Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Wilson Hill Parent Advisory Committee

One of Wilson Hill Elementary School’s new initiatives for the 2014-15 school year is to establish a Parent Advisory Committee.  This group is scheduled to meet at the minimum of four times this school year.  I have enjoyed watching this group form, collaborate and share with one another.


The purpose of this group is to establish connections between our staff/administration and parent representatives from each grade level that discuss our school’s needs and how we can improve our school for our families, students, staff and community.  Below is a summary of the framework we are establishing as a group:
  • Identify common needs and goals among the parents of students enrolled at Wilson Hill.
  • Facilitate strategies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our school.
  • Provide administration with feedback and insight from the parent’s perspective on school process, policies and initiatives to ensure that the needs of parents and their families are included.
  • Bring to administration existing and emerging issues expressed by parents of Wilson Hill Families.
  • Serve as an advisory, not a decision-making body, that makes recommendations, encourages brainstorming and begins to establish opportunities for parent involvement.
There have been several good conversations that have allowed our school to reflect on our practice and how we are meeting or not meeting the needs of our families.  A few examples of our discussions include: Meet the Teacher Event and Curriculum Night 2014 and discussions regarding our Building Improvement Plan.  Another more in depth example of how we are using this group to improve our school is how we can improve the transition of students from primary grades to intermediate grades.  From our Parent Advisory Committee discussions we recognized as a school we can improve on preparing our families for their child’s transition.  One idea developed by our committee is to hold transition meetings for families in the Spring for students transitioning to Grades 4,5 or 6. We will soon coordinate this event for families and we hope that the information we share along with a question and answer session provided allows us to better serve our students and families. No matter the topic we are discussing, we have decided as a group that we will be respectful and honest. Our conversations thus far have been just that!


As the principal of the school I don’t have all the answers, I never will, but the Parent Advisory Committee at Wilson Hill has allowed me to better understand our families needs and what we must do to make our school a better place.  


I would like to thank the following parents for serving on this committee this school year: Stephanie Rigsby (Kindergarten Representative), Jennifer Shankman (1st Grade Representative), Jessica Johns (2nd Grade Representative), Brian Fedorko (3rd Grade Representative), Mike and Amy Featherstone (4th Grade Representatives), Mike Beatty (5th Grade Representative), Kathleen Arkus (6th Grade Representative). I have enjoyed collaborating with these parents to improve our school.  If you get the opportunity, please take a moment to thank these parents for serving our school!

Matt Keller- Wilson Hill Elementary School Principal

Friday, January 9, 2015

Wilson Hill Elementary Assessment Calendar 2015

Dear Wilson Hill Families,

As you know, all students in grades 3-6 throughout the state will take new assessments this school year. I am sending this information to K-2 families so you may learn more about what the new assessments will look like for your child in the coming years.  The Ohio Department of Education is referring to these new assessments as the PARCC (Partnership of Assessments for Readiness of College and Careers) and the OCBA (Ohio Computer Based Assessments).  The PARCC assessments are in the areas of English Language Arts and Math.  The OCBA assessments are in the areas of Science and Social Studies.  A blog was written in October about these new assessments, which you can find this and additional resources by clicking here (http://wilsonhillelmentary.blogspot.com/2014/10/next-generation-of-assessments.html).

Changes at the state level continue to impact what tests students will take.  Recently in late December Governor Kasich passed a bill that eliminated the PARCC assessment for all 3rd Grade students for English Language Arts due to the 3rd Grade Reading Guarantee.  The change states that 3rd grade students will no longer take the PARCC assessment in English Language Arts but will take the 3rd Grade Ohio Academic Assessment (OAA) for Reading this Spring (April 28th at Wilson Hill).  You may read more about this if you would like by clicking here (http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Testing/News/Five-Thing-You-Need-to-Know-Week-of-12-19-14).  Wilson Hill will continue to update families of any changes that are made at the state level as the assessment dates approach.

The Wilson Hill staff has worked collaboratively to design a testing schedule for students that promotes the best opportunities for success and allows our students to keep routines at school. The schedule for all assessments is attached and is color coded by grade level.  With the exception of 6th grade, all grade levels will take their computer based assessments first thing in the morning.  Our 6th Grade will keep their current first period Related Arts Schedule and begin assessments after these classes.  

