Over the past 25 years, we have focused on education reform. This new school year provides us the opportunity to begin a new chapter for Massachusetts schools. While we take the time to chart our course forward, DESE's short-term plans involve working with districts to do more to celebrate teachers and strong instruction.
To help you keep your school committee, teachers, parents, and communities informed and engaged, the Commissioner's Back-to-School webpage includes information on our aMAzing Educators public awareness campaign and resources on teaching, learning, testing, and accountability for the 2018-2019 school year.
Picture of the Week:
New METCO CEO Millie Arbaje-Thomas met with DESE staff this week to discuss METCO's plans for the upcoming school year. From left: Sr. Associate Commissioner Cliff Chuang, Director of Strategic Initiatives Leldamy Correa, Millie Arbaje-Thomas, Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley, and Deputy Commissioner Jeff Wulfson.
Preliminary 2018 MCAS Data:
Earlier this week, DESE provided districts and schools with embargoed access to their preliminary 2018 MCAS achievement, growth, and assessment participation rate data via the MCAS 2018 Data Drop Box in Drop Box Central in the Security Portal. The Department anticipates making preliminary 2018 assessment data available in Edwin Analytics by the end of the day today. District and school leaders were asked to review their data and report potential discrepancies to DESE by 5:00 pm on Thursday, August 16. The Department would like to thank districts and schools for reviewing their preliminary data quickly, despite the shortened discrepancy reporting window; we will make every effort to address corrections reported this week. Please keep in mind that discrepancies reported after the deadline may not be included in MCAS Parent/Guardian Reports or in the public release of official results in September, and that any unreported discrepancies may negatively impact accountability results later this fall.
As a reminder, district and school leaders may discuss their preliminary MCAS and participation results internally, but data should not be discussed publicly until DESE releases official results, including data corrected as the result of accepted discrepancies, in late September.
Full preliminary 2018 accountability results will be available in late August. Please see the 2018 assessment and accountability reporting schedule for more details. If you have any questions about MCAS results, please e-mail mcas@doe.mass.edu or call (781) 338-3625. If you have any questions about accountability reporting, please e-mail esea@doe.mass.edu or call (781) 338-3550.
New Subject Matter Knowledge Guidelines:
New Subject Matter Knowledge (SMK) Guidelines were released last week following multiple public comment periods. The SMK Guidelines are used in decisions about educator licensure and program approval, and by Sponsoring Organizations use in designing educator preparation programs. The SMK Guidelines were revised to align to the updated MA Curriculum Frameworks. Any educator working towards Massachusetts licensure will be required to demonstrate fluency in the SMKs for their licensure area and level. The Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTELs) that are impacted by updated SMKs will be revised accordingly.
DESE Ombudsperson for Private School Students with Disabilities:
The Department has appointed an ombudsperson, Russ Fleming, to facilitate communication with private schools, parents, and public school districts about the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirements regarding students with disabilities enrolled by their parents in private schools. Mr. Fleming will serve as DESE’s primary point of contact for addressing questions and concerns from private school officials, parents, and school districts regarding the provision of equitable services to parentally-placed private school students with disabilities and the funding of those services through a proportionate share of federal IDEA grant funds. As necessary, he will refer questions and concerns about the IDEA requirements to the appropriate DESE office for response. Additionally, Mr. Fleming will be the designated recipient of the required documentation from school districts regarding timely and meaningful consultation in accordance with the IDEA’s requirements.
Mr. Fleming is also designated to serve as DESE’s ombudsman under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to monitor and ensure that other federal equitable services requirements are carried out.
Mr. Fleming can be reached by email at IDEAequitableservices@doe.mass.edu or by mail at IDEA Equitable Services Ombudsperson, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 75 Pleasant St., Malden, MA 02148.
2018-2019 Online Restraint Data Collection Tool is Now Open:
The enhanced 2018-2019 online restraint data collection tool is now open and accessible via the Security Portal.
In response to the feedback districts have provided to the Department, this application has been enhanced to reduce duplicative reporting efforts related to restraints that result in student and/or staff injuries. By completing and submitting a data record on this application, districts no longer need to complete and submit the separate "Student/Staff Restraint Injury Report" whenever such notification to the Department is required.
The following resources are available to support this important work:
Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) Reports coming to Edwin:
Early Warning Indicator System reports for the 2018-19 school year are scheduled to be available in Edwin starting the week of August 24, in time for teams to use EWIS in preparing for the start of the school year. Educators can review EWIS data in Edwin to understand which students are at risk of missing important academic milestones and can develop additional supports tailored to their students' strengths and needs. Student claiming must be complete to see EWIS information for the 2019 school year. See the Student Claiming User Guide for details.
The Department will be holding a webinar on EWIS on September 6at 1 pm. Additional training materials, videos, and other resources are also available on the EWIS website.
For districts that did not report data by the due dates, EWIS data will be available in mid-September.
The Anti-Hazing collection procedures will begin on August 30, 2018 and can be accessed by logging into the Anti-Hazing application accessible via MassEdu Gateway. Certification from secondary school principals or headmasters that the school complies with the Anti-Hazing law is due on or before October 1, 2018.
Superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, and charter school leaders will receive the update automatically. For others wishing to receive this update, please subscribe
