Dear Superintendents, Principals, Curriculum Directors, and Lead Teachers

Dear Superintendents, Principals, Curriculum Directors, and Lead Teachers:

During the 2013-2016 school years, the Idaho State Department of Education offered an opportunity for educators to gain further experience and expertise in the development of Idaho Content Standards for English Language Arts / Literacy lessons, units, and assessments in a supported and sustainable manner through the establishment of the Idaho Coaching Network. Each region has been provided with a Core Coach who lives and has worked as a classroom teacher in your region. Each Idaho Core Coach has been committed to providing expertise, professional development, and ongoing support in order to assist districts, schools, and teachers as they planned for Core shifts these past three years. This group of over 600teacher leaderscome from more than 100 districts across the state and have worked with their Idaho Core Coaches to write and teach a unit plan aligned to the Idaho Core, engaged in deep exploration of important topics related to the Idaho Core and offered professional development in their schools or districts. These Core Teacher Leaders have developed abilities to deliver quality, sustainable PD through the extensive study of Idaho Core topics within the authentic context of quality unit design.

We are pleased to announce that we anticipate having the resources to bring on our next cohort of Core Teachers for the 2016-2017 school year, as well as welcome applications for our Returning Teacher Leader program.

We tried to keep things as simple as possible here but be sure to use the hyperlinks embedded throughout this document to find more information about the specifics of this statewide network.

Click here for more information about the purpose and goals of the Idaho Core Teacher Network.

District and Regional Benefits:

In-district development and implementation of Idaho Core aligned lessons, units, and assessments;
Professional development in the Idaho Content Standards for ELA / Literacy and the EQuIP rubric;
Capacity building through the training and mentoring of regional Core Teachers;
Targeted workshops for both district administrators and Core Teachers;
Credit opportunities and stipends for Core Teachers from the State Department of Education

Idaho Core Teacher Commitments (Cohort 4):

Participate in a 3-day workshop in August 2016* (Dates TBD by coaches);
Participate in an online course and develop exemplary Idaho Core unit(s) to share with others;
August 2016 –January 2017;
Use the EQuIP rubric to evaluate 3 units for other Core Teachers during the 2016-2017 school year;
Participate in eight 1-day workshops during the 2016-2017 school year, starting in September; * datesTBD by coaches
Participate in 4 day professional development meeting during the summer of 2017; *dates TBD by coaches
Receive coaching support / classroom visits from your region’s Idaho Core Coach;
Facilitate professional development in your school and/or district and take on leadership role;
Complete pre-, mid-, and post- teacher self-efficacy surveys and provide feedback on courses, workshops, and facilitation.

NOTE: Cohort 4 Core Teachers will receive six (6) graduate level credits from Boise State University or a $1000 honorarium from the SDE and five (5) continuing education credits from the University of Idaho. Core Teachers can choose to purchase an additional 5 continuing education credits. Districts will be reimbursed for all eight (8) days at the rate of $70/day.

Returning Teacher Leader Commitments

Attend professional development trainings:

Two (2) Days in the summer of 2016
Orientation Time for Returning Core Teachers
Orientation Time with new Core Teachers

Seven (7) Days throughout the school year
3 Workshops for continued learning throughout the year.
4 Days that could be spent planning and delivering pd for New or Returning Teachers or participating in classroom observations for New Teachers or Returning Teachers. At least one day will be spent working with New Teachers.

Be thinking partners to a new cohort of teachers (with the appropriate support from Coaches to organize and nurture this partnership);
Deliver three (3) professional development offerings in your school or district;
Write post-PD reflections and new goals for each pd;
Participate in a collaborative Book Study;
Participate in work on an Idaho Literacy Standards-related inquiry project;
Provide feedback on workshops, Coaches, and the end-of-year Core-Aligned Teaching Self-Efficacy survey.
Keep and submit a Web of Impact.

NOTE: Returning Teacher Leaders will have the opportunity to receive graduate credits from Boise State University or a $1000 stipend from the SDE and continuing education credits from University of Idaho. The number of graduate level credits is TBD. Continuing education credits will be 3. Districts will be reimbursed for all seven (7) days at the rate of $70/day.

District Commitments:

Each district is encouraged to nominate teachers for participation in this SDE-sponsored program. There is limited space available, so early applications are encouraged. Because Core Teachers are committing additional weeks to increasing their knowledge of the Idaho Core and increasing district capacity in Core knowledge, unit development, and research-based instructional strategies, we ask that each district consider supporting this regional implementation in the following ways:

Provide support (e.g. announcements, recruitment, class space, copies) for Core Teacher(s) to facilitate professional development of district teachers during Spring Semester 2016;
Consider supplementing or matching the stipend that the SDE provides;
Identify at least one supporting administrator (see below).

Supporting Administrator Commitments: Click here for more information about the benefits for supporting administrators

Meet with Coaches: Meet with your regional Idaho Core Coach at least once. S/he will schedule this at your convenience, either at your school or another convenient location.
Workshops for Admin: Attend a minimum of 4 workshops throughout the year. Some of these are ½ day workshops.
Orientation: Overview to our program and new highlights for the new year.
EQuIP Training: Determine the definition of quality curriculum that is aligned to the Idaho Content Standards in English Language Arts/Literacy and how to support teachers as they revise existing material or create new lessons / units.
Open Workshop (Key Shifts or other topic): This administrator workshop is tailored to the needs of the region as determined by the needs assessment.
Spring Workshop: This is your opportunity to learn from your teachers’ growth over the year and to see them positioned as teacher leaders.
Needs Assessment and Feedback: These are provided by digital link by your regional Coach.
Provide Opportunity for Core Teacher to Provide Professional Development: Your Core Teacher is required to provide a professional development session for his/her colleagues.

Help us identify educators(s) within your school or district who have experience with the Idaho Content Standards for ELA / Literacy, are motivated to develop their own teaching craft, and are respected as leaders by their peers. We welcome applications from teachers of all grade levels and all content areas, as well as administrators, curriculum directors, instructional coaches, and other such educators. Please share the attached participant application with any educators you would like to nominate. Applications are due April 15, 2015.

Contact April Niemela , Jill Diamond ,Scott Cook ,or Diann with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Scott Cook (Content Director)

Jill Diamond (Region 2 Coach)

April Niemela (Region 2 Coach; Idaho Coaching Network Co-Director)

Diann Roberts (English Language Arts/Literacy Coordinator)