August 14, 2014
Cohort Blast
EduCAgents
“Have a vision.
Be demanding.”
-
Colin Powell
Table of Contents
Item
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Action
Bon Mot
Action Items
Cohort Calendar
Announcements
For Lagniappe
<must read>
<must read>
<must read>
<must read>
<nice to read>
Deadline
ASAP
ASAP
Sunday
ASAP
Sunday
Celebrations
<nice to read>
Sunday
I. Bon Mot <must read>
Dear EduCAgents,
Cheers once again to St. Helena folks, who continue to serve as our cohort’s pioneers! This week, St. Helena
teachers Arianne Wilt, Austin Hutchinson, Megan O’Reilly, and Caitlin Shipp participated in the first diagnostic
observations. Things are HOT in Greensburg – the average ACE rating on Student Engagement I observed is a 2,
average TAL ratings include factual recall on the rigor scale, and overall teachers are friendly, firm, and students
enjoy being with them. St. Helena folks are killing it, you guys.
Diagnostic Observations kicked off this week and run through August 29. Just like you’re diagnosing individual
student performance to get a feel for where your class is, I’m diagnosing our cohort’s classrooms to get a feel for
where our cohort is and what supports we need. Here’s what to expect:
 I’ll be in your classroom for about 15 minutes.
 I’ll leave written feedback (the form I’m using is attached).
 I’ll catch you for a second before I leave campus to give you quick hits, both celebrations and things to try. If
we can’t meet up, I’ll send a text (but I would rather see your face).
Diagnostic observations ARE useful for me and the TLD team to identify great classroom work, group potential Real
Time Coaching candidates, plan for useful All Corps sessions, etc. Diagnostic observations ARE NOT evaluative – you
aren’t giving your students a grade for their DRA rating, and I’m not grading you either. Feel free to grab me if you
have questions, or call me during planning or after school to chat through any notes I leave.
FYI: Our first round of coaching cycles (observations, debriefs, rinse, repeat) will kick off on September 2, when you
and I will plan to have longer observations and aligned coaching conversations. Stay tuned!
Soignez-vous autres,
AA
Annie’s Calendar
Monday
8/18
9a Training in Baton
Rouge
Diagnostic
Observations:
Broadmoor Middle
Lanier Elementary
Crestworth Middle
Children’s Charter
Baton Rouge, LA
Tuesday
8/19
Wednesday
8/20
Thursday
8/21
Friday
8/22
First day presence:
Diagnostic
Diagnostic Observations:
IMPACT Charter
Observations:
Anyone I didn’t catch
Baker, LA
St. Helena High and
from M-W!
Worktime and TLD
Elementary
Anywhere, LA
Diagnostic Observations:
meetings
Greensburg, LA
North Banks Middle
Baton Rouge, LA
4pm Benchmark
Scotlandville High and
Clinton Elementary
Calculator Webinar
Middle
Clinton, LA
Baton Rouge, LA
Baton Rouge, LA
Monday
8/25
Diagnostic Observations:
Dalton Elementary
Baton Rouge, LA
5:30pm 3rd Grade High
Impact Think Tank
TFA Office, Baton Rouge
*email Kim Hardy for info
and to join us!
Tuesday
8/26
Wednesday
8/27
Diagnostic
Observations:
Jackson
Elementary
Jackson, LA
Diagnostic
Observations:
IMPACT Charter
Baker, LA
Thursday
8/28
Friday
8/29
Diagnostic
Observations:
Worktime and TLD
Anyone I didn’t catch
meetings
from M-W!
Baton Rouge, LA
Anywhere, LA
II. Action Items <must read>
Complete “2014-15 Vital Teacher Info” Survey <by Sunday EOD; click here>
At BOYs, I noted there would be a survey coming for you to tell me your class schedule. Here it is! Complete by
Sunday, August 17 EOD. I need this information by Monday morning to support our cohort, so please prioritize this.
