ARC: ARC Core is a reading and writing program used in schools to help all students—no matter their background—learn to read and write at or above grade level. It uses research-based methods to teach reading skills step-by-step and includes books and lessons in both English and Spanish. This is BSD’s second year of using ARC at the elementary level.
CBA: A Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is a formal agreement between the school district and the teachers’ union. It outlines things like pay, working hours, class sizes, and how decisions are made. It helps ensure fairness and clarity for both staff and the district.
Character Strong: Character Strong is BSD’s middle school social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum. It helps students build skills like empathy, kindness, and self-awareness. It includes lessons and activities that help students understand themselves and others, and create a positive school culture.
Danielson 1b, 3c, and 4b: The Danielson Framework components are part of teacher evaluation and professional growth tool used in Bellevue and across our country. Each component focuses on a different aspect of effective teaching. For the 2025-26 school year, we will be focusing on three key components:
Danielson 1b – Knowing and Valuing Students
Teachers understand who their students are—their backgrounds, interests, learning styles, and needs. This helps teachers connect with students and tailor lessons so everyone can succeed. For students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP) or 504 Plans, for example, this means that teachers know what their students’ individual goals and accommodations are and incorporates them into their lessons.
Danielson 3c – Engaging Students in Learning
This is about making lessons interesting and meaningful. Students are not just listening—they’re doing, thinking, discussing, and working together in ways that help them truly understand the material. This includes teaching practices that we are working on in Bellevue such project-based learning, science of reading strategies, or increasing discourse and teamwork in math.
Danielson 4b – Documenting Student Progress
Teachers keep track of how students are doing, using tools like grades, notes, and observations. This helps them adjust instruction and share progress with students and families
Early Warning Indicator: This is a tool that helps schools spot students who might be at risk of falling behind—like missing too many days of school or struggling with grades—so they can get support early, before problems grow. In BSD, we use Early Warning Indicators to flag students who are at risk of becoming chronically absent or receiving a D or F grade.
i-Ready Assessment: i-Ready is an online test that helps teachers understand what students know in reading and math. It adjusts the difficulty of questions based on how a student answers, giving a personalized picture of their strengths and areas where they need more help. iReady replaces Star for reading and math for students in grades K-9.
Problem-Based Learning (PBL): Problem-Based Learning is teaching method where students learn by solving real-world problems. Instead of just listening to lectures, students work in teams to explore challenges, ask questions, and come up with solutions. It builds critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.
MTSS: MTSS is a way schools organize support for students. It’s like a pyramid with three levels:
Tier 1 (also called Universal): Support for all students—high quality teaching and a positive school environment.
Tier 2: Extra help for students who need a bit more support.
Tier 3: Intensive help for students with the greatest needs. The goal is to make sure every student gets the right help at the right time
SchoolLinks: SchooLinks is an online platform that helps students plan for life after high school. It’s a one-stop shop where students can explore careers, research colleges, apply for financial aid, and track their progress toward graduation. It also helps counselors and families stay involved by showing where each student is in their planning journey and what support they might need. SchooLinks replaces Naviance this year.
Science of Reading: This refers to a large body of research about how people learn to read. It shows that reading is not something we naturally pick up—we need to be taught specific skills like sounding out words, understanding what we read, and building vocabulary. Programs based on the science of reading use this research to teach reading in a clear, step-by-step way. Educators in BSD have received training on instructional practices aligned with the Science of Reading. 2025-26 marks the third year of implementation of those practices in the classroom.
