Developing the BCS Educator

There is always great excitement on campus in mid-August around BCS as our students return to school...But did you know that our teachers engage in active learning for the two weeks prior to students arriving, as well?

Bullis Charter School’s (BCS) mission calls for “children, faculty and staff to reach beyond themselves to achieve full potential.” The ten consecutive days of staff development prior to the start of every school year is a unique aspect of the BCS program and exemplifies the staff’s ongoing commitment to the BCS mission.

Jessica Lura, BCS Director of Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships, believes that actively engaging faculty and staff as learners increases their professional knowledge and ultimately enhances student learning. Specific goals of this beginning of the year staff development are:

• to build a learning community, to welcome new staff members, and to have fun
• to dive into what it means to be a globally competent student and to build our capacity as educators so that we can support our students in becoming globally literate
• to continue to focus on meeting all students' needs and building our content area skills

Throughout the ten days, teachers are engaged in the dual capacities of both teacher and learner. Sessions are designed and led by returning BCS staff, thereby steeping new staff in the BCS mission and culture and unifying the entire learning and teaching community.

Second grade teacher, Paige Minichiello, explains what differentiates BCS’s staff development program from other traditional teacher professional development (PD) models, "As a new teacher to BCS I wasn't sure what to expect...I always enjoyed the PD at my last school district, but found some discrepancies in the implementation of the wonderful things I learned. What I love about BCS is knowing we'll be putting these fantastic skills and ideas to use, because I've already collaborated with my team about it! It feels great to explore new technology and know my students will get to use it, too. I can't wait to help my students become globally conscientious citizens with the help of the amazing staff and parents at BCS. They are truly putting the learning needs of children first."

For staff development for the 2017-2018 school year, a variety of educational topics were presented, including developing global competency, integrating these and the Next Generation Science Standards into specialist content areas (arts, physical education, world languages, etc.), achieving vertical articulation (alignment across grade levels) for Project Based Learning units, and using data to pick areas of literacy focus so that the needs of all students are being met whether through specific technology programs, new in-class programs, or small group instruction.

In support of the global competency strand, the entire staff enjoyed a special viewing of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. Prior to watching the movie, the staff was updated on global warming trends and data and introduced to the innovations and efforts to decrease man's carbon footprint since the film’s prequel, An Inconvenient Truth, was released. Casey Stanton, National Wildlife Federation Director of Education, who developed the educational materials for both films conducted pre- and post-viewing workshops (pictured at right). Teachers were treated to the newest educational resources and excited to begin integrating these into the upcoming year’s lessons. This special staff development day would not have been possible without the generous support of Dipender Saluja, Partner & Managing Director of Capricorn Investment Group, Participant Media, and the National Wildlife Federation.

Another particularly engaging event was the ‘Tech Tools’ learning challenge. BCS’s Art, Math, MakerSpace, and FabLab specialists led the staff through activities they use with students that integrate technology into the curriculum. A few favorites were:

• Sphero – Painted artwork created using an iPad and an app-enabled ball
• littleBits – Circuitry kit used to build something that lights up
• Makey Makey – Invention kit that turns everyday objects into touchpads, used to build electronic pianos
• Osmo – Game system that enables an iPad to see what's in front of it, allowing students (and teachers) to receive feedback as they use blocks and colored tiles to create patterns, tangrams, etc.

Although this was BCS founding and current middle school teacher Lisa Stone’s 14th year of participation, she still finds opportunities for growth and reflection in BCS’s staff development program. "Innovative approaches to education and the tools employed to implement them are constantly being developed, so each year I learn so much despite being a veteran teacher. Not only do we learn about these innovative approaches, but we also have time to discuss with our colleagues how to implement them, moving together as an entire staff to make the BCS student experience better with each passing year."

Teacher Professional Development at BCS

Supporting and developing our teachers is a cornerstone of our program at Bullis, and we have made the commitment to provide opportunities for teachers to learn and to work collaboratively to improve their teaching and to meet student needs. In addition to the two weeks of professional development in August, our teachers meet regularly in grade level teams, in vertical teams, and around curricular and school initiatives.

Just last week, teachers at both the BCS and BCI campuses met in their professional learning communities (PLCs). PLCs provide an opportunity for teachers to self-select an area or topic they are passionate about and to work together to analyze their teaching.  We have PLCs that focus on content areas (such as common core instruction, visual and performing arts), tech integration, design thinking, assessment and global citizenship. During the staff development day earlier this month, teachers worked collaboratively on various areas of professional growth, including sharing best practices aligned with the Continuum, which is an important part of our performance based pay model.   The BCS Staff is grateful to have the support of the BCS Board and parents for continued professional development. Teachers participate in team building activities during a recent professional development day at BCS Of course, when you get a fabulous group of teachers together, we always find time for a little fun and team building.  The pictures below are from Tuesday where staff members were instructed to make a tableau based on various prompts - including “with at least 6 people, make a scene from the Bachelor!” During a team building activity, teachers were instructed to make a tableau based on various prompts - including "with at least 6 people, make a scene from the Bachelor!"

National Board Certified Teachers at BCS

Two of our teachers - David Belles (Music Specialist) and Sarah Lau (Middle School Math Teacher) just received confirmation that they are Nationally Board certified teachers!  Over 10% of our teachers at BCS are Nationally Board Certified, compared to less than 3% of all teachers in California.  

