1. Hilliard City Schools
February, 2012
A Monthly Bulletin from the Offices of Curriculum and Instruction
The Curriculum Connection
Electronic Walkthroughs/Instructional Rounds Training
The expectation is that all administrators are setup for, and become familiar with, creating and managing walkthroughs electronically
by the end of this school year. Then, everyone will be ready to “hit the ground running” and conduct ALL of their walkthroughs/rounds
electronically beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.
The new walkthrough site/application offers the ability to create and manage walkthrough records, both online (connected to the
Internet) and offline (in classrooms where an Internet connection is not available).
Please go to http://tinyurl.com/walkthru-setup as soon as possible to fill out a form to help the technology department prepare your
device(s). Have your device (e.g., iPad, HP Laptop, etc.) available when you fill out the form.
Once you are setup, it is important that you attend a training session on best practices for creating and managing electronic
walkthroughs/rounds. There are two sessions currently scheduled:
Tuesday, March 13th 4-5pm @ COA Large Annex
Tuesday, April 3rd 1-2pm @ COA Large Annex
Please contact the Technology Helpdesk (Betsy) @ 921-7777 if there are any questions, as she is coordinating the device
setups. Feel free to also contact Rich, Mark or Jerry, if needed.
Standards Update
Secondary
Language Arts:
• Twelve 7th and 8th grade Language Arts teachers (four from each middle school) have met on three occasions to
align our Language Arts curriculum to the Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts. They will
meet again on Thursday, March 1st and Friday, March 16th.
• The implementation of the new standards in MS will begin next school year.
Math:
• Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, all 6th grade Math courses implemented the new Common Core State
Standards for Mathematics.
• Beginning in the 2012-2013 school year, all 7th grade Math courses will be implementing the Common Core State
Standards for Mathematics.
• Beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, all 8th grade/HS Math courses will be implementing the Common Core
State Standards for Mathematics.
Science:
• Beginning in the 2012-2013 school year, our 6th grade Science course will be implementing Ohio’s Science
Revised Academic Content Standards and Model Curriculum.
• Beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, our 7th grade Science courses will be implementing Ohio’s Science
Revised Academic Content Standards and Model Curriculum.
• Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, our 8th grade/HS Science courses will be implementing Ohio’s Science
Revised Academic Content Standards and Model Curriculum.
Social Studies:
• Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, the Social Studies Steering Committee has been researching and planning
for our Course of Study revision with a target implementation of the 2013-2014 school year.
• As a part of the committee’s work, “Creating America”, a new Social Studies course offered to 8th grade students
for high school credit, has been created. This course will be offered to our 8th grade students that meet the
prerequisite qualifications in the 2012-2013 school year.
• Beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, all secondary Social Studies courses will be implementing Ohio’s Social
Studies Revised Academic Content Standards and Model Curriculum.

2. The Curriculum Connection
Standards Update
Elementary
Hilliard City Schools is implementing a rolling phase-in of the Common Core and newly revised State Standards at the elementary
level. Kindergarten and first grade teachers are implementing the four content areas (English, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science,
Social Studies) this year. Classroom teachers and special education intervention specialists/tutors participated in one full day of
professional development on February 28-29, 2012. During PD, they used the newly created District Trimester Curriculum Maps to
plan integrated instruction with building colleagues. In 2014-15, state assessments will be aligned to the new Standards. Our
current kindergarteners will be the first third graders to take new state assessments. The state’s testing timeline is below:
Current grade In 2014-15
K 3rd grade
1st grade 4th grade
2nd grade 5th grade
3rd grade 6th grade
4th grade 7th grade
5th grade 8th grade
Value-added/Linkage PD
Some teachers in Hilliard will receive teacher-level value-added reports in September, 2012. The reports will measure the growth that
the teacher produced on average with students they instructed during the 2011-2012 school year. The value-added measure is
calculated through students’ OAA scaled scores and all previous OAA data points. The teacher will be ranked in one of five categories:
Most Effective to Least Effective.
In an effort to prepare HCSD principals to support our teachers, our CO staff will design and deliver six hours of professional
development for administrators in two sessions: March 6 or 14 / April 26 or May 2. Please make sure you have the date you signed
up for on your calendar (if you are not sure, please call LaDonna Smith at extension 7053). This training will be essential for preparing
your staff for the value added linkage process.
