Principal's Playbook

November 2023

To Dos

11/03: Elementary and Middle: Ensure that the date of the spelling bee has been emailed to Rhonda Mathis. Spelling bee should be completed prior to end of semester.
11/09: Veteran's Day Celebration: Coordinate a celebration or recognition activity to honor our nation's veterans ahead of our system holiday on November 10th. Click here for celebration ideas.
11/13-11/17: Celebrate American Education Week: Click here for celebration ideas.
11/17: The first formative observation for every teacher should be complete.
11/17: Thanksgiving Shutdown Procedures: Complete all shut down procedures before leaving for the break. Signed copies should be sent to cluster leaders following the break.
11/20-11/24: Thanksgiving Break: Enjoy time with family and friends.
11/29: Leveraging for Excellence Assistant Principal's Meeting: We look forward to seeing all APs.
11/30-12/8: Conduct School Based Science and Engineering Fair: Click HERE to access additional information.
11/30: Upload documentation for the school's 2nd Building Parent Capacity and Building Staff Capacity. Contact your Federal Programs Specialist if you need assistance.
12/01: Cluster Leader Assignment Due: Please share your exam schedule with your cluster leader by December 1. Once approved communicate dates and times with your school community.
12/06: Leveraging for Excellence Principal's Meeting: We look forward to seeing all Principals and Directors at Helms College.
12/13: Submit Winning Science and Engineering Fair Project(s) to the Dr. Chaundra Creekmur
12/18: Cluster Leader Assignment Due: Submit your Second Semester Pre-Planning Schedules for January 2-3 to your cluster leaders by Monday, December 18th. Approved schedules should be shared with school staff members before leading for the Winter/Christmas Break.
12/19: Early Release Schedule: Follow the Early Release Schedule. Teachers should complete all grading prior to leaving for the holidays. Complete all shut down procedures before leaving for the holidays.

Important Reminders

ACT/SAT Action Plan: Please use this template Links to an external site. to complete your school-based ACT/SAT Action Plan.

Attendance: Follow the RCSS Attendance Protocol and make sure parental excuses are turned in for any student absent during the week. Also, ensure the process is followed and send letters home to parents after two unexcused absences, and petitions are sent after five unexcused absences. Make sure you track attendance closely. Monitor reports provided to P.O.C. (WPT, Parent Portal Processor, OLR, ScribTransfer, Attendance)
Be Visible: Make every effort to stay out of your office and in the halls. This is especially vital during class changes and during lunch times. Make rounds throughout the day to monitor instruction. Placing a desk or mobile office out in the hall will aid in trying to visible and keeping up with paperwork.
Cognia: Please sign into the Cognia Evidence Course and read over the narratives. Send any feedback to Kim Stripling or anyone in the Accountability Department.
COVID: Continue to follow the guidance COVID Forms, Letters, Training Materials
Events and Celebrations: Review and plan for your monthly Celebrations and Events 2023-2024.pdf. Plan a celebration for the academic achievements to date. Show appreciation (before the Thanksgiving break) for all of the hard work accomplished. Remember to honor educators during AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK (November 13-17).
Formal Observations: Conduct pre-observation conferences, formal classroom observations, post-observation conferences, and conference summaries in alignment with evaluation instrument requirement (TKES). Develop a calendar to ensure observations are completed and are thoroughly done. Professional Development Plans should be completed on any deficiency noted and conferences should be held with staff members to inform them of the deficiencies immediately. Follow up with documentation periodically to check for improvement. Continue documenting if no improvement is shown. The first formative observation for every teacher should be complete by November 17th.

