Commissioner's Back-to-School Update

Growing together

August 2023

Welcome to a new school year! We're heading into 2023-24 with a clear educational vision that we introduced in the spring. Its goal is to ensure that all students, particularly students from historically underserved groups, are supported and have opportunities to shine. In brief, we envision classrooms where:

• All students are known and valued;
• Learning experiences are relevant, real-world, and interactive; and
• Individualized supports allow all students to excel.

In support of this vision, we've produced — and will update in September — a catalog of DESE supports (such as grants and professional learning opportunities) (download) for districts and schools, aligning each resource or opportunity with the relevant part of our vision. You can find both the educational vision and the catalog at Educational Vision page.

We also have several other resources to help you and your school community this year:

• Our Superintendent's Checklist can help your administrative team map out deadlines and responsibilities.
• Our back-to-school public service announcement highlights resources to help administrators and educators build their school community's ability to address students' health and wellness needs. (These resources are also included in the catalog of DESE supports.)
• As we continue to focus on pandemic recovery and accelerating students' learning, I encourage you to explore our literacy resources, including information on the early literacy screening assessments that are now required in order to give every student a strong start. (This information is also included in the catalog of DESE supports.)
• Consider visiting the Massachusetts Education-to-Career Research and Data Hub, or E2C Hub, a collaborative effort among agencies to show how students progress from early education and care settings through higher education and the workforce. Download entire datasets for analysis across multiple years and student groups.
• And finally, don't forget about our second annual Family School Partnership Summit, which will be held October 26 in Marlborough.

As always, we remain ready to partner with you on a wide range of subjects, including deeper learning, educator diversity, and Early College.

I wish you and your staff and students the very best for this school year. Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey C. Riley
Commissioner

Last Updated: August 21, 2023