This document provides information about the start of the school year at McDonogh 26, including thanks to staff for their dedication, a focus on purposeful planning and small group instruction, signups for committees, and instructional goals for the week. Teachers are reminded that their colleagues are a resource and asked to ensure their lesson plans incorporate objectives, small group structures, and alignment to standards and assessments. The impact of teacher effectiveness on student achievement is illustrated, and staff are asked what they are doing to help achieve 20% growth in each subject area.

1. Dragon Tales
Week of August 16th
THANKS
Thanks to everyone for such great responses to our Professional Development on August 9th. I can’t say it
often enough how impressed I am with your professionalism and dedication to Mc Donogh 26. The
students are truly blessed to be surrounded by such caring, willing, and hard working adults. As I have said
before each day I am convinced we will reach our goals and watch our vision become a reality.
Thanks to everyone who has welcomed me with open arms. It is my gift to be here among such great
people.
GREAT START
At the start of this school year we are focusing on purposeful planning and focused small group instruction.
On August 9th you discovered that you already have a wealth of tools to help you plan effectively. Are you
utilizing those tools? How can we develop skills in the areas where we thought we needed additional tools?
Remember your colleagues are a valuable resource.
Are you getting a grip on focused small group instruction? Have you thought about your expectations for
groups, procedures for moving from group to group, group job responsibilities,, how students are to request
help when working in small groups, what is your decision making process for working in groups?
The Impact You Make
The work of Tim Daly illustrates the dramatic effect and ineffective teacher can have on the academic
success of a student. Think about his slide and ask yourself: Am I doing all that I can to be an effective
teacher?
Research has shown that effective teachers are critically important
to student learning.
Dallas students who start 3rd grade …may finish 5th grade math at
at about the same level of math dramatically different levels
achievement… depending on the quality of their
teachers.
After 3
Group 1 55 EFFECTIVE Group 1 77
Teachers
50
After 3
Group 2 57 INEFFECTIVE Group 2 27
Teachers
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Average Percentile Rank Average Percentile Rank
Beginning of 3rd Grade End of 5th Grade
Original analysis by the Education Trust.
Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.
© The New Teacher Project 2009 1

2. Committee Sign –Up
Please sign up for the committee you would like to work on. Everyone is expected to serve on at least one
committee. You can sign up for more than one if you choose. Sign-up posters will be displayed in lounge
by the end of the week for you to choose the committee you would like to serve on. Be thinking: What is
the best fit for me?
Committee’s are:
1. PBIS
2. School Improvement (Title 1)
3. A/BIT
4. Hospitality- ( Please limit enrollment to Para’s only and two teachers)
5. Leadership Team- Already determined. Thanks to those who agreed to be a part of this team.
Instructional Look Fors week 0f August 16th
 Lesson plans turned in on time- Purposeful Planning
 Lesson plans indicate GLE’s and are aligned to interval assessment schedule- Purposeful
Planning
 Objectives are posted, referred to, and the student understands what they are supposed to be
learning.- Purposeful Planning
 Lessons being taught are aligned to GLE’s and what is on lesson plan- Purposeful Planning
 Lesson plans indicate how small group instruction will take place- Focused Small Group
Instruction
 Teachers are modeling, setting expectations and establishing routines for small groups- Focused
Small Group Instruction
Each new day should bring us closer to the reality of achieving 20% growth in each
content area. What are you doing this week to help reach that goal?