SDP Educator Weekly
newsletter
January 8-January 12
in this issue
Opportunities for:
- Students
quicklinks
Good morning colleagues,
I hope that you are getting back into the swing of things coming out of winter break.
As promised, the Tuesday newsletter has a new look, thanks to your feedback in October. I hope that you find the changes in response to what you shared make accessing the information you need easier.
Below is a quick overview of changes in the new template:
- You can use the table of contents to jump to the sections of the newsletter that are relevant and of interest to you.
- The newsletter will be hyperlinked from my email rather than embedded in my email
- There are some new links that you requested (e.g. district calendars) which were added towards the end of last year and remain in this new version.
I hope you find this to be helpful in organizing and acting on information!
Meredith
General Announcements, Reminders, and Action Items
Computer Science Ed Week Hour of Code Results are in!
Thank you so much for all your hard work and diligence with exposing our students to various coding opportunities during Computer Science Ed Week. Throughout the week, we saw great activities in classrooms across the district. The 2023 Hour of Code stats are in! We had a total of 17K+ student coders across 161 K-12 schools. Thank you to all our school leaders, teachers and student participants. Next year will be bigger and better than ever!
ANNOUNCEMENT: Our Media and Design Competition is underway! MARK YOUR CALENDARS for March 22, 2024 REGISTER TODAY. See our website https://tinyurl.com/phillymdc if you are interested in participating and want to learn more. Please contact Jess Ross-White (jqross@philasd.org), Director of Special Projects, with any questions.
Term 2 Grading Window Opens Friday, January 12th
The grading window for Term 2 will close on Friday, January 26th at 5:00 pm. Please ensure that grades for all courses are posted by then. Remember, even with an up-to-date grade book, grades will only appear on the report card if they are in the post column. For detailed instructions, please view the Posting Steppers (K-8 and HS) or Help Videos (K-8 and HS). Please email Jeremy Wright, jwright@philasd.org; Kelly Lannutti, krogers@philasd.org; Erica Durant, edurant@philasd.org, with any questions.
NSCW 2024 - Counselor Highlights
National School Counseling Week takes place February 5th through February 9th, and we are asking for students, families, school-based staff and central-office staff to nominate a counselor who you feel should be highlighted that week. Please use this opportunity to recognize a counselor who you feel goes above and beyond for their students and school community. Nominations will be open until January 19th. Submit your nominations HERE. Questions? Email Meghan Smith (measmith@philasd.org).
Family Math Engagement Webinar Series Communications Toolkit
We're excited to share with you a communications toolkit you can use to share our family math webinar series with your school community. This toolkit provides you with a sample newsletter blurb and social media posts you can simply copy and paste to share important learning opportunities with families and the community you serve. Please help us spread the word so more families can learn how to support their children at home with mathematics! Questions? Email Jessica Tilli at jlauer@philasd.org.
General Announcements, Reminders, and Action Items
Support for Emergency Certified Teachers
Teach Right Now is a new initiative from the Office of Professional Learning that is designed to support first year emergency certified teachers.
For resources and to sign up for upcoming professional development, check out the January Newsletter.
For more information, sign up for updates HERE. Please email Sharae Graham, sgraham2@philasd.org, with any questions. Happy Teaching!
Lindback Award Nomination Reminder:
Lindback Award Nomination Reminder:
Nominations are still open for the prestigious 2023-2024 Lindback Award, recognizing exceptional principals and teachers within our District.
Don't miss these key approaching deadlines:
Principal Award: Nominations are due Friday, January 12, 2024, at noon.
Teacher Award: Applications are due Monday, February 12, 2024, at noon.
For more information please visit our website HERE. Questions? Email us at Lindback@philasd.org.
Online Adaptive Programs–Middle of Year Diagnostic Window
Reminder: i-Ready, Achieve3000, & Imagine users should complete the OAP Middle of Year Diagnostic Assessment between Feb. 1 to March 1st.
If you have any questions regarding the above steps contact the Office of Diverse Learners MTSS Academics Team at oapvendors@philasd.org.
Professional Development
Tune Up Tuesday (February)
The February 6th and 20th Tune Up Tuesday Sessions are now open on Cornerstone - Flyer HERE. Join us for an evening of great professional learning and collaboration with your colleagues. (4:30-6:00pm). More information is available on our website HERE. *Please note TUT payment is only for 10-month Teachers and Counselors. Questions? Email: tuneuptuesday@philasd.org.
