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A message from the
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education

July 6, 2018
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News from Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Contents:

Second Installment of Hurricane Aid Distributed:


The Baker-Polito Administration recently announced that more than $8.2 million in state aid is being released to school districts that enrolled students who evacuated from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is the second installment of $15 million in additional Fiscal Year 2018 funding pledged by the Baker-Polito Administration to help support the costs of educating students who enrolled in Massachusetts schools following Hurricanes Maria and Irma. (More than $6.7 million was distributed in April.)
 
The Department distributed the aid to 121 districts impacted by increased enrollment, consistent with the state’s Chapter 70 funding formula. District leaders should have received an On the Desktop email message about the aid earlier this week.

Picture of the Week:

On June 11, 2018, Commissioner Riley visited classrooms at Boston Renaissance Charter Public School. (Photo courtesy of Boston Renaissance Charter Public School)
Four students in light blue polo shirts and one student in a navy hooded sweatshirt sit in a classroom with commissioner Riley. All are looking at the front of the room toward something or someone out of view.

Upcoming Deadline for Homeless and Foster Care Student Data Collection:
 

Districts should complete and submit their annual homeless and foster care student data collection by July 18. Guidance on the data collection is available online.

Two Online Courses for Early Childhood Educators:
 

Summer course on pre-K and K standards for SEL and approaches to play and learning: Early childhood educators are invited to register for a facilitated, online version of an introductory course on the Massachusetts Standards for Preschool and Kindergarten Social and Emotional Learning and Approaches to Play and Learning. The Collaborative for Educational Services developed the course in collaboration with the Department of Early Education and Care and DESE. The course will be offered twice, with the first section to be held July 16 through Aug. 19, facilitated by Caroline Blackman, and the second section to be held July 21 through Aug. 24, facilitated by Dotti McDevitt. Each section is limited to 20 participants. Educators who complete the course earn 10 professional development points (PDPs) or 1 continuing education unit (CEU). To learn more or to register, please email caroline.blackman@gmail.com for the first course scheduled or dmcdevitt@cacci.cc for the second one.
 
Online mini-course on family engagement in social emotional learning: Early childhood educators are invited to register for a facilitated, online version of a four-hour, two-module course, Family Engagement in Social Emotional Learning, aligned with the Massachusetts Standards for Preschool and Kindergarten Social and Emotional Learning and Approaches to Play and Learning. The Collaborative for Educational Services developed the course in collaboration with the Department of Early Education and Care and DESE. The course will be offered July 11-20, facilitated by Jody Figuerido. Each section is limited to 20 participants. Registration is open online. To learn more, email j.figuerido@iepd.org or b.doubrava@iepd.org.
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