#26 Report Card Update, 3-Act Tasks in Math, Attendance Stats

Spring has sprung! 

I cannot believe April will be here next week... Regardless, I hope all of you are enjoying the increase in daylight hours. The first daffodil blooms has bloomed on our daughter's birthday 18/19 years so far. She will be 20 on April 20th, and we are eager to see the yellow blooms arrive. Spring also means the beginning of MCAS season. All students at the Carter have MCAS-Alts, and they are due on Friday. Good luck to all with MCAS-Alts.

Report Card Update

Please see this communication from Early Childhood about Arts on the K2 report card. (I apologize for the lateness of this communication.)

Request for printing report cards has changed due to a retirement. The instructions are under "Winter Grading Window for Grades K0-5."

Math Resource - 3 Act Tasks

I observed a CPT at the Lyon where the primary team was working on increasing students' ability to problem solve and engage in discourse using 3-Act Tasks. Originally a high school protocol, a bank of elementary tasks have now been developed.  The standards of mathematical practice (SMP) they considered were SMP 1: Making sense of problems and SMP 4: Modeling with mathematics. The teachers read this article from Teaching Children Mathematics and chose a common task to try at their grade level from this resource bank. At their next meeting they will re-read the article and bring student work to reflect upon the impact on student outcomes in terms of problem solving and the SMPs. 

2018 History Social Science Frameworks

Link to the new HSS Framework 

Link to Folder of MA Frameworks and accompanying materials such as one page look-fors.

Side by Side MCAS Interim 1-3 Available Now

If your school has taken the third interims, you can view students side by side with last year's MCAS score.

Official Targets Available in Dropbox

Check DESE Dropbox to obtain academic targets for your school. They are very close to the projected targets from ODA.

Network 6 Attendance Stats

WOW, Eliot, Alighieri, Quincy, and Bradley!
Caution: These stats include students in K0-K2.

5th Quarter Registration 

Opens on April 1st.

PowerPoint from DESE MCAS Webinar

MCAS Office Hours PPT --- 3.21.19

Opportunities for Teachers

Teacher Leadership Fund: Call for Proposals

What challenge do you want to solve? We are excited to announce the call for proposals for year two of the Teacher Leadership Fund, a feature of our contract which grants teams of educators up to $15,000 to create and share solutions which improve the learning and well-being of our most marginalized students. This year, we have two types of grants: Action Grants will support teams interested in designing and implementing an intervention to address a challenge impacting marginalized students. NEW Study Grants will support teams interested in learning more about the various dimensions of an identified challenge impacting marginalized students and developing an action plan based on that learning. See complete info about the program. Contact tlf@bostonpublicschools.org with questions. Applications due April 1.

Passion to Teach: Year-Long Fellowship for BPS Teachers, Deadline 4/1

A small cohort of BPS teachers will be selected for the Passion to Teach Fellowship, hosted by the Shah Family Foundation in partnership with the Teacher Collaborative. Fellows identify a "passion project" around which they design a project-based learning curriculum for students. Fellows earn a $5,000 stipend, participate in a three-day summer workshop, and meet eight times during the school year for training and support. Click here for more information.

Contact for additional information: Maria Fenwick

Post #25 TNTP Opportunity Gap, 3/14 Links

The 9-alarm fire in East Boston last Friday was right next to the Guild and Bradley Schools. Thankfully, no lives or homes were lost. Ted Lombardi and SELWELL are on hand to support students and staff on Monday morning.

On another note, Happy Spring! I am looking forward to visits that have been scheduled for the remainder of the year. In addition to checking in, I'd like to observe with you to look for grade level expectations in objectives and tasks. Please see below for the reasons why. Have a great week!

Food for Thought from the "Opportunity Myth":

"Consciously or not, we choose to let many students do work that’s far below their grade level." (p. 5, full report)

TNTP Opportunity Myth Executive Summary
TNTP Opportunity Myth Full Report   

Principal PD @ Bolling 3/14

Thank you for your active participation at Bolling on Thursday. I was grateful for the opening where a positive tone was set with content being aligned to equity and Essential 1 Safe, Healthy, Sustaining Learning Environments. I was especially happy to hear the welcome that included an expression of gratitude for all the work you do to that end. There was a lot of content, so here is the agenda that includes links to the slide deck and other information. Please review the slides you may have missed. I hope all of you had time to connect with colleagues from outside your PLC.

