Thank you, farmers!
Stuck inside with all this rain (see atmospheric river), we turn to cooking, of course. We had a fresh cauliflower in the fridge, so I found a recipe for cauliflower shawarma, which included homemade pita. I don’t bake…um, successfully…so I was excited when my spouse said, “That doesn’t look too hard. I’ll make the pita.”
When I came home from work, the pita were coming out of the oven and were soft and puffed full of air, just like the picture in the recipe. Without even waiting to prepare the cauliflower, we took two pita and put in hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, and red pepper and gobbled them up.
I am spoiled by California being a national produce capital. In my raised boxes, I planted cauliflower, broccoli, fava beans, and peas in the late fall/early winter, but the rain and constant clouds have really slowed growth. But we have farmer’s markets in town and nearby towns where we can get seasonal fresh produce pretty much year round. I wonder how this weather will affect the spring and summer crops? Oh, well, tomorrow, we’ll make that cauliflower shawarma and more pita!
Too. Many. Tasks.
I have a pile of journals to read, notes on a stack of stickies to decipher and turn into a To Do list, book chapters to catch up on for my meeting with my leadership coach, emails from staff to answer, instructional materials adoptions to update and move forward with, notes to turn into an agenda for a meeting in 30 minutes, and a conference to debrief/collate/record about. Just another library day!
I was housebound most of the weekend, from an “atmospheric river” (9th since January; the 10th is arriving tomorrow) that is causing flooding for so many in this state. Californians are well-trained to never complain about wet weather, saying, “We need the rain,” but I would love some sunshine and spring weather to arrive.
Many of my tasks do bring me joy. I’m going to introduce a group of district leaders to California’s FREE, online tutoring for K-12 and adult learners today; that will be a wonderful opportunity to spread great news! In those notes I have a lot of great recs for new books for our libraries–and I have the funds to pay for them! Working with the leadership coach is a gift, and I’m learning a lot. And all the work will get done, I know, with focus, patience, and time.
Slice of Life Tuesday, February 29, 2023
Today I have spent much of my time purchasing ebooks for our consolidated school library system (I am the district’s teacher-librarian). This means finding great recommendations (and keeping in mind what kids like to read), entering them into the book finder of the vendor (not everything I want is available), making lists (Graphix K-5, STEM 6-8, Popular Fiction 4-8, Spanish K-2, and so on), reviewing formats (audio? e? both?), taking care that books are marked properly to be available to only certain grades (just as in our print collections, but the labels of the publishers don’t match the labels of the vendors don’t match our labels, such as, What is Young Adult?), looking at the total costs (sometimes THOUSANDS!), swallowing that lump of doubt in my throat (will they read these? are these worth it? did I pick the right ones?) and then clicking purchase. Happy reading everyone!
Slice of Life Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Rushing from a dentist appointment on one side of town to an occupational therapy appointment on the other, trying to grab lunch at 2:30pm, I ran into a TJ’s and grabbed a lentil wrap. I set it down near the area where the gentleman in front of me was checking out and made sure to let the checker know this was NOT part of the gentleman’s cart (I couldn’t hold it with my bum wrist). Then the man turned to the checker and said, “Ring her up with mine.” The checker asked me if I was okay with that and I started to defer but then realized it would reduce, somehow, this act of generosity not to accept, so I conveyed my heartfelt thanks, told him it was my lunch and a real treat, then went on with my day.
When I returned to school, my colleague had received a box of deliciousness from another employee from Porto’s in SoCal. We’re in Northern California so this was a rare treat. My colleague had saved half of every item for me to share.
I give thanks for the generosity of others and the way it landed at just the right time!
Slice of Life, January 17, 2023
I fell two weeks ago, tripping over a curb as I walked onto a sidewalk. I felt the fear and horror of falling and managed to stay up while I struggled forward and then, fell anyway, but worse, because now I was right near a rough stucco wall. I fell down on my knees and one wrist, while my face and the other wrist slammed against the wall before falling all the way down. Luckily, my eyeglasses and face mask took the brunt of the force and I have only a very few face scratches and a black eye to show for it. My hand was shredded on two fingers and my right wrist badly sprained, so again, lucky. But here is my realization: it is taking me 2-3 times as long to get things done and all of my moves with my hands and arms are visited by twinges of pain. I am thinking a lot of how I take so much of my mobility for granted and how now, getting dressed in the morning takes quite an effort. Grateful for luck and for my general good health. More mindful of those with any mobility issues. Walking more carefully, too.
