Second Trimester Progress Reports - Reminder

As we prepare for 2nd Trimester Progress Reports, it may be a good idea to refresh your mind of the BIG IDEAS that we need to remember as we implement the Iowa Core and the reflection that may have on your child's progress report. Please feel free to view the video that was put together this last fall and shared with each of you prior to the first trimester reporting period. 

It has been proven by our data, that students are making significant progress, however, many are not yet mastering our essential skills.  Our goal IS, however to have them at Mastery (1) at the conclusion of the school year!  Any questions, please feel free to contact me directly at Denver Elementary! 

319-984-5611  

Professional Development at Denver Elementary

As we implement the Iowa Core Curriculum with fidelity in our classrooms, it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind and attention to each individual standard as a “single tree”, rather than admiring the “entire forest”.  At our February 14^th professional development, we took a step back, a glance at our curriculum from 10,000 feet if you will, to focus on an article written by Lauren Davis, which allowed us to look at the shifts that have occurred in our instruction.  The article is entitled, “5 Things Every Teacher Should be Doing to Meet the Common Core State Standards”.  

Using the article as the foundation for our activity, we were allowed an opportunity to celebrate in most cases, but to also reflect on our teaching practices as a whole.   We provided the task to small groups of teachers to become an “expert” on one of the five shifts.  In their collaborative groups and by way of a jigsaw activity, they were to determine the meaning of their shift with the intention of being able to share out to the entire group, but they were also asked to create an argument, as to why their shift was the most important.  We really had fun with the activity, but the real power was in the affirmation that occurred through rich conversation, as well as teachers challenging one another’s thinking as to how we could become stronger within each of these areas.  As we compiled a list of ways in which we are meeting the shifts, we felt great about our commitment to the Iowa Core and our implementation, which is occurring with strong fidelity.

To give you some further insight, the shifts described in the article are as follows:

1.     Lead High-Level, Text-Based Discussions

2.     Focus on Process, Not Just Content

3.     Create Assignment for Real Audiences and with Real Purpose

4.     Teach Argument, Not Persuasion

5.     Increase Text Complexity

Again, affirmation was high, however we learned that shift number 3, in particular deserves further attention moving forward.  Our new curriculum materials are not only fully aligned to the core and support rigorous learning at the highest levels, but again, it is important for us to look at the forest as a whole, and make sure that we are empowering real and purposeful learning through activities that include real audiences, rather than spending too much time admiring the “single trees”.  

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting us during our professional learning days.  I realize that the early dismissal days and the full Fridays are not always easy for families, however, research suggests that of all school related factors that improve student achievement, teacher’s matter most.  It is our administrative team’s responsibility to ensure that our teachers are current with the best practices and most aligned resources to empower learning for every child, every day.  This only happens through ongoing and high quality professional development, and again, I thank you for your enduring support!

All My Best,

Kim Tierney

Walked a Mile

The American Proverb, “Don’t judge a man, until you’ve walked a mile in his boots,” proved very powerful for me this past week.  I wasn’t judging anyone of course, however, I was asking a lot of my teachers regarding the implementation of our new Reading and Language Arts curriculum.  I was asking for “implementation with fidelity” without being able to fully empathize with their perspectives.  I found that I truly wasn’t providing the instructional leadership that I desire as a principal.   I found that many of the challenges that I was hearing were consistent across each grade level.  I decided that the limits that I was unintentionally placing on myself as an instructional leader were going to be days of the past.  I encouraged (and begged), a fifth grade teacher to allow me to fully plan and implement a weeks worth of our new English and Language Arts curriculum materials.  I will forever be grateful to this teacher for her willingness to allow me to take on this challenge.  It is not an easy thing, to hand your classroom over to someone else.  I made sure that she understood that this was for me, and that I was not a “model” of implementation.   My goal was to fully immerse myself in the new materials so that I could fully empathize with time constraints and full implementation.  I was excited and nervous, but anticipated the experience ahead!

After my first Friday of planning from 5:00 PM to 10:30 PM, I immediately realized, that this was going to be a powerful week!  To say that I benefited from this experience would be an incredible understatement!  This was the most powerful learning I have ever personally endured.  Those 20 students taught me more this week, than I could have learned in a month’s worth of formal professional development!  Again, my first night of planning included totally immersing myself into the curriculum; I had to ultimately familiarize myself with ALL portions of what this curriculum had to offer.  It took a lot of time and I of course, could have implanted without spending that amount of time, but again, I had to begin with my end goal in mind. 

