TDSB

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TDSB

• A Vision of Hope!

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A few things

• Leader of Learning
• Moral Purpose
• Literacy for Life
• High Expectations
• Learning for All

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Every decision made by the TDSB must support a
school system where the No. 1 priority is
supporting Learning for All.
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Social Justice

• The path to social justice begins with gaining
  passion for the plight of disadvantaged students.
  
• We need to ask ourselves
• Who tends to be privileged?
• What does it mean to be privileged in this way?
• Who tends to be marginalized?
• What does it mean to be marginalized in this way?
• Ways we tend to deny that privilege is occurring?
• What happens in the classroom?
• How can we take action in the classroom/system to
  interrupt these cycles of oppression?
• Richard A. McCormick, S.J. (1999).
• Blueprint for Social Justice LII(11), 1.

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Learning for All
What we teach How we teach Where we
teach Who we teach
The quality of curriculum The quality of
instruction The effectivenessof schools The
unique characteristicsand background of the
student
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Achievement Gap

• Exists when specific groups of students do not
  achieve in school at the same level. Achievement
  gaps may correlate with race, ethnicity, family
  income level, language background,
  ability/disability status, gender etc.

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Guiding Questions

• Who are our learners?
• What are their needs?
• What skills, values, and knowledge will they need
  to be successful, productive members of society?

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A Laser Like Focus
Equity of Outcome
Focused Intervention
Capacity Building
Community Engagement
Communication
Improved Student Achievement!
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3 Priorities - Less Is More

• Student Achievement
• Parent and CommunityEngagement
• Financial Stability

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Student Achievement

• Every School an Effective Full-Service School
• Boys Education Strategy
• Technology
• Caring and Safe Schools
• Re-creating Our Schools

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Improving Achievement

• Belief in their abilities to master a rigorous
  curriculum.
• Time tailored to specific student needs.
• Understanding that not all students learn the
  same way and at the same rate.

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Why Differentiate Instruction?

• When a teacher tries to teach something to the
  entire class at the same time, chances are , one
  third of the kids already know it one-third will
  get it and the remaining third wont. So
  two-thirds of the children are wasting their
  time.

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Boys Education Strategy

• The objective of this strategy is to cast a
  critical eye on how we reach, teach and develop
  our boys.
• By bridging the gap between research and
  educators and by providing tangible strategies
  for teachers/staff/ parents and others by
  focusing on the changing demands of teaching
  boys.

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Single Gender Classrooms/Programs/Schools?

• Most of the time, coeducational classes are going
  to be the right answer for a childs learning
  needs. But studies conclude that in some
  instances students do better in a single sex
  setting.
• Mentoring Programs Boys to Men
• Intentional system focus on gendered informed
  high yield strategies for all boys in all schools
• Differentiated instruction capacity building
• Pilot K-3 Male Leadership Academy Sept 2010

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What about the girls?

• It was only a century ago that the president of
  Harvard refused to admit women because he feared
  they would waste the precious resources of his
  school.

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Parent Community Engagement -Together Were
Better!

• When schools work together with families to
  support learning, children tend to succeed not
  just in school but throughout life.

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Recognize and Address Barriers

• Past experiences
• Time
• Transportation
• Location
• Translation

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Benefits of Parent Involvement

• The Triple As
• Student Achievement
• Student Attendance
• Student Attachment

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Parent and Community Engagement

• Satisfaction Survey
• Establishment of a Parent Academy
• Full-Service Schools
• Establishment of a Community Advisory Committee
  on Environmental Sustainability

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