps there are, and how to better prepare the kids for the rigor and expectations awaiting them.
A5: Obstacle is our Ss are only in our building for 2 years and 4 schools combine when they enter our doors. Host family nights for incoming Ss and Fs to engage and give time for questions. #ECEChat
A6: I think the transition process can get a bit tricky & is an area that needs a bit of improvement. I need to do a better job of checking in with my Ss to see how they're doing after they transition. I start off with good intentions & time gets the best of me. #ecechat
Having admin understand that rigor takes on different forms for different kids in my classroom from matching upper and lowercase to 2nd grade comprehension passages. #ECEchat
RT Q5: What are the largest obstacles to building connections and a successful transition within your school network? How do you address them? #ECEchat
I sent out a Google Form in Sept. soliciting volunteers to host and balanced the meetings so they moved to a variety of schools/locations across my district. Then asked the hosting teacher what they wanted the topics to be. #ECEchat
Invite us in to see the collaboration and have us participate. As a principal I love watching, participating and learning from students and staff. We need to model if it’s important. #ECEChat
But the thing is, even in 2nd if there is a student with an IEP matching letter cases may still be rigorous. Its not about the grade level, its about knowing the kids. To judge a task on the task alone does no justice to the teacher who has studied her children. #ecechat
Do you do amazing things? Do you invite your administration? Why or why not? Thats like your Ss learning to read, but they just keep it to themselves. Share your success with those who are investing in you! #ecechat
Invite us in to see the collaboration and have us participate. As a principal I love watching, participating and learning from students and staff. We need to model if it’s important. #ECEChat
