Green Dot Public Schools Tennessee Updates 12/12
GDPST Updates December 12, 2021
LET'S FINISH STRONG
It is down to the wire! There is just one week left in the first semester of the 2021-22 school year and Green Dot Public Schools TN is beaming with pride at all our students, teachers, staff, and administrators have accomplished. Retrospectively, this is the first full semester of completely in-person instruction since the beginning of the pandemic, Spring 2020. This semester, students had to reinvent themselves academically and socially, relearning how to navigate being in school full-time and focus on being successful students. Teachers have undergone extensive training and coaching with the Lavinia Group to ensure they meet the academic challenges students brought back into the buildings from months of virtual learning. Most of our students have not only settled in, but they are also thriving. Our students are practicing time management strategies, pulling back from some of the jobs they obtained during the time away from the buildings, and most importantly they are focusing on their educations which has shown in our early assessment results.
Though all signs are pointing in the right direction, we know that we must remain committed and finish strong. GDPST wants to encourage students and parents to follow through to the end of the semester. Please make sure students are studying for their exams that are quickly approaching. It has been a semester of hard work and we want to make sure their efforts show through grades. Schools are planning for some great celebrations to send students off to break but it is most important to stay on the path of greatness before the celebration. We hope for the safety and well-being of everyone in our communities and can’t wait to see our students return safely to them finish the school year STRONG!
LAVINA GROUP: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
This year, Green Dot Public Schools TN partnered with the Lavinia Group to close the learning gaps exacerbated by the pandemic. The focus of this team of coaches and leaders is to work towards building world-class literacy and math instruction, through effective teacher and leader coaching. This partnership is deeply rooted in very specific practices:
- Intellectual Preparation: The key to excellent student outcomes is an investment in their teachers. Leaders and teachers are supported instructionally, building on their confidence, passion, and precision in their own ability to analyze texts and master content. Intellectual preparation is the most important component of this work.
- Meaning Mindset: Because education strategies can be overly complex and inaccessible to learners, Lavinia puts meaning front and center, and everything flows from the center.
- World-class literature and robust independent reading: Our students are engaged on a much deeper level because they have been introduced to texts that are meaningful and powerful. Fishtank Learning has changed how our students engage with text and the learning process. Parents are even leaving encouraging messages about how much the students enjoy the books that have been introduced this year.
- School-based training: Adult learners are very similar to students: they learn by doing. We are closing the learning gaps for students because intensive coaching and training helps teachers put the learning to action. Lavinia works closely with teachers and principals to ensure that feedback is received and implemented to improve instructional practices and academic attainment.
TEACHING MAGIC
We are so excited by what our teachers are doing this year, GDPST wants to spotlight some academic all-stars! Shout out to Terra Henderson, 8th-grade math at Wooddale Middle, and Katie Davis, 8th grade ELA at Wooddale Middle School. They were gracious enough to allow their classes to be videoed, so everyone can see the great work going on in classrooms.
Green Dot Public Schools Tennessee | 4950 Fairley Road, Memphis, TN 38109