Using Approved Class Novels
A committee of teachers from grades 6-12 determined a set of class novels for each grade, related to the StudySync curriculum. This work was done in the 2020-21 school year and led by Heather Reyburn, a TOSA in the Professional Learning Department under the direction of the IMC Director, Debra Schneider. All 6-12 teachers were invited multiple times during the recruitment period and those who volunteered did a deep analysis of class novels as a practice, an evaluation of novels currently at sites as well as those available for this purchase from McGraw Hill/StudySync, and made a thoughtful selection that was shared throughout the 6-12 ELA department.
Now that those books are adopted and in place for check out at each site, some teachers are asking to use other, different novels instead, and are asking how to get those novels approved. Approval is only for district-wide materials (governed by BP 6161.1); any additional materials are governed by supplemental materials policy 6161.11.
Teachers are required to use the district-adopted materials because they have been vetted and approved by the TUSD Board of Education (BP 6161.1). The use of common instructional materials is a guarantee to parents that there is a “floor” or “core” of educational experiences all students in Tracy schools will have. In each grade between 6-8, between 2 and 5 of the class novels sets are supported by a full set of teacher directions for teaching that novel, so that teachers can have support for standards-based instruction using these novels and not have to invent novel study lesson plans from scratch. Educational Services requires that at least TWO novels from the class selection be used with students each year.
Supplemental texts can be used to fill an identified gap in the standards covered by materials. Note that supplemental materials fill a standards-based gap, not a theme or enrichment goal. Consider the purpose of the materials: supplemental materials cannot supplant the use of the adopted novels. BP 6161.11 requires teachers to consult with their site administration to show the gap and present the supplemental materials’ ability to address that gap, in order to use supplemental materials for that class/course.
When using supplemental materials, it would be good to send a permission letter home, as the materials are not board-approved (the board approves materials used district-wide, not those used at a site). This is not a district-adoption that has been through a public review process (see BP 6161.1), but a site decision (BP 6161.11). If the materials will be required reading in a class, parent notification is an essential part of the process. If the books are in a classroom library for free choice reading, notification is less essential as the student has a choice to read it or not.
Choosing Supplemental Materials for Classroom Use
Types of Instructional Materials
There are two basic types of instructional materials and the use of each is governed by a Board Policy and Administrative Regulations.
Most common are the materials adopted by the board for use by all students in a grade (Wonders for K-5, for example) or course (World History, for example). The evaluation and selection of these materials is governed by BP 6161.1. By policy and past practice, a teacher committee analyzes available materials using a rigorous process facilitated by the IMC and CDE toolkits for instructional materials adoptions. Once adopted, the materials must be used with all students, in general and special education, and available for use in class and at home, in the grade or course the materials were adopted for (Williams Settlement legislation).
Teachers may also use materials to supplement the adopted instructional materials when they identify gaps in the adopted materials. Because no materials are perfect, Board Policy 6161.11 allows teachers to bring supplemental materials into a classroom. However, these are not adopted for an entire grade level or course, but usually for a classroom or school site. For example, perhaps the while studying a specific topic in third grade, a group of students in Ms. Contreras’s classroom ask a lot of questions that require a deeper dive into biomes than the text gives. The teacher can bring in supplemental images, readings, videos, etc., in compliance with BP 6161.11 (discuss with site admin so they are aware and provide funding if needed and instructional leadership support). There is no district committee convened to review or recommend the supplemental materials. These supplemental materials can SUPPLEMENT but cannot SUPPLANT the use of board-adopted instructional materials.
Supplemental materials can SUPPLEMENT but cannot SUPPLANT the use of board-adopted instructional materials.
