If you are interested in learning about what LAUSD and Walgrove offers to English Learners, please attend Friday's Coffee and Diet Coke with the Principal at 8:30am.
Dear Walgrove Families,
Each year, we strive to offer multiple opportunities and methods for parents to receive information about and provide input on Gifted and Talented Education. Tonight, I will share some info and take questions on Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), Gifted Magnets, and Schools for Advanced Studies (SAS schools). Walgrove now is a School for Advanced Studies.
Please join me. We will consider:
>> Students in LAUSD may be designated Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) in 7 categories:
Intellectual Achievement (K+, tested by LAUSD psych, once during K-12. Outside tests may supplement but not supplant)
High Achievement (OLSAT in Gr 2 OR two consecutive years of high achievement in reading AND math by earning 4's on the SBAC in both ELA and math)
Specific Academic Ability (three consecutive years of high achievement in reading OR math by earning a 4 on the SBAC in either ELA or math)
Creativity (gr 2+, portfolio showing extraordinary visionary inventions and innovations)
Leadership (gr 2+, portfolio showing exemplary leadership, problem-solving, purpose and direction)
Visual Arts (gr 2+, portfolio and live audition showing exemplary visual artistry)
Performing Arts (gr 2+, live audition)
>> Students may qualify in more than one category.
>> The process at Walgrove involves: All second-graders take the OLSAT test in the Spring, the results of which determine GATE designation in the category of High Achievement (though, not the only way to be designated in the category of High Achievement)
>> AND each year, each teacher marks any/all categories of potential GATE designation for each of their students on a school-wide roster. Dr. K (Walgrove's GATE coordinator) follows up to make sure those students are eventually referred in MiSIS and evaluated/approved by the SSPT (Student Support and Progress Team) and that their parents are informed so they have the opportunity to take the next steps, which may include participating (along with the school) in portfolio development.
PARENTS MAY ALSO REFER THEIR OWN CHILDREN FOR GATE. For info, visit LAUSD.
While all referrals happen all year long on a rolling basis, the District does set deadlines in mid to late April and October for Fall and Spring, which is especially pertinent in the categories of Visual and Performing Arts, which require auditons.
>> Benefits of being designated GATE include, but are not limited to, having access to certain classes, such as honors classes (especially in middle and high school); certain programs, such as honors programs; and certain schools, such as magnet schools, Schools for Advanced Studies and schools for the Highly Gifted.
Magnet schools are typically schools with very particular foci, such as visual and performing arts, media studies, civic involvement, science, etc.
Schools for Advanced Studies are schools that have applied for that particular designation (the process happens every five years). As part of the application process, schools must show a consistent commitment to training their teachers in strategies designed to meet the needs of gifted students. The school must be deemed "exemplary" by the GATE office. Walgrove was just designated an SAS school. We will be listed in E-Choices in the Fall of 2024 as an SAS school. All students who qualify, and whose parents approve, will be designated as SAS students, which comes in handy down the line.
>> While students who are already designated GATE automatically qualify for many magnet and SAS schools, students do NOT have to be designated GATE in order to attend such schools. Once a parent applies for such a school during during the E-Choices Unified Enrollment period, their child's name appears in a database. The current principal logs into that database by a specific deadline (usually in January) and places a "YES" or "NO" next to each applicant's name based on certain criteria and teacher evaluation.
>>There is no need to attend a magnet or SAS school in order to enjoy a robust GATE education. All LAUSD schools (and all schools in the nation, actually) are required to meet the needs of Gifted and Talented students, and your neighborhood school might have much more to offer than a gifted magnet.
There are so many things to consider when choosing the right school.
For more GATE info, please attend Coffee and Diet Coke with the Principal, which happens one Friday morning per month in person and one Tuesday evening per month via Zoom.
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What's new in Education? What's different from when we were kids?
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Dear Walgrove Families and Staff,
Happy Labor Day!
I hope you enjoyed a weekend full of splendor and love (and not too much ironic work)!
Farmer Adam is back, the STEAM Studio is in swing, the library is full of books, and chess and theater are imminent!
A few folks have asked what it means to be a School for Advanced Studies -- what this portends for us this year and beyond. What does this change for us here at Walgrove?
Well, just a few things:
We were chosen by the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Office to be a School for Advanced Studies (SAS) in large part because of the robust programs we already had in swing before this year, but we were lauded as being exemplary this year for several reasons, including the following:
Walgrove SAS students enjoy the same benefits of SAS students at any other SAS school, which is a priority pathway to the myriad Gifted and SAS programs at Gifted and SAS middle and high sschools. To find out more about what it means to be a Gifted Magnet and/or an SAS school, please attend my GATE Zoom tomorrow at 7pm in my Zoom room.
Here is some of what is coming up this week at Walgrove:
TUES
Grades K-5, please complete iReady and DIBELS assessments
TEACHERS: STEAM and Library enrichments in swing this week. Garden starts later this week (or early next, per Adam). Chess, PE and theater start in a couple of weeks. The schedule is linked in my email signature. Feel free to edit as desired.
Early dismissal 1:32
Staff Meeting and Professional Development meeting 1:45 in Rm 19
Gifted and Talented Education Pathway Info Session 7pm in Dr. K's Zoom Room.
