Summer 2012
Courses for Related Service Provider/Teacher Recertification & Development
Three Week Summer Sessions
All classes meet at the BTU Offices – 5800 Metro Drive | Baltimore, MD 21215
Mon – Fri | 5PM to 8PM
June Session June 18th to July 6th
July Session July 9th to July 27th
UniverSoul Circus is Coming to Town
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
BTU members are invited to experience the thrills of the most fabulous show on earth. Tickets ($18) are available for Center Grandstand Seating. The show will be held in the Security Square Mall Parking Lot at 7:30pm. Limited tickets are available for purchase beginning Tuesday, May 1 at BTU.
(*You Must Be a BTU Member to Purchase Tickets.)
BTU Night at Camden Yards
Friday, June 22, 2012
The BTU wants to take you out to the ballgame when Orioles take on the Nationals at Oriole Park. Tickets may be purchased for $6 each. Game time is at 7pm. Enjoy!
What is roster validation?
Roster validation allows teachers an opportunity to improve the quality of City Schools’ data. Specifically, teachers will review, edit and confirm the accuracy of their class roster(s), indicating when each student was in the classroom and the percentage of instruction provided to each student. Principals then approve the teacher-validated rosters.
Why is roster validation important?
Teacher-driven roster validation gives credit where credit is due—to the teachers who are responsible for instructing their students for all or part of the year. Roster validation is an opportunity for teachers to make any corrections to their rosters and to provide additional information that is not routinely collected elsewhere (e.g., in SMS). This ensures that instruction is attributed to the correct teacher and provides the groundwork for better data quality, to inform research into teacher and school effectiveness.
When does the roster validation process occur?
Set up and preparation for roster validation is happening now, to allow roster validation for teachers to begin on May 9. Teachers should complete roster validation by May 22. The principal review and approval period ends on May 31. You will receive reminder emails throughout the process to keep you informed about next steps.
What happens to the validated data from roster validation? Do data go back into SMS?
We understand that SMS does not document the complexities of the learning experiences within a school and classroom, and that schools use SMS for a variety of purposes. As such, data from roster validation will not override any data that schools maintain in SMS. However, City Schools will examine the differences between SMS and teacher-validated data collected through roster validation. The differences may inform guidance to schools on the use of SMS in the future.
What is the general rule for who validates rosters?
All City Schools K–12 teachers who are responsible for the following will validate rosters:
Do non-instructional staff validate rosters?
No, staff in these positions do not validate rosters because they do not meet the general rule above.
Staff in which specific positions should expect to validate rosters?
Are there specific instructional positions that do not validate rosters?
This year, pre-k teachers will not validate rosters, but their participation may be considered in future years. Paraprofessionals do not validate rosters; according to COMAR, their role is to assist rather than lead instruction.
What about teachers who began mid-year?
Teachers that assumed responsibility for a classroom mid-year (e.g., late hire, transfer of assignment) will confirm their class rosters, but they will indicate that they held responsibility for these students only during the months in which they provided instruction.
What about teachers who left mid-year?
If a teacher left the school mid-year and was instructing a full-year course, the new teacher assigned to the course will complete roster validation for that course. This new teacher will reflect the specific portion of the year for which he or she instructed the course in the membership section. If a teacher left the school mid-year and was instructing a first-semester course, school-based support contacts (see below, under “Roles and responsibilities”), at the discretion of the principal, must validate the roster.
What about co-teaching situations?
Co-teaching describes a situation where multiple teachers share the responsibility for planning and delivering instruction and assigning grades. Teachers in a co-teaching situation will individually validate the class roster. Each teacher should claim the percentage of instruction for the course for which they were specifically responsible. It may be that only one teacher has a schedule for the course in the system. New course assignments can be added through the roster validation process by the principal or support contact during the school set-up period (or at any time during roster validation).
Do short-term substitutes validate rosters?
Short-term substitutes do not need to validate rosters because they typically do not perform all three required activities: planning instruction, delivering instruction and assigning grades. However, it benefits teachers and schools to validate as much data as possible. If a substitute teacher does perform all three required activities, it is to the school’s benefit to validate rosters for that individual. If a short-term substitute is not able to validate rosters, a support contact, in consultation with the principal, can add the staff member to the school list and submit rosters on behalf of that substitute.
