1. Valley View School District 365U
District Community Forum
October 23 and October 29, 2013

2. Welcome & Introductions
Dr. James Mitchem
◦ Superintendent
Rachel Kinder
◦ Assistant Superintendent of Educational
Services
Elizabeth
Martinez
◦ Executive Director, PreK-5
Karen
Flories
◦ Executive Director, 6-12

3. Interactive Tech Tools
 Open Wireless Access
◦ vvsdforum
◦ No Password
 Participate
in the group survey..
◦ Interactive survey tool/accessible via Mobile Device
Browser
◦ m.Socrative.com
◦ Classroom ID: vvsdforum
 Share
your thoughts/questions throughout the
presentation..
◦ Chat / Discussion Tool/ Accessible via mobile device
◦ TodaysMeet.com/VVSDFORUM
Ipads/Chromebooks

4. Survey
2. I am attending this meeting as a:
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Parent
Community member
Business partner
Staff member
3. I heard about this forum from:
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Home school communication
Website
District social media
Word of mouth
Other
m.Socrative.com
Room ID: vvsdforum

5. Survey
4. I would rate my knowledge of the
Common Core State Standards as:
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1-This forum invite was the first time I heard
this term used.
2-I have heard this term used often, but I am
not sure what it is all about.
3-I am somewhat familiar with the basics.
4-I have more than a basic understanding, but I
still have questions.
5-I am very knowledgeable and could help
others learn more.
m.Socrative.com
Room ID: vvsdforum

6. Learning Targets
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Understand why new learning
standards are necessary.
Gain a basic understanding of the
Common Core State Standards.
Understand what state assessment
changes are being made and why.

7. Why new standards?
Required
by Illinois State Board of
Education
◦ Illinois adopted in 2010
Carrying
out VVSD Strategic Plan
◦ Fundamental belief that ALL students can
meet rigorous expectations for learning
Beyond
that, there are many more
reasons…..
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8. Teaching and Learning
Valley View School District Strategic Plan
http://www.vvsd.org/docs/pdf/strategic_plan_brief.pdf

9. What exactly is
College and Career Readiness?
What
is COLLEGE Readiness?
What is CAREER Readiness?
Is ready for COLLEGE and ready for
CAREER the same thing?
Handout: “What is College and Career Readiness?” document created by Achieve
http://www.ncpta.org/parent/Files/CollegeandCareerReady.pdf
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10. http://vimeo.com/51933492
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11. Why new standards?
Watch/listen for ideas linked to
these key terms…
Preparation
Competition
Equity
Clarity
Collaboration
TodaysMeet.com/VVSDFORUM

12. Why new standards?

Preparation: The standards set expectations to ensure that
students are college and career ready.
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Competition: The standards are internationally
benchmarked, ensuring our students are globally competitive.

Equity: Expectations are consistent for all – and not
dependent on a student’s zip code.
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Clarity: The standards are focused, coherent, and create a
clear learning progression (staircase of skills).

Collaboration: The standards create a foundation to work
collaboratively across states and districts.

13. Common Core Across the Nation
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14. Federal
government not involved in development
of the standards
State-led initiative
◦ Parents, teachers, administrators, other experts
involved in the process
States
voluntarily chose to adopt the standards
◦ Illinois is one of more than 40 states that have
adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
Local
teachers, principals, superintendents, and
school boards will continue to make decisions
about curriculum and how their school systems
are operated

15. What are the Common Core State
Standards (CCSS)?
The Common Core State Standards set grade-bygrade learning expectations for students in grades
K-12 for Mathematics and for English Language Arts
and Literacy.
While states have had standards for more than 15
years, this set of standards is more focused on
preparing students for success in college and career.
They set clear, consistent and high learning
goals.
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16. What the Standards do NOT define:
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How teachers should teach
All that can or should be taught
The nature of advanced work beyond the core
The interventions needed for students well below
grade level
The full range of support for English language learners
and students with special needs
Everything needed to be college and career ready

17. Criteria for CCSS
 Fewer, clearer, and
 Alignment
higher (focused)
with college and work expectations
 Inclusion
of rigorous content and application of knowledge
through high-order thinking
 Consideration
of strengths of and lessons learned from
current state standards
 Internationally
benchmarked, so that all students are
prepared to succeed in our global economy and society
 Evidence
and/or research-based

18. The Shifts in ELA/Literacy
1. Building knowledge through content-rich
nonfiction (across all content areas)
2. Reading, writing and speaking grounded in
evidence from text, both literary and
informational
3. Regular practice with complex text and its
academic language

19. How can you help your child in
literacy?
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Ask your child specific questions about what they
read.
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Encourage children to read, then write and speak
about, literary text and nonfiction text (i.e.
newspapers, magazines, and biographies).
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Encourage children to research topics of interest and
read series that relate to a central topic.
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Have your child follow step by step instructions or a
set of directions in order to accomplish a task, such
as building a sandcastle or operating a game.

20. The Shifts in Mathematics
1.
Focus: Focus strongly where the standards
focus
2.
Coherence: Think across grades, and link to
major topics
3.
Rigor: In major topics, pursue conceptual
understanding, procedural skill and fluency,
and application with equal intensity

21. Standards for Mathematical Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Make sense of problems and persevere in
solving them
Reason abstractly (ideas/concepts) and
quantitatively (numbers)
Construct viable arguments and critique the
reasoning of others
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of structure
Look for and express regularity in repeated
reasoning

22. How can you help your child in
math?
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Encourage children not to give up while solving problems, to build
stamina and develop their critical thinking skills.
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Don’t give them the answers - ask them to think of different
ways they can solve problems.
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Have children illustrate the math they were thinking in their
head and discuss it out loud.
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Have children apply their math knowledge to a real-world
scenario at home, such as doubling a recipe or calculating the
area of a room.
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Help children practice their addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division facts (through multiple strategies).