Class Novels
The most common supplemental materials found in TUSD schools are class novels that are held in a classroom (to be used by one teacher’s students) or by a site (to be shared by all teachers at a grade level). The selection and funding of these class novels is not usually provided by district funds but by site, parent club, or the donation of private/outside funds.
For students in grades 6 through 12, there are adopted class novels. The list of the novels can be found in the Staff Portal>Curriculum>!Study Sync Novel Adoption and Reserved List. Teachers are expected to use 2-4 of these titles a year (the majority are supported by teachers’ guides in the adopted Study Sync curriculum) before requesting to supplemental with other class novels.
For students in grades K-5, there are no class novels adopted at the district level, but many sites have novels read by classrooms or grade levels. If you are a teacher who wishes to use class novels at the site or classroom level, contact your site admin to discuss suitability and funding; contact your site teacher librarian for support in identifying the most engaging and relevant contemporary novels for students.
The use of supplemental materials is determined (and paid for) at the site level, not by any district department or committee,
Note that the use of supplemental materials is determined (and paid for) at the site level, not by any district department or committee, and the requesting teacher must show her/his administration that these materials do not supplant the board-adopted materials, but provide a supplement to fill an identified gap. However, the site’s teacher librarian and the IMC Director can support the search for good materials and advocate with site leadership as needed.
When Can I Pick Up My New Science Materials?
The TUSD Board approved the adoption and purchase of NGSS-aligned science materials for all grades, PreK-12. For the first time since the adoption of the NGSS in 2013, all students in Tracy Unified School District will have access to standards-aligned science instructional materials. Hurray!
Teacher editions (print materials and digital licenses) are processed in the IMC as they arrive; teachers receive an email when the materials are ready for pick up; this will include instructions for accessing your digital license (digital licenses will be activated on July 1).
IMC Staff are working daily to get your materials ready for you as soon as possible. Some materials have already been processed and teachers notified. IMC staff are processing K-5 materials right now and will send out emails as each grade is completed; grades 3-5 are ready for pick up. We expect grade 6-8 materials to be arriving at the IMC for processing before May 16 and ready soon after. High school physics is ready for pick up; other high school course materials are still on their way. Please check your email weekly over the summer so you will know when your materials are ready to pick up. The IMC is open all summer, 8am to 4pm daily.
Student editions will arrive at school sites this summer and be processed in the new school year for distribution to students in the first weeks of school. Your library staff will contact you to set up the check-out process for your students in August.
Discarding Obsolete Materials
When the District undergoes a major instructional materials adoption, it is almost always accompanied by a major discard of what are now obsolete instructional materials (IM). Right away, teachers contact the IMC and/or library staff to inquire, “Can I keep a set of the old books?”
No. All obsolete materials must be discarded. Here are the primary reasons why.
The new materials are aligned to new standards and/or a new framework. These new standards and/or frameworks usually have major shifts in the framing of content, even when content remains similar. Or they required different pedagogical approaches, which the old materials do not use or support.
The Williams Settlement requires providing students with the same instructional materials for a grade or course. This is part of the guarantee all students have to equitable Tier 1 core instruction. We must follow the law. Allowing other obsolete materials in the mix could violate this law.
Using the same materials for all students in the same grade or course is a powerful equity move. All students are guaranteed standards-aligned instruction and IM is one important way TUSD can support teachers in providing that instruction. It is part of the “unspoken” curriculum.
Using district-adopted instructional materials shows respect to the teachers who worked to evaluate and select them. TUSD teachers on IM adoption committees work many hours, across many months (and sometimes years) to do a deep analytical evaluation of multiple programs, using state-provided documents to guide that evaluation. From that work, they determine the best materials for a pilot, then work with two (or more) sets of new materials to find the one that best engages students and leads to better student achievement. They recommend the one they think will work best to the TUSD Board, explaining to the board why this is their recommendation. Teachers not on the committees can show their respect for the expertise and hard work of their peers by using the materials and engaging in critical–and constructive–conversations about using them for the best student results.
Site administrators are charged with monitoring and supporting the use of district-adopted IM. If you find a significant gap in those materials and want to use supplemental materials to close that gap (per Board Policy 6161.11), consult with your site administrator for guidance and support.
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