Please view the Wilson Hill Elementary Assessment Calendar by clicking here or go to the Wilson Hill website at www.worthington.k12.oh.us and click on the eBackpack tab and then PARCC/OCBA Assessment Calendar 2015.  Please note that there are two pages to the calendar which reflect both the March and April/May assessments that will take place.  

As always, please do not hesitate to contact our staff with questions.

Finally, we will have a PARCC/OCBA Assessment gathering on February 10th at 6:15 PM in our cafeteria, prior to the PTO Meeting.

Matt Keller

Principal

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Wilson Hill Technology Changes

Twenty-First Century Learning Skills are encompassed around four areas: Learning and Innovation Skills, Core Subjects, Life/Career Skills and Media/Technology Skills. One way our school district intends to meet the Media/Technology Skills need is to implement Worthington City Schools Technology Plan. This plan calls for an increase in technology devices within all schools so that students have an opportunity to use a device more frequently. At Wilson Hill Elementary the technology use has changed over the last few months to meet our needs that correspond with the district technology plan.

One aspect that has changed for our teachers is their ability to become more mobile. Each teacher has a laptop that has replaced their desktop computer within their classroom. The use of the laptops along with Google Apps For Education (GAFE) has allowed our staff to lead by example in an effort to implement technology within the classroom to assist with teaching and learning. Even Mr. Smith has become more mobile!

Another change that has been made is the elimination of desktop computers within classrooms for our students. Our chromebooks are now being implemented at all grade levels within each classroom.  Our K-2 classrooms have five touchscreen chromebooks that are utilized on a daily basis.  In addition to the classroom chromebooks,  our K-2 classrooms have a classroom set of chromebooks that can be accessed by the entire class. Also, our 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade classrooms have a set of 30 chromebooks that are used by each grade level.  These devices are implemented within all content areas at each grade level. At times the students use these devices in small groups and often students within a classroom have one device for each student. Mrs. Pittman’s classroom has a classroom set of chromebooks that are used on a daily basis with students at all grade levels in unique, engaging and standards based ways. In all, at Wilson Hill Elementary, we have added 185 technology devices since October 2014 for our students! A big thanks to Worthington City Schools Technology Director Mr. Schlarb and his team for making this happen.   

In addition to the use of the new technology devices within all K-6 classrooms,  our students in grades 2-6 have received google accounts that allow the student and their teacher to communicate and collaborate using Google Apps For Education (GAFE).  Google Apps For Education has allowed our students to enhance and improve their learning opportunities that may not have been present in previous years. Students and staff have enjoyed discovering the new possibilities of learning that are present when implementing Google Apps for Education (Example: Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.).

To highlight some of our students thoughts about the implementation of the new technology and it’s tools I captured some of their remarks:
  • “I enjoy working in Google Docs when creating and completing writing assignments; my teacher is able to share their thinking with me so I can improve my work.
  • “ I really like to use the tools of google and our new devices, I get excited to complete our assignment and cannot wait until we are able to start the next assignment.”  
  • “I think it is awesome how I can work with peers on a task and hear their thoughts even when we work from home.”
  • The computers are so much faster than those old classroom computers”.  
  • “Learning is so much fun when using the chromebooks, I never want it to end.”
  • “I like we have the opportunity to change our learning styles within our classrooms more often, it keeps learning fun!”
  • “Learning is super cool and fun!”

At Wilson Hill “good teaching” is still “good teaching”.  We have focused learning targets around the standards, provide differentiation when appropriate, check for understanding throughout the learning process, ensure students receive feedback around their learning, assess student learning to ensure our students have independently mastered the concepts and finally use our data to determine our next teaching steps.   The new learning opportunities provided with our new technology and it's tools allow our staff and students to be more efficient and effective in improving academic growth for all students.

To conclude, Worthington City Schools hopes to continue to move forward with it’s one to one initiative (one device per student) and is encouraging Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).  As we begin this initiative at Wilson Hill we will learn from our experiences to better meet our student's needs.


Matt Keller-Principal
Wilson Hill Elementary School
Worthington City Schools

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Wilson Hill Superheroes

Wilson Hill Superheroes
Superheroes work at Wilson Hill.  This superhero team is not the type you find in a comic book, these are real human superheroes, some of our own Wilson Hill Staff.  These staff members may be known or unknown to our families. Without a doubt, they make our school a better place each day because of their care for our students and staff.

