The ICSD e-Insider will now be released monthly! In addition to other important ICSD stories, these newsletters will provide updates on Learning Forward ICSD, the district's three-year approach to academic and social-emotional learning.
What's Inside:
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Choice Day at Boynton Middle School: Students celebrated reaching the end of the first marking period by participating in sessions of their choice. Activities included cupcake decorating, virtual reality, hip-hop dance, basketball, playtime with therapy dogs, and many others.
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FROM THE DESK OF DR. BROWN
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Thank you for being here.
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Happy New Year! From all of us here in the ICSD, we are excited to welcome you back to the classroom after the winter break. We hope everyone was able to rest, relax, and reflect on the first half of the school year. I, too, was able to use part of the break to reflect on the great work of our community. As we gathered for our first Commendation Ceremony of 2023, I was reminded again just how thoughtful, impactful, and inspiring it is to work alongside all of you. Our students are being recognized nationally, our teachers are fighting for equity at our State Capitol, and we're continuously working toward building a district where all students can achieve academic excellence.
Our mission is clear. We will engage, educate, and empower all students. To do this, we have to remain steadfast in our commitment to reversing the legacy of racism and establishing communities built on love and joy. Our students deserve nothing less.
In order to be successful, we know we must center student voices and lift up our incredible community of educators. This looks like the creation of a new Code of Conduct (click to see the latest draft) that prioritizes restorative justice and provides tools for implementation. It's inviting students to take part in the Superintendent Student Advisory Council to hear their perspectives and further projects they feel most strongly about. It means prioritizing healthy learners over their ability to pay for school lunches. It's hearing hard truths about the areas we can do better in to support our teachers and community. My door is always open, and I welcome collaboration. Please continue to share your thoughts, concerns, and what we're doing well because we can't walk this road alone.
I'm excited to see where 2023 takes us as a district. We have many new projects and initiatives in the works, and I can't wait to share more in the months to come.
Warmly,
Luvelle
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ANTI-RACIST CURRICULUM FOR ALL
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Learning Forward ICSD is committed to reversing the legacy of racism and establishing communities built on love and joy. We believe that we can achieve this by centering four key tenets. This month we're highlighting Anti-Racist Curriculum for All. This tenet seeks to further meaningful, interdisciplinary learning experiences that de-center dominant narratives, with a focus on literacy through identity, skills, intellect, criticality, and joy.
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New Elementary Learning Maps Center Student Voice and Provide Restorative Reflection for Teachers
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THE HISTORY OF LEARNING MAPS
When it comes to teaching and learning, the Ithaca City School District takes a distinct approach. Our educators make the NYS standards come alive by focusing on real-world issues and needs and providing authentic experiences that promote engagement and deep learning of content. We look for ways to foster interdisciplinary connections and embed authentic, performance-based assessments that mimic the real world and build student ownership of the learning. When students are able to connect the teachings to their real lives, we see student learning greatly enhanced.
Learning Maps provide an overview for teachers to use throughout the course of a year as they develop their own lessons through an anti-racist lens. Teachers meet frequently throughout the year to build upon existing Learning Maps. Our vision is that all ICSD elementary students experience an anti-racist and anti-marginalization curriculum that is meaningful, connected, and standards-based.
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In the summer of 2021, a group of Ithaca City School District (ICSD) elementary teachers gathered to think critically about what shifts could be made to enhance elementary learning. In collaboration with the Equity Consulting Group, the team’s initial efforts have since evolved into a massive project to evaluate exactly what is engaging to students in regard to content and skills. The team is also working to build out a system that captures existing and emerging curriculum and practice to better support teachers in their lesson planning. Ultimately, the group is hoping this project empowers students to make sense of who they are and safely question the world around them.
One of the primary goals of the work is to develop year-to-year "maps" that detail students’ actual experiences in the ICSD. The team hopes to do this by highlighting a day in the classroom from each of our eight elementary schools that illustrates how students are building a deep understanding of, and ability to respond to, the ways in which power, privilege, and oppression show up in our world. The new elementary Learning Maps will capture the lived experiences of young learners and the ways in which educators are supporting students to feel heard, represented, and respected through the learning they experience in our classrooms.
