Monday Memo - 9/28/2020

BOE meeting, September 29, 2020
An update on Webster's virtual learning plan will be presented to the Board of Education on Tuesday, September 29. If you have time, I suggest you watch the BOE meeting to hear the latest updates. 

Tech Tips, Staff Shout Outs and Check-Ins
To submit a staff shout out, cool tech tip, or to submit a quick check in, please use the HIXSON STAFF CHECK IN form. We are always watching for submissions through this form!

November 3, 2020 - Election Day
Many of you have shared concerns about professional development on Election Day. I shared your concerns with district administration. There will be no changes to our plans for November 3. It is a professional development day for Hixson and the high school, and a records day for the elementary schools. Hixson will have district led anti-bias development in the morning, and trauma informed development with Alive and Well in the afternoon. 

Hixson Connections Day - October 13, 2020
In early September, Hixson administration requested permission to have an asynchronous day at some point during virtual learning. The purpose of this request was to create an opportunity for students and staff to "unplug", slow down, and focus on social-emotional well-being. We were granted permission to have an asynchronous day, and we will use it on October 13. This is during the week of parent teacher conferences, and will prevent you from being on Zoom for twelve hours, two days in a row. The plan for the day, and the overall plan for the week of Parent Teacher conferences, will be released to you soon.

Hixson Spirit Wear Store
If you feel like doing a little shopping, click HERE to access the Hixson Spirit Wear store. Proceeds will go to the Hixson Middle School campus beautification fund. The spirit wear store closes on Wednesday, September 30!

Wednesday Check-In
If you have an idea, question, something to discuss, or if you just want to connect with me or others who may be there, feel free to pop in to the staff check-in Zoom on Wednesday mornings from 7:45 am to 8:05 am. This optional check in is just another way to keep us connected and open up another line of communication.  

Join Zoom Meeting

https://wgsdstl.zoom.us/j/92645945780?pwd=U203cTFHWEFUY3hjdEJXaEJ3elNFZz09

Meeting ID: 926 4594 5780

Passcode: 044531

Important dates
September 30 - Human Resources Virtual Roadshow, 3:35 pm to 4:35 pm
October 5 - Department meetings, 3:35 pm to 4:35 pm
October 13 - Parent Teacher Conferences, 4pm to 8pm*
October 14 - Parent Teacher Conferences, 4pm to 8pm*
October 15 - Parent Teacher Conferences, 9am to 4pm*, NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
October 16 - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF
November 3 - Professional Development and Election Day
November 9 - Faculty meeting (professional development), 3:35 pm to 4:35 pm 

*Specific plans for Parent Teacher Conferences will be forthcoming.

DOMAIN 1: HIXSON & COVID-19

Work location plans
Click the Google Forms below to communicate your work location plans. The forms for the upcoming weeks will appear in each Monday Memo until we no longer need them. The form that's due will always be one week ahead so that I know your plans before the week actually starts. If you already know your plans for each week, then you are welcome to complete them all if you want. If you think your plans might fluctuate each week, then just complete the form when it is due on Mondays. If you need to change your plans after you've already submitted your response, email Sarah Magruder so she can update your information. Work location plans for the week of 9/21 to 9/25 are due today by 3:30 PM. Please make sure you complete this task on time.

Work Location Plans - 10/5 to 10/9
Work Location Plans - 10/12 to 10/16
Work Location Plans - 10/19 to 10/23

Self care calendar
Click HERE to access the September Self Care Calendar created by Hixson's counseling department.

DOMAIN 2: HIXSON & EQUITY

Abolitionist Teaching Network Grants
The 2020 Abolitionist Teaching Network opened their grant applications last Wednesday! These grants are for educators who "strive to disrupt inequalities and injustice within their schools, communities, or both". You can nominate yourself or someone else. Click HERE to apply.

Monday Memo - 9/21/20

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
To say 2020 is a tough year is an understatement. We have lost so many iconic and heroic figures this year on top of trying to survive a global pandemic. Let us take time to honor Justice Ginsburg's life, and all of the lives lost in this troubling year, but also find joy and happiness through our support for one another. 

Hixson Spirit Wear Store
If you feel like doing a little shopping, click HERE to access the Hixson Spirit Wear store. Proceeds will go to the Hixson Middle School campus beautification fund.

Wednesday Check-In
I am opening up a staff check-in Zoom on Wednesday mornings from 7:45 am to 8:05 am. If you have an idea, question, something to discuss, or if you just want to connect with me or others who may be there, please click on the Zoom link below. This optional check in is just another way to keep us connected and open up another line of communication.  

