5. Guidance on Behavioral and Mental Health Services During School Closures:
The Department has developed guidance for school counselors, psychologists, and other specialized instructional support personnel involved in providing school-based behavioral and mental health supports and services during the COVID-19 school closures (download). This document provides recommendations and resources.
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6. Educators Needed for MTEL Program:
The Department, in collaboration with the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson, is seeking Massachusetts educators to participate in conferences in August for the Massachusetts Test for Teacher Licensure (MTEL) program. Educators are needed for content-specific committees and for bias review and bilingual committees. More information is available online. Individuals can apply to be on a committee or nominate a colleague. Anyone with questions can email evaluationsystemscrg@pearson.com.
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7. Guidance on Retrieving Personal Belongings from School Buildings:
As schools prepare to finish the school year, district leaders should consider ways for staff and students to retrieve all of their belongings from their desks, lockers, and other areas in a way that follows safety and health protocols. Schools should assign time slots with staggered times to allow proper social distancing to be maintained, and prior to allowing students to return for their assigned time slots, institutions should provide information to families regarding:
- The need to wear face masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines at all times, and
- The need to limit number of people who may accompany a student. (Ideally, only one person would accompany the student.)
When students are retrieving items, schools should provide clear and consistent communication, signage, and other tools to remind students and families of public health protocols. Schools should also have sufficient staff onsite to manage the process and ensure that guidance is being followed.
Ideas schools might consider include: For elementary school students, schools could put the items from a student’s locker and desk into a single bag that the student could pick up outside the school by appointment.
Middle and high school students could be given short appointments that are arranged to ensure students will not be standing beside each other. During their appointment, they would have the chance to empty their lockers into a bag; they should not sort through their belongings in the school hallway. Students could also use the opportunity to return any materials that they are not using for remote learning.
If available, school nurses could use this opportunity to return unused medication such as epi-pens and inhalers to parents or guardians.
Students should not be allowed in classrooms, and the staff presence should be limited to only what is needed.
Staff who need to collect items from their classrooms or offices could follow a similar process, wearing a face covering and retrieving belongings by appointment without sorting through the items on site. Staff should only enter the section of the building that they need to in order to retrieve their belongings.
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8. Information for 2020-21 Charter School Application Cycle:
The 2020-2021 charter school application and expansion cycle will begin this summer. Deadlines are posted online, with the first coming at noon on Wednesday, July 1, when all applicant groups should notify DESE of their intent to submit a charter school application. The Department will inform superintendents and charter school leaders if a letter of intent is received that includes their community. The charter applications and expansion requests themselves are due Thursday, July 30.
Any district impacted by a charter application or a request for expansion will receive a copy at the time of its submission so that the district can provide written comment to the DESE regarding the application or request. The Massachusetts charter school statute provides for a higher cap on Commonwealth charter schools in school districts ranked in the lowest 10 percent as calculated for the purposes of the charter school cap. The lowest 10 percent ranking for the 2020-2021 charter application cycle and for determining charter school caps for the 2021-2022 school year is available online for download.
The Department will accept charter applications and charter amendments for most communities, with the exception of those that have reached their charter cap. Estimates of available seats are available online (download). These estimates are to help applicants plan for the submission of a charter application or charter expansion but do not guarantee the number of seats available for award in any district in FY21. The availability of seats in any district is subject to change, and those changes may be significant this year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, stakeholders should expect significant variation in the number of projected seats available for award once state and local budgets are finalized, which may not be until well into FY21.
Anyone with questions about the availability of seats, the lowest 10 percent ranking, the charter application process, or the charter amendment process can email Alyssa.K.Hopkins@mass.gov.
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9. CTE State Plan:
U.S. Education Secretary DeVos recently announced the approval of the first six career and technical education (CTE) state plans under the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V). The Massachusetts plan is among those six and was created in consultation with a Perkins/High Quality College and Career Pathways Stakeholder Group and others.
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- National Teacher of the Year: The Council of Chief State School Officers recently announced that Tabatha Rosproy has been named the 2020 National Teacher of the Year. Ms. Rosproy, who teaches preschool at Winfield Early Learning Center in Winfield, Kan., is the first early childhood educator to be named National Teacher of the Year.
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