November Area C Meeting Topic:  Focused Instruction

Parents can help their children prepare to meet or exceed standards by learning how to use this system.

If you already know about focused instruction or if this is the first you've heard about it, this meeting will be a good one for you to attend.

Mike Lynch, Executive Director Teaching and Learning will be our guest and will present information, answer questions and respond to concerns.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Jefferson Community School

1200 West 26th Street - cafeteria

6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

*dinner & discussion

childcare available for ages 3 & up ~ interpretation in Somali & Spanish

Flyer

Curious?  Keep Reading the following sections.

Focused Instruction – Overview

Minneapolis Public Schools is committed to raising the achievement of all students while, at the same time, closing the opportunity and achievement gap.

The purpose of this work is to make sure there is consistency in what is taught in all courses, at all grade levels,  across Minneapolis Public Schools.   While teaching programs and learning materials may vary from school to school, the quality of the learning experience should not. Features of Focused Instruction include the following:

• planning lessons using high-quality curriculum derived directly from state standards
• adapting instruction to meet individual students' needs at all levels
• using data to identify students who would benefit from additional help or accelerated learning opportunities

MPS will work closely with teachers, school leaders, students and families to build the infrastructure needed to support Focused Instruction.  Click here for more info on the district's page.

Focused Instruction - Tools

Over the past year, MPS has worked closely with exceptional teachers to build tools and systems which support Focused Instruction.  These include online curriculum guides and common benchmark assessments for nearly all courses the district offers in grades K, 3, 6, and 9.  Other grades will be added over the next two years.

A major benefit of Focused Instruction is that it provides more opportunity for parents to connect with teachers and administrators about their children's experience in school.

• The Year-at-a-Glance (YAG) and Course-at-a-glance (CAG) serves as the master roadmap to organizing all learning targets for a class into a year-long sequence.
• Parents are encouraged to use the YAG or CAG as a conversation starter with teachers about students' progress in specific classes.
• It is our hope that YAG and CAG will empower parents to have more in-depth conversations about where their students stand and how parents can help their children prepare to meet or exceed rigorous standards for achievement in all areas.

Explore YAG and CAG by using this link.  Look at the bottom of the page for examples of courses included this year.