Fontas and Pinnell PD

Today I'm receiving professional Development on Fontas and Pinnell. The goal of the training is to help ensure all teachers are on the same page and testing is consistent. As you can see from using Soapbox, many of us are torn on when to stop assessing a student.  After further discussion, it's 

important to note that In the Fall and Spring, teachers should test until the student reaches their placement level. Placement level is the level at which teachers have obtained enough information to determine a student's instructional needs. 

My first thought as an ESL Teacher is how fast a student learning English may change levels, which can make a student's instructional needs change rapidly. I encourage classroom teachers to test ESL students again after he/she becomes more fluent with English and has adjusted to his new environment. 

Kicking off the 2014-15 School Year

Well my summer is officially coming to a haunt, which means its time to get back to work.  Each year I enter refreshed and motivated to try new ideas. The down fall to this, is I create an overwhelming "to do" list. This year I would like to try a new approach.  That is...Try new ideas one at a time, instead of creating a large "to do" list that never makes me feel good. I want to feel good this year, not overwhelmed.

I wish all teachers a happy start to the 2014-15 school year.  I hope you are refreshed and ready to tackle one goal at a time. I would love to hear about some of your new school year goals. What do you plan to tackle this year? Please share!