Commissioner's Update
February 16, 2012
Dear Superintendents and Leaders of Charter Schools and Collaboratives:
In this Update I have four announcements and four items for your review.
Massachusetts School Nutrition Standards for Competitive Foods and Beverages - Guidance Available
The MA Department of Public Health, in consultation with the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, created nutritional standards for competitive foods and beverages offered during the school day in public schools. The nutrition standards support our goals for student health and academic achievement by concentrating on serving nutrient-rich, minimally processed foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy products. The Guidance for Implementing Massachusetts School Nutrition Standards for Competitive Foods and Beverages  offers practical ideas and successful examples for implementing the Massachusetts School Nutrition Regulations for school administration and staff, parent groups, student groups, youth, and youth-serving organizations.
To view the complete regulations see http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/source/mass/cmr/cmrtext/105CMR225.pdf.
For more information, please contact Rita Brennan Olson, Nutrition Education and Training Coordinator, at rbrennanolson@doe.mass.edu.
Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation
On January 10, 2012, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education hosted a webinar and a conference call for more than 1,000 educators from Race to the Top districts to introduce the Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation. The eight-part Model System is being developed to support effective implementation of the new educator evaluation regulations starting in Fall 2012. The Model System and the webinar PowerPoint presentation (with speaker notes) are available to download on ESE's website at http://www.doe.mass.edu/edeval/model/.
Following the webinar, ESE held "Getting Started Workshops" across the state for Race to the Top district teams consisting of the superintendent, the school committee chair, the union president, district human resources administrator, a principal, and others. More than 1,000 people have attended the workshops to learn more about the Model System, how to use the 6 guides published to date, and factors to consider as they decide whether to adopt or adapt components of the model or revise their existing system. We hope each district was able to identify a clear, agreed upon 'next step' for action back in their districts. The Getting Started Workshop PowerPoint (with speaker notes) and the workshop handouts will be available to download on the Model System homepage (http://www.doe.mass.edu/edeval/model/) later in February.
On February 6, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan addressed the district teams assembled for a Greater Boston Getting Started Workshop held at Boston University. Secretary Duncan praised the state associations for teachers, superintendents, and school committees for their collaboration in taking on the challenge of improving educator evaluation and helping to design the Model System. He encouraged the same collaboration at the district level to effectively implement the Educator Evaluation Framework and other RTTT initiatives.
TELL Mass Survey Initiative
The Advisory Council for TELL Mass wants to hear from every school-level licensed educator in the Commonwealth about his/her teaching and learning conditions! It is with great interest that the TELL Mass survey is being administered March 12-April 6, 2012. This is a statewide opportunity for all licensed school-based K-12 educators in Massachusetts to provide input on teaching conditions, such as time during the day for collaborative instructional planning, school and teacher leadership, facilities and resources, professional development, and other supports needed for educators to do their jobs well.
This survey is available to all public schools and districts, is funded by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education through the Race to the Top grant, and is supported by key education stakeholders across the Commonwealth.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will send a TELL Mass poster to each school to serve as a reminder to all licensed school-based educators to complete the survey. Please display the poster in a prominent place for staff to see.
We will distribute a letter to all educators via the school principal.
In the letter, we ask each educator to complete the survey, explain why it is important, and provide the unique anonymous access code to complete the survey. The letter will also include the website address and the toll free Help Desk number. Schools will receive the letter the week of March 5th-9th. We ask you to make sure all licensed school-based educators receive these letters.
For more details about TELL Mass, visit www.tellmass.org.
Portfolios-in-Progress Sessions
I am pleased to announce that the Department will offer a series of statewide Portfolios-in-Progress face-to-face review sessions from March 6 through March 9 for educators who are conducting the MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt). Participants will attend small discussion groups led by an MCAS-Alt training specialist who will review their portfolios and answer questions prior to the submission deadline of April 2.
An informational flyer is posted at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/alt/resources.html. Online registration is available at www.mcasservicecenter.com. Please encourage teachers who are conducting the MCAS-Alt in your district to attend.
Items Posted at www.doe.mass.edu:
- District Analysis and Review Tool (DART) Detail: English Language Learners
- Educational Proficiency Plan (EPP) and Spring 2012 Assessments
- Milestones: Race to the Top Newsletter
- Release of February 2012 MCAS Biology Results
Sincerely,
Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D.
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education
last updated: February 16, 2012
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