1. Dragon Tales
Week of September 20th
Kudos
I am extremely proud of each and every one of you. I was very pleased that 100% of you were
able to complete your interims by the noon deadline on Sept. 15th. Way to go! I can not
expect any better than that. Thanks to everyone for the effort to get this done.
Intervals
Our first interval is now complete. It is time to review the results and begin to make plans to re-teach and
address the areas of difficulty. Please see attached DDI review dates for each interval cycle and the steps
for completing the DDI analysis. As always, if you need some guidance please let me know. Everyone is
expected to have there open constructed response items uploaded by Friday, Sept. 24th. Your analysis
should be complete for Sept. 29th and you should be prepared on this day to discuss the results.
CONCERNS
I want to take this opportunity to express that I intend to be here at Mc Donogh 26 for the long haul. I have
NO intentions of leaving until Dr. Rousell sees fit to place me elsewhere. Hopefully, that will be many
years down the line if at all. I know there is much work to be done here (and lots of great things already
happening) and I fully intended to be the one that brings the vision of all students at Mc Donogh 26
achieving proficiency and beyond to light. I know that it can be done and the right people are in place to
make it happen. We are not there YET but we WILL be!
BUS DUTY CHANGE
At the last leadership committee meeting the committee decided that a change was needed. Several people
expressed that the procedure of having students sit with their right shoulder against the wall helped to cut
down on the talking and high fiving one another as buses are called. We will once again implement this
procedure at dismissal time. STUDENTS WILL NOW SIT WITH THEIR RIGHT SHOULDER TO THE
WALL. Sorry for any inconvenience and re-teaching of expectations that may be needed.
Committees
This is the last call for anyone interested in joining a committee. We still need folks to join PBIS and
Hospitality. If you choose not to participate I fully expect your cooperation as those who serve on these
committee’s strive to make Mc Donogh 26 the can of school we all want it to be.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:
 Collaborative Planning- Culture- Student expectations- Sept. 21st
 Collaborative Planning- DDI- Review steps for analysis/ lesson
planning ( please bring all necessary materials for planning a reading
lesson)- Sept. 22nd
 Collaborative Planning- Social Studies w/ Carl Dermandy- Sept. 23rd
 PLEASE BRING YOUR FULLY CHARGED LAPTOP TO MEETING ON
SEPT.23RD

2.  Last day to input open constructed response- Sept. 24
 Data Analysis of Interval 1 should be complete- Sept. 29
 SACS accreditation review- tentative (Sept. 29) You may be visited
by the team on this day. Please be prepared.
Instructional Look Fors week of September 20
 All open constructed response items have been completed by deadline- Purposeful Planning
 Objectives are listed in mastery objective format for each subject area being taught- Purposeful
Planning
 I expect to see meaningful, engaging, and purposeful LEARNING activities for students after
testing. We can not afford any “wasted” time. Our scores prove there is much work to be done.
We will see 20% gains across all content areas if we make sure every minute counts for students. –
Purposeful Planning and Urgent learning, Every Minute, Every Day
 Each teacher has posted outside her classroom door times for small group ELA and small group
Math instruction- (PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BOTH ELA AND MATH INDICATED
OUTSIDE YOUR CLASSROOM DOOR)- Focused Small Group Instruction
Reminder- Data Analysis is to be completed and ready to be discussed by Sept. 29th. - Purposeful
Planning
As always observations are continuously ongoing.
Shout outs:
This weeks shout outs go to MS. DALY and MS. ANDERSON. Ms. Daly realized that her students
schedule would now interfere with her scheduled collaborative planning time. She came to me with a plan
to readjust her day so that she could meet the needs of her students and still attend collaborative planning.
Her efforts to go the extra mile to meet expectations is greatly appreciated. Please let Ms. Daly know how
much we value her as a faculty member. Ms. Anderson has been a great support to students in need. She has
been instrumental in helping some of our more challenged students to experience success. When we believe
we can, WE CAN. Being able to convince a child that he/she can achieve is a giant LEAP toward creating
the kind of successful students we want and know that they can be. Thank You! Please let Ms. Anderson
know how much we value the work she does with our students. We are glad to have you as a part of our
faculty.
Each new day should bring us closer to the reality of achieving 20% growth in each
content area.