PUSD EDUCATION NEWS A Publication of the Paramount Unified School District
15110 California Ave., Paramount, CA 90723 • Tel: 562-602-6000 • Fax: 562-634-6029
June 2013
PUSD Celebrates Teachers with Common Core Learning at Jefferson School Teacher of the Year Awards!
On May 8, 2013, school and district staff and members of the Board of Education joined in celebrating each school’s Teacher of the Year. The Teacher of the Year recognition honors the positive effect teachers have on the lives of students each day. The Board of Education Trustees awarded each of the 20 recipients a plaque to honor their contribution to Paramount’s students and community. Teachers are asked to select one outstanding teacher to represent their school for this honor. In making this selection, teachers give careful consideration to the person who best meets all of the following criteria: • Shows commitment to professional growth. • Supports his/her colleagues to develop their skills. • Pursues educational activities beyond the school day. • Delivers high quality instruction. • Communicates positively with students and parents. After a selection committee chooses the District-wide Teacher of the Year, he or she has the opportunity to apply for the Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year competition. This year, Second Grade teacher from Lincoln, Joyce S. Taylor was selected to represent PUSD as the district wide Teacher of the Year. We congratulate Ms. Taylor, her students and her school for this outstanding honor!
Paramount Unified School District’s 2013-14 Teachers of the Year Early Childhood Education Alondra Middle School Collins School Gaines School Hollydale School Jackson School Jefferson School Keppel School Lincoln School Los Cerritos School Mokler School Paramount Park Middle School Roosevelt School Tanner School Wirtz School Zamboni Middle School Paramount High School-West Paramount High School Buena Vista High School Paramount Adult School -
Theresa Ybarra Nadya Nieto Genevieve Wilson Rene Juarez Mary E. Contreras David Macy Malis Pech Sandra Castaneda Joyce S. Taylor Cecile Kim Elaine Hoffmann Amalia Mireles Maria T. Baltierrez Delia M. Kiely Maria Conant-Leon Margaret Barrera Moses M. Prado Rachel M. Gorman Jerome McCullough Angie Holdeman
Gates Millennium Scholars
Susana Perez and Kymberlee Cabebe are partner-sharing the causes that led to the Revolutionary War, using evidence from the text. There are impassioned responses as students state, “According to the text…” and provide evidence from the text to support why they would be a Patriot or Loyalist during the American Revolution. In Ms. Coleman and Mrs. Pech’s 5th grade classes at Jefferson School, students have been engaged in the Close Read process to reread a text several times with different purposes to develop a deeper understanding of the content. It is exciting to see our students build their higher level skills and habits to speak and write with rigor as they prepare for college and career readiness. The teachers at Jefferson have had four staff development trainings on the Common Core standards by Lead Teacher Malis Pech and Coach Deanne Teng. In August, teachers were provided an introduction and another day to explore the instructional shifts that would take place in the classroom. Teachers selected one instructional shift to try out in their classroom, such as Text Complexity, to focus on specific text-based words and details to ensure careful comprehension. You can often hear our students stating, “I am paraphrasing this statement to mean…” In November, teachers worked in groups to discuss the different types of Smarter Balanced Assessments. Teachers reflected that the new assessments are complex and involve a lot of steps, and they began thinking about how to match their instruction to the new types of tests. In January, teachers learned about the important Close Read process. What stands out is the explicit third read where students are reading for a specific purpose, such as analyzing a vocabulary word in context, paraphrasing, or to answer a text-dependent question. The 4th and 5th grade teachers also did a Learning Walk where they observed Mrs. Pech use a student’s first draft to model and guide how she could paraphrase and extend for more robust writing by referring to the text for additional details. Mrs. Pech and Ms. Teng co-taught for a week to implement the lesson on the American Revolution that was developed by a District grade level planning group. Principal Mrs. Mio observed the five days of lessons and was inspired by the students’ ability to take notes; lead high-level, text-based discussions; agree or disagree with a partner in detail; and take great pride in their responses! Our 5th graders have risen to the challenges of the instructional shifts for the Common Core standards. They are eager to share their responses and have immersed themselves in the productive struggle to strengthen their learning. Ms. Coleman and Mrs. Pech state, “Their in-depth analysis of text increases their comprehension and refines their ability to analyze literature. There is vocabulary expansion. Students take ownership and pride in their work.” The coach and teachers have collaborated on new lessons and reflected on students’ learning. There is rich discourse abounding with Partner Talk, Response Boards, and Mix-Freeze-Match. Students’ Ticket Out the Door after a lesson is to reflect, summarize on a sticky note of what they learned, and share with each other and the class. It has been an exciting year to see our 5th graders expand their critical thinking skills and be engaged in preparing for the Common Core standards, as they pave the way for other grade levels to follow their model! Yuki Mio, Principal
During a recent Board of Education meeting, the Board of Education and Superintendent Verdugo recognized five Paramount High School Class of 2013 students who are recipients of the Gates Millennium Scholarship.
This year’s Gates Millennium Scholars are Xavier Aldana, Crystal Estrada, Thalia Hernandez (not pictured), Lucio Lopez and Faviola Zuniga. Congratullations Xavier, Crystal, Thalia, Lucio and Faviola!!
SCHOOL BOARD MEETING DATES June 12, 2013 * June 24, 2013 (Monday) Board of Education meetings are held at 6:00 p.m. in the Boardroom at the District Office, 15110 California Avenue, Paramount, and are open to the public