Join Zoom Meeting

https://wgsdstl.zoom.us/j/92645945780?pwd=U203cTFHWEFUY3hjdEJXaEJ3elNFZz09

Meeting ID: 926 4594 5780

Passcode: 044531

Important dates
September 21 - School Leadership Team meeting
September 22-25 - NWEA Testing in ELA & Math
September 30 - Human Resources Virtual Roadshow, 3:35 pm to 4:35 pm
October 13 - Parent Teacher Conferences, 4pm to 8pm*
October 14 - Parent Teacher Conferences, 4pm to 8pm*
October 15 - Parent Teacher Conferences, 9am to 4pm*, NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
October 16 - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF
*Specific plans for Parent Teacher Conferences will be forthcoming.

DOMAIN 1: HIXSON & COVID-19

Work location plans
Click the Google Forms below to communicate your work location plans. The forms for the upcoming weeks will appear in each Monday Memo until we no longer need them. The form that's due will always be one week ahead so that I know your plans before the week actually starts. If you already know your plans for each week, then you are welcome to complete them all if you want. If you think your plans might fluctuate each week, then just complete the form when it is due on Mondays. If you need to change your plans after you've already submitted your response, email Sarah Magruder so she can update your information. Work location plans for the week of 9/21 to 9/25 are due today by 3:30 PM. Please make sure you complete this task on time.

Work Location Plans - 9/28 to 10/2
Work Location Plans - 10/5 to 10/9
Work Location Plans - 10/12 to 10/16
Work Location Plans - 10/19 to 10/23

Common virtual learning questions
We have received questions about a few things regarding virtual learning, so I thought I'd put the answers here for all to see.

• After the 22 minutes of synchronous live instruction, students should be allowed to log off the Zoom and the teacher should stay on in case any students need help.
• We understand that it is very hard to fit your content into 22 minutes of live instruction per day. Please focus on what is essential. Don't stress out when things are not perfect. We are all human beings and we are trying to make the most out of a tough situation. What you're doing is enough, and we appreciate you!
• Remember to put attendance in SIS now, per district communication last week.
• With parent teacher conferences being a little over three weeks out, please start putting grades in SIS. SIS is the "end all be all" when it comes to grades, so it has to be correct. 

If you have other topics to discuss, please send them our way!

Self care calendar
Click HERE to access the September Self Care Calendar created by Hixson's counseling department.

DOMAIN 2: HIXSON & EQUITY

Reflections on Paul Gorski

I hope you found Paul Gorski's presentation meaningful last Monday. What stood out to me the most was the quote, "To create an anti-oppressive school, you need to map out all the ways that inequities operate [in your school]..." (Paul Gorski). I challenge you to think about how inequities operate at Hixson, and how we might begin to dismantle those inequities. The purpose of this year's professional development is to lay the foundation for that work in the very near future. I included a graphic below that explains this in much shorter terms. Thank you to Katie Kraushaar for sharing!

Abolitionist Teaching Network Grants

If you are familiar with Dr. Bettina Love's work, you probably know that she recently launched the Abolitionist Teaching Network. On Wednesday, ATN will open an application process for grants for teachers and various community members who "strive to disrupt inequalities and injustice within their schools, communities, or both." If this is something that interests you, click HERE to read more and apply when the process opens on Wednesday.

DOMAIN 3: HIXSON & STEGER

Transition Task Force

The 2021-2022 Hixson admin team (Shenita Mayes, Aimee Vogt, Mike Hazelton, Jeff Atterberry) along with district administration meet each Wednesday to plan for the Hixson-Steger merger. Currently, we are in the process of determining our staffing needs, creating a draft of room assignments, and finalizing our plans for course offerings. In addition, we will be launching the Transition Task Force very soon. The work of this group will include subcommittees that work on the following:

• rebranding and campus beautification
• transition of students
• transition of staff
• parent engagement/communication
• community engagement
• other

Once the task force meets for the first time, we will finalize our subcommittees and hit the ground running. Please consider joining this group! We need your voice!