Free resources are available for use by administrators and teachers at www.battelleforkids.com through the portal.
Summer Academy 2012 Highlights
This year’s Summer Academy “Opening Doors X” will span three weeks:
June 6-8, June 11-15, and June 18-22.
While we are still collecting proposals from staff, a few of the workshops being offered are:
• Tier 1 RTI Math Instruction to Meet the Needs of All Learners (Elementary and Secondary)
• Mastery Learning for Deeper Understanding
• Student-Led Conferences
• Learning How to Create 21st Century Power Points
• Autism Awareness
Classes will be posted in PDExpress on April 2, 2012.
Project Based Learning Cohort
Over 200 Hilliard City School District teachers have been trained to design and implement Project Based Learning units (PBL). Since
we began this initiative during the last school year, our goal has been to find opportunities to share the PBL units, continue to learn
more about PBL, and build capacity across the district.
To accomplish this, a PBL Wiki was created in eCampus. On this site are the PBL resources, templates, a posting of all units created,
and a link to Webinar Wednesdays on the Buck Institute website. Twice a month, the Buck Institute offers PBL webinars on a variety
of topics free of charge. We have created a discussion forum on our PBL site for staff to share ideas after viewing the webinars.
Please check it out! To become a student of the PBL Wiki class and navigate the site, the enrollment key is “pbl”.
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3. The Curriculum Connection
Kindergarten Screening
Children that are five years old prior to September 30, 2012 are eligible to register for kindergarten in Hilliard Schools. Part of this
process is a 60-90 minute face-to-face screening for child and parent. The parents meet with the principal for an overview of the
building and “school processes” while children engage in academic assessment, hearing/vision screening, and social interactions with
other children. Classroom teachers observe as children browse at books and use mathematical manipulatives. Screenings begin
March 5 through mid-April at SSF.
Math Instruction and Interventions
As we work to consistently implement the Response to Intervention framework across our system, we realize the need to clearly craft
appropriate interventions for Tiers 1, 2 and 3. This is especially true in mathematics as it is a relatively “new” area for resource
development by publishing companies. Quite honestly, there are not a lot of math interventions in the education field that can be
delivered easily and quickly by classroom teachers.
In an effort to fill this gap, the elementary math coaches will be doing the following:
• Offering three Summer Academy classes on appropriate elementary Tier 1 math interventions. The classes will be
designed by grade-level: K-1, 2-3, and 4-5.
• Using the 2012-13 school year to recruit and train a cadre of “RTI Coordinators” to serve each elementary. The group
will research, select, and design intervention lessons to serve as examples of appropriate Tier 2 and 3 interventions in
the math classroom.
Scheduling Update
6th Grade:
• Scheduling is underway and both Station and Tharp have had their parent meetings outlining the new scheduling
process as well as the increased opportunities for students to explore their interests.
• New courses include: STEM; iTopics; Math Extensions; and Reading Extensions.
• Registration materials are due back to students’ respective home school on Monday, March 5th .
Middle School:
• Registration materials were distributed to middle schools on Monday, February 27th .
• Parent Meetings for students entering 7th Grade will be held at the middle schools on Wednesday, February 29th
at 7:00 pm.
• Parent meetings for students entering 8th Grade will be held on the following nights: Heritage MS – Thursday,
March 1st at 7:00 pm; Memorial MS – Wednesday, March 7th at 7:00 pm; Weaver MS – Thursday, March 1st at
7:00 pm.
• 7th grade registration materials are due back to students’ respective home school on Wednesday, March 7th .
• 8th grade registration materials are due on Wednesday, March 14th.
• New courses available to 7th grade students include: Design & Robotics; Public Speaking & Presenting; and Family
& Consumer Sciences.
• New courses available to 8th grade students include: Design & Robotics; Green Architecture, Energy & the
Environment; Honors English 9*; Intro to Writer’s Craft; Intro to Journalism; Personal Decisions*; and Creating
America*.