GaDOE Resources: Check out these resources from GaDOE. Sign up to receive their monthly newsletter by creating your Community account.
- GaDOE Community - New to Community? Click here for a step-by-step How to Join Flyer: GaDOE_Community_Invite_to_Join_flyer.pdf
- Classroom Conversations - Subscribe to this show and enjoy wherever you listen to your podcasts.
K-8 Appendix C Progress Monitoring: Ensure that teachers are hosting parent conferences/contacts for students who are not meeting promotion requirements based upon their progress after the 1^st 6 weeks of instruction. MTSS Facilitators are responsible for the progress monitoring tool and documentation.
Lesson Plans: Actively participate in planning sessions. Review plans looking for the items outlined in Richmond Ready 6.12.
Master Scheduling - it is time to plan for next year (assess your current schedule, consider course offerings, student needs, etc.)
New Teacher Academy (NTA): Lead Mentor facilitates monthly New Teacher Academy for 1st year Non-traditional Teachers and their Mentors. Stop by and join in on this great learning opportunity for your 1st year Non-traditional Teachers.
PBIS Schools: Continue to reference the RCSS School Wide Behavior Expectation Guide to help you with your individual school wide behavior plans.

School Climate:

- Review GA Health Survey results and update plans to include action steps for any red flags from the survey feedback
- Review discipline data with a focus on the number of suspensions including special education students (USHA) and number of majors and minors (Spotlight) and share with leadership team
School Council: Plan your School Council meeting - update your School Council membership list. If your School Council members need training, please have them take the School Council course online.
School Improvement: Meet with your Leadership Team at least twice a month and actively monitor your School Improvement Plan. Review best practices for Leadership Teams in your Leadership Teams and Data Canvas course.
School Nutrition: See the notes below:
- Our new SNP Coordinator, Tiffany Wooden, starts October 25^th. I’ve attached a copy of our updated list of SNP Administrator Assignments.
- The SNP department will host it’s annual Thanksgiving Meal in all schools on November 15^th.
- We will host our Backpacking into the Holiday promotion in December. Dates and information will be sent out to administrators and managers in early December.
- When requesting menu changes for situations such as testing days, please be sure to share the information out with your parents/guardians. Some of our students only eat certain meals and are disappointed when the menu they are expecting is not available and some of our diabetic students need the information ahead of time to adjust their insulin for the day.
Sprigeo Tip Line: Monitor reports and respond in the portal. Send any names of anyone you want to have access to Dr. Gina Hudson. Ensure students are aware of the Tip Line.
Spotlight: Please follow the Spotlight timeline shared with you at the administrator's meeting.
Thanksgiving Shutdown: 23 Thanksgiving shutdown.docx
Title IX: Make sure that posters with current Title IX Contact information are visible around the building. Review Title IX Tidbits for Administrators.

Instructional Look-Fors In All Content Area

Ensure instruction is in alignment with the RCSS Instructional Expectations and Non-Negotiables. These are referenced in the Monitoring Expectations Download Monitoring Expectations guidance.
Teachers have Learning Targets and Success Criteria and refer to them throughout their instruction.Links to an external site.
Student work/artifacts are posted in classrooms/hallways and include teacher feedback.
During your observations take time to focus on the students. Look for their reactions to lessons to monitor student engagement.
Monitor teacher questioning techniques. What are the DOK levels of the questions that teachers are asking students? Here are somequestion STEMS that might be useful in coaching higher level DOK teacher questions.
Identification of students for growth monitoring in iReady and use of learning continuum in NWEA Map during in collaborative planning.
Teachers are using Canvas as a part of their instruction.
Teachers are integrating Literacy Instructional ExpectationLinks to an external site.s in all content areas
Instructional Materials/Textbook Resources – Are teachers utilizing district provided resources during instruction?
Students are using math manipulatives during the math instructional block.
PreK and Kindergarten – Students are engaging in social and dramatic play.Links to an external site.
PreK Classroom Set Up – Centers are available, classrooms have appropriate furniture, hands on activities are available for students, etc.Links to an external site.
K-3 Fundations (Phonics program) – Do they have their resources?Links to an external site.
Fundations (K-3) sound charts, alphabet charts and other academic posters displayed.
Work with your MTSS Facilitator to identify the 3^rd -8^th grade students who will participate in Targeted ELA and Math Tutoring using their “golden tickets” beginning in October and students are aware of the free on-demand tutoring available to them via Launchpad (MS and HS).
Middle School : Begin preparation for initial round of Junior Achievement visits. Support resources can be found on the Junior Achievement page.
K-5 - Use of Harmony Curriculum for SEL Harmony Calendar_3rdEdition_2023-24.pdf Download Harmony Calendar_3rdEdition_2023-24.pdf
6-8 -- Use of Second Step Curriculum for SEL Second Step Lesson Schedule 2023-24.pdf
Monique Burr Foundation Sex Abuse Prevention and Awareness Lessons - Grades k - 9 - 2 lessons to be completed by May 1, 2024 -- Memo

