5. AP Registration:
As a reminder, the registration deadline for spring 2021 Advanced Placement exams is Friday, November 13. The College Board has waived the $40 per exam cancellation or unused exam fee for any student who registers and then decides not to take test this year. However, students who decide after the November 13 deadline that they want to take the test will incur the usual $40 late registration fee. The Department is offering financial support for low-income students from eligible districts again this year. Please go to https://www.doe.mass.edu/ap/ for the list of fee subsidy options.
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6. Reminder about Free Hotspot Opportunity:
Districts interested in requesting free hotspots from T-Mobile through their Project 10Million program must complete this brief form no later than Friday, November 13. More information is posted on the Remote Learning Resources section of DESE's Remote Learning page.
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7. Transition to In-Person Learning Support:
Districts seeking support for transitioning to full or partial in-person learning can still sign up for a learning-and-action cohort facilitated for free by Education Resource Strategies (ERS). Participants will convene virtually three times through the end of the calendar year to collaborate and receive individualized support from the ERS team. System leaders will emerge with more strategic, equitable, and sustainable return-to-school models that address family, educator, and community needs. Interested leaders should complete this form by Friday, November 13.
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8. LearnLaunch Workshops:
LearnLaunch is offering the last few sessions of its Support Parents workshops and is coming out with new offerings of Student Data Privacy and Security and Crisis Communication. Each of these workshops is sponsored by DESE, facilitated by a national expert, and gives time for participants to collaborate to solve pressing problems. Registration is open online.
- Support Parents is a 90-minute workshop in which participants will use specific templates and tools to leverage increased parent engagement in remote/hybrid learning environments in order to create more positive, personal connections that will last past digital learning. The last two sessions will be held at noon on Friday, November 13 and at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, November 20. Register here and explore the Support Parents Building Block tool here.
- Crisis Communication is a 90-minute workshop that will help school and district leaders practice scenario building as a way to ensure stakeholders are aligned and informed during complicated and difficult moments in schools or districts. The workshops will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, November 16 and at noon on Monday, November 23. Register here and explore the Communicate Clearly Building Block tool here.
- Student Data Privacy and Security is a 90-minute workshop written for technology and information education leaders to equip them with the information they need to maintain student data privacy at all times. The workshops will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 18 and at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 19. Register here and explore the Select Aligned Tools Building Blocks tool here.
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9. November Share-a-Thon:
The Department’s Center for Instructional Support invites teachers of all grade levels and subject areas to a November Share-a-Thon. This is a chance to share and learn strategies, resources, and best practices for remote and hybrid instruction and learning with a particular focus on student feedback strategies. The event will start by taking a glimpse into the classrooms of two featured teachers in different content areas. This will be followed by a chance to discuss those ideas. Finally, participants will have a chance to join content-alike colleagues for a broader discussion of feedback strategies.
The Department will hold holding two Share-a-Thons, at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17 and at the same time on Thursday, November 19; teachers are welcome to come to either or both. Please register online by Monday, November 16.
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10. Deadline Extended for Hate Crimes Prevention Grant Applications:
The Department is pleased to announce that applications for the Hate Crime Prevention Grant (Fund Code 794) will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 20, an extension over the original deadline. This new, competitive, state-funded grant will support the implementation of programs designed to prevent hate crimes and incidences of bias in public schools as defined under that M.G.L. Chapter 22C, Section32.
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11. VTE Framework Revision:
The Office for College, Career and Technical Education is announcing Phase 3A of the Vocational Technical Education (VTE) Framework Revision Project. In this phase, teams from across the state will revise five programs:
- Biotechnology,
- Environmental Science and Technology,
- Information Support Services and Networking,
- Metal Fabrication and Joining Technologies, and
- Programming and Web Development.
The Department is seeking subject matter experts in those fields to serve on the revision teams. All work will be done remotely and will take place on the following Saturdays from 8:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.: January 9, January 16, January 30, and February 6. Apply online by Monday, December 7. The Department seeks to create diverse statewide teams, recruiting experts from all protected classes, inclusive of all delivery systems and geographic areas.
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- Family-friendly help with mental health: HandholdMA.org is a family-friendly website designed for Massachusetts parents who are worried about their school-aged children’s mental health. This site is designed to help families figure if their child’s behavior is something to worry about and if so, what next steps can they take.
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