Garland ISD news Aug. 24-28
PSAT is free in GISD
Wanting to ensure its students are prepared for college, Garland ISD has offered all sophomores and juniors a chance to take the PSAT for free the past two years. This year, even more students will receive that invaluable opportunity. All eighth and ninth-graders will be administered the test Oct. 13-16. Tenth and 11th-graders will take the PSAT/NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) Oct. 14.
“The PSAT not only helps students identify their strengths and weaknesses so they can choose the right classes in high school. It also provides practice for college admissions exams and several scholarship opportunities,” said Jovan Wells, associate superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment.
While sophomores and juniors have taken the PSAT/NMSQT the past two years, eighth and ninth-graders previously took a career exploration exam. The College Board recently redesigned the PSAT to include eighth and ninth-grade adaptations. Students will also no longer be penalized for wrong answers, giving them the ability to attempt every question.
GISD will host information meetings in September with more details about the new test. All eighth-11th-grade families are encouraged to attend one of the eight offered in English and Spanish.
Students can also prepare for success by taking advantage of Khan Academy. This free online resource offers specific test prep and general subject area practice. It provides personal growth plans as well, once PSAT scores have been received and entered. Visit http://www.khanacademy.org/sat and register with a district email address.
Offering a second dose of college readiness this spring, GISD will host its first SAT School Day in March. All juniors will have the opportunity to take the SAT for free at their campus during the school day.
Second-annual GISD iCon inspires educators, digital classrooms
Now that 2015-16 is underway, several district educators are practicing newfound skills and activities in their classrooms, thanks to a technology-fueled summer conference. More than 200 educators attended Garland ISD’s second-annual iCon earlier this month, receiving cutting-edge iPad training designed by teachers, for teachers.“This is really our way to encourage teachers and get them into new tools, practices and 21st-century learning,” said Technology Training Coordinator Angie Cheatham. “They learned tips, tricks, lesson ideas and new projects they can do with their students all using the iPad.”
Kansas-based Technology Integration Specialist Kevin Honeycutt kicked off the conference with an eye-opening, energetic keynote address. Teachers then dashed off to interactive training sessions, which covered everything from flipped classrooms to bilingual iPad lessons to Google forms.“I have been using technology in my classroom for a while, and I enjoy getting other people on board with doing that,” said Bullock Elementary School teacher and iCon session host Stacy McGough. “I think it is what our kids need.”
iCon’s sole purpose is to arm all teachers with digital skills needed to engage the future generation.
“We have great things happening in our classrooms. Our teachers are leaders out there and are running with digital learning, but we need a way to showcase that,” Cheatham explained. “We wanted to bring them together to build that learning community among each other, from campus to campus, to capitalize on using the iPad as a tool towards further learning.”
After a jam-packed day of wired inspiration, iCon participants ended the event with closing keynote, Hall Davidson, who provided insight to the rewards of a digital classroom—something Cheatham hopes to see across GISD one day.
“Last year, we started with about 125 teachers. Our goal was to double it, and we did that this year,” she revealed. “We are going to continue with that plan—go even larger next year to reach more teachers and really get the impact to the classroom with digital learning.”
Middle schoolers start school with fresh STEM knowledge
When school doors opened this week, several middle schoolers walked into their new classrooms with a strengthened set of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills. These sixth, seventh and eighth-graders enhanced their knowledge at Garland ISD’s inaugural STEM Camp Aug. 3-6 at Bussey Middle School.“For one week, these students participated in engineering challenges designed around the water crisis,” said STEM Coordinator Tina Garrett. “About one billion people in the world do not have clean water to drink. This camp was based on the global atmosphere, on real-world problems that need real solutions.”
Thanks to a partnership with Discovery Education, GISD’s initial STEM Camp offered the first 100 students who applied for the opportunity a free, fun-filled learning experience.
“This no-cost experience helped students investigate how energy works, discover amazing properties of water, learn our role in conserving the planet’s most valuable resources and explore the engineering principles and design challenges that surround us in everyday life,” Garrett stated. “In addition to all of that, they also got to form friendships with peers from across the district.”The four-day event featured nine elementary and middle school teachers facilitating interactive challenge stations. Throughout the week, students learned about water properties, its relation to the ecosystem and how it can be filtered via hands-on lessons. For example, STEM Camp day two saw students building a virtual ship to learn the principles of buoyancy, and day three required them to engineer an aquarium terrarium to observe the water cycle at work.
“This was a really amazing and fun place to be,” said Bussey eighth-grader Joseph Gonzales. “Science, technology, engineering and math are all things you really do need in life. This was a really good start for all of us. I am a science honors kid, so this is really going to help me get an edge throughout the year.”
Garrett hopes other students echo Gonzales’ emotion in the future. She and her team are launching initiatives like STEM Camp and last spring’s STEAMposium to help students get excited about STEM courses and careers.
“Our students are the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers. Therefore, we are providing students with fun and exciting opportunities to build skills that will serve them for a lifetime,” she explained. “These kids were engaged and interested in the challenges, which is exciting to me. We want to continue this kind of inspiration and encouragement, so our students are ready for the careers of the future.”
Photo courtesy of GISD Digital Media Specialist Dave Burton.
Principals exchange best practices at inaugural L3 Academy
While school was out for the summer, Garland ISD campus staff continued holding classes to prepare for 2015-16. The district hosted its inaugural Leader Led Learning (L3) Academy in late July. This daylong conference—designed by principals, for principals—covered best practices for running a campus, managing staff, inspiring innovation and ensuring student engagement.“The L3 Academy was an exciting opportunity for our leaders to learn from each other,” said Professional Development Specialist Melissa Hill. “We have so many fantastic principals doing amazing things in this district, but rarely do they have time set aside in their busy schedules to share, collaborate and learn from their peers. This event provided strategies they were able to take back and share with their teachers and students.”
Offering 25 sessions, the unique event focused on research-based components of highly effective instruction, known as the Fundamental Five, in addition to improving student achievement through Data-Driven Instruction, or teachers’ use of student assessment results to plan lessons. Session topics included Using Multiple Response Strategies to Solicit Engagement, Teaching Students to Write Critically, Making the Fundamental Five Come Alive in Small Groups and How to Build a Data-Driven Culture.
“This was one of the highest-quality, choose-your-learning conferences I have been to. The sessions were relevant and practical,” commented Liberty Grove Elementary School Principal Elisa Wittrock.
“I loved that we were able to hear from peers and learn from their mistakes and success,” wrote another attendee on a conference evaluation. “This is what true collaboration should be. We should be encouraging each other to make differences on our campuses.”
For more professional development activities occurring across GISD, visit the department’s website.
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