The maps are also varied by grade level. The group developed summary statements to represent the biggest difference between each K-5 grade level. For example, kindergarteners are “learning school and learning themselves” and fifth graders are “building on and zooming out, ready for more ownership and independence.”
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Emily Graber, a third-grade educator at Cayuga Heights Elementary, has worked alongside the Learning Maps cohort since its inception. She reflects on the nature of this professional development group as particularly “creative, innovative, and dedicated.” While other groups may land in a similar place to where they started, Emily notes that the Learning Maps group is “especially responsive to change.” While ideas initially stemmed from teacher viewpoints, it really took off when they began to ask: How do we involve students in the process? Since then, student feedback and initiative guide the group’s direction.
In recent meetings, the group has evaluated how to package the Learning Maps for ease of use and distribution among teachers. “We’re really trying to consider every stakeholder and be innovative in lockstep with the district’s mission and vision,” Graber said.
The Learning Maps cohort looks forward to sharing more updates on their progress soon. Keep an eye on our website for the newest additions to our Anti-Marginalization Units of Study and Learning Forward ICSD.
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The Learning Maps leaders gather to think critically about the stories students tell and how to incorporate student voice into curriculum. This work also asks teachers to examine inequitable systems within the ICSD and reflect on internalized beliefs pertaining to race. Creating Learning Maps is about documenting chosen stories to the best of our ability.
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DISTRICT UPDATES AND EVENTS
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Commendations Ceremony
On January 10, district leadership and the ICSD Board of Education recognized the extraordinary achievements of students and staff at the first Commendation Ceremony of the 2022-2023 school year!
The purpose of the quarterly Commendations Ceremonies is to celebrate the success of Team ICSD members who go above and beyond in the arts, athletics, and the community. Special recognition is also paid to individuals who embody the ICSD’s Culture of Love.
Visit our website for a list of everyone recognized at the January ceremony and check out more photos on Instagram!
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Updating Your Contact Information
The Ithaca City School District uses SchoolMessenger to communicate with families through emails, phone calls, and SMS/text messages. The contact information loaded to SchoolMessenger is driven by students' current information in SchoolTool.
To ensure you receive communications from the district and your child's school, please verify that your contact information in SchoolTool is correct and that you are set up to receive mail. If you need to update your contact information, instructions for doing so can be found on our Parent/Caregiver Communications page.
PLEASE NOTE: If you would like to receive text messages from the district and your child’s school, you will need to ensure that your cell phone number is the first number listed in SchoolTool AND opt in. You can opt in at any time from your wireless device by texting “Y” or “Yes” to the district’s short code number, 67587.
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Unified Code of Conduct
Thank you to everyone who engaged with us during our feedback sessions and public hearing on the 2022 Unified Code of Conduct draft! Your input has been invaluable, and we look forward to putting forth a finalized version soon.
To learn more about the Unified Code of Conduct, visit ithacacityschools.org/conduct.
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Free and Reduced School Meals Application
We have digitized the application for free and reduced price school meals! We know that this has been a barrier for many families in completing the form, and we hope that with the transition to online access, more families will take advantage. The application is live and can be accessed here: Online Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals/Milk (click on “Select District & Continue”). The application must be completed in one sitting.
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The Ithaca City School District will be engaging in Black Lives Matter at School: A Week of Action. A Year of Purpose. A Lifetime of Practice. February 6 - 10, 2023. More information regarding this important week will be shared soon.
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Upcoming Events and Meetings
- January 24-27: IHS January Regents and Midterm Exams
- January 24, 5 p.m.: Board Curriculum Work Session
- January 24, 6 p.m.: Board Voting Meeting
- January 24, 7:30 p.m.: DeWitt 7th & 8th Choir Concert
- January 26, 7:30 p.m.: Boynton Chorus Concert
- January 27-29: LACS Musical - The Addams Family
- February 7, 5 p.m.: Board Policy Work Session
- February 7, 6:30 p.m.: Board HR Work Session
- February 6-10 Black Lives Matter at School: A Week of Action. A Year of Purpose. A Lifetime of Practice
- February 14, 6 p.m.: Board Voting Meeting
- February 16, 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively: Facilities Work Session and Finance Work Session
- February 20-24 Presidents' Day/Mid-Winter Recess
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Thank you for reading the e-Insider! For more information about Learning Forward ICSD, visit our website at the link below.
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