Playbook | October 2023

Principal's Playbook

October 2023

To Dos

  • 10/02:  FEV Tutor: Grades 3-8 launching target tutoring sessions no later than October 2, 2023. High Schools will inform students of on-demand tutoring availability offered by FEV Tutor. Review monthly reminders and ensure your FEV Program Design meeting with FEV partners has been scheduled (all elementary and middle schools).
  • 10/02-10/06: Complete monthly problem-solving protocol - due in SWBP Folder by the week of October 2nd-October 6th. Choose the protocol that works best for your school’s team: Problem Solving Protocol Form 2 OR Problem Solving Protocol Form 1.
  • 10/02 - 10/31:  United Way Campaign 2023: Rally your school team to contribute to this worthy cause.
  • 10/03: FTE Student Count Day
  • 10/04:  PowerUp Your Learning: Communicate instructional expectations and distribute devices no later than October 4th for the October 6th PowerUp Asynchronous Learning Day. Click here for detailed planning guidance.
  • 10/05: Federal Programs: Submit Annual Meeting Documentation by October 5, 2023
    • Announcement/Flyer/Email/Invitation (Meeting must be advertised in at least two ways.)
    • Sign-In Sheets (Sheets identify role of attendees.)
    • Presentation Documents/PowerPoint/Pictures
    • Meeting Evaluation
  • 10/11-13: National School Lunch Week: Marketing materials will be shared with the manager. Please coordinate prior to this week to support their efforts. Click here for more information.
  • 10/13: Parent Conferences: Collect parent conference statistics during the Fall Parent Conference Window from September 18-October 6, 2023. Conference Statistics must be submitted by October 13th.
  • 10/13: Cyber Secuity Upgrade: Last day to set up 2 Identification methods. See email from Carolyn McCord.
  • 10/16-20: National School Bus Safety Week
  • 10/20: Federal Programs: Evidence that the School Parental Involvment Policy and the Parent-School Compacts have been distributed to parents is Due October 20th. Reminder: the compacts must have three signatures and be dated (parent/student/school signatures).
  • 10/25: Safety: Complete your Fire Drill and log it into Navigate Prepared by October 25th.
  • 10/30: Cluster Leader Assignment: Complete 60-Day Presentation (Due by October 30th)
  • 10/31: Cyber Secuity Upgrade: Communicate to your staff that Multi-Factor Authentication will be turned on today. See email from Carolyn McCord.
  • 10/31: VFW Teacher of The Year: Today is the last day to submit a recommendation for the VFW Teacher of the Year.

Important RemindersImportant Reminders

  • 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 upload evidence for your assigned standard.  Remember to upload any exemplary evidence that showcases your school.
  • COVID: Continue to follow the guidance COVID Forms, Letters, Training Materials
  • ESOL: Testing Participation Committee (TPC) Meetings are due to be completed by October 15th. A TPC meetings is a committee meeting that is held for all English Learners (ELs) and all monitored Year 1 & 2 students to determine what, if any, testing accommodations they need for the school year.
  • Events and Celebrations: Review and plan for your monthly Celebrations and Events 2023-2024.pdf.
  • 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.
  • FTE Count: Ensure all students are placed correctly in classes to prepare for FTE count. Check EIP, Special Education and Gifted programs carefully. FTE Count Day for Cycle 1 is always the first Tuesday in October. All errors must be cleared no later than October 20 so that we can sign off by October 24, 2023.
  • GaDOE Resources: Create your account by clicking "Sign In" in the top right corner and check out these great resources from GaDOE
  • 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 1st 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.
  • 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.
  • Parent Teacher Conferences: Adhere to the district calendar and follow the procedures for parent teacher conferences. Provide several opportunities for families to attend. Make sure your staff invites all to participate and attend. Send out a Shout Point call to remind parents of conference opportunities and dates. Click here for Parent Teacher Conference Tips.
  • PBIS Schools: Continue to reference the RCSS School Wide Behavior Expectation Guide  to help you with your individual school wide behavior plans.
  • RCSS Endorsements: All the the FY24 Endorsement Cohorts kick off this month. We have educators enrolled in Computer Science, Dyslexia, ESOL, Gifted, Intervention Specialist, Math K-5, Reading, and Teacher Support and Coaching (TSC), and the TSS to TSC Course. 
  • Science and STEM: All K-8 and Middle Schools are asked to submit the names of two 8th grade girls for the STEM Like a Girl event at SRNS. Names are due October 3rd and the event is Oct 21st. Register a team for the Eco Meet!  Download Eco Meet! Deadline is Oct 13th. This is fun filled day of science exploration.  SRNS Mini Grant Download SRNS Mini Grantapplications are now available! Encourage your teacher's to apply! There are also field trips available that support STEM. See a flyer here!
  • 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:  System-wide training, Richmond County School System Central Office, October 3, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.
  • 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: According to NSLP regulations, only SNP employees are eligible to receive a breakfast and/or lunch at no cost.  We are able to work within the guidelines to offer meals to custodial staff if they regularly assist with lunchroom duties such as trash, wiping tables, and cleaning floors during meal service. This was done in an effort to build a positive relationship between the two staffs because technically cleaning the tables and the floors in the cafeteria is the job of the custodians since it is outside the kitchen doors. We are not able to adjust our policy to provide for teachers or paraprofessionals. Please take a moment to review the guidelines: 300 ADULT MEALS.pdf. If any principal would like to open a meal account so they can provide free meals to their staff for assisting with different duties in the school, please contact Cathy Johnson. 
  • 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.
  • Student Services: Please review the Leader's List 9.20.23.
  • 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