Ring Ring….Ding Dong….First, I would like to start with our Superhero Office Team.  Ding Dong….These ladies are probably known by most of our families….Ring Ring….Their duties are endless!  These Superheroes operate as a true team. Ring Ring….Ding Dong...The Office Superhero Team consist of Mrs. Roush, Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ellwood.  Mrs. Roush is known as our Financial Secretary.  This title does not do her job description justice. There are many aspects of our school day she supports, especially me! Clean up in the 3rd and 4th Grade hallway...Ring Ring.. Ding Dong....The next person on our Superhero Office Team is Mrs. Johnson.  Mrs. Johnson takes care of attendance for all 510 students at Wilson Hill, is our testing coordinator and supports students with literacy interventions.  Ding Dong….Ring Ring...The last person on our Superhero Office Team is Mrs. Ellwood.  Mrs. Ellwood coordinates and helps administer all of our MAP testing at Wilson Hill. She supports staff’s technology needs and also provides literacy interventions to many of our students.  Ring Ring….Clean up in the K, 1st, 2nd Grade bathroom….The best part of our Superhero Office Team is their teamwork.  If any of these ladies need support from one another, they do this without even speaking;  it’s pretty remarkable to see...Ding Dong….Ring Ring...Clean up in Mrs. Hayhurst Room ….Did I also mention the Wilson Hill Superhero Office Team performs all of their assigned duties, and more, while multi-tasking! I applaud Mrs. Roush, Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ellwood for all the many aspects of their job that they do each day to support all our students, staff and families!

The next Superhero Team is our health office.  Mrs. Lear, Mrs. Cynkar and Mrs. McMahon support our students health office needs. With their daily administration of medication to our students and keeping track of who is in the clinic and for what, these ladies show great care for our students.  I am truly amazed at the kindness, compassion and patience they show all our students each day. Our Health Office Superhero Team is not at Wilson Hill at the same time, (they are traveling staff throughout the district) which makes their collaboration to meet our students needs even more amazing. Thank you for being a part of Wilson Hill Mrs. Lear, Mrs. Cynkar and Mrs. McMahon.

The third Superhero Team is our custodians.  Mr. Jimmy (Jimmy Rohrbacher) is the face of our custodial team as he is present at Wilson Hill during the school day.  Mr. Jimmy is at work everyday by 5:30 AM to make sure our building is ready to go for the day even during inclement weather.  Mr. Jimmy also knows all of our students! He has great relationships with our students and collaborates with our staff to meet their everyday needs in the classroom.  The next custodial Superhero is Mr. Greg (Greg Abraham) who is our evening custodian.  Mr. Greg may not be as visible to students and families as Mr. Jimmy, but he is just as valuable. Having been an elementary school principal for 10 years, I have not had a custodian clean as many spaces as Mr. Greg in a work shift.  Mr. Greg also oversees our facility when most of us are getting ready for bed.  He makes sure our building is locked and that things are working properly so our students can learn in the morning.  Last on our Custodial Superhero Team is Mr. Mike (Mike Myers).  Mr. Mike is a part-time custodian that supports Mr. Greg in the evening after school dismisses.  I am always amazed at how much teamwork is needed by Mr. Mike and Mr. Greg to meet our building needs.  We congratulate Mr. Jimmy, Mr. Greg, and Mr. Mike for their efforts in keeping our school safe, secure, and clean so our students can learn!

Our last Superhero team is our cafeteria staff.  These ladies serve breakfast to nearly 100 students and lunch to over 350 students, everyday.  Ms. Cindy (Cindy Weicht) and Ms. Jennifer (Jennifer Wilson) know all our students by name, help make sure each student has money on their lunch account by reminding families and do this with a smile on their face each day.  Their role in making sure our students feel cared for through our school lunch program is extremely important! We appreciate and value the role that Ms. Cindy and Ms. Jennifer play in helping care for our children with our school lunch program!

Every school has unsung heroes, but not every school has our Wilson Hill Superhero Team: Mrs. Roush, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Ellwood, Mrs. Lear, Mrs. Cynkar, Mrs. McMahon, Mr. Jimmy, Mr. Greg,  Mr. Mike, Ms. Cindy and Ms. Jennifer….We give these staff members a round of applause.  No, we give you all a standing ovation for your efforts to make Wilson Hill a better place for our students, families and staff.  I encourage our families to thank our Wilson Hill Superhero Team.

