Commissioner's Weekly Update 9 14 18 - Board Preview, SEL Courses, Leading with Access and Equity Conference

A message from the
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education

September 14, 2018

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News from Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to Meet
Picture of the Week: DESE All Staff Meeting
Courses on Social Emotional Learning and Approaches to Play and Learning
Registration Open for Leading with Access and Equity Conference
Save the Date for Building Inclusive Communities in Early Childhood Event
DESE Resource Corner: Resources to support standards-aligned teaching and learning
For Your Info: Comment on NAEP achievement levels

1. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to Meet:

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will meet in Malden on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018. Agenda items include Commissioner Riley’s goals, a presentation by 2019 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Jamil Siddiqui, a progress report on the arts curriculum framework review, an update on the next-generation MCAS and planning for the high school Competency Determination standard, and an overview of the foundation budget. The meeting will be streamed online at https://livestream.com/accounts/22459134.

2. Pictures of the Week: DESE All Staff Meeting

This week, DESE held its all staff meeting at Malden High School and heard from many remarkable students, including (clockwise from top) the Voices of Renaissance Chorus from Boston Renaissance Charter Public School, Julian Viviescas from Lowell High School, and the cast of “Aida” from Lawrence Public Schools. In addition, Darnisa Amante of the Disruptive Equity Education Project spoke about upcoming equity work at DESE. Thank you to all who participated!

3. Courses on Social Emotional Learning and Approaches to Play and Learning:

Early childhood educators are invited to register for two different facilitated courses: the 10-hour online version of the introductory course on the Massachusetts Standards for Preschool and Kindergarten Social and Emotional Learning and Approaches to Play and Learning (SEL/APL) or a four-hour online course on family engagement in social emotional learning. The Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) developed both courses in partnership with the Department of Early Education and Care and DESE. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is sponsoring multiple presentations of these courses for the coming year using the Blackboard learning platform. Each class is limited to 20 participants. Educators who complete the full 10-hour course earn 10 professional development points (PDPs) or 1 continuing education unit (CEU). For more information, contact Jane Haltiwanger at jhaltiwanger@doe.mass.edu.

This fall, the introduction to the SEL/APL standards course will be offered from Sept. 24-Oct. 28 by Caroline Blackman and from Oct. 15-Nov. 16 by Dotti McDevitt. This winter, the introduction to the SEL/APL standards course will be offered by Jody Figuerido from Jan. 14-Feb. 17 and Ms. Blackman from Jan. 6-Feb. 10. Dotti McDevitt will lead the family engagement in SEL class from Jan. 7-Feb. 1. Please email the instructor to register. The spring schedule is still being developed.

4. Registration Open for Leading with Access and Equity Conference:

All districts are invited to send a team to the Leading with Access and Equity Conference on Thursday, Nov. 1 at the Best Western Conference Center in Marlborough. This daylong professional development opportunity will focus on systems and strategies to meet students’ holistic needs and ensure every child has equitable access to a world-class education. The event involves the collaboration of multiple DESE offices and initiatives, including the Leading Educational Access Project (LEAP), College and Career Readiness, Rethinking Discipline, Systems for Student Success, District Support, and Student and Family Support.

The keynote speaker will be Eric Gordon, chief executive officer of the Cleveland Public Schools and recipient of the 2016 National Urban Educator of the Year Award. Workshop topics will include chronic absenteeism, developing multi-tiered systems of support, the impact of poverty and trauma on learning, inclusive co-teaching models, ensuring racial equity, effectively engaging families, approaches to addressing students’ mental health needs, and developing capacity to support social emotional learning.

Districts are invited to attend as a team of up to 10 members. Each team must include representatives of administration, general education, and special education, and teams are also encouraged to include a variety of stakeholders and school staff. Registration is limited, so districts should register their team online by Friday, October 5. Anyone with questions about the conference can email Susan Fischer at sfischer@doe.mass.edu.

5. Save the Date for Building Inclusive Communities in Early Childhood Event

The Departments of Early Education and Care and Elementary and Secondary Education invite special education directors, early childhood coordinators, teachers, early care and education directors, Head Start disabilities/education coordinators, family service coordinators, Preschool Expansion Grant coordinators, early intervention directors and community partners come to the Devens Common Center from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 for an event aimed at building inclusive communities in early childhood. Districts can apply to be one of 10 districts to work with national experts to build local capacity for inclusive practices. Please contact Lauren Viviani at lviviani@doe.mass.edu with any questions.

6. DESE Resource Corner

Resources to support standards-aligned teaching and learning: The Department is pleased to announce two new resources designed to support standards-aligned teaching and learning:

Educators, students, families, and others can use the Standards Navigator to explore the Massachusetts learning standards and find related resources such as student work exemplars, quick reference guides, and definitions of terms. The Navigator will be updated with new content and features, including standards for additional subject areas, over the course of the school year.
Family-friendly guides to the standards for each grade level—available in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese (simplified characters)—are designed to help schools and families work together to support students’ progress toward mastery of the recently revised English language arts/literacy, math, and science and technology/engineering standards. The guides were developed with support from the Massachusetts Parent-Teacher Organization, and they will be expanded to include the 2018 history and social science standards in 2019.

7. For your info:

Comment on NAEP achievement levels: The National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), is collecting public comment as part of an effort to revise their policy on developing student achievement levels for each NAEP assessment. Comments should be submitted by Sept. 30.

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

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