March 27, 2009

To contribute to this newsletter, please contact John Spiegel, Director of High School Instructional Support, at jspiegel@sandi.net. 

• Professional Development Calendar
• Announcements
• Summary of Professional Development
• Archives

Professional Development Calendar

Upcoming Professional Development:

For a list of all upcoming professional development, please visit the Professional Development link on the left of this page or click HERE.
 

Announcements

• Opportunity for Earth Science Teachers
  Scripps Institute of Oceanography/UCSD has partnered with the district High School Instructional Support Department to develop the Scripps Classroom Connection • Scripps Teacher Fellows Program. SIO graduate students will be linked with our high school earth science teachers to create laboratory-based lessons for classroom implementation. This is a fantastic opportunity to expand teacher content knowledge, build university connections and develop powerful experiences for SDUSD students. For information, please contact Dan Lavine in the High School Instructional Support Department at dlavine@sandi.net. Click here for more information.
   
• Holocaust Presentation
  Gerda Weissmann Klein, Holocaust survivor, author, humanitarian, and Award-winning film maker, will speak to SDUSD high school history teachers from 4-5 pm on Thursday, 16 April 2009, at the IMC.  Space is limited, and registrations must be completed by April 10. Click HERE for more information. Teachers who attend will be paid at the workshop rate.   Go to http://registration.sandi.net to register.
   
• Differentation Professional Development
  Supporting general education students and students with disabilities continues witht the following trainings for classroom and special education teachers:
   
  March 31st - "The What, Why and How" of Inclusive Education
  April 2nd - Differentiating Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms
  April 3rd - Co-Teaching for Differentiated Instruction
   
  Substitutes will be funded by Special Education.  For the substitute timekeeping process, please contact Susan Miranda at (858) 496-1872 or smiranda@sandi.net.
   
• Professional Development for Life Science Teachers
  The Reuben H. Fleet is pleased to announce upcoming professional development for science teachers with its Fleet Inquiry Institute Saturday Series for Secondary Life Science Teachers. Please see the attached flyer (click HERE) for more information. Funding for this project is provided by Biogen Idec. Teachers must teach in a Title I school.
   
• MicroBlitz - Opportunity for High School Students
  Please see the attached flyer (HERE) for information about a program that links students with scientists and university students.
   
• Math & Statistics Contests Invitation 2009
  Each year the Greater San Diego Math Council - GSDMC, the University of
  California, San Diego - UCSD, and The San Diego County Office of Education -
  SDCOE sponsor an Honors Math Contest and a Statistics Contest targeted for
  top performing high school mathematics students. This is an invitation for your school to send a team to either or both contests this school year.  This year's contest dates are:
    
  52nd Annual High School Honors Math Contest
  Saturday - April 18, 2009 - 7:45am to 12:15pm at UCSD
   
  Third Annual High School Honors Statistics Contest
  Saturday, April 25, 2009 - 7:45am to 12:15pm at UCSD
   
  Both contests offer individual and team prizes for top performance, and we
  have a back log of old exams that we can send electronically, if you wish
  your team to practice before the event date.
   
• "Lessons on African Diversity" A five-week travel study program in Morocco for educators
  Please see the attached flyer (HERE) for more information about this opportunity for teachers.
   
• Free Conference for History Teachers - Young Voters: Maintaining Momentum in Future Elections"
  The free mini-conference for History Teachers is on a Saturday (May 16) in Burbank, CA. Click on the attached flyer (HERE) for more information.
   
  

Summary of Professional Development

• English 3/4 Course-Alike
  On Wednesday, March 11th, nine teachers from throughout the district met at the IMC to continue our work on the English 3/4 Units of Study. We reviewed our goals for the Course Alike Group and came to consensus about the core standards for English 1/2 and 3/4, and core writing types for each grade level. Additionally, we began work on revising the Units of Study and writing assessment questions for each Unit.
   
  Thank you to Brenda Bell (Crawford MVSA), Glenn Morgan (Lincoln), Grace Valentine (University City), Hiedi Hall, Kimberlee Schultz, Irina Davidovich (Serra), Elizabeth Wilkie (Clairemont), Sandra Gonzales (Crawford IDEA), and Susan Burnett (Mira Mesa). Your input is greatly valued and we look forward to working with you at our future Course Alike meetings.
   
• English 1/2 Course-Alike
  On March 10, 2009, seventeen teachers from throughout the district gathered at the IMC to discuss and further revise English 1/2 Essential Standards document and Units of Study. Once reaching consensus on the core standards to be addressed in both the 9th and 10th grade English Language Arts curriculum, the teachers began the task of developing and revising the Units of Study.
   
  Another point of discussion that arose during the Course Alike is the teaching of grammar in the high school English classroom. It was requested that the High School Instructional Support Department survey the district’s English 1/2 teachers as to how they effectively teach grammar. We are currently collecting the responses to this request and will utilize the information gathered and research related to teaching grammar in the high school English class in our collaborative discussions at the next Course Alike Meeting on May 26th.
   
  We would like to thank the following teachers for their contributions at the March 10th Course Alike: Brenda Bell (Crawford – MVSA), Susan Forest-Rode (Scripps Ranch), Amy Denney (Point Loma), Chris Sparta (Point Loma), Mark Carey (Point Loma), Dana Klein (Clairemont), Tifanie Clark (Serra), Linda Patterson (Mt. Everest), Glenn Morgan (Lincoln – Arts), Jennifer Floutz (SCPA), Alicia Matthew (Serra), Angela Carrington (University City), Maureen Bonnell (Crawford – Law and Business), Elizabeth Lonnecker (Scitech), Marissa Jarzyna (Kearny SCT), Kiana Moyers (Serra), and Sarah Neiss (Mira Mesa).
   
• High School Science Currents
  Teachers within the San Diego Unified School District have had and continue to have an exciting range of professional development and special event opportunities in March. Here are some of the highlights:
  
  Recent Past Events
  

  • Chemistry Course Alike - March 3, 2009
  • Marine Science Course Alike - March 6, 2009
  • San Diego Science Alliance High Tech Fair - March 11, 2009
  • Earth Science Course Alike - March 12, 2009
  • Kyoto Laureate Symposium – March 19, 2009
    

  Special Thanks
  The SDUSD HSIS office would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Cheryl Peach from Scripps Institution of Oceanography for her spectacular support of the SDUSD Earth and Marine Science learning communities. Dr. Peach has been able to secure exceptional meeting venues for the course alike experiences, and an amazing array of guest presenters in content including Dr. Neal Driscoll on Sea Level Change, Dr. Lisa Taux on Paleomagnetism, Miriam Goldstein on the great Pacific “Garbage Patch”, Lisa Gilfillan on Microdebris in the Pacific and many others for previous Course Alike experiences. Dr. Peach and Dr. Hubert Staudigel have developed a GK12 grant in collaboration with SDUSD – The Scripps Classroom Connection http://earthref.org/SCC/ that directly links SDUSD Teachers with SIO graduate students with the goals of strengthening university connections, enhancing SDUSD teacher content expertise, and the creation of new laboratory experiences for SDUSD Earth and Marine Science High School students.
  
  
  
  And finally, a very special thanks to our teachers and students who made the SDSA High Tech Fair one of the most successful events in their 11 year history.  Over 1500 students from across the county attended, with over 650 students from Millenial Tech, Lincoln, Morse, Kearny SCT, San Diego SciTech, Keillor, UC, Mt. Everest Academy, and High Tech High.  See the full story and quotes from Millenial Tech student Sarahi Soto HERE.

Archives
March 4, 2009
February 24, 2009