Post #15 Thanksgiving Wishes & Fun News/Photos

    

Disconnect!!!

Please fill your hearts by connecting with loved ones during these few days off, and give your brains a break by disconnecting from technology. You will have more mind space to tackle the tasks waiting for you upon our return on Monday. Wishing all of you a well-deserved break! 

See below for some fun news and pictures.

Principal Soo Hoo Featured in the News

Cynthia was recently featured in the Boston University News Service. See article at this link.

Carter Thanksgiving

See article from the Boston Herald at this link.

Listening to Musical Performance Quincy
Upper Orchestra

Grace and Jeshma

Carter Professional Development

Susan Norwell has spent her career demonstrating that students can communicate in spite of disabilities and major health issues. Her work is grounded in literacy. It is how we approach the learner's communication needs, our beliefs, persistence and consistency. She spent almost two days at Carter working with students and staff and also presented before parents and staff from multiple schools on students' abilities.

 

Mayor Walsh Visits Winship

School on the Move Prize Reaction Captured for All Time!

Click here to view Jordan's speech.

School Showcase 2018

Thanks so much for giving of your time to represent your school the Saturday before Thanksgiving at City Hall.

#14 Thank You, MCAS Practice Tests, TeachPoint, Projections

Thank you for all you do in service of Boston's children and families. I hope you will have time to disconnect from technology and truly connect with loved ones next week.

December Visits

I will be sending individual invitations for December by the end of this week. I have been waiting to see if there might be meetings at Bolling on projections/budget. I am still aiming for the proposed schedule on the Coaching Calendar tab of this blog. Don't put these dates in your calendar yet! My goal is to see each of you at least once between now and December 20th. Note: District dates such as No School, School Committee, and Build BPS are included on this calendar for your convenience.

Updated 2019 Practice Tests in Grades 3-8

Updated 2019 practice tests in MCAS Resource Center for grades 3-8 in ELA and mathematics. Science practice test for grades 5 and 8 are still from 2018.

TeachPoint

I have attached your QSP in TeachPoint to serve as documentation of your student learning and professional practice goals. I have also been attaching notes from my visits under the Instructional Leadership section of an observation form. 

Priority Indicators for Administrator Evaluation

Find example artifacts for the priority indicators for evaluation here. Many of you used a template similar to to provide rationale for your artifacts. Instead, use the Artifact upload in TeachPoint for the Priority Indicators below: 

I-A Curriculum, I-D Evaluation
II-A Environment, II-B Human Resources 
III-B Sharing Responsibility
IV-D Continuous Learning

Projections

The projections you received in Aspen are the beginning of a conversation starting now and through the budget season. This year, I feel more equipped to address concerns with you. Please text/email if you would like to discuss.

Overview notes from Projections and Analysis Office:

• District-wide enrollment is down about 1200 students compared to October of last year.  Last year, we projected a decline of roughly 200 students, so this decrease was larger than we anticipated. This is the first time in the last 7 years that we have seen 2 consecutive years of October enrollment declines.
• Enrollment declines are widespread and consistent across neighborhoods, grades and programs. However, it is worth noting particular declines in the following areas:
• The largest regional declines were amongst students living in East Boston and Northern Dorchester. The decline in East Boston has a more direct impact on the schools in that neighborhood, given its geographic isolation.
• We also saw significant decreases in K1 and K2 enrollment.
• A few larger cohorts of students are moving from elementary grades (3-5) into the middle grades (6-8). Those cohorts have been getting smaller as they move through the system, as we tend to lose a large number of students in the transitions to grades 5 and 6. In addition, those larger cohorts have been replaced by smaller cohorts of students that are now moving through all elementary grades. The combined result is a decline in elementary enrollment, which is concentrated in grades 3 to 5. We are projecting an increase in 6-8th grade enrollment.
• Our enrollment losses are concentrated in general education. Enrollment in English Learner programs is down slightly, and the number of special education students served in inclusion and substantially separate programs has increased.

Post #13 Highs and Lows, Chronic Absenteeism, ACCESS

What a week!

This past Wednesday was both joyous and disheartening. In the morning, McKay was named the School on the Move Prize winner and Tynan's school facility was defaced with hate speech. I watched the McKay team jump for joy at the Boston Harbor Hotel and then observed Leslie Gant lead with great strength and poise. I am proud of all of you for your leadership during the best and worst of times. 

Solidarity at Tynan Friday morning

Welcoming Students to
Tynan

  

Coanan Harris, Leslie Gant, and Thaddeus Miles

Board of Ed Meeting

Geoff Rose spoke at this past Tuesday's Board of Education Meeting to feature STEM Week activities. Thank you for representing BPS!

New arrival!

Congratulations to Carter School Principal Mark O'Connor. His second child Kayleigh Emma was born on October 14.

Chronic Absenteeism, continued

The OSs and I consulted with the DESE's accountability and data offices to ask questions about chronic absenteeism. The bottom line is that the ESSA/State are measuring whether students are attending school and accessing educational opportunities. The reason why they are not in school is irrelevant. A student is absent whether s/he is homeless, due to transportation issues, or suspended and if tardy, must be in school at least a half day to be equivalent to a full day. 

Regardless of ESSA and accountability, it is a good thing for students to be in school and for us to pay attention. I can't emphasize enough to you: The aim is to reduce chronic absenteeism. We are looking for improvement NOT perfection!

Please refer to Post #12 for directions on how to check live stats on absenteeism using BPS DataWarehouse.

Professional Development Happenings

I should have informed all of you about Carter's upcoming PD on low/high tech augmentative communication systems. I plan to attend and will share information in my next post.

Additionally, I'm excited about the Harvard GSE and ODA Institute that launches next week on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Harvard Portal. Teams from the Lyon K-8, Russell, Quincy, and Warren-Prescott are attending.

Get Students Prepared for ACCESS

How do your ESL/staff use ACCESS results to accelerate English language acquisition? At the Warren-Prescott, staff reviewed ACCESS results and are targeting instruction based on the domains. Additionally, they found the test itself is extremely challenging. Go to Preparing Students for ACCESS from the WIDA website for advice and practice. Thanks for sharing your best practice, Michele! It is expected that all schools will administer ACCESS (and MCAS 2.0) online this year.

Watch for...

• Build BPS community meetings are included in red on the Coaching Calendar tab. You are encouraged to attend one of the meetings in your area.
• Reconciliation emails this weekend from the budget office.
• Projections will be available on Aspen next week for comments.
• I started your plans in TeachPoint. Please let me know if I messed anything up. I will be adding your QSP links as part of your goals and action plans and uploading PDF notes from our meetings as observations. I am getting to it slowly but surely; thank you for your patience.