Westport Mission & Vision
Mission: Leverage the strengths of the Westport community to ensure academic growth for ALL!
Vision: Westport will be a venue for academic success!
Westport’s Collective Commitments: Our Team will:
Make decisions which are student-centered and aligned to our WHY!
Be present to model consistent processes and expectations!
Leverage learning opportunities to increase instructional minutes!
Presume positive intent in order to maintain positive mindsets!
Click On
Reminder to pay attention to the clickable links to the right and along the top. As we continue to add sections making the BLOG a one-stop-shop for all Westport information. We still have several sections UNDER CONSTRUCTION…This means the link may be there, but there is nothing to see yet.
Key Spots for the Start of the Month:
Cooperative Learning Corner
Westport Social Committee
Instructional Coaches
Monthly Instructional Highlights
Staff & Student Spotlight
Key Spots for the Start of the Week:
Week at a Glance - WAAG
Must Do/May Do
Nurses Notes
Counselors Notes
Westport Giving
Trees for each grade level are present in the commons alcove. Please take sometime over the next few weeks to include ornaments that are either paper or craft based to decorate you grade level tree. I am excited to see what each grade theme is :-)
We had a wonderful turnout of staff and their families for the Thanksgiving basket giveaway. Thank you to all who participated, and especially a big THANK YOU to Ms. Mann for putting this together. We were able to give around 200 baskets to our families and neighbors, making their holiday week wonderful.
State Issued Annual Performance Report
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the 2024 Annual Performance Report as part of the Missouri School Improvement Plan, known as MSIP 6, on Monday. This is the third year of a three-year implementation period for MSIP 6. For the 2023-2024 school year, Springfield Public Schools earned 156.5 points out of a possible 200, or 78.2 percent - up from 75.5 percent in 2023 and up from 73.7 percent in 2022. SPS maintains its status as fully accredited by DESE.
For the fifth consecutive year, SPS celebrates its highest graduation rate. The 2024 graduating class of 1,922 students achieved a graduation rate of 97.4 percent, compared with 96.5 percent in 2023.
In the area of academic proficiency, SPS showed improvement in all three main areas tested over last year: English Language Arts increased by 0.5 percent, Mathematics increased by 1.4 percent, and Science increased by 1.9 percent.
MAP and End of Course results indicate that SPS students achieved improvement over the previous year’s scores as follows:
· In English Language Arts for students in fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh grades, and in English II;
· In Mathematics for students in fifth and seventh grades, and in Algebra I, and Algebra II; and
· In Science for students in fifth and eighth grades, and Biology.
Growth was also displayed for SPS Student Groups in Mathematics (+1.1%), Science (+1.1%) and Social Studies (+6.2%).
“Overall, our testing data shows multiple areas of celebration for our students and staff,” noted Dr. Grenita Lathan, superintendent. “This suggests that changes we have implemented are making a positive impact on student success. However, we must continue our efforts to expand and build upon these initial positive trends.”
Beyond academic achievement, SPS noted celebrations in areas of continuous improvement. For the second consecutive year, SPS earned 100 percent of points possible for monitoring Kindergarten Readiness and completion of eighth-grade planning for the pathway to graduation.
During 2023-2024, SPS promoted a community-wide focus on student attendance, which contributed to some measurable improvement on the APR.
“While we did not receive any points for attendance, our proportional attendance increased from 75.1 percent in 2023 to 79.3 percent in 2024,” explained Dr. Lathan. “Continuing our efforts to encourage students to attend school regularly could help close the gap to achieving the 80 percent proportional attendance rate required to receive 1 point in the area of attendance for next year’s APR.”
Noteworthy achievement among SPS schools includes the following:
· Westport Middle School improved by 17.5 percent.
Annual Performance Reports (APRs) are provided for districts statewide and reflect data collected during the 2023-2024 school year. The report summarizes information about key indicators such as academic achievement, academic growth, attendance, school readiness, student readiness for the next academic level and beyond, graduation rates, and local improvement planning.
Staff #Read2Succeed Support
ACTION REQUIRED: Lots of staff read alouds are still needed! Here is the LINK for your read aloud video submission. #Read2Succeed
Also, please text your AP a picture of you holding your favorite book!
Second Quarter Title I Schools Book Drive
October 28 - December 2
Promotional materials to garner donations
Book distribution prior to winter break
10 highest needs schools: Weaver, Bowerman, York, McGregor, Weller, Williams, Westport Elementary and Middle School, Bisset and Pipkin
District Announcements
Approved Artificial Intelligence (AI) uses & products
Google’s Gemini generative AI platform has been made available to staff.
All staff should review the AI Use administrative procedure prior to use.
You can view approved AI uses and products in ServiceNow.
You can also request additional uses and products in ServiceNow.
The Missouri School Board Association (MSBA) has a good resource on getting started in understanding AI in K-12 education.
If you have any questions on using AI or other AI products please contact Bruce Douglas.
Be on the lookout for a new End of Year building cleanout process.
Changes will be made with the way surplus items are picked up. We hope to have these plans finalized sometime in January 2025.
District Employees are not authorized to submit verbal orders to suppliers
Orders should always be placed by p-card or with a PO
Verbal orders puts the District at risk and delays payment to the vendor
Custodial/Grounds
In an effort to reduce and remedy pest control issues in our buildings, please ensure that work orders are submitted for any issues expressed. For Pest Control Issues/Requests please submit a work order in School Dude with Pest control selected as the Purpose for the work order.
EXPLORE 2025
Hiring Timeline: Winter 2025
Explore (seated) positions to be posted - November 11
February 1: Intent form sent to all SPS staff eligible for certified positions (Virtual and Seated)
Teachers will complete the intent form to state their interest in teaching Explore. Teachers will provide building preference, years of experience in Explore, and other relevant information to assist with placement in accordance with Explore Side Letter. February 14: Intent form closes
February 15: Internal posting will go live and remain open for those who missed the intent process. Employees who apply via the internal posting will be placed after the intent form applicants have been exhausted.
March 1: External posting goes live
Explore Schedule
SEATED JUNE (4 WEEKS)
Training Days
Curriculum training virtually on Tuesday, May 27,
Site orientation and classroom prep on Friday, May 30
Student Contact Days: Monday, June 2 - Friday, June 27 (20 days)
Instructional Hours: 7 hour instructional day + 30 minute lunch + 30 minutes supervision
Elementary Schools: 7:30-2:30
Middle School & K-8: 8:30-3:30
Mallory: 8:30-11:30
Note:
Artworks, Choice Programs (AgAcademy, AOE & MSFAA), Phelps and Mallory EC will run normal June schedule
GCYA and JDC will run all of June and July
Sites still to be determined
VIRTUAL JUNE & JULY (8 WEEKS)
Training: Monday, May 27 and Friday, May 30
June Session: Monday, June 2 - Friday, June 27
Virtual ONLY
July Session: Monday, June 30 - Friday, July 25 (Off July 4th)
Explore Graduation: July 28th - Kickapoo
No comments:
Post a Comment