Harmony Public Schools South/West District will host its next District Safety Meeting on Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Archive for month: January, 2021
9th and 10th grade students will be taking Reading and Math MAP tests on January 21 and 22. Please read the attached parent letter for more information.
Parent Information for January 2021 NWEA MAP Administration
Harmony Public Schools administers the NWEA MAP Growth tests in the middle of the year to measure the growth of our scholars from the beginning of the year in reading and math.
Who
At the high school level, students in grades 9 and 10 (with limited exceptions) will take the NWEA MAP Growth Test. Please use the chart below to see which tests each grade will be administered.
The only students that are not required to test (but may if the campus would like) are STAAR Alt2 students.
Technology
Your scholar is scheduled to take these online assessments on January 21 and 22. We are asking each family to complete this technology check by Jan. 19 so that we may help you troubleshoot any issues that your family may experience before the testing window begins. To check if your device meets the minimum requirements, please click here .
Students that do not have a compatible device need to pick up a Chromebook from the school by January 19. Please complete the following forms:
● https://hsisl.harmonytx.org/technology-survey-form/
● https://hsisl.harmonytx.org/student-chromebook-request-form/
Log in
Each student will log on to the NWEA MAP testing platform from their MyHarmony student portal account. The student will click the “nwea student” icon.
If you receive an error message, check to see if you have a red error indicator in the address bar blocking pop-ups. If so, click on the icon and choose “Always allow…” and “Done” to fix it.
On the login screen, there will be an opportunity to take a practice test if your student is unfamiliar with this testing platform. The practice test is not scored in any way and will simply serve as a tool to help familiarize them with the platform and format of the assessments. Session name and password for practice are both grow.
How
All NWEA MAP Sessions will be proctored via Zoom by personnel from your scholar’s campus. Zoom testing session links will be emailed to your scholar’s school email address by Jan. 19. They can also be found listed in the MAP Zoom links document.
When
The Jan. 2021 NWEA MAP Administration is scheduled to be administered from January 19 – February 3. In this unique time of all online learning, we have developed a standardized schedule to administer MAP to make sure that it is done uniformly across the system. The administration window will be as follows. Testing will begin at 9:00 AM each day.
Make-up testing may be completed after the student tests on the same day or into the next week at the guardian’s request. While these tests do not have a time limit, the average time spent by Harmony students in 2019 was just over one hour. We urge our families to monitor their scholar(s) closely when they are taking this assessment to make sure that their scholar is taking their time, using their testing strategies, and putting forward their best efforts to ensure that we receive the most accurate data about your student.
Test Security
During an in-person administration of this assessment, the test proctor is able to walk around the room to monitor each scholar and make sure that each scholar is taking their time and behaving responsibly. In this new virtual setting, we are asking for your assistance in making sure that your scholar’s test is secure and they are following testing expectations such as the following
● Make sure they have completed the technology check by January 19th.
● If your scholar is unfamiliar with the MAP testing platform, please have them complete the practice test by January 19th to help them become familiar with the platform.
● During the Zoom test administration, please monitor your scholar to make sure they are taking their time and using their testing strategies
● During the Zoom test administration, please do not allow your scholar to have any other windows open on their computer other than their MAP test and their Zoom.
● During the Zoom test administration, please do not allow your scholar to use any outside resources. Students are allowed to use dictionaries on the Reading test only.
● During the Zoom test administration, please make sure that your scholar does not have access to their cell phone.
Accessibility
For our scholars with documented supports needed for STAAR testing, we will implement those supports as much as possible for the corresponding MAP tests.
Troubleshooting and Additional Questions
For any troubleshooting or additional questions, please contact your Campus Testing Coordinator at dgerard@harmonytx.org .
In accordance with the Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented students, Harmony Public Schools will begin taking referrals for all interested students in grades K-12 for Gifted and Talented (G/T) screening.
Anyone interested in the educational welfare of these students may nominate them for assessment. Students in grades 2 & up who were tested in Fall 2020 are not eligible to test in Spring 2021. Referral forms are available at the front office and on the school’s website.