Matt Keller-Principal

Wilson Hill Elementary

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Next Generation of Assessments (Part II)


Our 3rd through 6th Grade students are not the only students that will take part in the Next Generation of Assessments this school year.  Our Kindergarten students are near completion of the inaugural Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA).  

Prior to the start of the 2014 school year, The Ohio Department of Education mandated that all Kindergarten students complete the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment-Literacy (KRA-L).  This assessment was given in Worthington and in many districts as part of the Kindergarten screening process that took place prior to the start of the school year.  The assessment took approximately 15 minutes per student to administer and assessed students on early literacy skills.  The assessment was given one on one to students by teachers.  In addition, since the implementation of Ohio’s 3rd Grade Guarantee, the assessment results from the KRA-L were permitted to be used to identify students who were “On Track” or “Not on Track” with their literacy skills.  The data from the assessment gave teachers baseline information about each student’s present learning levels. This information was useful in order to prepare for the school year.

This year, the KRA assessment is near completion at Wilson Hill.  Unlike the KRA-L assessment given in previous years, the KRA was not allowed to be given until the start of the school year. In addition, the KRA was only permitted to be given by certified staff who were trained to administer the KRA.  Unlike the KRA-L administration that took approximately 15 minutes, the KRA has taken approximately one hour to administer to each Kindergarten student.  Just like the KRA-L, the KRA was administered to each individual student by the teacher. Both the KRA-L and KRA have no implications on a child’s report card or promotion to the 1st Grade. Both Assessments are permitted to be used as the 3rd Grade Guarantee assessment tool if administered prior to September 30th. At Wilson Hill, all Kindergarten students KRA Literacy portions were completed by this time. Unlike the KRA-L, in the future the KRA is said to be completed by students using a technology device.

The KRA has taken longer to administer to each student due to it’s numerous parts, which include: Social Foundations, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Language and Literacy, Physical Well-Being and Motor Development. Within these parts are three types of assessment questions.  The first type of assessment question is a selected response.  Students must choose the best answer to a question given three choices. The second type of assessment question is a performance task. Students must complete an activity given the prompt and in some cases use the necessary manipulative. The student may receive full credit, partial credit or no credit based on their performance as it relates to the performance rubric .  The last type of assessment is observation. The teacher must use a rubric to assess students on a specific skill.  In the future it is stated by the Ohio Department of Education that students will be able to complete a portion of the KRA on a technology device.

Having been an Elementary Principal for the last 10 years I value the information both the KRA-L and KRA assessment give about students, especially since our Kindergarten students are new to school.  This information allows to us at Wilson Hill to better prepare for teaching and learning opportunities for all our students.

Despite the one hour of assessment we have spent with each child (that’s a minimum of 20 hours per classroom) our Kindergarten teachers have somehow managed to teach our Kindergarten students!  I am amazed at the growth each Kindergarten student has already made in our 1st nine weeks of school. This is a credit to our wonderful Kindergarten teaching team: Ms. Saba, Mrs. Kosanovich and Mrs. Malley. Our Kindergarten students have worked incredibly hard to complete this assessment. Within the 1st nine weeks of school it has been encouraging to see our supportive families work with each child to help them grow. With conferences taking place soon, our Kindergarten teachers plan to share the KRA data on each student with each family.

If you would like additional information regarding the KRA please click on the link to watch a short video Ohio's Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. Additional information on the KRA can be found at The Ohio Department of Education Kindergarten Readiness Assessment.


Matt Keller-Principal, Wilson Hill Elementary School  

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Next Generation of Assessments


    When I was growing up I do not recall taking many state mandated assessments.  I do however, remember every recess activity I participated in, how my teacher made me feel, my classroom parties, and of course some of the great learning experiences I took part in at R.C. Waters Elementary School.  I know our students at Wilson Hill have many of these same positive experiences and hopefully more! This year, a new experience our students in grades 3-6 will take part in, are the Next Generation of Assessments.

    Traditionally, The Ohio Department of Education has mandated Ohio Achievement Assessments in grades 3 thru 6 Grade in both Reading and Math.  These assessments have taken place during the Spring.  In addition to the Reading and Math Assessments, 3rd Grade students participated in the Ohio Achievement Assessments in the Fall and at the 5th Grade students participated in the 5th Grade Science Ohio Achievement Assessment each Spring. This year, the state is mandating what I call the Next Generation of Assessments. These assessments are often referred to as PARCC (Partnership for Assessments for Readiness for College and Careers).

