DEVELOPING LITERACY: A ROADMAP FOR TEACHER LEARNING

The focus in education is to not leave any child behind, but if teaching is really going to work in this country, teachers can’t be left behind (Lucy Calkins). Because good teaching is central to giving every student the education they deserve, the Washington Primary Center TIIP team members have embarked on a two-year journey to further develop our literacy knowledge by learning from experts in the field. 

For the past two years, team members have attended various workshops and participated in trainings like Daily Five, CAFE, the Writing Institute at the Teachers College at Columbia University, and Data Analysis. Team members have also met regularly throughout the school year to discuss student data, instructional practices and conducted book studies to help with our professional growth and learning. Team members have joined the professional organizations, ASCD and the International Reading Association (IRA) to take advantage of professional growth opportunities, we have received one-on-one and group coaching from literacy experts to help develop and refine  our teaching practices. 

Due to our continuous learning and help from experts, Developing Literacy: A Roadmap for Teacher Learning has allowed the team members to learn approaches to improve reading and writing that tap into our intelligence, creativity, and collaborative skills. Through Daily Five we have been able to create a consistent, predictable environment that helps our students develop the daily habits of reading, writing, and working independently that will lead to a lifetime of literacy independence. By implementing CAFE (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expand Vocabulary) we engage all students in daily literacy assessment and instruction that meets their academic needs. Utilizing data analysis techniques along with individual and small group conferring sessions with students has helped the team align effective literacy assessments that are aligned to the California Common Core State Standards and classroom instructional practices.  

DEVELOPING OUR LITERACY KNOWLEDGE

• Daily Five and CAFE: Tools For Developing Literacy Independence 

• Writer's Workshop: Writing Motto:  "Teach the writer, not the writing."
• Aligning Assessment with Classroom Instruction: Just Right Assessments
• UCLA TIIP Funded Activities: Conference, trainings, institutes, and workshops
• Professional Development at Washington PC: Writers Workshop, CAFE, Data Analysis

TEAM BIO AND INFORMATION

The team has been working this past year on aligning Just Right assessments to planning effective literacy and math instruction that meets the individual learning needs of each student.

Click on the following link to learn more about Team Guinn members.

 TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING AND NOW WE ARE ON OUR THIRD YEAR!

Click on the following link to learn about How We Have Evolved and if you would like to join our THINK TANK.....everyone is welcomed!

SCHOOL INFORMATION

Washington Primary Center (WPC) is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District and is a small learning community that is comprised of Kindergarten and First Grade.  WPC is a school wide Title I School located on 860 W. 112^th Street in South Los Angeles.  The school campus is located in a residential neighborhood of single family homes inter-dispersed with multiple housing units.  Most of WPC’s students live in single parent homes and/or live with their grandparents, and in some cases include students that are homeless. WPC currently follows the traditional calendar whereby instruction takes place for 180 days, beginning school in early September and ending the last week in June of each academic year.   WPC currently has 14 classrooms occupied by 5 Kindergarten classrooms, and 4 First grade classrooms. We also have a full size library, Multi-purpose room, Parent Center, Computer Lab and Professional Development room.