That Friday, was not the end of my planning, I planned up to one hour each night for the next day’s instruction.  *My first point of personal learning – good teaching requires great planning, reflection and follow-up!  I’ve known this and preach this often, but after wearing my principal hat for the past six years – this perspective really came to life for me again.  Often, it is this portion of a teacher’s career, the planning, checking papers and essays, as well as catching students up that are absent throughout the week, that is consistently overlooked by stakeholders.  Good teaching requires great planning, reflection and follow-up – which consumes a lot of time.

Throughout the week, I also realized just how much I miss the classroom!  Teaching is incredibly hard work, but is also one of the most rewarding professions that I could ever imagine!  Our learning targets in the classroom during the week included sequencing a biography and writing a summary of the several passages that we read.  Observing the student work was worth the price of gold to me!  I saw growth and implementation of the skills that I was hoping students would gain throughout the week, and to me, this was priceless!  I loved to see the expression on a student’s face, when they finally “got it”.

The second point of personal learning for me, was that our new curriculum is exactly what I had been hearing it was, from the teachers perspective.  Our curriculum materials contain too many great resources to fit into our 120-minute block of literacy.  While all materials and instructional standards available and suggested are wonderful and incredibly rigorous – the reality is plain and simple, it cannot all be done!  We as professionals need to make decisions about how we can best meet the core curriculum implementation, through creating a design of instruction that facilitates strong implementation.  I believe this is through the reading and writing workshop model, and our classrooms must look different than they had previously.  I plan to provide better instructional leadership to help teachers make this happen!

 

Finally, as I feel often at Denver Elementary, I felt so, so proud of our teachers.  I had a recent conversation with an individual from outside our district, and he mentioned that our implementation is a model for others.  Our teachers are very professional, hard working, and passionate!  This shows everyday at our elementary school!  My final take-away, was that our teachers are working hard and are really doing a great job implementing the “shifts” required within implementation of the Iowa Core Curriculum. 

My conclusion is that every principal and/or instructional leader needs to become a practitioner and place themselves back in the “trenches”.  For me, it was the most rewarding experience I have ever had as a principal!  I will say, however, that my principal duties took a back seat, and I was up late each night trying to make up for the time that I took away from that very important responsibility.  As a matter of fact, it is an expectation within our district, that we as principals get into every classroom each week, and complete a formal walk-through.  This unfortunately didn’t happen, however, when I walk through classrooms from now on, I will do so as a stronger instructional leader, one that I couldn’t have imagined being, prior to walking a mile in one fifth grade teacher’s shoes!

Why Does Denver CSD dismiss at 2:00 on Wednesday?

At Denver Community School District, we have raised student achievement through our Professional Learning Communities.  We have been recognized nationally for our efforts and have been named, a National Model Professional Learning Community by Solution Tree in 2012.  We focus on learning, focus on results, focus on collaboration all through a systematic process of intervention.   Many schools throughout Iowa visit our district to learn more about our outstanding practice each year!

“PLC’s are so important!  They allow us to share and collaborate ideas for our students in order to obtain and provide the help and support necessary for each child to be successful!”

-Denver Elementary Teacher

Each week our teachers meet to discuss each and every student to be sure that we are meeting every child’s academic needs.  Whether a child has full understanding of what they are learning, or if they are struggling to make connections we work rigorously to plan meaningful, engaging and precise instruction to meet each student at their “zone of proximal development”.  On Wednesday’s every teacher meets within a collaborative team for a approximately 90 minutes.  We have made it a priority to ensure that we are implanting a “guaranteed and viable” curriculum aligned to the Iowa Core, therefore, on Wednesday’s teachers are also looking very closely at their standards and their units to ensure full alignment.  While also becoming crystal clear on what proficiency looks like for each standard, we are also designing assessments, looking at prerequisite skills, which are essential to learning, and also designing enrichment and extension opportunities for students.  The academic demands on our student population have increased, therefore in order to best prepare our students to be college and/or career ready, collaborative planning time, and our 2:00 dismissal on Wednesday, is essential to the success of each child! 

To learn more about Denver’s work with PLC’s, visit:

http://www.aea267.k12.ia.us/plc/plc-videos/

http://www.allthingsplc.info/plcLocator.php

Reading like a Detective and Writing like a Reporter is TOUGH!

Reading like a Detective and Writing like a Reporter is TOUGH!

