News Blast #1: Welcome to the Weekly PT News Blast!

Welcome to your weekly PT News Blast! Beginning today, and then repeating every Monday for the remainder of the program, you will find your weekly PT News Blast posted here in your Google Classroom. This newsletter is designed to keep you informed of the most important information and upcoming "to-dos." These news blasts are all archived in the topic "PT News Blast" and are easily searchable so you can always refer to information from a prior newsletter.

Please note that though we will try to be as comprehensive as possible in these news blasts, you should continue to refer to your syllabi and handbook for pertinent information and continue reaching out to your CC, LC, and LI with questions.

Departure from SBS (for those attending SBS at Life Sciences Secondary School)Please ensure that you depart Life Sciences Secondary School no later than 7 p.m. during SBS sessions. The building closes at this time and we want to be respectful to our hosts!


Gateway 1Gateway 1 observations will begin Monday of next week (02/26).

• At this point, a FEM (evaluator) should have reached out to your LC and CC to schedule your Gateway 1 observation. If you do not yet have knowledge of the date and time of your Gateway 1 observation, please reach out to your CC and LC.

• You should also have discussed with your CC what lesson you will be teaching (for this Gateway, you should be teaching a lesson written by your CC) and have plans to receive a copy of the lesson plan far enough in advance to internalize the content and rehearse your lesson delivery.

• During your debrief, you will need to be prepared to discuss lesson coherence and alignment. For a more detailed description of this evaluation component, consult "1e" on the NYCTA rubric.

Pre-work for 02/27 SBSOn your syllabus, listed as part of your prework, you have been asked to complete a check-in survey. Please note that as soon as the link for the survey becomes available it will be posted in your Google Classroom as an assignment. Please continue to check your Google Classroom this week for that assignment.
Addressing Common QuestionsEach week, we will include a section of the news blast in which we address common questions trending across your cohort. Please find this week's common questions addressed below:

• For Gateway 1 - Can PTs use a CCs Lesson plan and make modifications? Or should they write their own LP? For Gateway 1 the expectation is that PTs are modifying/scripting one of their CC's lesson plans. We do NOT expect that they are writing entirely their own lesson plans at this point. However, if a PT is accelerated and feels comfortable writing his/her own lesson plans (and has his/her CCs permission) he/she can definitely use an original LP for Gateway 1, but to reiterate, that is NOT a requirement.

• For Gateway 1 - For ENL/SpEd PTs does it matter if they are in a "Pull out" or "push in" setting? *Is it ok if they are not in a traditional "whole class" one lead setting? Can they be working with a small group for their baseline/Gateway evals? For Gateways, all PTs should be lead teaching in a whole class setting for at least part of the observation. The Gateway Evaluations are meant to mimic the kinds of observations during which in-service teachers are evaluated. PTs need to work with their CCs to ensure they are practicing lead teaching in a whole class setting on a regular basis and that that is the setting for at least a portion of their Gateways.

• What is our basis for using the anchor texts that we do (TLaC, Love and Logic, UbD) The texts we have chosen to use as the basis for the training curriculum are considered seminal pedagogical texts. In addition, much research has been collected (by the NYCDOE and other institutions) that show the practices we have isolated and teach in SBS are "high leverage" practices in that teachers who master these techniques and strategies are more likely to be successful in their first year and meet the Criteria for New Teacher Readiness.