*denotes a course in which high school credit can be earned
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4. The Curriculum Connection
ILE Annouces $500 Student Innovation Scholarships
The Educational Service Center of Central Ohio will be awarding up to ten $500 “Student Innovations in Learning” scholarships for
K-12 students at the Ohio Innovative Learning Environments Conference July 30 – August 3, 2012.
Scholarship winners will be selected from nominations by teachers, schools, or any educational or community groups
statewide—describing in no more than 500 words—how the student exemplifies or demonstrates the spirit of innovation
through the following criteria:
1. Driving question that prompted this innovation.
2. What challenges and rewards resulted from the innovation?
3. In what type of learning environment (traditional or nontraditional) did this take place?
4. How does it best relate to one of the conference strands (listed below)?
• Inquiry-Based Instruction and Assessment (Project-based Learning)
• Transformative Leadership
• Global Education
• College, Career and Community Connections
• Technology Supported Learning
Student awardees and their nominator will be expected to share their innovation story in a brief, five minute presentation during the
Ohio Innovative Learning Environments Conference.
Submissions need to include the following:
Nominator Name and School/Business Address
Student Name/Grade Level/School
500 Word Narrative (as detailed above)
Nominations are due by April 20th and are to be electronically submitted to Linda Romano. Contact Linda with questions or for more
information.
Connected Leader Webinars
The Department of Curriculum & Instruction will be producing two more webinars this school year: “Connecting the Work” and
“Creating Student Centered Classrooms.”
The “Connecting the Work” webinar will be released next week. “Creating Student Centered Classrooms” will be released in April.
All the webinars produced this school year can still be viewed by visiting:
http://the-connected-leader.blogspot.com/
2011-2012 Webinars Released So Far:
Webinar #1: 5 Questions Data Teams should Begin to Answer to Guide Discussion for the 2011-2012 School Year
Webinar #2: Using the Walkthrough & Instructional Round Observation Template
Webinar #3: Knows & Applies Best Practice – Part I
Webinar #4: Knows & Applies Best Practice – Part II
Webinar #5: Gives & Receives Feedback – Part 1
Webinar #6: Gives & Receives Feedback – Part II
Webinar #7: Establishing Purpose for Learning
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5. The Curriculum Connection
Grades 6 - 8 Course Placement
Now that the scheduling process is underway for grades 6-8, it is important that we are all aware of the placement criteria for certain
courses. These criteria were carefully established using historical data, current student performance data, and national
normative data.
Grade 6 Math:
Math 6: No placement criteria required
Pre-Algebra: Grade 5 Winter Math MAP RIT of 245+
Appeal:
Grade 5 Winter Math MAP RIT of 240 – 244 AND
5th Grade Advanced OAA Math score AND
Scored 15+ on the Hilliard Math Placement Test Grade 6*
*This assessment will be given in May at the student’s home school
Grade 7 Math:
Math 7: No placement criteria required
Pre-Algebra: Grade 6 Winter Math MAP RIT of 220 – 244
Appeal:
6th Grade Proficient or above OAA Math Score
Algebra 1: Successful completion of Pre-Algebra in 6th Grade or Grade 6 Winter Math MAP RIT of 245+
Appeal:
Grade 6 Winter Math MAP RIT of 240 – 244 AND
6th Grade Advanced OAA Math score AND
Scored 36+ on the Hilliard Math Placement Test Grade 7*
*This assessment will be given in May at the student’s home school
Grade 7 Language Arts:
Language Arts 7: No placement criteria required
Advanced Language Arts 7: Grade 6 Winter Reading MAP RIT of 229+
Appeal:
6th Grade Advanced or Accelerated OAA Reading score
Grade 8 Language Arts:
Language Arts 8: No placement criteria required
Honors English 9: Grade 7 Winter Reading MAP RIT of 235+
Appeal:
Final grade of “A” in Advanced Language Arts 7 AND
7th Grade Advanced OAA Reading Score
Grade 7 Science:
Science 7: No placement criteria required
Advanced Science 7: Students who are eligible for and select Algebra 1 will be given the Science MAP test in the
spring (cut scores will be determined following the administration of this assessment)
Appeal:
Hilliard Science Placement Test Grade 7 (currently being created – cut scores will be determined
following the administration of this assessment)
Grade 8 Social Studies:
Social Studies 8: No placement criteria required
Creating America: Grade 7 Winter Reading MAP RIT of 235+
Appeal:
Final grade of “A” in Advanced Language Arts 7 AND
Final grade of “A” in Social Studies 7 AND
7th Grade Advanced OAA Reading Score
Note: There will be a formal appeal process if a student/parent wishes to challenge placement. Details about the appeal process will
be available on the district website in early March. Students/Parents will be required to submit in writing they wish to appeal
placement. We do not anticipate many appeals being approved through this process, so students/parents should not be
encouraged to appeal unless the Winter MAP score is very close to the cutoff.