As teachers begin to facilitate our first few weekly and unit assessments don’t be alarmed if you children’s assessment scores are not quite as high as they were on last year’s reading tests.  As I have shared in the past, our new curriculum brings with it some higher expectations for students and also some shifts in the way that they are asked to dissect and comprehend text.  We now ask students to read far more non-fiction and rigorous text and to also provide text-based answers, based on evidence from within the reading.  We ask students to write from sources, like many professionals do within the working world, we are also asking them to constantly utilize increased levels of academic vocabulary.  With a little more practice, our student' reading test scores will most certainly improve and while our expectations are indeed higher, we do feel that we as educators and students alike will soon feel a sense of pride as we surpass these increased expectations and move to greater levels of college and career readiness. 

September Professional Development

Our district strives to focus on results and to remain data driven!  On Friday, September 13, 2013, we had an outstanding professional development day, in which we focused on our district’s assessment data.  We use data daily within our school system, but we dedicate one day each year specifically, to analyze our district-wide data very closely.  This assessment data help us to assess our curriculum and it’s alignment to the Iowa Core Standards.  Additionally, when evaluating trends, we also spend ample time looking at individual student data and making plans for specific students.  When we dissect data to this extent we use the motto, “If it’s predictable, it’s preventable!” 

Prior to the completion of our work time together, our teachers were responsible for setting an annual professional goal, utilizing the S.M.A.R.T. goal format.  In other words, our teachers utilized the data to create a goal for the school year that is, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. 

After each professional development day, my pride for this school district continues to grow!  Our teachers are so incredibly professional, passionate and committed to learning more so that they can do better for each individual child.  Our next professional development date is Friday, October 11, 2013.  It is then, that distinguished author and professor at San Diego State University, Douglas Fisher, will present to our staff in regard to our new reading curriculum and the specific strategy of “close reading”.

Denver Elementary teachers work collaboratively to analyze student data.

The School Year is a Mountain

Can you believe that it is August already? As always, I am incredibly excited for the beginning of the school year!  I still get that same sense of excitement that I had as a child this time of year!  Speaking of excitement, throughout my travels this summer I was fortunate enough to climb the Manitou Springs Incline in Colorado, which is a 1-mile hike at an average grade of 40%.  It was an incredible challenge for me and as I was climbing I was reminded of the incredible metaphor this mountain provides when comparing the climb to that of the school year. 

First of all, my anticipation and adrenaline started off strong, as I was about 100 yards into hike, I realized I was in for more of a challenge than I had expected, but there was no turning back.  Half-way up, I realized that looking at the summit was no longer an option, I had to divide the hike into smaller chunks or goals, providing myself with a well deserved break each time.  As I was getting closer to the summit, it didn’t get easier, as a matter of fact it became more challenging, however my adrenaline had kicked in and by then my body had surely adjusted to the altitude, but I was incredibly tired.  Twenty feet away from the summit, my legs were on fire, but my mind pressed forward and after reaching the top, I was overjoyed and felt the most incredible sense of accomplishment.  We then took an alternate trip down, which was a 2.4 mile winding hike back down the hill, providing me with an opportunity to catch my breath, take in the beautiful sites once again both helping me to rejuvenate my soul. 

Can you envision the parallels when comparing your child’s school year, to that of climbing a mountain?  We all start off strong, new backpacks are ready, routines are set, intentions are great, and after we start, the excitement may dwindle and school may become harder and maybe more of a chore, but it is then that we must push children to prevail and continue to pace them upward and forward.  The end will surely come and we will have that opportunity for summer to refresh our children’s bodies and spirits once again.   And just as I looked back at my climb, our children will look back at this school year next May and realize, while challenging, there was so much enjoyment full of memories that will last a lifetime!

I wish you all the excitement of climbing a mountain this school year!

May 2013

A NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

We are making a concerted effort to ensure that when our children leave Denver CSD they are College and/or Career Ready!  In August when students return to classrooms, our English and Language Arts Curriculum will look much different than it does currently.  We are ramping up our curriculum materials, which will enable us to better meet the demands of the Iowa Core Curriculum. 

We review and update our curriculum regularly to meet the demands of our ever-changing global society, however every six years; we review each of our content-area curriculums with a more in-depth focus.  This year a leadership team, consisting of four elementary teachers, myself, and our Curriculum Director Paul Gebel, spent numerous hours evaluating the “shifts” of the common core.  We then evaluated numerous sets of curriculum materials in addition to the thought of not purchasing materials at all, and creating our own.  In the end, a unanimous decision was reached to integrate McGraw-Hill’s Reading Wonders curriculum into our instructional setting, starting the 2013-14 school year. 