Monday Memo - 9/14/20

Feedback on virtual learning
I took time on Friday to read Hixson's survey results on virtual learning. It was disaggregated by students, parents, and staff and will be used to inform adjustments the district makes to our current virtual learning plan. I kept note of common themes that emerged from the comments. They are summarized below:

1. Many respondents feel that virtual learning this fall is much better than virtual learning this past spring. They were complimentary of our amazing teachers, especially Hixson students. Many students commented that they really like their teachers.
2. Many respondents are anxious to get back to school, but understand why the district decided to start with virtual learning. 
3. Canvas - the vast majority of feedback from all groups was negative. There were a lot of comments about Canvas being difficult to use, pages being difficult to navigate, and essential information (ie: grades, assignments, feedback, due dates etc) being "buried".
4. Cameras - there continues to be push back on teachers requiring cameras to be turned on.
5. Time - the vast majority of respondents want more asynchronous time and longer breaks during the school day.
6. Communication - students and parents want more communication from teachers and counselors.
7. Zoom - synchronous learning is lasting more than approximately 22 minutes per class.

Out of all the comments across the surveys, there was no better comment than student comment #421!

I hope this was as funny to you as it was to me, and I hope it brings you a little joy in the midst of this challenging situation! District and building administrators will be forming work groups to determine how to improve virtual learning based on the feedback. I will keep you updated as that work unfolds. 

Staff shout outs and positive news to share
From Gina Garbo - The SSD team is working hard with a great sense of humor to solve problems and help each other out. Grateful to work for a welcoming, helpful and hard-working team! 

From Sarah Bodi - I wanted to share this feedback from a student's survey response about how much better virtual learning is now than in the spring: "Some of the things that I like better is that we have daily zooms, as well as the fact that grades actually count so that a lot more people show up to the zooms, and finally that the breakout rooms are very helpful to work independently, and interacting with peers. I hope that this helps raise people’s spirits as well as gives good information."

You can submit a staff shout out through the HIXSON STAFF CHECK IN form, and you can also use it to tell us how you are feeling, provide feedback, or communicate a need.

Cool tech tip
From Gina Garbo - https://www.imagefu.com/create/button is a great tool to make simplified buttons for Canvas if you are having a hard time making custom buttons.

If you'd like to submit a cool tech tip, please submit it in the Hixson Staff Check In form and I will put it in next week's Monday Memo!

Hixson Spirit Wear Store
The Hixson Spirit Wear Store launched this past Friday! If you feel like doing a little shopping, click HERE to access the store. Proceeds will go to the Hixson Middle School campus beautification fund.

Important dates
September 14 - Faculty Meeting - PD w/Paul Gorski (see info below)
September 16 - Growth plan must be approved by your evaluator
September 18 - Growth plans due to district
September 21 - School Leadership Team meeting
September 30 - Human Resources Virtual Roadshow, 3:35 pm to 4:35 pm

DOMAIN 1: HIXSON & COVID-19

Work location plans
Click the Google Forms below to communicate your work location plans. The forms for the upcoming weeks will appear in each Monday Memo until we no longer need them. The form that's due will always be one week ahead so that I know your plans before the week actually starts. If you already know your plans for each week, then you are welcome to complete them all if you want. If you think your plans might fluctuate each week, then just complete the form when it is due on Mondays. If you need to change your plans after you've already submitted your response, email Sarah Magruder so she can update your information. Work location plans for the week of 9/21 to 9/25 are due today by 3:30 PM. Please make sure you complete this task on time.

Work Location Plans - 9/21 to 9/25
Work Location Plans - 9/28 to 10/2
Work Location Plans - 10/5 to 10/9
Work Location Plans - 10/12 to 10/16
Work Location Plans - 10/19 to 10/23

Self care calendar
Click HERE to access the self care calendar created by Hixson's counseling department.

DOMAIN 2: HIXSON AND EQUITY

Today's Professional Development - Dr. Paul Gorski

Dr. Paul Gorski will be our presenter for today's professional development. He will help us understand what equity is and explain the concept of equity detours. I included a link to his famous article on equity detours below, along with his bio. We will start promptly at 3:35 pm and will be together no longer than one hour. 

Shenita Mayes is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. 

Topic: Paul Gorski - Racial Equity Detours

Join Zoom Meeting

https://wgsdstl.zoom.us/j/96854264284?pwd=cUNkSzBJNEtBT3d4NUVNcm8zT0ZYQT09

Meeting ID: 968 5426 4284

Passcode: 215455

Founder and Lead Equity Specialist
Paul is the founder of the Equity Literacy Institute and EdChange. He has more than 20 years of experience helping educators, nonprofit workers, and others strengthen their equity efforts. He has worked with educators in 48 states and a dozen countries. Paul has published more than 70 articles and has written, co-written, or co-edited twelve books on various aspects of educational equity including Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap and Case Studies on Diversity and Social Justice Education (with Seema Pothini). He is the author of the Multicultural Pavilion, an online compendium of free resources for educators. Paul earned a PhD in Educational Evaluation at the University of Virginia. He was a teacher educator at several universities for 15 years. He is also a published poet, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and the biggest fan of Buster, his cat. 

