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A message from the
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education

August 30, 2019
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News from Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Contents:

  1. Memorandum on School Fire Drills
  2. Picture of the Week: Newton School in Greenfield
  3. Significant Disproportionality in Special Education
  4. Minimum Grade 10 ELA and Math Scaled Scores for Interim CD Requirement
  5. EWIS and VOCAL Opportunities
  6. Chapter 74 New Program Applications
  7. DESE Resource Corner: Back-to-school resources
  8. For Your Information: STEM Week Challenge

1. Memorandum on School Fire Drills:


State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey has sent a memorandum to local Heads of Fire Departments reminding them of the state requirements for school fire drills, multi-hazard evacuation plans, and Medical Emergency Response Plans. School superintendents or their designees are required to meet with local police and fire chiefs to develop a multi-hazard evacuation plan for each school under the superintendent’s supervision. A copy of the Fire Prevention in Schools pamphlet and a fire drill checklist are included with the memorandum to assist emergency response partners and school administrators to comply with regulations and keep accurate records. Fire departments are required to conduct fire drills in schools four times a year, and one of the drills must happen within three days of the start of the school year.

Picture of the Week:

Bulletin boards like this one at Greenfield’s Newton School are ready to welcome students and teachers back to school. Thank you to all the educators and staff statewide who put in hours of work prior to students’ arrival this fall! (Photo courtesy of Greenfield Superintendent Jordana B. Harper)

3. Significant Disproportionality in Special Education:


In accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), DESE recently identified districts where there was significant disproportionality by race and ethnicity with regard to students with disabilities’ identification, placement, or discipline. All district superintendents, special education directors, and district business leaders received emails from DESE with information on the status of their district. A more detailed letter along with a data snapshot showing district data has been made available in each district’s Special Education State Performance Plan DropBox in the security portal. The information in the DropBox also includes a June 21, 2019 memorandum (download) from Senior Associate Commissioner Russell Johnston. The letter and memorandum go into greater detail about significant disproportionality in special education and IDEA’s requirements.
 
During the 2019-20 school year, DESE will run a series of meetings and organize a professional learning community for identified districts or those at risk for identification next year. These activities will help participating districts review their policies, practices, and procedures; analyze data; and, for those identified with significant disproportionality, plan for implementation of comprehensive coordinated early intervening services in FY21. More information about this opportunity will be available soon.

4. Minimum Grade 10 ELA and Math Scaled Scores for Interim CD Requirement:


As determined in 2018, in order to earn their high school competency determination (CD), the classes of 2021 and 2022 (this year’s juniors and sophomores) must earn a next-generation MCAS scaled score that is equivalent to a legacy MCAS scaled score of at least 240 on the grade 10 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics tests or earn the next-generation MCAS equivalent of a legacy scaled score between 220 and 238 and fulfill the requirements of an Educational Proficiency Plan. The new scaled scores needed to graduate with an Educational Proficiency Plan are 455 in ELA and 469 in mathematics, and the new scaled scores needed to earn a CD without an Educational Proficiency Plan are 472 in ELA and 486 in mathematics for the classes of 2021 and 2022.
 
The interim passing standard for these two classes defines a level of achievement on the next-generation tests that is equivalent to the current standard on the legacy tests. The Raw-to-Scaled Score Conversion Tables available at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/results.html contain the grade 10 next-generation scaled score ranges and the corresponding legacy MCAS achievement levels and CD status.
 
The Department plans to give districts access to interactive reports in Edwin Analytics on September 4. Those reports will include students' updated CD status using the MCAS Student Item Analysis Roster (IT616) in the security portal.
 
The CD status codes for high school MCAS subject area tests are as follows:
  • 0 or blank = did not pass
  • 1 = passed and requires an Educational Proficiency Plan (ELA and Mathematics)
  • 1 = passed (Science and Technology/Engineering)
  • 2 = passed (ELA and Mathematics)
Additional information about the high school graduation requirements and upcoming assessment and acocuntability releases is available online. Anyone with questions can contact Student Assessment Services at 781-338-3625 or mcas@doe.mass.edu.

5. EWIS and VOCAL Opportunities:


The Department will offer an hour-long webinar on the Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) at 2 P.M. on Thursday, September 12. Additionally, the Department will offer several in-person data usage workshops entitled "Maximizing EWIS and VOCAL (Views of Climate and Learning) data in a Cycle of Inquiry" this fall. Each session will cover the basics of EWIS as well as an introduction to VOCAL data. More information, including dates, locations, registration, is available online. Anyone with questions can email ewis@doe.mass.edu.

6. Chapter 74 New Program Applications:


The Office for College, Career, and Technical Education is pleased to announce the opening of its Chapter 74 New Program Application process for the 2019-20 school year.
 
For 2019-20 submissions (for programs intended to open in September 2020) the timeline is as follows:
 
Application Component Date Due
Intent to Apply (required prior to Part A submission) 9/23/19
Preliminary (Part A) 11/22/19
Concluding (Part B) 3/13/20
Final Decisions (except where facility and/or licensure does not permit) 6/30/20
Final Decisions (all other) 11/1/20
 
 
Please note that evidence of regional consultation is now expected as a component of the Preliminary (Part A) application.

More information on the process, including links to online submission forms and a series of application process webinars, is available online. Anyone with questions can contact Marnie Jain at 781-338-3908 or mjain@doe.mass.edu.

7. DESE Resource Corner


Back-to-school resources: The Department has posted the following back-to-school resources for superintendents and principals online:
  1. The Year Ahead: An overview of work at DESE that will impact schools during the coming year.
  2. Deeper Learning Webpage: Information about DESE’s deeper learning initiative.
  3. Teacher Recruitment Webpage: Massachusetts needs teachers who are energized, innovative, and diverse.
  4. Back-to-School Basics: A brief video for parents on how the state and districts work together to support teaching and learning. The video transcript is available in Chinese, Haitian Creole,  Portuguese,  Spanish, and Vietnamese.
  5. Teacher Recognition: Ways for superintendents and principals to celebrate strong teachers.
  6. Superintendents' Checklist: A list of data, financial, and other reports that local school districts must submit to DESE throughout the year and requirements such as safety drills.

8. For your info:
  • STEM Week Challenge: STEM Week Challenge is a new zero-waste-themed design challenge for all grade levels based on real world problems. Registration opens September 3 on STEMWeekChallenge.org, and interested educators should sign up by September 18. In order to participate, teachers must complete three hours of training and carve out 10 hours of instructional time for students to work on the challenge between the end of training in September and the end of STEM week (October 21-25). Afterward, teachers will be able to submit student work for review by industry professionals and participate in a showcase on October 25. Curriculum and training are provided at no cost.
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