Curriculum and instruction

Guided
  Reading 
Assessment Book
& appendix		 Primary Partner


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Guided Reading

A part of my job as Assistant Principal at Livingston Primary School is to stay abreast
of curriculum and instruction. This has given me the opportunity to examine
instructional materials and programs from many different subject areas. The Primary
school’s focus is reading improvement. After much research and investigation, we
implemented a Guided Reading Program on the Primary campus. After the decision
was made, execution has been a step process. First, several teachers attended a Guided
Reading Conference with me. I then trained summer school faculty and used guided
reading as a pilot in our Extended Year Program this past summer. Next, all first grade
teachers attended the First Grade State Conference in Austin during the summer of
1998, where Guided Reading was a featured presentation. All first grade teachers are
currently implementing the program at our school. During August inservice, second
grade teachers were also trained in guided reading and a reading framework was
provided for the campus.

Delivering the staff developments was important to adequately prepare our faculty to
meet curriculum and instructional needs. The presentation of curriculum and instruction
continues to provide me avenues to develop educational leadership and to present
myself as a knowledgeable instructional leader for the district. I will continue to seek
valid, research proven curriculum and instruction for Primary teachers on my campus.
To establish myself as a knowledgeable professional, I will continue to prepare and
deliver professional development activities. Not only will I grow personally, but also I
will assist my staff in their own personal growth.


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Assessment Booklet
The state of Texas recently mandated implementation of TEA approved
assessments or board approval of district written assessments. To comply with this
mandate, coupled with the need for updated campus performance guidelines and
assessments, I organized and worked with the campus Assessment Committee to
create an Assessment Booklet that would detail assessment, placement, and
programming procedures for Livingston Primary School.

This was a new direction for me. I have previously done much primary curriculum
work, but have never before analyzed assessment programming. This project,
although extremely time consuming, gave me new insight to the importance of
aligning testing with curriculum and instruction. It also provided opportunity to
investigate TEA recommended assessments and to review current campus testing.

This project was completed in November 1998 and presented to the Livingston
Independent School Board for approval in December 1998.

The Primary School now has an Assessment Booklet and Assessment Appendix
that is a compilation of all campus progress reports, report cards, and campus
created assessments for reading and math.

I now have a better understanding and appreciation of the testing done on campus.
I will try to keep current all campus assessment data. In the future, the Primary
School's assessment will be examined in relationship to effective programming and
curriculum. I will continually look for yet untapped areas to get involved
personally, so that I can stretch myself professionally.


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PRIMARY PARTNER

Livingston Primary School has a very successful school-wide Volunteer Program.
Part of the program targets at-risk students for campus personnel to mentor. I have
been a part of this Primary Partner Program since coming to Livingston and now am
serving my third student. I spend time with Kyle, a first grader, several times a week
just to talk. Because he is a struggling reader, we also work on reading strategies that
will assist him in becoming a more independent reader.

I chose to be a part of this program for several reasons. I've always enjoyed
teaching reading and currently am responsible for the implementation of reading
programs and strategies on the campus. Helping Kyle utilize appropriate reading
strategies comes naturally. One of my goals since coming to Livingston has been to
increase the school to home connection and to encourage parental involvement.
Helping Kyle through this program has shown his parents and others that our school
truly cares. Giving of my time during the busy school day to touch a student
personally has also set an example for the faculty and staff of our campus. We now
have 53 Primary Partners who serve our students, giving their conference time at
least once a week.

I anticipate that the positive effect of my helping Kyle will serve him well. He is
feeling better about himself and we both look forward to our times together. The
Primary Partner Program has kept my in close contact with students and instruction.
For the future, I will try to remain personally involved with students on my campus.
I will target at least one student a year to assist instructionally. Teaching is my love;
reaching out as a role model is my goal. Letting parents and students know I care is
a valuable asset and brings great personal satisfaction.