Teresa Yamada shared this week's snapshot of working from home. 

Teresa's gone old school with a desktop and no Web cam, so we don't get to see her in Zoom meetings. Reports are that her hair has gotten down to her shoulders. She shared that the graduation photo on the top of her desk was taken in the Chinese Garden on campus. I also want to give a huge shout-out to that very healthy-looking spider plant!

Nomination for Ila's Tenure Review Committee

Dorrienne Chinn is currently serving on Ila's tenure committee, which she will continue to do through fall of 2020. Then she's retiring! We will need a replacement beginning with winter 2021. Consistent with 7.2.B of the collective bargaining agreement, the faculty who serve on the committee are "elected by the faculty peers in the administrative unit acting as a body." 

It's been my practice to discuss potential committee members with the full-time faculty to see who is available and willing to serve. In our discussion last week, the full time faculty nominated Rebecca Yedlin to this role. Rebecca has recently served on Ila's committee as a sub for Zahra Alavi, so she is already familiar with Ila's process. Ila also expressed a desire to have Rebecca return. 

Please take a moment to vote for membership for Ila's committee through the Survey Monkey link below. You have the option to vote for Rebecca or to write-in the name of anyone else who you'd like to elect.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NXJR3JG

2020-2021 Faculty Coordination

Spring quarter is typically the time we vote for faculty coordinators for the upcoming year. During this process, a number of full-time faculty also select coordination as part of their full-time load. Consistent with the last few years, next year's full-time faculty serving in coordination positions are:

• Jane Harness, High School 21+ Coordinator
• Kris Lysaker, ESL Assessment Coordinator
• Jon Nachman, ABE/GED/High School 21+/College Prep Assessment Coordinator.

Arleen Williams also receives release time to coordinate the Gateway. The two remaining coordination positions--Computer Lab coordinator and New Holly coordinator--are contingent on a return to face-to-face instruction. Because it is possible that these positions could start as soon as fall quarter, I want to hold a vote. However, the actual start of these positions will be delayed until in-person instruction resumes. 

Please take a moment to vote for 2020-2021 faculty coordination. The first vote is to decide if we want to keep and to nominate people to serve in the positions. If a majority of people no longer support one (or both) of the positions, the position will not be filled and nominations will be discarded. If a majority of people want the position, I will confirm that nominees are interested/willing to serve, and call for a vote in cases where more than one person is nominated and interested in serving.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NGQW3BR

Faculty Credentials For Federal Reporting (again)

Because two Survey Monkey links just aren't enough...if you haven’t already, please take the short survey below to report your faculty credentials. It’s required for federal reporting. The report aggregates the credentials across the entire BTS division, so while I enter the information individually, the state de-identifies the information and reports it in aggregate. (I know this because one year I was late in reporting and asked if they had a copy of last year’s submission, and they didn’t.)

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9LNHGVV

Summer EI update

A few faculty have asked about the plan for EIs this summer. They will largely follow what we did in the fall. The High School 21+/GED team will continue to use an online version of directed self-placement along with transcript evaluation to select coursework. The ESL team will hold Zoom EIs from June 16-18 and again on June 22-23. The ESL EI times are currently set for the mornings, but some evening options will likely be scheduled as well. 

CANVAS training

Now is a great time to learn CANVAS! All BTS instruction moved to remote learning for spring and summer, and a decision still needs to be made for fall. While it's possible some in-person instruction might resume, it's very likely we will still rely on remote learning--at least in part. 

With this in mind, I strongly encourage faculty to train in CANVAS this spring or summer. The training is free, and even prior to COVID-19, we had been discussing the possibility of introducing hybrid instruction in all ESL classes from level 4 and above. We had also been discussing using CANVAS in-class at ESL 2 and 3. 

For now, you are still not required to have completed CANVAS training due to COVID-19. That will certainly change at some point in the future, and completing CANVAS training now will position you to have more flexibility in requesting future assignments.

Check out the TLC Calendar for information about CANVAS training. Introduction to CANVAS is a three-week, asynchronous course offered through the State Board.

Culturally Responsive Curriculum & Project Based Learning Web Series

The SBCTC is holding a Culturally Responsive Curriculum & Project Based Learning Web Series for three Fridays in a row, starting this week. 

The purpose of this workshop is to acknowledge the impacts of COVID-19 on our instruction and learning of our students while critically analyzing the tenets of inclusive, responsive and trauma informed pedagogy to help us respond to those impacts. Participants will share and analyze impacts of COVID-19 on teaching and learning within BEdA. Identifying ways to make remote instruction more responsive, inclusive and equity based. Participants will review how to synthesize and apply Project Based Learning design elements with the tenants of culturally responsive education.  Even if you already attended the training earlier this year, you will benefit from attending this webinar series. Topics include:

May 15th 9:30 am to 12:00 pm: COVID-19 and how it has impacted our work

May 22nd 9:30 am to 12:00 pm: Deeper Dive into the Culturally Responsive Education Score

May 29th 9:30 am to 12:00 pm: Review of the Design Elements of Project Based Learning

Click here to register. I have some funds to support stipends for part-time faculty who wish to participate. Let me know if you'd like that support.

WELL Information

Students can access a WELL tutor with just one click between 11 am and 5 pm, Monday through Thursday. You can also give your students this one-page WELL handout or invite Ward to visit your Zoom classroom to tell your students about the WELL. 

Please help your students take advantage of this resource.

Stay safe!

That does it for this week. Enjoy Faculty Professional Development Day. 

John