23. November Workshops
November
workshops will provide
opportunity to learn more about…
teaching and learning in your child’s
classroom
major shifts in learning and assessment
supporting your child’s learning and
understanding his/her progress
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24. Content
Math
CCSS/PARCC Implementation in
VVSD
English/
Lang.
Arts
2011-2012
K-8th
Alignment/
Development
2012-2013
K-8th
Implementation
9th
Alignment/
Development
K-5th
Development
6-12th
Initial Alignment/
Development
2013-2014
9th
Implementation
10-11th
Alignment
2014-2015
Implementation
of
K-12 PARCC
K-5th
Implementation
Implementation
of
K-12 PARCC
Science
Social
Studies
NonCore/
Electives
Alignment
Initial CCSS
Literacy Alignment
6-12th
Varying Stages
Initial CCSS Literacy
Alignment
K-5th
Alignment/
Development

25. What is PARCC?
PARCC-Partnership
for the Assessment of
Readiness for College and Careers
◦ consortium of 19 states working together to
develop a common set of computer-based K–12
assessments
Assessments
will replace the Illinois State
Achievement Test (ISAT) & Prairie State
Achievement Exam (PSAE) in 2014-2015
school year
Linked to the new, more rigorous Common
Core State Standards (CCSS)
◦ English language arts/Literacy and math
For more information, visit: www.PARCConline.org
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26. What is PARCC?
Engage
students in more meaningful
demonstrations of their knowledge and
understanding
Incorporate more real-world situations
Administered twice per year
Provide more information about student
progress K-12 on pathway to College and
Career Readiness
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27. Current Assessment Info.
Illinois
State Board of Education has
increased performance expectations (cut
scores) on ISAT
◦ Align with high school assessments
◦ Lay foundation for transition to PARCC
Transition
period as assessment changes
occur and standards are fully
implemented
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28. Common Core: It Takes All of Us!
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Partnership
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Parents
Community members
VVSD Staff
Colleges and universities
Technical training programs
Continue the conversation
• Child’s teacher and school
• Upcoming workshops
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29. Upcoming Workshops
Focus
Date/Time/Location
What
do teaching
and learning look like
in my child’s
classroom?
What major shifts
in learning and
assessment are
occurring?
How can I best
support my child’s
learning and
understand his/her
progress?
Middle School Parents—Wednesday, Nov. 13 - 6:30 p.m.
●@Martinez Middle School, Romeoville
●@Jane Addams Middle School, Bolingbrook
Elementary School Parents—Thurs., Nov. 14 - 6:30 p.m.
●@Skoff Elementary School, Romeoville
Elementary School Parents—Tues., Nov. 19 - 6:30 p.m.
●@Independence Elementary School, Bolingbrook
●@Jonas Salk Elementary School, Bolingbrook
High School Parents—Wednesday, Nov. 20 - 6:30 p.m.
●@Bolingbrook High School (Cafeteria-Enter via Door 17)
●@Romeoville High School (Cafeteria)
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30. Quick Check
5.
What specific questions/concerns do
you have about the Common Core
State Standards?
6.
What additional resources/support
would be helpful to assist you in
supporting your child’s success?
m.Socrative.com
Room ID:
vvsdforum
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•
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Understand why new learning standards are necessary.
Gain a basic understanding of the Common Core State
Standards.
Understand what state assessment changes are being
made and why.
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31. LINKS/RESOURCES
Parent Guides to Student Success (English & Spanish)
http://pta.org/content.cfm?
ItemNumber=2909
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From the National PTA, in parent-friendly language
Grade level specific K-8 & “High School”
Aligned to CCSS (ELA & Math)
Encourages & empowers parents to communicate
with their child’s teacher(s)

32. LINKS/RESOURCES
Parent Roadmaps
ELA
http://www.cgcs.org/Page/328 (English)
http://www.cgcs.org/Page/261 (Spanish)
Math
http://www.cgcs.org/Page/244 (English)
http://www.cgcs.org/Page/263 (Spanish)
◦ Grade level specific K-8 & “High School”
◦ Similar to the “PTA Parent Guides” but in much more detail in each
subject
◦ From the Council of the Great City Schools, in parent-friendly
language
◦ Encourages & empowers parents to communicate with their child’s
teacher(s)
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33. LINKS/RESOURCES
Informative Websites
www.achievethecore.org
◦ This site is assembled by Student Achievement Partners to
provide free, high-quality resources to educators now doing the
hard work of implementing these higher standards.
www.corestandards.org
◦ This site is the main site for CCSS documents and a collection
of related resources.
www.PARCConline.org
◦ This site is the main site for information about the PARCC
assessment and the implementation. It includes a FAQ document.

34. LINKS/RESOURCES
Videos
Video: National PTA CCSS Explanation (English w/
Spanish subtitles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhTfssYu0AE
◦ Overview of the need for CCSS
◦ Role of parents in supporting the transition to CCSS
Video: DC Public Schools CCSS Overview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s0rRk9sER0
◦ Animated
◦ Presented in easy to understand terms
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