Commissioner's Update
March 18, 2009

Dear Superintendents and Leaders of Charter Schools and Collaboratives:

In this Update I have three announcements and eight items for your review.

Keeping the Promise: the Massachusetts Charter School Dissemination and Replication Project

This spring, five high-performing urban charter schools in Massachusetts are offering FREE full-day study tours. These events give teams of teachers and administrators the opportunity to:

• Tour the school, observe in a classroom
• Participate in a workshop on a key practice
• Dialogue with teachers and school leaders
• Learn about current research on these schools
• Make plans to implement a practice

The Study Tours are part of the federally-funded Keeping the Promise: the Massachusetts Charter School Dissemination and Replication Project, the goal of which is to disseminate and replicate key practices of high-performing charter schools serving high-need communities. These schools are beating the odds, and the study tours are part of their "open door" policies. The schools hosting study tours are:

• Roxbury Preparatory, Roxbury, April 15
• MATCH, Boston, April 28
• Boston Collegiate, Dorchester, May 5
• Academy of the Pacific Rim, Hyde Park, May 6
• Community Day, Lawrence, May 7

The project is offered by the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA). Details and a brochure are available online at http://www.mccpse.org/studytours.html. Space is limited, pre-registration required, and deadlines are fast approaching. Attendees from district schools are welcome. Questions? Contact banderson@mccpse.org or call 781-475-8879.

Verizon Foundation Announces $150,000 in Thinkfinity Grants for Massachusetts Schools

The Verizon Foundation will award a total of $150,000 to 15 public schools across Massachusetts to help educators improve student achievement by using Thinkfinity resources in the classroom. Public schools are invited to apply for $10,000 grants. For information on applying for a grant, go to www.verizon.com/ma/ and look for the headline "Think Ahead with Thinkfinity Awards." The deadline for submission is Monday, April 6, 2009.

The Verizon Foundation is supporting Massachusetts public schools to better prepare students to succeed in the 21st century. In the last two years, the Verizon Foundation has awarded $130,000 to support a partnership with Lesley University and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to train teachers to use Thinkfinity.org in the classroom. The partnership is providing professional development opportunities to classroom and pre-service teachers statewide through onsite and online training, resources to create a Massachusetts network of Thinkfinity trainers, and a mechanism to ensure that Thinkfinity resources are aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. For further information on these projects, see the Department's Thinkfinity web page. Thinkfinity.org is the Verizon Foundation's comprehensive online portal that offers more than 55,000 free, educational, and literacy resources for teachers, parents, and students. Resources include standards-based, grade-specific, K-12 lesson plans and engaging interactive activities provided in partnership with many of the nation's leading educational and literacy organizations.

Update on American Diploma Project End-of-Course Exam

As you may know, Massachusetts is one of fifteen states involved in the development of an American Diploma Project Algebra II End-of-Course assessment. The purpose of the assessment is to provide schools with information on performance for students who have completed a full year Algebra II course. Student-level results from the test will provide valuable information to schools regarding students' readiness for first-year college-level mathematics.

This spring, Massachusetts high school students will participate in the American Diploma Project Algebra II End-of-Course exam on a limited basis. Due to budget constraints, a small number of schools have been invited to register students to take this assessment, which will be administered online. Schools that participated in the October 2007 and/or the February 2008 field tests are included in the group. If funding allows, the Department will expand the opportunity for students to participate in the 2010 administration. More information about this test can be found at www.achieve.org/ADPAssessmentConsortium/.

1. Review of the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework: Solicitation for Review Panel Applications and Public Survey Input
2. Distribution of 2008-09 NCLB Report Cards
3. 2009 MCAS Administration Resources Now Available
4. Expectations for History and Social Science Instruction in 2009-2010
5. Ordering Materials for the MCAS High School Science and Technology/Engineering Tests: Response Required by March 26, 2009
6. Release of MCAS February 2009 Biology Test Results and March 2009 Retest Results
7. Educational Proficiency Plan (EPP) and the New MCAS/EPP Test
8. License Renewal Effect on Educators Retiring This Year

Sincerely,

Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D.
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education