Ms. Lau and Mr. Belles recently became
National Board Certified Teachers!

National Board Certified Teachers (NBPTS) are an elite group of educators who must pass a rigorous certification process that includes in depth lesson planning and analysis, several tests based on pedagogy and content, videos of lessons, and student work samples that demonstrate growth and achievement.  

The entire process is tied to student learning and advancement in all aspects of the teaching profession, not just a single lesson or unit of study.

The National Board mission aligns so closely with our school’s vision that our staff has committed to making this distinguished certification an expected part of the role of a BCS educator.  Every staff member who is eligible to begin the process (teaching for 3 or more years) is supported with mentors, time, and equipment needed to succeed and become Board certified.

Congratulations to David, Sarah, and all of our teachers at BCS on their commitment to excellence in education!

Ms. Stone's Work on LearnZillion's "Dream Team"

Our 7th Grade ELA/History teacher Lisa Stone was featured this week in the Los Altos Town Crier for her work over the summer as one of 200 teachers on LearnZillion’s “Dream Team” - a start-up designed to provide high quality Common Core resources to teachers and students across the country.  

Keep up the great work, Ms. Stone!

BCS teacher works with online lesson plan resource

Published on Wednesday, 17 September 2014 01:03

Written by Traci Newell - Staff Writer/tracin@latc.com

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Photos Courtesy of Bullis Charter School 
Bullis Charter School seventh-grade teacher Lisa Stone, right, worked on LearnZillion’s Dream Team this summer to develop online Common Core-aligned lesson plans, left. 

Bullis Charter School has a new tool in its arsenal this year as it tackles the implementation of Common Core curriculum standards.

Seventh-grade teacher Lisa Stone was one of 200 chosen from among 4,000 applicants for the “Dream Team” assembled by the educational startup LearnZillion. Stone and the other members of the Dream Team worked to create online lesson plans for teachers that are Common Core-aligned.

LearnZillion, an online resource for teachers, offers a growing set of math and English resources for grades 2-12, developed by experienced teachers and connected directly with Common Core State Standards.

Stone spent the summer collaborating with four other teachers and a coach to dissect a Close Reading lesson for seventh-graders.

Her team was given a text selection and tasked with creating a five-day lesson plan around the text that would meet Common Core standards.

“Common Core now says that you need to put text in front of students that is really too hard for them to understand,” she said.

The final product instructs teachers on how to examine a piece of literature, identify what is complex about it and explain what to focus on with the students – step-by-step and at a determined pace.

The resource is valuable for teachers because it not only provides them with the lesson, but also offers real-time professional development, Stone said.

“It really teaches how to engage in metacognition,” she said. “It models for teachers how to teach these types of habits of mind.”

The lesson plans include instructional videos that teachers can use in the classroom or as part of their lesson preparation. The videos for each lesson are free and available to teachers, students and parents.

LearnZillion’s premium service provides details on how to build a unit around the Common Core concept. The end product of The Dream Team’s work is a textbooklike resource for schools and their districts that addresses the requirements of Common Core.

Common Core spells out the benchmarks and concepts that students need to learn, but leaves how to get there up to teachers. That’s where LearnZillion steps in.

“The focus of LearnZillion is on the metacognition – what are the building blocks you need to build up to the requirements of Common Core,” Stone said.

Because Stone served on LearnZillion’s Dream Team of teachers over the summer, Bullis Charter School benefits from the website’s premium service – equipping teachers with many different Common Core lessons to select and implement this school year.

“I think it is part of my job to help teachers become the best they can be,” she said. “Part of the reason why I chose to do this was because I need to go outside of my school and scale my impact.”

For more information, visit LearnZillion.com.

BCS at the California Charter School Association's Annual Conference

By Wanny Hersey

Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School

At this week’s California Charter School Association’s conference in San Jose, I was delighted that our entire teaching faculty was able to attend on Tuesday.  This was a unique professional development opportunity that our teachers took full advantage of - from attending sessions about differentiation and blended learning, to meeting and being inspired by leaders in the charter school movement.  

The conference began with a keynote address from Reed Hastings, founder of Netflix and longtime charter advocate.  Reed spoke about the importance of continuing to affect change in public education, even though it feels slow and arduous at times. In his speech, he emphasized the critical importance for charters to have non-elected school boards as a way of supporting an organization’s mission and providing sustained leadership, instead of an elected school board  that creates frequent turnover and conflicting political agendas.  I agree with Reed 100%, and was glad to also have several of our board members attend the conference with me this week.

While we were at the conference - united with thousands of charter school advocates and becoming even more inspired about the work that we do - across the country New York Mayor Bill Di Blasio made the appalling decision to shut down four charter schools, affecting over 700 students enrolled in some of the most successful charters in the area.  It was a strong reminder for all of us how important it is to stay focused on showing what is possible in public education, despite any opposition we may face. 

One way we can all help show our support through social media, is by sharing the highlights and benefits of charter schools using the hash tag #charterswork when you are sharing positive posts about Bullis Charter School.  You can also go to our Facebook and Twitter pages to share and re-tweet directly from there.