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Knowing that relationships are at the heart of teaching, our schools are committed to giving our students ample learning opportunities within engaging, relevant, and rigorous instructional environments, helping them develop a competitive edge as they grow toward the complex, changing world of college and post-secondary training, work and careers, and life. It is our goal to provide the region's most exceptional experience to students and families seeking a high quality public education.
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Common Core State Standards
Alcoa City Schools is making the change to Common Core standards for 2013-14. Many Common Core assignments and tasks will look different from the past. Students will read complex texts. They must analyze them and use them as evidence for thinking, problem solving, and writing. Students will be expected to explain their mathematical thinking in multiple ways, demonstrating that they undertsand the math concepts that lie behind the right answers. Just "getting the right answer" is not enough. Students must know how the math works. In Science, Social Studies, Career & Technical programs, and other subjects, students will need to apply analytical and problem solving skills, applying the new math and literacy skills they are developing.
The support of parents and our community is essential for the success of our students during this change. Many of the websites listed below are helpful for teachers as well as families. Some may also wish to see the "Parents and Community" section of our home page for links to helpful resources.
Resources
Alcoa's Common Core Transition Resources
(Content below is being revised.)
Popular Categories
News and Information Briefs
Math Standards Focus for Common Core: Math standards for 2012-13 implementation in grades 3-8 will center on "Focus Standards" and a set of current SPIs that will be eliminated on the 2013 TCAP. See "email update #2" at http://tncore.org or click here for direct access.
Featured Website Recommendations
TED Ed: Great educators and thinkers on the possibilities of teaching and learning in the future are featured in videos and animations. Click here.
Alphabetical Index of All Topic Categories
Topic Categories
Assessment and Accountability
NCLB Waiver News: TNDOE press release, from The Tennessean, full text of the waiver here
Report Card (Access to scores and data published by the Department of Education for all Tennessee schools)
Restricted Access TVAAS / Public Access TVAAS (Value Added Data)
First To The Top (Tennessee's accountability and education reform portal)
PARCC Assessments (Next generation assessments which become operational in 2014-15)
PARCC In The Classroom (Sample test items, when published, Model Content Frameworks, and other teacher resources)
ACT
NAEP (The National Assessment of Educational Progress)
Please see the Alcoa City Schools Assessment web pages for specific formative and summative test and implementation information.
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Career and Technical Education
(This area under construction)
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Curriculum Standards
Our schools currently use a blend of the Tennessee Diploma Project Standards and the Common Core State Standards. Alcoa, and all schools in Tennessee, are transitioning to the Common Core State Standards to underlie instructional activity. The Common Core State Standards will be fully operational in the fall of 2013. The Alcoa City Schools is committed to not only the scope and sequence of these new standards, but also to the twenty-first century college and and career readiness teaching and learning behaviors that accompany these standards.
TNCore (TNCore is THE go to source from the Tennessee Department of Education for implementation information.)
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (the nationwide home of the Common Core State Standards)
Tennessee Curriculum Center (Tennessee's one stop resource for all curriculum standards, current and future)
Tennessee Diploma Project (TDP) Standards (Current state standards from the Department of Education)
TDP-to-CCSS Crosswalks (Comparisons of current standards with Common Core State Standards)
ReadTennessee.org (Guidance for early grades reading AND math)
Next Generation Science Standards (Currently under development)
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English Language Learners
(This area under construction)
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First To The Top (A set of links to help navigate the state's educational improvement initiatives)
First To The Top
Alcoa's First To The Top Technology Plan (Please see the "Documents" link to the left.)
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Future of Teaching and Learning
FutureOfEd.Org
Ten Principles for the Future Learning
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News from Around the State and Nation
From the Huffington Post, on Common Core State Standards
The SCOREsheet
edWeek
Tennessee Education Association
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Professional Development
Teacher Compass (Requires log in)
Battelle for Kids
iTunes U (Tennessee Department of Education content)
TED Ed
Teacher Leader Model Standards
Tennessee Electronic Learning Center
NIET Best Practices
Edutopia
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Research (Research on areas of general interests to educators)
(This area under construction)
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STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Tennessee STEM Resources
STEM Education Coalition
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Subject Area Organizations and Resources
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National Council of Teachers of English
National Science Teachers Association
Tennessee Science Teachers Association
National Council for the Social Studies
National Art Education Association
National Music Teachers Association
American Association of School Librarians
Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association
English Language Learners (About ELL, from edWeek.org)
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Teacher Evaluation
Alcoa has implemented a state approved, alternative teacher evaluation system called TIGER (Teacher Instructional Growth for Effectiveness and Results). TEAM is the name of the state's evaluation model. The Alcoa City Schools do not use the TEAM model, but we do utilize some of the TEAM resources.
TIGER (Our teacher evaluation model's information site)
Teacher Compass (Requires log in)
TEAM (Tennessee's teacher evaluation model and resources)
Tenure Law Changes in Tennessee (FAQ)
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Teaching and Classroom Resources (For teachers seeking our small but growing list of varied instructional tools and resources)
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Tennessee Department of Education
Department of Education Website
Teacher Licensing (Department of Education Website)
Teacher Licensing (Alcoa City Schools Website, Under the "Staff" button on the district home page)
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Textbooks
Please click here for system textbook resources (Adoption, Lists and Prices, Publisher Representatives, and Requests).
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What are We Reading and Watching?
Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work by Robert Marzano. 2006. ASCD. (Amazon.com link)
Enhancing Professional Practice by Charlotte Danielson. 2007. ASCD. (Amazon.com link)
Never Work Harder Than Your Students by Robyn R. Jackson. 2009. ASCD. (Google Books link)
What Effective Schools Do by Larry Lazotte & Kathleen McKee Snyder. 2010. Solution Tree. (Amazon.com link)
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Whole Child Education
Coordinated School Health
ASCD's Whole Child Initiative
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References
Gardner, Howard (1983; 1993) Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences, New York: Basic Books.
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