5. Professional Development Provider Registry Application:
On Monday, February 10, DESE will post the Professional Development (PD) Provider Registry application for those interested in being approved and added to DESE’s online PD Provider Registry. The Department will post the link to access the online application on the Resources and Tools for PD Providers web page.
The Department welcomes a variety of providers, including professional organizations, non-public schools, not-for-profit organizations, private and for-profit organizations, individuals, educational partnerships, corporations, educational agencies, and associations whose PD programs demonstrate characteristics of the Massachusetts Standards for High Quality Professional Development. The application window will be open from Monday, February 10 through Tuesday, March 10. The application will also serve those who would like to renew an expired or soon-to-expire approval (approvals expire after three years), as well as approved providers who would like to add new content area offerings.
NOTE: The following entities are automatic professional development providers and are not required to register: public school districts, charter schools, educational collaboratives, accredited colleges/universities awarding credits or continuing education units (CEUs), and professional organizations that are approved by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training to award CEUs.
Although DESE will not review any applications until the window closes on Tuesday, March 10, applications will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. The Department expects to open another application window in September. Anyone with questions can email profdev@doe.mass.edu.
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6. RESPECTfully Awareness Campaign to Promote Healthy Relationships:
Led by Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, in partnership with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Massachusetts State Legislature, has developed a public awareness and prevention campaign to promote healthy relationships. The campaign, called RESPECTfully, aims to increase awareness of what constitutes a healthy relationship among youth aged 12-18, emphasizes the need for respect, and helps youth identify the escalating behaviors that may lead to unhealthy and unsafe relationships.
RESPECTfully was developed with extensive input, including from youth across the Commonwealth, and launched in May 2019 on various social media platforms as #RESPECTfullyMA. The second phase of RESPECTfully launched recently, and superintendents, principals, and charter school leaders will receive additional information in the coming days.
District and school staff are encouraged to visit the campaign website and contact Kelly Dwyer, executive director of the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence if you have any additional questions. Additionally, districts and schools can order RESPECTfully campaign materials for free from the Massachusetts Health Promotion Clearinghouse and are encouraged to share the RESPECTfully messaging with students, principals, teachers, school committees, parents and guardians.
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7. High School Voter Registration and Pre-Registration Grant:
The Department is pleased to announce the High School Voter Registration and Pre-Registration Grant (fund code 575) to promote civic engagement of high school students through initiatives that encourage them to register or pre-register to vote. The maximum award size will depend on how many high schools are in the district (or group of districts, in the case of partnerships).
The grant will last until June 30, 2020, with an opportunity to extend it to November 30, 2020. The grant should be posted soon to the Current Funding Opportunity Webpage: http://www.doe.mass.edu/grants/current.html. Please email Cece Spencer at Cecelia.Spencer@doe.mass.edu with any questions.
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8. School Water Infrastructure Grant:
The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) are pleased to announce the School Water Infrastructure Grant (SWIG) program to reduce lead in school district drinking water. The new assistance program will provide grants of $3,000 per fixture to install filtered water bottle filling stations where water fountains had more than 1 part lead per billion. The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust will open a pilot round for applications on Monday, February 3 and will accept applications until Friday, March 6.
Anyone with questions about SWIG can email SWIG@tre.state.ma.us or call Jonathan Maple at (617) 367-9333 ext. 546.
The program is launching in tandem with the third and expanded round of lead testing through MassDEP’s Assistance Program for Lead in School Drinking Water program.
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9. Exchanging School Records with Puerto Rico:
Districts that have welcomed students from Puerto Rico who were displaced by the January 7 earthquake there can use the Puerto Rico Department of Education’s Student Records Exchange (SRX) platform at https://srx.dde.pr/ to facilitate the exchange of the public school student records to expedite students’ enrollment. Similarly, at the end of the school year, districts can send copies of local school records back to Puerto Rico to help graduating 12th graders or students who decide to return to Puerto Rico. For more information, email the SRX team from Puerto Rico Department of Education at info@de.pr.gov.
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10. Preventing Flu Transmission in Schools:
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has flu prevention information and resources online for school administrators and childcare professionals. Schools and districts should work closely with their local board of health to determine how best to address the situation in each community. Districts that do not have a local board of health can contact the Infectious Disease Liaison at the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Science at (617) 983-6800.
Please note that the Department of Public Health also has information about 2019 Novel Coronavirus, but as of February 1, the risk to residents in Massachusetts was low.
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