April 01st, 2021

Welcome to the April edition of the PL Lighthouse!
This monthly email blast and webpage has been designed to serve much like a lighthouse, to serve as a way forward and help in navigating through the busy school year. Nothing else speaks of safety in the face of adversity and challenge quite like the lighthouse. 

Design Studio Week | April 26th-30th
Our spring, and final, design studio week of the year will be Monday, April 26th through Friday, April 30th.

We'll officially kick off the week on Monday, April 26th from 9:30-11:00 AM [required for Principals + PL Quarterbacks]. At the kick-off we'll be revealing and reviewing the 2021-2022 Menu of Supports, so please forward the calendar invite to any team member who will be included in selecting supports for the upcoming school year. We strongly suggest that you include others on your leadership team in tasks throughout the week to help ensure that PL implementation is distributed across all leaders on campus. If you have any questions about who on your team might be a good fit to support throughout the week, please reach out or join the PL monthly office hours to ask.

Each team will receive a personalized team work plan that will include must dos and may dos critical to planning for next year such as Readiness Continuum Reflection, selecting priorities for next year, onboarding to the PL Defense, and more!

Quarterbacks, on-boarding will take place on April 21st from 1:00-2:30 PM. We'll provide you with a sneak peek of the tasks to help you calendar out the week and block off time with your team!

If you have conflicts with either of these dates, please let us know ASAP!

PL Principal Huddle
Principals, please plan to attend the last PL Principal Huddle on Tuesday, April 20th from 9:00-10:00 AM. During this time, we'll be unveiling the new PL Defense process and need your feedback and input on the process before we go live during Design Studio week. If you foresee any scheduling conflicts, please let Kristen know as soon as possible.

PL CAMPING TRIP UPDATES

​PL Camping Trip to the Everglades | Synchronous Campfire April 22nd
All teachers, who completed the Equity phase selection form on Schoology, will receive the corresponding Zoom link for the synchronous campfire starting Monday, April 13th. Remember, these links are unique to the phase the teacher selected, so please do not forward the invites. If you have a teacher who has not received a Zoom link, reach out to Lily at [email protected]. Remember, you can see which teachers have completed the form and what phase they selected here.

Big Bend Scheduling Update
The Big Bend trip exploring STUDENT AGENCY will open on May 3rd with the synchronous campfire on June 3rd. We've extended the date to allow for more time for teachers to dive into content and try their new learnings.

Dallas ISD Virtual Google Summit
Registration is open for April's virtual Google Summit! Join us Saturday, April 17th, to learn how to better leverage G Suite for Education. Throughout the day participants will have choice in 20 different sessions designed for Google beginners to advanced practitioners. This opportunity is open to all teachers and leaders in Dallas ISD.

When: Saturday, April 17th from 9:00AM- 3:00PM. Can't stay the whole day? Select the sessions you're most interested in attending!
What: A one-day event with sessions designed for Google beginners to advanced practitioners. Sessions will be led by teachers + leaders in Dallas ISD.
Where: Virtually via Zoom. We'll send the schedule one week out to registered attendees!
Why: To help educators leverage G Suite for Education (Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, Classroom etc.) to better meet the needs and interest of all kids.

For more information and to register, visit thepltoolbox.com/gvsummit.

Dallas ISD Virtual Google Summit Presenters
We are looking for a few more teachers or leaders to present at the summit! Presenters will be provided with on boarding and coaching from the PL team leading up to the summit. This is a great opportunity for teachers applying for DTR. Interested or know a teacher/leader who may be interested in leading a session? Fill out or share this form.

Innovation in Teaching Fellowship: Application for Cohort 6 is Live
We are excited to announce the Innovation in Teaching Fellowship, a professional learning opportunity to expand personalized learning instructional practices across Dallas ISD, is beginning to recruit teachers for our sixth cohort of fellows, and since you work closely with teachers, we’re hoping you might be able to help with the recruitment process.

The Innovation in Teaching Fellowship equips Dallas ISD educators to grow in their understanding of and pilot Next Generation models in their classrooms. Over the 2021-2022 school year, fellows will draw from research, best practices, and their own ingenuity to design and test personalized learning in their classrooms. Fellows will have access to virtual workshops, pop-up (i.e., on-demand) professional development sessions,  and coaching from the Dallas ISD central personalized learning team. At the conclusion of the fellowship, fellows will have an opportunity to share their learnings and ideas with the education community through our Innovation Showcase.

Please feel free to pass along to other schools within your network or nominate 3-5 teachers on your campus who might be ready for the challenge.  Please click here to access a quick nomination form or to share use, bit.ly/nominatefellows. Once a teacher has been nominated, he/she will receive an email regarding the opportunity, application, and deadline.

For additional information about the Innovation in Teaching Fellowship and the application process, check out www.thepltoolbox.com/fellowship. Applications are due Monday, May 3rd by 11:59PM CST.