Africana Studies Lecture and Workshop Series
Join us for the next Africana Studies Lecture and Workshop Series virtual shared learning event occurring on January 20th from 10 am to 1 pm. The central focus of the sessions and speakers will be around resistance and identity related to Africana Studies. Featured speakers include Dr. Gerald Horne, Rosa Clemente, African American History teacher Isaac Dunn, community activist Saudia Durrant , and an award winning documentary film maker and African American historian, EJ Johnson. Register in Cornerstone. Questions? Contact Ismael Jimenez at ijimenez@philasd.org.
Arts Integration and Early Childhood Education; 2 Act 48 credit hours
Thursday, February 1, 2024; 4 – 6pm; $30; $15 School District of Philadelphia employees w/code PSDTEACHER. Register HERE.
What can our youngest visitors gain by spending time in museums, learning from art, and making art? Join us as we discuss strategies and best practices for arts integration in early childhood education. Light refreshments, gallery access, free parking (limited availability), and passes to return with friends or family will be provided. Questions? Email education@barnesfoundation.org.
We are a group of literacy leaders committed to improving literacy outcomes for children by sharing our ideas, challenges, resources, and research. We are teachers, principals, coaches, curriculum writers, tutors, researchers, advocates, and leaders. We meet via Zoom seven times a year. Participation in our group is free and flexible, please join us as you are and when you can; no pre-work is necessary. Our next meeting is Thursday, January 25, from 4:00-6:00pm--Angela Marks and Kara Fisher from Reading Allowed will share their problem of practice about how Reading Allowed can make changes to their curricula, their systems within schools, and their assessments in order to more effectively help students accelerate their reading growth. If you are interested in joining our community, complete our survey, and we will send you calendar invitations for the year (with Zoom link). Contact: Megan Zor, mzor@philasd.org.
Opportunities for Teachers
Math Teacher Updates
Thank you all for your engagement during the District Math PD last week. Linked HERE, you will find the Post PD Newsletter for the January 2nd session. There you will find key takeaways named and resources shared during the session. This document also lives on the Math Website (tinyurl.com/sdpmath2324) so you don’t have to bookmark something new. We look forward to hearing and seeing how the unit planning impacts your teaching and your students learning in the upcoming unit! Questions? Email math@philasd.org.
ACE Webinar
Join American College of Education to learn more! Information to be presented includes: tuition reduction grant opportunities, program information and Q & A time. Click HERE to register. Email Regina Ceribelli at regina.ceribelli@ace.edu with any questions.
Equity in Practice: One Day At A Time (ODAAT)
Join us on January 24, 2023, at 12:00pm via Zoom for an Equity in Practice session with One
Day At A Time (ODAAT). Equity in Practice is a lunchtime presentation and Q&A with community organizations highlighting the organization's background and their connection to equity, resources and services, and best practices that promotes equitable action. Those who are interested can register at the link provided.
Registration Link | Event Flyer
Questions? Email ktribble@philasd.org.
SIS End-of-Term Gradebook Office Hours
The posting window will be open from 1/12/24 through 1/26/24 at 5p. The Admin Review window will be from 1/29/24 through 1/30/24. We will be holding optional SIS Gradebook end-of-term office hours for SIS Coaches and Teachers.
*SIS: SIS Coach/Teacher Gradebook End-of-Term Office Hours*
1/16/24 11am-12pm; 1/18/24 10am-11am; 1/23/24 10am-11am; 1/25/24 11am - 12pm
To sign up for a session, please search for "SIS: SIS Coach/Teacher Gradebook End-of-Term Office Hours" in Cornerstone. Reach out to SISpd@philasd.org if you have trouble registering or joining with this Zoom link.
Instructional Resources
School Community Literacy Resources Available!
By actively engaging families and community members in the exploration of structured literacy, we can enhance our collective understanding of effective reading strategies and cultivate a supportive environment beyond the classroom. By building a strong partnership between school and home, we can amplify the impact on student literacy outcomes. Email ela@philasd.org to obtain resources such as presentation materials, hand outs, sign in sheets, and more to present an outstanding, informative parent presentation on literacy to your school community.