Literacy

Grading and Assessments

Parent, Staff, and Community Communication

  • Communications Package: October 2023 School Package 
  • Faculty Meetings Pro Tips: How impactful are your faculty meetings? Consider these tips for effective Faculty Meetings: 15 Tips to Transform Faculty Meetings
  • Federal Programs: Send home 20 Day Parent Notification if applicable 
  • Federal Programs: Use this time to collect evidence that the School Parental Involvement Policy and the Parent-school Compacts have been distributed to parents. Monitor the collection process of your signed parent/student/school compacts. The compacts must have three signatures and be dated. Evidence of both are Due October 20, 2023. 
  • Federal Programs: Continue to host Building Staff and Building Parent Capacity Activities. Documentation is due in November.  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.
  • Flu Shot Clinics -  various school locations - 10/7 - Hephzibah High, 10/14 -- Glenn Hills Middle, 10/21 -- Hornsby Middle, and 10/28 - Westside High
  • Pediatric Clinic - Glenn Hills Middle School on Saturday, October 14, 8AM -12PM
  • Success Center Food Distribution Dates:  October 12 and October 26 - 9AM -12PM (until all food is distributed)

Data Integrity

  • Check the Data Dashboard
  • High School - Check your cohort data - Cohort parameters for USHA
  • Check SWD suspensions
  • Correct State Reporting errors (FTE & Student Class)
  • Monitor Withdrawal Report (High Schools check withdrawals), Parent Portal Processing Report, OLR Reports
  • Review discipline data and share with leadership team
  • Registrar Meetings - Upcoming Meetings: Oct 5th: (In-Person) District Professional Learning and Oct 11th: (Virtual)
  • Review School Climate Data
  • SEL Data review and intervention planning
  • State Reporting Sign-Off for FTE, Student Class and CPI: Please Check the "Important Reminders" section for open lab support sessions. 

image.pngProfessional Learning

  • 10/05-06: SNP has partnered with a corporate chef, Bruce Marlette, to come work with our managers on October 5-6.  Each manager will be scheduled to attend a four hour session.  They will be working on preparing quality meals and plate presentation.  Locations and times will be sent out to managers. SNP is developing PL for all nutrition staff members for October 5th.  These sessions will take place on site. 
  • 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.
  • Richmond Ready NEW HIRES - New hires after August 30 must enroll in Richmond Ready. Certificates are uploaded into New Educators' Course by October 20, 2023 to receive next round of stipends for late hires. All questions should be directed to Ms. Lezettra Saunders, Director of Teacher Development.
  • Professional Learning Schedule for October 5
  • 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