ALWAYS IMPROVING

As schools entered the third academic year occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic, educators in San Joaquin County have not stood still. Conditions have changed continually, but teachers, administrators, and other education staff continue working hard to keep expectations for themselves and their students high. Education continues to move forward, and there is help. Educators connect in networks and learn from training sessions.

This issue’s In the Classroom feature highlights some of the professional learning that educators engage in to hone their craft to address the needs of their students during difficult times.

We are also introducing a new In the Classroom (ITC) regular feature: ITC FAQ. We hope San Joaquin County educators can use this new resource to add to their skills toolbox, too.

REBOUNDING and

MOVING FORWARD

Educators join together at SJCOE Curriculum Breakfast to kick off new school year with focus on accelerated learning

Dr. Doug Fisher shared some testimonials from students of all ages who shared what they had learned during the pandemic.

The students shared that they had learned how to bake a cake, clean up around the house, or hula hoop. They also shared that they learned more about reading, math, and writing, but that they also learned about communicating with each other and using technology.

Despite narratives to the contrary, students and their teachers learned a lot during distance learning, Fisher said during the Sept. 3 virtual Curriculum Breakfast hosted by the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) to the more than 100 educators from the region logged on to the session.

Focusing on what was gained, understanding where students are, and recognizing the accomplishments of teachers and students alike, will allow schools to move forward in the new school year, he said.

“Learning loss conversations grant us permission to lower expectations of students,” he said. “We did not have a gap year. We should not focus on remediation. Instead, I wish that we would talk about acceleration.” The SJCOE Continuous Improvement and Support Department (CIS) organizes the Curriculum Breakfasts, which are keynote events on current education topics provided by engaging and inspirational speakers who are experts in their field.

“As we are entering our third school year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the message of rebuilding agency, reimaging our schools, and rebounding learning and engagement has never been more appropriate and more critical,” said Sally Glusing, a CIS director.

Helping students feel proud about what they have accomplished will help them excel in the new school year, she said, adding that the same is true for educators.

“Leaders can recognize and share this message to their teams: Let’s highlight what we’ve learned, what is working, and where the gains are that we didn’t anticipate. And let’s ride that wave of the successes that we’ve identified.”

During the morning-long event, the teachers and administrators took the discussion into breakout rooms. They talked about what they were doing in their schools so far and how the ideas being discussed could be applied in the future. All attendees received a free copy of the book Leading the Rebound: A Playbook for Rebuilding Agency, Accelerating Learning Recovery, and Rethinking Schools, which Fisher co-authored. The SJCOE also opened up a book-study network to help educators implement strategies at their schools.

“The whole session was wonderful. Very useful. There wasn’t anything in it that wasn’t a takeaway that I could use,” said Regina Fernandes, an instructional coach at Dolores Huerta Elementary School (Stockton Unified School District), who is going to take part in the book-study network.

Fernandes shared that she intends to apply new ways to use quick assessments. For example, fun games that students can take part in to show what they’ve learned.

“If we have these fun ways of assessing them and just checking in with them, they’re going to be more motivated because they will be able to see that they did do something and that they can do it,” she said. “That was really cool, and it gave me new ideas on how to do that.”

Besides being fun and engaging for the students, she said finding out what they have learned is essential to keep the learning moving forward and taking students to the next level.

In partnership with the educational community, the SJCOE Continuous Improvement and Support team leads with equity and designs and facilitates relevant and innovative learning that fosters relationships and is responsive to student and adult needs. To learn more, visit www.sjcoe.org/cis.