High School ELA Department Chairs
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
4:30 – 6:00
Redeye Coffee in Midtown
In attendance
 Kat Spradlin, Godby
 Sherri Winsett, Chiles
 Mike Rychlik, SAIL
 Mark Williams, Lincoln
 Angela Berg, Second Chance
 Yookyung Lee, Success
 Angela Madden, Rickards
 Stacy Fabrega, Leon
 Kathy Corder, District
Upcoming Dates
 Monday, February 1, 2016: ELA Instructional Leaders’ Meeting
 Saturday, January, 30, 2016: Bay County Reading Council Annual Conference (see flyer)
 Tuesday, February 2, 2016: High School Department Chair Meeting at Leon at 3:30
 February 29 – March 11, 2016: FSA Writing Assessment
Special Guest: Barbara Goldstein, Holocaust Education Resource Center
 Upcoming Events
 Resources for the Classroom

Follow-Up: Barbara shared resources from the Holocaust Education Resource Center, including movie night
and summer workshop information. Handouts can be accessed from your department chair or the HERC web
site at http://www.holocaustresources.org/. Also don’t forget that Barbara can arrange speakers to discuss
important topics with regard to Holocaust education.
Second Nine Weeks District ELA Assessment
 Thank you with your patience as we pilot our first year of ELA assessments. This is a learning year,
so we will continue to improve and revise assessments and the process.
 Please review the 2nd nine weeks data with your departments and discuss lessons learned pertaining to
student performance and the data. Remind teachers that we will solicit feedback and rework
assessments in the future, so direct discussions to the topic of using data to inform instruction.
 Teachers will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the assessments and the process at a later
time. As you hear constructive comments that may be helpful for future test writers, please send those
to me in an email.
 Encourage teachers to return the scan sheets and assessment to review any items that need to be
revisited. This is something you may want to discuss as a department.
 In February, we will look at creating a 50-minute assessment with a focus on the third nine weeks
standards. You may want to consider taking some time to review the remaining selections in the
packets I provided for you previously.
Follow-up: Our next high school ELA department chair meeting will take place at Leon High School in
Stacy’s classroom on Tuesday, February 2nd, to make decisions about the third nine weeks progress
monitoring ELA assessment. At that time, we will set up a follow-up meeting to do a final review of the
assessment.
Progress Monitoring for Writing
 As shared previously, the Florida Department of Education, in conjunction with AIR, has released
sample writing prompts/text sets for each grade level. These materials may be used for instruction
and progress monitoring. The state has also released sample scored essays. If you do not like the
materials, contact Kathy for assistance. The state materials are located at the following links:
Scoring Guides:
https://scoringguides.airast.org/
Writing Prompts/Text Sets: http://fsassessments.org/resources/
Helping Teachers Understand Issues Related to Pacing
 Review suggested pacing for third nine weeks with your teachers. As departments and grade-level
groups, discuss any changes you feel are needed to address the specific needs of your students.
 Help teachers understand the importance of modifications for struggling readers, students with
disabilities, and ELL students.
 Remind teachers not to throw out common sense or creativity in this age of accountability. Standards,
assessments, common sense, rigor, and creativity can co-exist, but it requires collaboration and
planning.
 Our third nine weeks’ instructional leader meeting will focus on supporting our struggling readers,
ESE students, and ELL students with rigorous curriculum and standards. You may want to consider
sending teachers who work with these students as well as a teacher who understands and utilizes
differentiation.
Preparing for the FSA for English/Language Arts
 There are a number of resources available for teachers who wish to prepare their students for the rigor
of the FSA. A list of recommended resources is provided at this link:
http://www2.leon.k12.fl.us/sites/reading/FSA%20High%20School%20Resources/Forms/AllItems.asp
x.
 The Office of Curriculum Services does not endorse the purchase of test preparation materials. There
is no substitute for quality instruction with the use of FSA-like assessments.
District Resources You May Have Forgotten
 Don’t forget that a number of HMH lesson plans were created by teachers this summer. They may be
accessed at:
http://www2.leon.k12.fl.us/sites/reading/HMH%20Lesson%20Plans%20by%20LCS%20Teachers/For
ms/AllItems.aspx.
 Two summers ago, exemplary Common Core novel units were created by some of our teachers.
These may be accessed at:
http://www2.leon.k12.fl.us/sites/reading/LCS%20Common%20Core%20Literature%20Units/Forms/
AllItems.aspx.
 As you and your teachers create lesson plans for the new standards, please share them with me so that
I can share them with others.
Summer Professional Development Opportunities
 Due to the massive professional development for secondary ELA in the summers of 2014 and 2015,
there will be limited district-offered trainings for ELA this summer. We will keep you posted of any
opportunities that may become available.
Contact Cara Zatoris at zatorisc@leonschools.net regarding middle school programs and Kathy Corder at
corderk@leonschools.net regarding high school programs. The Secondary Language Arts Sharepoint site may
be accessed at: http://www2.leon.k12.fl.us/sites/reading/default.aspx.