To Do: 

Mary Driscoll sent out two surveys in February that may have gotten lost in your email. The links for these surveys are below. Principals filled these out with a few bullets and/or sentences. You will receive an automated email reminder, so don't take offense!

School Staffing Diversity Goal  (I sent 10 thank you emails)
QSP Mid-Year Progress Check (I sent 11 thank you emails)

Other Info:

March 12 Lead BPS

Post #24 Review Draft Visit Schedule, Congrats Principal Davis, MCAS Ramp-up

View of my back yard with a cleared space for the dog.
Less snow than in Boston for once!!! 😂

To Do: Please review the draft coaching/visit calendar and let me know by the end of this week of any conflicts. Link to calendar is here.

I must have jinxed us by saying that I dread snow days. With 10" in Boston, it was a good call! Today, I participated in two virtual meetings on Google Hangout videoconferencing. It doesn't replace face-to-face meetings, but it does allow for seeing each other and sharing documents. I also finally drafted a coaching/visit calendar through the first week in June. I am hoping that even with MCAS administration in April and May that principals (you) and I can still meet/visit non-testing classrooms.

Have a great week!

Congratulations, Principal Michele Davis!

Last week, our principal colleague Michele Davis was honored at City Council's Black History Month event on February 27, 2019. 

"Councilor Edwards honor[ed] Principal of the Warren Prescott K-8 school and said, “As we celebrate the achievements of black women and push for equity in Boston Public Schools, I’m pleased to honor Principal Michele Davis. Her decades of service with BPS and leadership of the Warren Prescott School provide an exemplary model for students and staff in our educational system and for community members across the city.”

See article in the Patriot Bridge.

MCAS Resources, con't 

Please see:

New accommodations for English learners participating in next-generation tests: This year, English learners will have access to several English learner accommodations that were not previously available. Pages 27–29 of the Accessibility and Accommodations Manual contain a list of these accommodations and their descriptions.

Here are also tools other districts used to prepare for MCAS for those of you who need templates and how-to's.

To Do: If you have not already done so, please share your MCAS schedule with me. 

Instructional Ramp Up: Preparation with Students
ASAP	Integrate use of approved graphic organizers and math reference sheets for students with special needs in grades 3-8 Review Rubrics for ELA Short Responses and Essays Familiarize Students with Math Reference Sheets and Calculator policy
ASAP	Online Training Modules for test administrators Training sessions offered by DESE (web based - must sign up)
ASAP	Administer online Tutorial for grades 3-8 (gives teacher and student an idea of the test-taking skills needed to take online test)
ASAP	Spend time at the beginning or end of class to review sections of the online tutorial with class - have pairs work together on their chromebooks to practice
ASAP	Administer Grades 3-8 ELA Practice Tests online Administer sections of Grades 3-8 ELA Practice Tests paper test for homework (to practice LANGUAGE of test taking) (Gr. 5 and 8 Science teachers should also mirror this process) Perkins Mock MCAS Materials. Please copy and edit for your own school community. Mock MCAS Directions Mock MCAS Access Card Mock MCAS Reflection Sheet
Now-March 26	Assign comprehension/writing tasks in literacy/reading block that uses MCAS-like language to increase familiarity with language of test-taking; if possible, assign written tasks on Google Docs.
Week of March 19	Re-administer online test taking tutorial Assign Mathematics Paper Test for homework and review Focus on test taking, thinking, and language vs. right answer
Week of March 26	Re-administer online practice test Integrate language of mathematics test question types into instruction, assignments and assessments
April 2-May 4	ELA Test Window
April 4-May 25	Mathematics and STE Test Window (Suggest giving students month of April to allow for more instructional time in mathematics and science/technology and engineering. Administer test between May 5-25 if possible.)