Reading Wonders is the ONLY program on the market today that is built from the ground up to meet the challenges of the Iowa Core.  We will teach through a Reading and Writing Workshop model, while integrating many more non-fiction texts into the hands of our students.  We will also focus on reading more “closely” and with more emphasis on “text dependent” questions.  Next Fall, we will teach students to “Read like a Detective!” and to “Write Like an Investigative Reporter!”  I look forward to your feedback!

If you would like to learn more about our new ELA Curriculum materials, please visit:  http://mhreadingwonders.com

Educationally Yours,

Kim Tierney

Elementary Principal

Iowa Core Curriculum - ELA Revision

Iowa Core Curriculum – ELA Revision

A curriculum revision leadership team at Denver Elementary is currently investigating, piloting, and researching several curriculum resources that will support our teachers in meeting the new demands of the Iowa Core, specifically in the content area of English and Language Arts (ELA).  Our plan is to adopt and implement new curriculum materials into our classrooms with integrity next fall, upon students’ return.

The Iowa Core is the set of standards mandated by our state, and implemented into every school district  within Iowa.  Our standards are adapted from the National Common Core, which have been adopted by all but five states in the country.  With the Iowa Core, comes several “shifts” in the way that we teach and the way students will be expected to learn.   Importantly, several of the shifts can be supported by families at home as well, therefore the following list, as adapted from www.engageNY.org, are suggestions as to how you can support the new English and Language Arts standards at home:

1.     Read and supply more Non-Fiction at home!

2.     Read Non-Fiction aloud with your child!

3.     Have fun with non-fiction in front of them!

4.     Find books that explain!

5.     Provide more challenging texts to your child!  Help unpack the challenge with them!

6.     Demand EVIDENCE in every day discussions and disagreements!  (Blame this on Mrs. Tierney)  J

7.     Read aloud or read the same book and discuss the text with evidence.

8.     ENCOURAGE writing at home!

9.     Write books together and use evidence and details.

10. Make arguments in writing!

11. And most importantly - READ OFTEN!!!!

Standards-Based Progress Report

Standards-Based Progress Report Video

We are excited to share this video that members of our staff created to explain our new Standards-Based Progress Reports!  We hope that this additional form of communication will further help to explain our transition to our new reporting system!  (Please be advised that we don't have a high-end teleprompter - we were using paper held as close to the video camera as possible...) 

Will Your Child Eat School Lunch This School Year?

Noticeable changes will take place in the school cafeteria this year, watch the video (click on the link below) to learn more about the legislative changes that will change the contents on your child's lunch tray.  As always we welcome parents and family members to join your child for lunch in our cafeteria throughout the school year!

http://www.educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2666

A February Note From Mrs. Tierney

We have had several parents ask us what our favorite applications are for student use. For those of you that aren’t aware, applications are accessible to install on our iPads that we have within each classroom at Denver Elementary. Several of the “apps” are also compatible to install on other devices such as smart phones or another tablet device. With the knowledge that families are wanting to know which “apps” we like best, I thought it would be most relevant if we asked the students and teachers in each grade level what their favorite applications are. We will begin this month with Kindergarten and their favorite applications, which are listed below:

1. Monkey Math School Sunshine

2. SHOW ME

3. ABC Spelling Magic

A Note From Mrs. Tierney - November

A NOTE FROM MRS. TIERNEY

You know you are in a high achieving school system when a third grade student says before school, “It’s so cold out here, you can see my carbon dioxide!”

Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

We, as educators, live in a system in which we are forced to rely on student achievement data as a predictor of our students’ and our school’s success. Denver Elementary consistently prevails as a high achieving school based on those assessments, as we consistently rank as one of the top achieving schools in the state of Iowa. This makes me very proud, especially because we work very hard as a school system, as a community, and as families to maintain high expectations so that we ensure that trend continues.

However, I will be the first to admit, it is so important for us at times to take a step back, and look at everything else that our students and teachers accomplish, that is not necessarily correlated within those high test scores. Teachers are preparing heavily for our Parent/Teacher Conferences next week. They have compiled mounds of data that they are prepared to share with you on your child’s report card and in a fifteen-minute conference. Most of that data will correlate to each child’s academic strengths and weaknesses, especially within the report card. What I hope you gain from the parent/teacher conference though, is a more detailed look at your child based on both academic data, but also, what we notice about your child that isn’t measured on an assessment.

