4. Educators Sought for MTEL Panels:
The Department and Pearson’s Evaluation Systems group are seeking Massachusetts educators to participate on the Qualifying Score (Standard Setting) Panel for Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTELs) in the following fields on the following dates:
- Middle School Mathematics – Monday, July 26 and Tuesday, July 27
- Mathematics – Thursday, July 29 and Friday, July 30
- English – Monday, August 2 and Tuesday, August 3
Each panel will meet virtually over the course of the two days, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. The Department seeks participants who:
- Are committed to centering racial equity in their teaching and/or leadership;
- Hold a license in one of the fields above, have recently worked in classrooms, and/or are faculty from educator preparation programs.
Anyone interested in serving on one of the panels is asked to complete an application. Anyone with questions can email Robyn Kaczowka at evaluationsystemscrg@pearson.com.
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5. Facilitated Workshop on Setting Priorities for 2021-22:
Due to popular demand, LearnLaunch is offering two more sessions of their facilitated workshop on using data to set priorities for learning in the upcoming school year. This workshop is sponsored by DESE and free to all participants. This two-part workshop is for school leaders and their instructional leadership teams who want targeted support to reflect on the past 15 months and set priorities for the coming year. Participants will receive curated resources for data collection and analysis, one-on-one problem-solving, and direct support building an action plan that addresses critical needs. To learn more, sign up, or to nominate a school for participation, fill out this form. The workshop will be offered two more times:
- 10:00 am. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27 and Tuesday, August 3, and
- 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 5 and Thursday, August 12.
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6. Vocational Technical Education Advisory Council:
The Department is seeking members to fill potential vacancies on the Vocational Technical Education Advisory Council. The council advises, assists, and provides support and advocacy for high-quality programs that prepare students for a successful transition to further education and careers.
The commissioner appoints the council’s members on behalf of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Members serve up to a three-year term and include local education officials; representatives from higher education, business and industry, labor and trade organizations, and parent/family organizations; and students. Anyone interested is asked to please email a resume and letter of interest to Elizabeth.L.Bennett@mass.gov by Friday, July 30.
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7. Spaces Remain for Online STEM AP Courses This Fall:
With federal grant funding and a partnership with VHS Learning, DESE is establishing the STEM Advanced Placement Access Expansion Opportunity, a statewide initiative to provide eligible high schools with access to up to seven online AP science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses for free. The highest priority schools are those that traditionally have not had the capacity or resources to offer classes, and within those schools, the focus is on students who have been historically underrepresented in STEM. There are still seats open in available courses for fall, and these seats will be distributed to additional schools through August. School leaders who think this initiative will complement their school’s existing work are asked to please schedule a 30-minute consultation with Jennifer Gwatkin.
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8. Child Tax Credit:
Some eligible families may not be aware that they qualify for new monthly payments of $250 to $300 per child through the expanded federal Child Tax Credit (click here for Spanish). While many families will automatically receive this benefit, families whose income was not high enough to have had to file taxes in recent years may not be aware that they qualify. Resources at the link above include a two-sided flyer in English and Spanish and this Help is Here flyer in English and Spanish. Superintendents are encouraged to share this information with families.
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- Connect Science Energy Institute: Registration is open for the Connect Science Energy Institute, a free opportunity for Massachusetts educators and community partners to learn how to engage fourth grade students in science in a way that can be student-directed and build social emotional learning skills. Participants will receive an evidence-based unit of study that combines service-learning, social emotional learning, and science and which includes all the materials to implement the unit with students. This virtual institute will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday, August 3 through Friday, August 6. (Participants will work virtually with peers and instructors and have some opportunities to work individually off-line throughout the institute.) Connect Science is aligned with the fourth grade Massachusetts Science and Technology Engineering standards. Please register by Thursday, July 22. To Learn More, see the links above or this brief video.
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- Project based learning opportunity: PBLWorks (formerly the Buck Institute for Education) is pleased to offer a free Project Slice for Massachusetts educators from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27. During this one-day workshop, participants will experience a high-quality project from the perspective of a learner and understand its alignment to the Gold Standard of project design. This is a great opportunity to better understand what deeper learning can look like in classrooms and to begin learning the elements of high-quality project based learning. Learn more and register here.
- Praise for history and civics standards: The Fordham Institute recently released "The State of State Standards for Civics and U.S. History in 2021," a report that grades each state's history and civics standards. Massachusetts was one of only three states, plus Washington, D.C., to receive a rating of “exemplary.” The report comes three years after the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted updated history and civics standards. Those standards were the result of close work with subject matter experts, educators, members of the Legislature, advocates, and other stakeholders, and all can take pride is this recognition.
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