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6. The Curriculum Connection
Keeping our eye on RTI!
Tear Free, Tier 1 Data
Progress monitoring is the pillar of the RTI framework. Once an intervention strategy has been identified for a student, we want to
collect data to show if the intervention is successful or not. This quantitative piece is very important and is often our biggest challenge.
It can be as easy as being intentional about record keeping on those tier 1 interventions teachers are trying with their students,
especially those that seem to be struggling or not responding. Teachers can print out a class list where they can tally or document
students they work with. Be sure they include when and for how long. Looking at this type of data over time can help them identify
what works and what doesn’t as they look at the next step in intervention for this student.
Examples of Tier 1 progress monitoring:
• A ninth grade math teacher recognizes that two students lack the prerequisite skills in the area of fractions. Twice each week she
gives those two students a short fraction assessment to see if those skills are improving. This is done in class by the classroom
teacher while other students are working on their assignments. This data is recorded and graphed over time.
• A seventh grade language arts teacher sees before the school year even begins that he has four students who are reading well
below grade level. He administers a short reading comprehension check once each week to these four students. Usually he finds
a time during class to do this, sometimes he needs to pull them out of lunch for the last 10 minutes to do this. This data is
recorded and graphed over time.
• A high school U.S. history teacher has three students who lack organizational skills and self-control in class. The teacher records
every day whether these three students are on time, with proper supplies, have completed assignments, remain in their seats,
and take notes. This data is recorded and graphed over time.
March 2012 Calendar Dates
March 1—7:45-2:45 Gr 7-8 Lang Arts Common Core (Lg Annex);
March 2—F&P Window Closes; K-5 Progress Reports
March 5—KG Screening @ SSF; 1:00-3:00 HS Dept Facilitators
March 6—KG Screening @ SSF; 8:30-11:30 Principal Value Added Training (Lg Annex)
March 7—LATE START DAY #4
March 8—KG Screening @ SSF; 7:45-2:45 PLTW—All (Sm Annex); 8:00-11:00 Pre K-12 Administrative Meeting (Annex); 3:30-4:45
Resident Educator Mtg (Lg Annex)
March 9—OTELA Window Closes; KG Screening @ SSF
March 12—OGT READING; KG Screening @ SSF
March 13—OGT MATH; KG Screening @ SSF; 4-5:00 PM Electronic Walkthrough Training (Lg Annex)
March 14—OGT WRITING; KG Screening @ SSF; 12:30-3:30 Principal Value Added Training (Lg Annex)
March 15—OGT SCIENCE; KG Screening @ SSF; 4:00-6:00 K/1 iDiscovery SUM Group (WSH Rm 68)
March 16—OGT SOCIAL STUDIES; LC Meeting; 7:45-2:45 Gr 7-8 Lang Arts Common Core (Lg Annex)
March 19—KG Screening @ SSF; 1:00-3:00 HS Dept. Facilitators
March 20—KG Screening @ SSF; 7:45-2:45 Performing Arts Course of Study (Gr. K-12) (Lg Annex); 10:00-6:00 LPDC Meeting (SSF
Comp Lab)
March 21—KG Screening @ SSF
March 22—KG Screening @ SSF; 7:45-2:45 Journalism Course Development (Lg Annex)
March 23—Grades 6-12 End 3rd Grading Period; 7:45-2:45 Journalism Course Development (Lg Annex)
MARCH 26—MARCH 30—SPRING BREAK—NO SCHOOL
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