Next Gen Testing Skills:

Technology Skills for Computer-Based Assessment

Keyboarding and Writing Skills Using Technology

Grades 3 - 8:

2017 ELA and Literacy Curriculum Framework

2017 Mathematics Curriculum Framework

Approved Graphic Organizers/Resources

The DESE approved graphic organizers, checklists, and supplemental reference sheets listed in the table below are for use by students with disabilities in grades 3–8 who have this MCAS accommodation (A9 from the Accessibility and Accommodations Manual for the Spring 2018 MCAS Grades 3–8 Tests) listed in their IEPs or 504 plans. Schools are encouraged to familiarize students with these tools, since students should be comfortable using their graphic organizer or reference sheet during MCAS testing.

Approved ELA Graphic Organizers	Approved Supplemental Mathematics Reference Sheets	Sample STE Reference Sheets
MCAS Grades 3 and 4: Short Response	MCAS Grade 3	MCAS Grade 5
MCAS Grades 3-5: Essay	MCAS Grade 4	MCAS Grade 8
MCAS Grades 3-5: Narrative	MCAS Grade 5	Approval Cover Sheet for STE
MCAS Grades 6-8: Essay	MCAS Grade 6
MCAS Grades 6-8: Narrative	MCAS Grade 7
	MCAS Grade 8

Post #23 IFRs, More Illuminate Reports, Ready for Rigor Framework

Although it's already the end of a long first week back from vacation, I hope that all of you had a good break and are ready for this next stretch of prime teaching/learning time. I have been loving being back in schools this week and actually dread snow days that will interrupt a productive stretch... Speaking of snow days, bad weather is forecast for this weekend, Saturday activities are cancelled. 

East Boston EEC Principal Appointed

Please join me in congratulating Rhiannon Varmette for officially being appointed the principal of the East Boston EEC, effective immediately. See announcement here. 

IFRs

I had the pleasure of attending the Tynan and Hale IFRs this week. Opening up our schools for scrutiny among peers is just as important as de-privatizing our classrooms. Using look-fors related to the instructional focus, being transparent with staff about the urgency to close opportunity gaps, and improving outcomes for all students is the the right work! We are all at different places, and we have room to grow. The Tynan and Hale have demonstrated they have a mindset of continuous learning and continuous improvement. Bravo!

If you have not already done so, please send me an invitation to your IFR. I will accept if my schedule allows or respond with a note with regrets. Thank you!

More Illuminate Reports by Network

We discovered some problems with our original reports where some schools/grade levels were omitted. I have re-run the reports and included all grades peer comparisons that include the standards. Interim 3 ELA has opened already, so I feel silly continuing to share these knowing that in a few weeks, there will be another round of reports. However, I heard that these are useful, so I will continue to share. Thanks for the feedback.

Updated Network 6 ELA Interim 2 by grade level
Updated Network 6 Math Interim 2 by grade level

Network 6 ELA Interim 2 by grade, includes standards (folder)

Transferring Learning from Winship PD to PLC Planning

I had the pleasure of observing after school professional development at Winship last month where the staff was working on the CRT and the Brain Ready for Rigor Framework Information Processing section. I love the bullet point to provide students authentic [brain/neurologically-based] opportunities to process content on planning Ignite, Chunk, Chew, Review. Using this with one of the principal leads to plan helped us design a PLC session that gave leaders more time. Igniting (getting the brain ready), chunking (giving just enough content) and allowing ample time to CHEW is so important. When you visit classrooms, are students spending their time CHEWING?

Want to know more? Click here for an interesting read.

School Leader Applicant Performance Days

Potential candidates came on February 25 and another group will come for a performance day on Monday, March 4.

QSP Progress/Diversity Hiring Goal

Friendly reminder - Mary Driscoll sent a couple of requests this week. 

1. Please go to this link to provide brief information on progress on your QSP based on interim data points. 
2. Earlier this year you received your diversity staffing report and a description of the process by which you would be setting a hiring goal for the Spring 2019 hiring season. You also received a link to a google form where you were asked to record your hiring goals. A new workbook you are going to receive from OHC contains information about an additional report that will help you further refine your hiring goals. If you have already submitted your goal, thank you! You do not need to take any additional actions based on this new report unless you want to make changes to your goal. If so, please contact your Academic Superintendent who can enter the revised goal information for you.