    These new assessments are broken into two categories: Performance Based Assessments and End of Year Assessments.  The End of Year Assessments will be very similar to the Ohio Achievement Assessments that are taken in the spring but may ask our students to answer questions in a more rigorous manner.  The Performance Based Assessments are completely new to all educators, students, and families. These assessments will be administered in late winter.  At Wilson Hill we have spent time as a staff, both last year and this year, looking at released sample assessment questions so that we can learn about the new assessments and how to apply our knowledge to help prepare our students for these assessments.  The majority of these assessments are scheduled to be administered with a technology device (computer or chromebook) online.

    Ohio’s assessment timelines for the Next Generation of Assessments for Reading and Math can be found at   (PARCC) Partnership for Assessment for Readiness for College and Careers. The PARCC assessments will assess the students knowledge in the Common Core standards which 34 states have adopted as their standards. Ohio’s Science and Social Studies Assessments can be found at Ohio's New Science and Social Studies Assessments.. The Science and Social Studies Standards are specific to Ohio standards not shared with other states. There are links on our school webpage in the Quicklinks Section for those that want to learn more about the new standards.

    The Ohio Department of Education links regarding the new assessments above identify the manner in which the assessments will be given.  Wilson Hill will announce their Assessment Calendar for these Next Generation Assessments.

    One adjustment Worthington City Schools will be making to accommodate the student time spent on the Next Generation of Assessments, grades 3-6 will MAP assess in the Fall and Winter and no longer the Spring .

    As an Elementary School Principal I enjoy looking at data on how we can improve as a school!  I don’t enjoy taking time away from quality teaching and learning activities from the classroom to assess. Although the new assessments will take more time to administer these assessments, we hope the data we receive better informs our instruction we provide for all students. Our staff and students will be well prepared to take on the challenge of the Next Generation of Assessments. We hope to share more information with families about these assessments later on this year. In the meantime, there is a very helpful link to learn more about the Next Generation of Assessments for those that are interested. In addition, you may read more about PARCC assessments at their link at their link PARCC. I challenge you to participate in a practice test to see if you are smarter than your child!

Matt Keller-Proud Principal of Wilson Hill Elementary School,Worthington City Schools

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Wilson Hill Elementary Student Achievement Coach

Hello, Wilson Hill Parents!  My name is Gina Piero, and I am the Student Achievement Coach at Wilson Hill Elementary.  Some of you might remember me as a third grade teacher at Wilson Hill.  Before becoming a coach for the district, I spent 18 years in the classroom—all at Wilson Hill!  My job now affords me the luxury of working with ALL teachers and students.  I tell the kids I have the BEST job in the school.  So, some of you may be asking yourself, “What is her job?”  and, “How does it affect my child?” Student Centered Coaching:  What is it?  How does it affect my child?
Ask any teacher, principal, administrative personnel, classified staff member, etc. what the most important part of our job is, and we will reply that asking the question “What’s Best for Kids?” is at the heart of every decision we make.    We use that as the filtering lens in every decision we make in Worthington schools.  Student Centered Coaching is based on the fact that growth and achievement are non-negotiables for each and every child.  And the growth and achievement are not “one size fits all” options. 
Student Centered Coaching begins with a teacher or team of teachers identifying a goal (attached to a curricular standard) for their current students.  They commit to working with me, the coach, for a six to nine week period of time. Part of that commitment includes meeting with me weekly to analyze student work samples and then plan instruction based on what we see the students need.  This is where differentiation comes in.  Although we have the same overall goal in mind, we may create three different lessons to meet the needs of learners who are far from, close to, or exceeding the standard.
 I commit to working with the teacher or grade level team in their classroom(s) one to two times a week.  When I am in the classroom, I might be modeling instruction, co-teaching with them, or simply observing to provide feedback on student engagement or other target areas. 
The cycle always begins with a pre-assessment aligned with the goal they are focusing on for their students, includes weekly formative assessments (analyzing actual student work samples) and concludes with a post assessment to document student growth and achievement that was made. 
Working through this “cycle,” teachers are collaborating with me and their peers to design and deliver instruction that is based on best practices.  The best professional development is job-embedded and incorporates time to meet and collaborate with colleagues.  Because we all know, “Two heads are better than one!”