Monday Memo - 9/14/20

Feedback on virtual learning
I took time on Friday to read Hixson's survey results on virtual learning. It was disaggregated by students, parents, and staff and will be used to inform adjustments the district makes to our current virtual learning plan. I kept note of common themes that emerged from the comments. They are summarized below:

1. Many respondents feel that virtual learning this fall is much better than virtual learning this past spring. They were complimentary of our amazing teachers, especially Hixson students. Many students commented that they really like their teachers.
2. Many respondents are anxious to get back to school, but understand why the district decided to start with virtual learning. 
3. Canvas - the vast majority of feedback from all groups was negative. There were a lot of comments about Canvas being difficult to use, pages being difficult to navigate, and essential information (ie: grades, assignments, feedback, due dates etc) being "buried".
4. Cameras - there continues to be push back on teachers requiring cameras to be turned on.
5. Time - the vast majority of respondents want more asynchronous time and longer breaks during the school day.
6. Communication - students and parents want more communication from teachers and counselors.
7. Zoom - synchronous learning is lasting more than approximately 22 minutes per class.

Out of all the comments across the surveys, there was no better comment than student comment #421!

I hope this was as funny to you as it was to me, and I hope it brings you a little joy in the midst of this challenging situation! District and building administrators will be forming work groups to determine how to improve virtual learning based on the feedback. I will keep you updated as that work unfolds. 

Staff shout outs and positive news to share
From Gina Garbo - The SSD team is working hard with a great sense of humor to solve problems and help each other out. Grateful to work for a welcoming, helpful and hard-working team! 

From Sarah Bodi - I wanted to share this feedback from a student's survey response about how much better virtual learning is now than in the spring: "Some of the things that I like better is that we have daily zooms, as well as the fact that grades actually count so that a lot more people show up to the zooms, and finally that the breakout rooms are very helpful to work independently, and interacting with peers. I hope that this helps raise people’s spirits as well as gives good information."

You can submit a staff shout out through the HIXSON STAFF CHECK IN form, and you can also use it to tell us how you are feeling, provide feedback, or communicate a need.

Cool tech tip
From Gina Garbo - https://www.imagefu.com/create/button is a great tool to make simplified buttons for Canvas if you are having a hard time making custom buttons.

If you'd like to submit a cool tech tip, please submit it in the Hixson Staff Check In form and I will put it in next week's Monday Memo!

Hixson Spirit Wear Store
The Hixson Spirit Wear Store launched this past Friday! If you feel like doing a little shopping, click HERE to access the store. Proceeds will go to the Hixson Middle School campus beautification fund.

Important dates
September 14 - Faculty Meeting - PD w/Paul Gorski (see info below)
September 16 - Growth plan must be approved by your evaluator
September 18 - Growth plans due to district
September 21 - School Leadership Team meeting
September 30 - Human Resources Virtual Roadshow, 3:35 pm to 4:35 pm

DOMAIN 1: HIXSON & COVID-19

Work location plans
Click the Google Forms below to communicate your work location plans. The forms for the upcoming weeks will appear in each Monday Memo until we no longer need them. The form that's due will always be one week ahead so that I know your plans before the week actually starts. If you already know your plans for each week, then you are welcome to complete them all if you want. If you think your plans might fluctuate each week, then just complete the form when it is due on Mondays. If you need to change your plans after you've already submitted your response, email Sarah Magruder so she can update your information. Work location plans for the week of 9/21 to 9/25 are due today by 3:30 PM. Please make sure you complete this task on time.

Work Location Plans - 9/21 to 9/25
Work Location Plans - 9/28 to 10/2
Work Location Plans - 10/5 to 10/9
Work Location Plans - 10/12 to 10/16
Work Location Plans - 10/19 to 10/23

Self care calendar
Click HERE to access the self care calendar created by Hixson's counseling department.

DOMAIN 2: HIXSON AND EQUITY

Today's Professional Development - Dr. Paul Gorski

Dr. Paul Gorski will be our presenter for today's professional development. He will help us understand what equity is and explain the concept of equity detours. I included a link to his famous article on equity detours below, along with his bio. We will start promptly at 3:35 pm and will be together no longer than one hour. 

Shenita Mayes is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. 

Topic: Paul Gorski - Racial Equity Detours

Join Zoom Meeting

https://wgsdstl.zoom.us/j/96854264284?pwd=cUNkSzBJNEtBT3d4NUVNcm8zT0ZYQT09

Meeting ID: 968 5426 4284

Passcode: 215455

Founder and Lead Equity Specialist
Paul is the founder of the Equity Literacy Institute and EdChange. He has more than 20 years of experience helping educators, nonprofit workers, and others strengthen their equity efforts. He has worked with educators in 48 states and a dozen countries. Paul has published more than 70 articles and has written, co-written, or co-edited twelve books on various aspects of educational equity including Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap and Case Studies on Diversity and Social Justice Education (with Seema Pothini). He is the author of the Multicultural Pavilion, an online compendium of free resources for educators. Paul earned a PhD in Educational Evaluation at the University of Virginia. He was a teacher educator at several universities for 15 years. He is also a published poet, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and the biggest fan of Buster, his cat. 

Avoiding Racial Equity Detours