Who is supporting schools in roster validation?
Principals have identified one or two staff members to serve as school-based support contacts to assist teachers with roster validation. Contacts will help principals monitor staff progress in completing the validation process and review rosters prior to final principal approval. Your support contact is identified on the main page of the BFK Link web-based tool.
What are teachers’ responsibilities in completing roster validation?
Roster validation allows teachers an opportunity to verify that collected instructional attribution data are accurate. Specifically, teachers will review, edit and confirm the accuracy of their class roster(s), indicating when each student was in the classroom and the percentage of instruction provided to each student. Principals then approve the teacher-validated rosters.
How long does it take for teachers to complete roster validation?
Teachers should plan to spend approximately 10 minutes to confirm each roster.
What happens after teachers validate rosters?
Once teachers complete roster validation, school-based support contacts will review class rosters for accuracy, ensuring all subjects, grade levels, teachers and students are appropriately linked, and facilitating correction when needed. Principals will then approve and submit the final data.
What happens if I don’t complete roster validation?
If a teacher does not complete roster validation by May 22, the district will use class roster information from the district scheduling system as the default. Please keep in mind that unverified rosters may not accurately capture the specific level of instruction that teachers provided to their students during the school year.
Can I update my roster once I have submitted it?
Teachers can update class rosters, even after submitting them, until May 22. After that date, teachers must contact their school’s support contact to request that changes be made.
How is membership in a class defined?
A student is considered a member of your class if he or she is enrolled in your class and you are responsible for his or her instruction for a certain time period.
How do I handle student attendance?
Student absences are not captured through roster validation (because they are captured in SMS). For the purposes of roster validation, a student is considered to be a member of a teacher’s classroom if he or she is enrolled in the course, regardless of absences. For this reason, all students—regardless of attendance—should be accounted for through roster validation. If you have concerns about a particular student’s attendance or the inclusion of a student on your roster, please speak with your principal or attendance monitor.
How do we handle student expulsions?
The teacher should document in the membership step of roster validation only the months a student was a member of the class. For the months in which the student was a member of the class, the teacher should claim the percentage of instruction for which he or she was responsible for instructing the student.
Per City Schools policy:
Expulsion is the removal of a student from the student’s regular school program for more than 45 school days. An expulsion may be permanent.
What about student suspensions?
Suspended students remain a member of the teacher’s class. Therefore, these students should be accounted for in roster validation.
Per City Schools policy:
Short-term suspension is the exclusion of a student from school for up to but not more than 10 school days.Extended suspension is the temporary exclusion of a student from school for a specified period of time longer than 10 school days but not more than 45 school days by the CEO or CEO’s designee.In-school suspension is the exclusion within the school building of a student from the student’s regular education program for up to but not more than three school days per incident and no more than six school days per semester.
What if I have a student who is being served by the Home and Hospital Program or CHIP (Chronic Health Impaired Program), either at home or in the hospital?
Any teacher planning and providing instruction for home-bound students, as well as assigning or collaborating in assignment of grades, should claim the student in roster validation. Students are still considered members of the class; however, the teacher should claim the percentage of instruction for which he or she was responsible for in the case of the particular home- or hospital-bound student.
What about dual enrollment/alternative options programs (AOPs)?
Any teacher providing and planning instruction to students, as well as assigning or collaborating in assignment of grades, through an AOP should claim the student in roster validation.
What about teachers with students who regularly receive pullout instruction?
Teachers with students who are regularly pulled out of the general education classroom for other instruction should indicate a reduced percentage of instruction for those students in their regular course. For example, consider a teacher who teaches a class five days a week. Each Friday, one of his or her students attends a program for gifted and talented students during the time regularly scheduled for the teacher’s class. The teacher should indicate 80 for the percentage of instruction, because for 20 percent of the week, that student is pulled out of class.
Do I validate for Bridge courses?
Yes. Teachers responsible for Bridge courses should complete validation for the students in these courses.
Do I validate courses delivered online?
For courses that are administered online and facilitated by a school staff member:
What if I am the teacher of record for a student taking a college or university course?
