Commissioner's Weekly Update 3 16 18 - Math and STE Ambassadors, Snow Again, Preparing for MCAS

A message from the
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education

March 16, 2018

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News from Acting Commissioner Jeff Wulfson and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Math and STE Ambassadors:

The Department, in conjunction with the STEM Education Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), seeks applicants for a new group of math and science/technology/engineering (STE) ambassadors. Over the last two years, Massachusetts has adopted new math and STE curriculum frameworks, and the ambassadors will be part of the implementation process.

The math and STE ambassadors will provide leadership in their districts and with a partner district. The Department and WPI will select up to 20 math ambassadors and 15 STE ambassadors representing a diverse spectrum of backgrounds, experiences, and regions across the Commonwealth. Ambassadors will be required to attend six days of Ambassador Academy meetings between April 2018 and June 2019. The first two academies are scheduled for 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on April 11 and June 12, 2018.

Four additional academies will be scheduled during the 2018-2019 academic year. Interested individuals should complete an application and upload all required documents on or before Sunday, March 25 through the 2018 WPI Ambassadors Online Survey.

Picture of the Week:

James S. Daley Middle School in Lowell hosted several visitors on March 6 in recognition of National School Breakfast Week. Pictured here with students are state Rep. Rady Mom, Superintendent Salah Khelfaoui, Project Bread President Erin McAleer, Lowell School Committee member Dominik Hok Lay, state Sen. Eileen O'Donoghue, and Principal Liam Skinner. (Photo courtesy of Child Nutrition Outreach Program/Project Bread)

Snow Again!

As a helpful hint, here are links again to the current policy on student learning time and to the policy on alternative structured learning days, which some districts are using to make up for lost time.

Preparing for MCAS Administration:

In preparation for test administration, DESE asks that principals become familiar with where resources are located and how to reach out for support when needed.

Resources

Test administration manuals and resources for the spring test administrations are available here.
Additional resources, including resources for preparing students, computer-based testing training modules, recordings of training sessions, and computer-based testing technology guides, are posted at the MCAS Resource Center, while frequently asked questions and answers about computer-based testing are now available here. While this document will be most helpful for grades 3–8, high schools may also want to use the document as a reference for the grade 10 field test administration.
Topics for training test administrators are included in the Principal’s Administration Manual (PAM) (Part III, section M in the grades 3–8 PAM, and Part III, section J in the high school PAM). In addition, principals/test coordinators who are doing computer-based testing may want their test administrators to view some of the computer-based testing training modules in the MCAS Resource Center and review the slides and recording from the March 1 “Office Hours” session on computer-based testing topics available here.

Phone and Email Support
If an answer to a question cannot be found in the resources above, school principals/test coordinators or their designees may reach out for support by email or phone. Schools should contact the MCAS Service Center (1-800-737-5103 or mcas@measuredprogress.org) with all questions on logistics, but schools should follow up with DESE if they would like to share feedback on their experience with the MCAS Service Center or if there is a situation DESE should rectify. To help staff identify the issue, callers should be prepared to provide a ticket number from the MCAS Service Center.

Save the Date for July 24-26 Civic Education Institute:

To support the implementation of the revised History and Social Science Curriculum Framework, DESE will host a three-day statewide Civics Education Institute for 250 educators from July 24-26 in Marlborough. The Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) is planning the content for the event in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for Civics Education, Generation Citizen, and DESE staff.

Districts will be invited to send teams of three or four educators based on the size of the district. At a minimum, teams must include a curriculum leader and a middle school history/social science teacher. Registration will open in mid-April.

Following the institute, CES will host a statewide network that will provide support to history and social science educators during the 2018-19 school year. More information about the network will be provided in late spring.

VISTA: Last Chance!

The Department is closing out the VISTA survey TODAY. If there are any superintendents or principals who need to finish their surveys, please do so. It takes 20-30 minutes to complete the survey and give DESE feedback on its programs and initiatives. For those who have not started, please take this last chance to give feedback.

Anyone with specific questions about the survey can email Shelagh Peoples, ESE's VISTA coordinator.

ESE Resource Corner

Planning for Success: The Department's free Planning for Success tools, which provide a simple framework for creating a plan, aligning systems to it, and implementing it locally, might be particularly valuable to district and school leaders who are planning to create or update district and school improvement plans this summer. The Department also has a cadre of trained PfS facilitators for schools and districts that would like to use an external facilitator to lead the process. Contact Carrie Conaway (cconaway@doe.mass.edu) or Lori Likis (lorilikis@ccoaching.com) with questions.

Copyright © 2018 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, All rights reserved.

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