For example, our student’s work hard to be Kids of Character, they practice daily being responsible, respectful, fair, trustworthy, caring, not to mention outstanding citizens. I must say that our students are some of the most incredible Kids of Character that I have ever witnessed. Character isn’t necessarily something we measure on a state assessment, but to me, we must celebrate our students’ achievements in this area, just as much as we celebrate high math, reading, or science scores. We must remember, that not everything that counts, can be counted!

Elementary Fundraiser Results

We can’t thank our Denver Elementary students, parents, family and community members enough for their generous support of our Clubs Choice Fundraiser. Our profit from the sale was $15,500.

The profit from the fundraiser combined with the $15,000.00 donation from the KIDS group provides us the opportunity to purchase 30 IPADs for elementary classroom use. Our deployment of the iPads is set for November. The iPads will be used in the classroom setting to further enhance and differentiate learning. Teachers will be able to load numerous applications that will supplement all core subjects such as math and reading.

We are so fortunate to have a community that places such a high value on education and continues to financially support the educational needs and wants of our students and educators.

Please look forward to upcoming opportunities to share in our success as we offer future community friendly events, so that you too, may become familiar with our incredible use of technology, and how it positively impacts our students’ learning!

Educational Minute #1 - Intervention and Enrichment Time

At Denver Elementary we strive to ensure that our focus is on learning, rather than teaching. We want to ensure that every student walks away with the skills necessary to be successful in our ever-changing global society upon leaving our system. One way we do that is by differentiating our instruction, specifically through a time that we have allocated within our master schedule this year, to allow for what we call, "Intervention and Enrichment Time". CLICK HERE to watch our very first "EDUCATIONAL MINUTE" video to learn more, and as always I as your principal, welcome any opportunity to speak further about ways in which we focus on learning!

My Best,

Mrs. Kim Tierney

LISTEN TO YOUR READERS (ESPECIALLY YOUR AUNT)

So, a couple weeks ago, my sisters and I enjoyed an incredible day trip to Tanger Outlets and the Amana's with a few of my aunts, including my Aunt Judy. My aunts are a large part of who I am today, I have looked up to them in so many ways throughout my life!

When my Aunt Judy and I had a few minutes to chat, she said, "I read your blog, it's really neat.", I replied with, "Yeah....do you like it?" She said, "Yes, but I don't know if it's my eyes or your font, but I have a hard time reading it...."

I told her right there and then, that she brought up a good point, and that she would likely be the subject of a future post.

SO HERE YOU ARE, AUNT JUDITH! BECAUSE OF YOUR GREAT FEEDBACK, I HAVE REVERTED TO A MORE TRADITIONAL (LESS ATTRACTIVE AND FUN), BUT EASIER TO READ FONT! I HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO ENJOY!

Denver Elementary Teachers Learn from the Author of Arthur!

On April 15, 2011, our staff had the wonderful opportunity to attend the 2011 Elementary Literacy and Reading Recovery Conference on the University of Northern Iowa campus. Our teachers were able to attend differentiated sessions pertaining to all facets of literacy. What made the day even more exciting is that our professional staff had the opportunity to learn from a great and FAMOUS author, Marc Brown, who is most well known for creating and writing about his famous character, Arthur.

He answered a question that we hear a lot as educators. "How can I get my child to read at home?" His answer was simple, he said, "Kids do what parents do, if you want your child to read, you have to model that."

I would also like to thank one of our very own parents, Mrs. Amy Lockhart for all the work that she did in preparing an outstanding conference and a great day of learning for educators all across Iowa. Amy is a member of the planning team and host school, Price Laboratory in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Denver is proud of you!

Our 4th Grade Team, Deb Little and Val Frey, also deserve a congratulations today for facilitating their own learning session, entitled, Closing the Gap and Raising the Bar! They did an incredible job of presenting, facilitating discussion, and sharing one of the many great initiatives evolving within Denver Elementary.

Third Grade teacher, Wendy Lohmann, chats with Marc Brown!

Mrs. Zaputil, Kindergarten teacher, with Mr. Brown.

Mrs. Curtis (2nd) and Mrs. Kirchoff (2nd) with Mr. Brown

Our very own, Jodie Victoria, posing for a photograph with the famous author

Did you know that Marc Brown, considers himself an artist, first and foremost?

His greatest inspiration, in school, was his art teacher!

April 2011

Four Teachers Hired to Join our Elementary Team

I am so excited to announce that with careful financial management by our Superintendent, Mrs. Kathy Enslin, we were able to interview and hire four new teachers at the elementary level. Grade level assignments have not yet been determined for these individuals, but we are excited that we will have three classroom sections within each grade level kindergarten through fifth.