After Sunday, I will hunt you down. I will email you. I will text you. I will call you. I will call you again, and again, at
inappropriate hours. I will show up in your next faculty meeting and publicly announce that you haven’t yet taken
this survey and your new teacher colleagues will gasp and throw shade. It will get annoying. Just complete this
survey and avoid that pain.
III. Corps Calendar
August Cohort Calendar
When and Where
Mandatory
August 13 – 29
All Day
Your Classroom
What
Diagnostic
Observations
Why
I’m pulling information from all the
classrooms in our cohort to see
where we are and what supports
we need.
Notes



15 minutes in your
classroom
Written feedback left
for you
Quick hits: celebrations
and things to try
*NEW*Thursday,
August 21
4:30pm
Webinar (emailed to
you 8/18)
Friday, August 22
End of School Day
Your School
Friday, August 29
End of Day (EOD)
Optional
Monday, August 25
5:30-6:30p
TFA Office, Baton
Rouge
Saturday, August 30
8p - ?
Benchmark
Calculator Data
Entry
Do you teach grades 4-8? You need
a target iLEAP/LEAP score as part
of your quantitative goals this
year! Get it at this short webinar.
Administer
Diagnostic
Assessment(s)
Diagnostic Data
DUE in tracker
I’ll send out the webinar
invitation once everyone
completes the survey.
Check your inbox Monday!
Use your school- or district
required assessments, or
use one from TFAnet.
We will analyze data at the
first All Corps meeting on
Sept. 13!
3rd Grade High
Impact Think Tank
To help early- career teachers
develop instructional expertise to
produce exceptional academic
achievement for students in the
third grade in South Louisiana Teach for America
LSU Football
Opener
Football (SEC and Saints) is a big
cultural piece of South Louisiana.
Welcome to Cajun Country, y’all!
Kim Hardy, 2013, is
launching this think tank
around literacy, esp. in the
3rd grade. Interested folks
can email her at
kimhdy@yahoo.com for
info. Please join us!
AA can often be found at
Zippy’s in Baton Rouge on
LSU game night. Come eat
nachos!
III. Announcements <must read>
Excellent Resources and Opportunities
Cross-cohort resource:
Homework reminders!
<For 2013 and 2014 CMs>
Looking for a way to remind your students and parents about
homework? Need them to complete forms or return materials? Check
out REMIND101, a text-message reminder app that allows you to send
group reminders from your phone or computer!
Sarah Dougherty, Ascension Rouge MTLD, saw a HUGE increase in
homework completion and investment once she started using this in
her classroom! https://www.remind.com/
Enrolling in LSU graduate courses for this semester? E-mail Laura
Vinsant at laura.vinsant@teachforamerica.org when you have enrolled
in order to receive the tuition exemption. Note that tuition exemption
only applies to graduate courses at the main LSU campus in Baton
Rouge and does not include online programs. Questions about the
tuition exemption? Read the attached FAQ. Questions about specific
graduate programs? Visit www.lsu.edu.
V. For Lagniappe


DIG Baton Rouge: Get your work-life balance on by finding something fun to do this weekend! DIG Baton
Rouge is a site that rolls up all of the local events (food, music, entertainment, arts, sports) into one place
so that you can find ways to spend all of your free time.
My mom (veteran SPED teacher in Virginia Beach public schools) sent me this from Buzzfeed because she
thought you might like it: 37 Insanely Smart Teacher Hacks. She is not wrong – hot glue over painter’s tape?
Genius.
VI. Celebrations
Special Shout-Out to
Allan Rogers, whose principal noted how very much parents appreciate and respond to him. Way to
schmooze Parent Night, Mr. Rogers!
Kate King, stepping in to manage school logistics in the first week before getting her SPED courseload.
Talk about #team
Marissa Robinson, who had very strong reflections of her own and student performance on the FIRST day
of school. Marissa, you’re a rockstar reflective practitioner!
Have a celebration? Send your shout outs to anne.allen@teachforamerica.org!