WED
Dr. K at Mark Twain for Instructional Rounds
THU
Well-rounded instruction, high student-engagement, and much opportunity to play and be yourself
FRI
Friday morning assembly. Ms. Chin's class to lead the Pledge. Performer(s) TBD
APEIS Yinka Dallas Flanagan and service providers host a Special Education Meet and Greet following the assembly - 8:30am in the Parent Center
Coffee and Diet Coke with the Principal -- Focus on English Learners (after the Meet and Greet)
Let's have a great week, Walgrove!
Indeed, we have our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) documents, and yes, they mention many of these things, but not necessarily as specifically or in the most straightforward, kid-friendly language.
DURING MORNING RECESS IN THE UPPER YARD 10:05-10:25
SNACK
Food should be consumed in the cafeteria area where Ms. Carly and others supervise. Do not bring food to the Upper Yard.
Do not bring or chew gum. Instead, sing this song about why you should not chew gum at school. (Unless it is in your IEP for use indoors during high-stakes tests.)
APPARATUS
The apparatus is on a schedule for the morning recess:
Monday - First Grade (and Chin’s Kinders)
Tuesday - Second Grade
Wednesday - Third Grade
Thursday - Fourth Grade
Friday - Fifth Grade
Plus Monday-Friday Mr. Choe's Class
No balls, toys, books, pencils, water bottles or ANY items on or near the apparatus. This is a major safety issue. The apparatus was designed to be used without ANYTHING in anyone's hands or anything lying on the ground underneath.
WILDLANDS MORNING AND LUNCH RECESS
Sometimes, the Nature-Play Circle in the Wildlands is open for play during recess. During those times, it is imperative that students stay inside the circle. They may not venture outside the circle to gather more items (for example, sticks, rocks and stumps) to bring into the circle.
Farmer Adam lovingly curates what goes into the circle AND lovingly places the other items where they belong, on paths and in plant beds. In order for the Wildlands to stay open as a place for play (and not just as an outdoor classroom with teachers), we need for students to respect and honor these guidelines and the Wildlands.
PE EQUIPMENT MORNING AND LUNCH RECESS
Students may check out bats, balls, hula-hoops, jump-ropes, pickleball sets and more from Ms. Jackie in the PE office. The student that checked it out should be the student to return it.
Students are discouraged from bringing sweatshirts and water bottles to recess, as there are often SO MANY OF THEM LEFT BEHIND. Students typically get hot the minute recess starts, and there are drinking fountains in the Upper Yard.
If students DO bring items with them to the Upper Yard, teachers who collect students after recess should remind students to retrieve their items before returning to class.
KINDER RECESS
Students playing the Kinder Yard may frolick relatively freely on the apparatus and beyond with these caveats: Play nicely (no pushing, pulling, kicking, play-fighting, real fighting, and no objects on the apparatus...) and use your words to express yourself and have your needs met.
For example, "I feel _______ when _______, and I need _______."
"I hear you say that you feel _______ when _______, and you need _______."
Adult supervisors should encourage students to use their words directly with other students, as needed, so students become empowered and self-actualized.
Students should stay inside the gates and ask to be escorted to the restrooms if the restrooms that are available are outside the gates.
LUNCH 12:00-12:44
Kids should bring with them ONE lunch, either from home or from the cafeteria and full (not empty) water bottles. (Kinder teachers can help the Kinders with this.) Students should stay seated for the duration (unless they need to go to the restroom or the nurse).
We don't have enough staff at lunch to escort kids to the bathroom and to the water station and to the nurse and to retrieve forgotten items during the 15 minutes of sitting at the tables. We want to create a calm lunch where kids have enough time to eat and chat with their friends, AND we want to teach our kiddos important lessons about planning ahead and deferring ratification.
For the upper grades, students should stay seated for the duration as well (no going to backpacks, to the water station, or to the bathroom in groups). If someone needs to use the restroom during the 15 or so minutes of actual sitting-and-eating time, Ms. Socorro or another adult should escort them one at a time. The goal is to sit and eat for 15 minutes, enjoying lunch and one another, then going to the restroom at 12:40 when lunch is over and the cafeteria supervisors are available to supervise the restrooms.
QUAD
Because the Quad is a high-traffic thoroughfare, we should WALK in the Quad (not run, skate, bike, skip or scoot). We don't want to bump into one another or into poles, etc. Even when the Quad is empty, we should still walk so as to reinforce this habit. Running is allowed on the vast upper yard and in the Kinder yard.
TECH AND TOYS
Recreational technology and toys should stay at home so as to not cause conflict or tears from loss or theft. Show and Tell is the exception. Teachers should monitor that.
NO RECREATIONAL USE OF TECH (PHONES, TABLETS, LAPTOPS) AT SCHOOL
ADULTS SHOULD STAY OFF PHONES WHILE SUPERVISING CHILDREN
Thank you all immensely for helping to create a safe place for students to learn and play!
LAUSD implements PBIS/RP (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports/Restorative Practices). Each LAUSD school creates school-site matrices, classroom matrices, minor-major matrices and more.
