Welcome to the EagleTech Lab

Dear Students and Families, as we head into the final stretch of our first nine weeks, I want to walk you through a hands-on project we're launching next week — what it involves, how it's structured, and the key dates families should have on their radar.

Where This Is Coming From

Students have already studied the roles, responsibilities, and salaries involved in education careers, including the stipends teachers earn for taking on extra duties like coaching. Now we're turning that chapter into a real project: student teams will research, schedule, and conduct an actual interview with an Andress teacher who holds a coaching stipend, then build a presentation on what they learn.

How the Project Will Run

On Monday and Tuesday next week, students will learn the basics of project management — how real teams book appointments, prepare strong questions, conduct a professional interview, and present findings. By mid-week, students will break out into their assigned teams and begin working out the logistics for their research, interview, and presentation ahead of the deadline below.

Each team of four to six students will assign every member a specific, individually accountable role — no passengers allowed:

• Project Manager
• Research Analyst
• Lead Interviewer
• Camera/Audio Technician
• Writer/Editor
• Presentation Designer

The Project Manager will track each teammate's daily tasks, serve as the team's point of contact with me, and meet with me at project checkpoints to report progress and flag any concerns early — before they become grade problems.

Booking & Conducting Real Interviews

Teams will reach out directly to volunteer Andress coaches by email, introduce themselves professionally, and send a short "one-sheet" previewing their questions ahead of time. Coaches will choose whether to be filmed with a point-and-shoot camera or interviewed off-camera with written notes instead — either way, a signed consent form comes first. Students will then conduct a 10–15 minute interview, asking open-ended questions about coaching responsibilities, the personal characteristics the job requires, and whether the stipend truly matches the time commitment.

Individual Accountability, Built In

Because group projects only work when every student actually contributes, this project will be graded on more than the team's final product. Every student individually must:

• Present at least one slide, out loud, to the class
• Write at least one original, open-ended interview question
• Keep a daily project journal
• Be rated by teammates in a confidential peer evaluation

Journals will be kept right in each student's notebook and cover three things every day: what they're personally responsible for, how they're doing on it, and any challenges they're running into. Between the journal, the Project Manager's daily log, and the peer evaluation, every student's grade will reflect their own individual work — not just their team's.

Presentations

Teams will build an eight-slide Gamma.app presentation covering who their coach is, the responsibilities and characteristics they described, whether the stipend felt like fair pay for the time, and the team's overall takeaway. Presentations will be delivered live to the class, with every team member speaking.

Key Dates to Know

I'm looking forward to seeing students take on real project-management and interviewing skills over the next couple of weeks. More updates will follow as teams get rolling. — Mr. Moreno, Principles of Education & Training

Dear Parents and Guardians, I hope you are doing well. As we wrap up Week 3 of our Principles of Education & Training course and move into Week 4, I want to share the meaningful work your student has been doing in class and provide important information about this week's campus‑wide testing schedule.

A Look Back at Week 2 — Building Foundational Employability Skills

During Week 2, students began developing the foundational employability and soft skills that will support them throughout this course and in any future career. As we organized schedules and established classroom routines, students were introduced to key professional traits, and we also touched on essential soft skills they'll keep building on all year.

• Dependability
• Reliability
• Work ethic
• Initiative
• Poise
• Tenacity
• Self‑advocacy
• Adaptability
• Teamwork
• Time management
• Professional communication

These skills will continue to be reinforced and expanded upon in the coming weeks as students take on more responsibilities, collaborate with peers, and engage in real‑world examples of professional behavior.

Week 3 — "A Day in the Life: The Many Hats of a Teacher"

In Week 3, students explored the many roles educators take on both inside and outside the classroom — mentor, leader, problem‑solver, communicator, organizer, and more.

As they watched, students identified examples of essential employability and professional skills, including teamwork, decision‑making, problem‑solving, conflict resolution, leadership, time management, and professionalism. These skills align directly with the Texas TEKS for Principles of Education & Training (19 TAC §127.316), which emphasize the habits and behaviors required for success in education‑related careers.

Students recorded evidence of these skills in their guided notes and reflected on how the teachers in the film demonstrated them in real situations. By the end of the week, your student was able to explain how these professional skills apply not only to teaching, but to any career that requires responsibility, communication, and leadership.

Week 4 Testing Schedule (Delayed Start)

This week, students will participate in campus‑wide testing from 8:45 AM to 10:45 AM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. After testing concludes each day, the campus will follow the Delayed Start Bell Schedule.

• Keep all cell phones powered off and stored away during testing
• Avoid using smart watches or other electronic devices
• Follow all campus and teacher directions regarding technology use

Thank you for your continued partnership. I am proud of the thoughtful discussions your students are having and the maturity they are showing as they explore what it truly means to be an educator. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. — Mr. Moreno, Principles of Education & Training

As we complete the first three weeks of the school year, I want to provide some context regarding grades currently appearing in the gradebook. During the opening weeks, our classes have experienced several normal beginning-of-year challenges, including computer availability, student account and password access, schedule changes, student enrollment changes, and software installation. I have adjusted activities as needed so that students can continue learning and demonstrating understanding while these issues are being resolved. The grades entered to date reflect students' successful completion and performance on the instructional activities available during this period.

Students currently have eight grades: one Mastery grade, four Understanding grades, and three Engagement grades. The Mastery grade was earned through our Digital Citizenship and Staying Safe Online assessment. Students had previously encountered these concepts through their earlier education, and the assessment provided an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of important digital citizenship and online-safety concepts. The remaining grades are based on classroom activities, participation, written responses, and other instructional tasks. As our classroom systems and resources become fully operational, students will transition into increasingly rigorous projects, assessments, and performance-based assignments that require greater technical skill. The current grades should not be interpreted as a reduction in academic expectations; rather, they reflect the work students have successfully completed during the opening weeks.

Classroom Expectations

My goal is to maintain a structured, supportive classroom while holding students to clear academic and professional expectations. Each class period will have a meaningful instructional purpose, and students will be expected to participate, complete assigned work, meet established criteria, and communicate when they need assistance. Bell ringers and exit tickets will generally have same-day deadlines, while most assignments are designed to be completed during class. Students with documented accommodations will receive those supports in accordance with their applicable plans. Students who need additional time because of circumstances not addressed by a documented accommodation should communicate with me as early as possible so we can determine an appropriate course of action.

Looking Ahead

Student grades will continue to reflect demonstrated learning and performance as the course progresses. Students who are absent with an excused absence will be provided appropriate opportunities to make up missed work in accordance with district requirements. Formal assessments will normally be administered in the classroom, with documented testing accommodations provided when applicable. Personal electronic devices must be handled according to campus and district expectations, particularly during assessments, because unauthorized device use can compromise assessment integrity.

My goal is to provide every student with equitable access to instruction, meaningful opportunities to demonstrate learning, and a clear path toward increasingly rigorous course expectations throughout the school year. — Mr. Moreno