Avoiding Racial Equity Detours

Tuesday Memo - 9/8/20

Thank you in advance for continuing to think of creative ways to engage students in virtual learning and being sensitive to their needs. Remember, some students are completely comfortable with having their cameras on and some are not (for a variety of reasons). We don't want our students to feel embarrassed or humiliated while in our care. Instead, we want them to feel safe, loved, and welcome. 

Dr. Bettina Love recently launched the Abolitionist Teaching Network. There is a Guide for Racial Justice and Abolitionist SEL on the website. On page 8, Dr. Love provides questions that teachers can use to build relationships with their students, and I thought they might be helpful to have as you continue the amazing work you do with Hixson students everyday. 

Hixson Educator Award
Speaking of awesome educators, congratulations again to Jill Right for winning the Hixson Educator Award! Click HERE to read all about why Jill is so deserving of this award!

Staff Shout Outs!
From Hope Strasser - Gail Tuminello was a huge help in building assignments and a course for Study Skills! She is always willing to work together to help our students!!

You can submit a staff shout out through the HIXSON STAFF CHECK IN form, and you can also use it to tell us how you are feeling, provide feedback, or communicate a need.

Cool tech tip
From Hope Strasser - In Canvas, when using a url and each student needs a copy (of a document), go into the url and change "edit" to "copy" and it will make a new copy when student's click on it.

If you'd like to submit a cool tech tip, please submit it in the Hixson Staff Check In form and I will put it in next week's Monday Memo!

Hixson Spirit Wear Store
The Hixson Spirit Wear Store launched this past Friday! If you feel like doing a little shopping, click HERE to access the store. Proceeds will go to the Hixson Middle School campus beautification fund.

Important dates
September 14 - Faculty Meeting - Professional Development (more info to come)
September 16 - Growth plan must be approved by your evaluator
September 18 - Growth plans due to district
September 21 - School Leadership Team meeting

DOMAIN 1: HIXSON & COVID-19

Work location plans
Click the Google Forms below to communicate your work location plans. The forms for the upcoming weeks will appear in each Monday Memo until we no longer need them. The form that's due will always be one week ahead so that I know your plans before the week actually starts. If you already know your plans for each week, then you are welcome to complete them all if you want. If you think your plans might fluctuate each week, then just complete the form when it is due on Mondays. If you need to change your plans after you've already submitted your response, email Sarah Magruder so she can update your information. Work location plans for the week of 9/8 to 9/11 are due today by 3:30 PM. Please make sure you complete this task on time.

Work Location Plans - 9/14 to 9/18
Work Location Plans - 9/21 to 9/25
Work Location Plans - 9/28 to 10/2
Work Location Plans - 10/5 to 10/9
Work Location Plans - 10/12 to 10/16
Work Location Plans - 10/19 to 10/23

When students are not engaging in virtual learning
The admin/counselor team would like to thank you for providing feedback on the plan for how we will respond when students are not engaged in virtual learning. We will be finalizing this plan today and will send it out to the staff as soon as possible. 

Self care calendar
Click HERE to access the self care calendar created by Hixson's counseling department.

DOMAIN 2: HIXSON AND EQUITY

Reflections on Friday's PD

Thank you so much for participating in our first building-based professional development on anti-bias and anti-racism in education. Sherita Love did an amazing job with helping us get our feet wet. Some of us even stayed afterwards to talk more about school discipline and restorative practices. It is very important for us to start having these tough conversations and working together to ensure all Hixson students receive equitable outcomes in the education they receive from us. I have linked a PDF of Sherita's presentation as well as a few of the videos she used for your review below. 

Intro to Anti-bias Anti-racism in Education (Hixson)

Housing Segregation in Everything

Upstream Solutions

NPR's Code Switch

I would also like to highlight the podcast, Code Switch (NPR). I have been listening to this podcast for about a year now, but my favorite is a small series they put together between 2017 and 2018 called Raising Kings: A year of love and struggle at ron brown college prep. If you want to hear about a brand new school's successes and struggles with fully implementing restorative practices, and the residual effects of those efforts, then give this series a listen.

NPR's Code Switch

Raising Kings: A year of love and struggle at ron brown college prep