If a student is taking a college or university course and the teacher of record in SMS is not providing instruction, planning instruction and assigning or collaborating in the assignment of grades, the teacher should only claim the percentage of instruction for which he or she was responsible for in the case of the particular student.
I don’t know my email address. What should I do?
Please contact the City Schools Service Desk at 410-396-8182 or servicedesk@bcps.k12.md.us.
I don’t know (or I forgot) my email password. What should I do?
Click on Forgot Password on the “Account Login” page and enter your district email address. An email with a password reset link will be sent to your district email account. Click on the link and follow the prompts to create a new password. You will then be redirected to the “Account Login” page to log in.
What if I am not able to login to BFK Link. What should I do?
Please contact the school-based support contact for roster validation at your school.
I am trying to add a student who has been in my class, but I do not see her/him in the drop-down list of options. What should I do?
Teachers should contact their school’s support contact for assistance. The contact is identified on the main page of BFK Link. Principals or support contacts should contact the Battelle for Kids Help Desk.
During the roster validation process, how can I get help?
Online support is available by accessing downloadable guides in the “Resources” section of BFK Link, located in the bottom right corner of the main screen. Teachers should contact their school’s support contact with questions. The contact is identified on the main page of BFK Link. Support contacts can contact the Battelle for Kids Help Desk and the district core team at rostervalidation@bcps.k12.md.us.
Dear Baltimore City Public Schools Colleagues, Staff, Partners and Friends,
It is with great pleasure that we write to you with the news that Baltimore City Public Schools and the Baltimore Teachers Union have named the first cohort of Model teachers under the new teacher contract. In the last two weeks, 100 candidates have received word that they successfully completed the rigorous, peer review-driven Model teacher application process and have been recommended by the Joint Governing Panel and approved by the Joint Oversight Committee for placement on the Model pathway.
On the heels of our Teacher of the Year announcement, late last month, this is yet another indication that great teaching and learning are taking place across the district in many of our schools. It also advances the implementation of the contract, and shows that a good number of our teachers took advantage of the new professional and financial opportunities the contract affords.
Model teachers serve as examples of excellence, play leadership roles and create professional development opportunities in their schools and among their colleagues. The process for determining Model teacher eligibility was conducted in close collaboration by both the BTU and City Schools. The Joint Oversight Committee (JOC), comprised of BTU and district leadership, oversees the implementation of the contract and the Joint Governing Panel (JGP), comprised of eight teachers appointed by the BTU and the district, is charged with the actual implementation of the contract. The JGP managed the Model teacher application process and made Model teacher recommendations to the JOC for approval.
All told, 341 teachers applied to be Model teachers and 100, or 29 percent, succeeded. And these 100 teachers span a broad range of schools, grades served and subject expertise. For example, of the 100, 6 are art teachers; 8 are early childhood teachers; 3 are math teachers; 2 are music teachers; 10 are psychologists; 3 are social workers; 9 are special education teachers; and 3 are technology and business teachers. Of the 100, 15 are high school science and humanities teachers; 12 are middle school math, science and humanities teachers; and 10 are elementary school teachers. And of the 100, 21 teach at charter schools and 79 teach at non-charters.
The application process was rigorous—it started back in June 2011. It was peer review-driven. And as part of it, candidates had to demonstrate high levels of learner achievement; instruction/instructional support; professional development; and leadership. You can read more about the application process in the Model Teacher FAQ on City Schools’ website.
Meanwhile, please join us in congratulating our first cohort of Model teachers. They join 544 other teachers who, per the new contract, were previously grandfathered into the Model pathway because of their extensive education and teaching experience. And together, all of the Model teachers assume a distinguished and extremely important role in our district as we increase our focus on highly effective instruction and shift to more rigorous content standards.
Please also join us in celebrating all of the teachers who applied to be Model teachers, and their commitment to improving their practice and advancing in their role as educators. And let’s thank all of our teachers, who work so hard each and every day on behalf of our kids.
Thank you for all that you do support our students and schools.
Andrés A. Alonso, Ed.D.
CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools
Marietta English
President, Baltimore Teachers Union
The Baltimore Teachers Union conducted an election for delegates to the AFT, Maryland and American Federation of Teachers Conventions on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at the BTU Headquarters. The election was conducted by Elections USA and (65) members were elected as 2012 Convention Delegates:
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