The new teachers all come to Denver Elementary with experience. I will begin to touch on a few “fun facts” about each of our new professionals that will be joining our elementary team in August:

Brittanie Barnett

· Is currently completing her first year at Fairfield Community School District

· Is a 5^th Generation Wartburg Alum

· Lived in England while growing up until the 5^th Grade then moved to New Jersey, where her parents currently reside.

“Brittanie Is very well trained as a first year teacher, coming from Fairfield. Her training and experience blends very well with the direction that we are moving as a district. I am so excited to see Britannie’s positive influence and knowledge of educating children impact our students for years to come”

- Kim Tierney, Principal

Wendy Lohmann

· Has subbed for the Denver Community School District for the past 10 years.

· Has been a full-time classroom substitute for us in third grade since January 2011.

· Taught for four years full time in Illinois.

· Lives and remains active in the Denver Community with her husband, Craig and five children.

“Wendy is an exceptionally well-rounded person who will provide consistency for our students at the elementary level. Our students, staff, and community know and love her! Her positive attitude, experience, and incredible work-ethic made her an invaluable candidate for our open positions.”

- Kim Tierney, Principal

Michael Sullivan

· Has taught in four states, including Iowa, Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut.

· Was Team Captain and Offensive MVP for his college football team

· Currently teaches first grade in Hudson, but throughout his five years of teaching experience has taught fifth grade and reading as well.

· Lead the development/revision of a standards-based report card within his grade level in Hudson

“Michael is a professional who comes to us with an incredible combination of education, experience, and many personal strengths. He comes VERY highly recommended, and I am very excited to see his strengths and knowledge put to use within our elementary.”

Kim Tierney, Principal

Stephanie Westendorf

· Has taught in the Waterloo school system for the past 4 years, including 4^th and 5^th Grades.

· Currently is the Team Leader for her grade level in Waterloo

· Is extensive professional training in several initiatives that fit very well within our system

· Volunteers to facilitate an After School Running Club in her school.

“Stephanie really stood out to us during the interview process. Her professional experiences, intelligence, and demeanor make her a perfect “fit” for our high expectations and standards of education here in Denver. I am so pleased with her extensive training, and her proven track record of focusing on learning and putting students first.”

Kim Tierney, Principal

Essential Outcomes

At our most recent staff development on March 11, our elementary staff was able to collaborate and work to identify our essential outcomes for grades K-5 in the areas of English Language Arts and Math. I have compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions including a picture of how we plan to progress in the future regarding this important work:

Essential Outcomes

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What are Essential Outcomes and skills?

Essential Outcomes are a subset of the complete list of standards within the Iowa Core Curriculum. They represent a vertically aligned “safety net” of indicators that our teaching professionals strive to ensure students’ learn prior to exiting each grade level. It is important to realize, however, that state law mandates that educators be bound to teach their students all the standards and indicators in their assigned grade level or department. Denver Elementary is not eliminating any standards, although we ARE clear on the knowledge, skills, and dispositions (that is the essential outcomes) that students will acquire as a result of each content area/grade level. To find a complete list of our Iowa Core Standards, please visit: http://www.corecurriculum.iowa.gov/

2. Why Essential Outcomes?

Essential outcomes provide a laser focus for us as a K-5 elementary system. We have prioritized our standards, based on the research that this type of system philosophy increases student achievement.

3. How did Denver Elementary staff select the Essential Outcomes?

Our teachers and administration worked together to prioritize our standards, based on three criteria:

1. Endurance – Does the standard provide value beyond a single test date?

2. Readiness For Next Level – Will the standard provide students with skills and knowledge necessary for success in the next grade or level of instruction?

3. Leverage – Will this standard provide knowledge and skills that will be of value in multiple disciplines?

4. How will Denver Elementary staff move forward, in successfully implementing and using the Essential Outcomes?

Denver Elementary teachers work within very high standards of excellence. Our system allows for collaborative time among elementary teachers (Professional Learning Communities) in order to focus on three guiding questions:

1. What do we want our students to learn?

2. How do we know students are learning?

3. What are we doing when students are/are not learning?

As we continue our important work, we will move forward by:

1. Sequencing essential outcomes for logical progression within each grade level

2. Developing Common “Formative” Assessments to go with standards

3. We will provide for Intervention and Enrichment opportunities based on data from assessments

4. We will strive to move toward a revised K-5 Standards Based Report Card by the 2012-13 school year