Literacy

Click here for a one-pager that outlines the RCSS Literacy Instructional Expectations.Links to an external site.
Looking for strategies to improve the comprehension of informational text? This article from Chomping at the Lit discusses some strategies to improve informational literacy.
Does your media center operate on the principal of flexible scheudling? Here is important research that shows the benefit of implementing flexibility in your media center's operation
Additional resources to support literacy can be found on these pages: iReady or NWEA Map.
Don't forget our district reading challenge. Our district reading challenge is #Richmond Reads in Beanstack! Remember the Beanstack page has videos and resources you can use with parents and teachers.
Elementary Schools: Brian Jordan Reading Challenge page has been updated with some ideas for free incentives to keep the excitement going.

Grading and Assessments

iReady and MAP touchpoint #2 in schools. Visit the iReady and NWEA Map pages for topic reminders and visit schedules.
Access the Content Mastery Assessment FolderLinks to an external site. to review CMA #1 and for CMA #2 Blueprints and Assessments
Visit the Mastery Connect Resource Page to find a brief video on how to understand the Teacher Created Assessment landing page.
Review grade distributions for teachers and assignments in the gradebook to address any concerns after Progress Report #2 but prior to close of semester. Questions to consider: Are there enough assignments in each category? Is the teacher providing opportunities for students to relearn and reassess?
PSAT 8/9 and PSAT/NMSQT (selected 9^th gr, 10 & 11^th graders): October 16th-October 23rd
YouScience - 7^th and 10^th grades - November 13 - December 1 (updated dates)
RCSS Assessment CalendarLinks to an external site.

Parent, Staff, and Community Communication

Communications Package: November social media and web package
Faculty Meetings Pro Tips: How impactful are your faculty meetings? Consider these tips for effective Faculty Meetings:
Designing Better Staff Meetings
Federal Programs: Send home 20 Day Parent Notification if applicable
Federal Programs: Continue to host Building Staff and Building Parent Capacity Activities. Contact your Federal Program Specialist if you have any questions.
Wellness for All: How full is your bucket? How about your staff? Try organizing and implementing a monthly wellness theme. Links to an external site.

Data Integrity

Check the Data Dashboard
High School - Check your cohort data - Cohort parameters for USHA
Check SWD suspensions
Monitor Withdrawal Report, Parent Portal Processing Report, OLR Reports
Review discipline data and share with leadership team
Review School Climate Data
SEL Data review and intervention planning

Professional Learning

GACE Tutoring Support- Any Non-traditional ("Waiver") Teachers or Paraprofessionals that need support preparing for their upcoming GACE Assessment, contact Ms. Lezettra Saunders, Director of Teacher Development.
RCSS Professional Learning Series- Registration is open! We are excited to kick off our FY24 RCSS Professional Learning Series. Our PL Series is comprised of four courses - Universal Design for Learning, Personalized Learning, Growth Mindset, and Culturally Responsive Classrooms. These courses provide opportunities for your faculty to remain up to date on evidence-based, instructional practices that will support student learning and engagement. RCSS Professional Learning Series.pdf
Canvas Certified Educator (CCE) Opportunity- Are you ready to deepen your Canvas knowledge and join other elite educators who have become Certified Canvas Educators? The Certified Canvas Educators credentialing is a 36-week commitment encompassing six, 6-week online courses. These courses are designed to provide hands-on experience teaching with Canvas while also strengthening pedagogical best practices. Interest meeting Monday, November 6, 2023 5:00-6:00 PM @ National Hills Learning Center. Please share flyer with your staff! Review program overview in the following flyer: Canvas CCE January 24 Cohort Flyer.pdf