Referral Form (English): Parent GT Referral Form in English
Referral Form (Spanish): Parent GT Referral Form in Spanish
The referral forms must be returned to the front office by Monday, February 8, 2021. The Spring GT testing window is set by the campus in February or March. Campuses may elect to use NWEA MAP scores as a prescreening criterion for GT Testing.
For more information about the screening and identification process, parents may contact the school’s GT Coach/teacher.
Educación para estudiantes dotados/talentosos (GATE) Anuncio
De acuerdo con el Plan Estatal de Texas para la Educación de Estudiantes Dotados / Talentosos, Harmony Public Schools comenzará a tomar referencias para todos los estudiantes interesados en los grados K-12 para la evaluación de estudiantes dotados y talentosos.
Cualquier persona interesada en el bienestar educativo de estos estudiantes puede nominarlos para dicha evaluación. Los estudiantes en los grados 2 y superiores que fueron evaluados en el otoño de 2020 no son elegibles para la prueba en la primavera de 2021. Los formularios de referencia están disponibles en la oficina y en el sitio web de la escuela.
Forma de nominación: Parent GT Referral Form in Spanish
Los formularios de referencia deben devolverse a la oficina de la escuela antes del lunes 8 de febrero del 2021.
Para obtener más información sobre el proceso de selección e identificación, los padres pueden comunicarse con el entrenador / maestro de GT de la escuela.
On the first school day after important federal workplace safeguards expired for millions of Americans, Harmony Public Schools’ Executive Board voted to independently provide the much-needed benefits to its 4,000+ employees.
The benefits previously were part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), a federal program which provided American workers a number of workplace safeguards related to COVID-19. Primarily, the benefits included up to 10 Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) days if an employee was unable to work due to COVID-19 diagnosis, symptoms, possible exposure, or required quarantine for themselves, a family member, or child care provider.
Those federal benefits expired December 31, 2020. However, The Harmony Public Schools’ Executive Board voted at an emergency meeting Monday night, January 4, to independently extend the same benefits to employees throughout the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
“The Harmony board felt this action was not only an important thing to do, but the right thing to do for our staff and their families,” Harmony CEO Fatih Ay said in a letter to employees Tuesday. “By offering these benefits, our team members can know that their jobs and livelihoods will not be impacted if they need to seek treatment for COVID-19 or stay home with possible symptoms. Additionally, our student families also can know that Harmony is doing all it can to take care of the team members who take care of their students, and reduce potential COVID-19 exposure on campus.”
On the first school day after important federal workplace safeguards expired for millions of Americans, Harmony Public Schools’ Executive Board voted to independently provide the much-needed benefits to its 4,000+ employees.
Harmony Public Schools is a Texas-born, Texas-wide public charter school system with campuses serving PreK-12 students in 23 cities across the state, including Greater Houston, DFW, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Waco, Lubbock, Odessa, Bryan, Beaumont, and the Rio Grande Valley. Harmony’s curriculum places a heavy focus on STEM skills, Character Education, project-based learning, and college readiness.
The school system has committed to offering both in-person and remote learning options for students throughout the 2020-2021 school year, and is now accepting applications for new students for the 2021-22 school year.
About Harmony Public Schools
Harmony Public Schools are 58 high performing PreK-12 college preparatory charter schools throughout Texas. Harmony blends the highest standards and expectations, with a rigorous math- and science-centered curriculum and dedicated and engaged teachers and families to cultivate excellence and prepare students to succeed in college, careers and life. At Harmony Public Schools, we believe every child can succeed, and we are committed to helping them realize their full potential. To learn more about Harmony Public Schools and our 58 campuses across Texas, please visit: www.harmonytx.org, and follow us on Twitter at @HarmonyEdu and ‘Like’ us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HarmonyTexas.
The 2019–20 School Report Cards (SRCs) are now available on the Texas Education Agency’s website. The purpose of the SRC is to inform parents and guardians about a campus’ individual characteristics and its academic performance. Due to COVID-19, all campuses and districts received a label of Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster for the 2019–20 school year. Therefore, several data points have not been updated, including STAAR® and academic growth data.
If you are unable to access the report electronically and would like a paper copy of the report, please contact your school and ask for a paper copy of the 2019-2020 School Report Card.