Words from Grace
The weeks fly by between weekly memos... I appreciate your continuing to focus on remote instruction, and I appreciate the lift that Mark is taking to offer in-person learning for families that have opted in to begin on Monday. It has been a roller coaster for him with much uncertainty. On top of that, Mark is managing a lot with the new Carter building project - collaborating with architects and the City.
Meanwhile, focusing in on instruction is the primary work we will do during our region meetings. Next Tuesday, we will take a few minutes to connect, then get into our small groups to:
- calibrate on the focus using CRIOP or the school's standard of excellence/instructional focus
- observe
- debrief the focus and the highest impact lever for feedback
In preparation, the school in the first column (in red) should go first - if it is not feasible, please switch with a colleague.
1 | Mildred | Orchard Gardens | Russell |
2 | Everett | Kenny | Tynan |
3 | Lee Academy | Shaw | Taylor |
4 | Hale | Perry | Timilty |
5 | Carter | Quincy | Murphy |
In spite of rising Covid rates, there are students who need in-person services - specifically those students who have 1:1's, in an MD or ABA strand. In preparation, it may be prudent to reach out to families whose children are in these categories to confirm/reconfirm their preference for in person learning. Some families may be hesitant due to the rising rates. This updated information is essential for planning and preparation.
Any building that opens requires BPHC approval.
We have a message from our State's Department of Health, the governor, and DESE with new metrics that tells us to bring students back; this is happening at a time when rates of infection are rising in our state and country. Some of our families are desperate for support, and if we brought back students, we are relying on staff to opt in. Nothing is predictable, yet the urgency remains... Meanwhile, we have almost all of our staff and students teaching/learning in a remote setting. For now, continue your focus there and have a few people make calls to prepare if you have students with 1:1, in MD or ABA strands.
Thank you for all you do to serve students and families. I wish more could be done to support you. Know that I am grateful. 💕
Important Dates
November 18 - Boston School Committee Meeting
November 25 - Half-day of school
November 26-27 - Thanksgiving - No School
December 24 - January 4 - Winter Recess
Division of Accountability
Transformation Schools Update - Nov. 13
Panorama Weekly Update
Did you know? 9,627 BPS students had attendance lower than 90% last school year (through 3/13/20). Only 45% of these 9,627 students are on track in attendance for SY20-21. Find out more ways to take action on other key attendance questions:
20-21 Data Digest Dashboard is Live!
The 20-21 Data Digest Dashboard is now available to all BPS school leaders and staff. It contains evolving school-level data, including enrollment by learning model, attendance by student group, and online learning rates by student group.
Follow this link with your BPS email address.
Select “Allow” in the “Grant Consent” pop-up to see your school’s data.
More information on data in this dashboard and other platforms can be found in the Fall 2020 Data Guide. If you have questions or difficulties viewing the data, please contact Stephanie Marek (smarek@bostonpublicschools.org)
BPS Interims Announcement: Newly Scheduled Virtual PDs
ODA is offering a number of virtual PD opportunities in the coming weeks. Sessions will cover how to prepare to administer the Interims and how to view and analyze results. Each PD will be available asynchronously. Details and registration information can be found here. Please contact Dana Pulda-Acone at formatives@bostonpublicschools.org with any questions.
PD Opportunity - The Soul of Leadership
The Massachusetts School Administrators' Association is offering a professional learning opportunity for school leaders titled The Soul of Leadership: Courage, Presence, and Integrity. Sessions from January 20 - June 24, 2021 will provide principals across the state with time and support to develop their social emotional capacity to manage job-related stress, build trust, and model caring and culturally responsive behaviors. More information including presenters, times, and cost can be found here.
Division of Equity, Strategy & Opportunity
Recruitment, Cultivation & Diversity Programs (RCD) has MOVED!
The RCD team is now the Office of Recruitment, Cultivation & Diversity Programs, and has moved to the Division of Equity, Strategy, and Opportunity Gaps led by Dr. Charles Grandson. RCD was formerly under the Office of Human Capital (OHC). The move was made in order to bring more capacity to the Division in order to carry out Dr. Casselius' more expansive vision of eliminating disparities throughout the entire district.
RCD will expand its work more broadly throughout the district to ensure that every department and every school rigorously realizes the district’s comprehensive and ambitious plan to elevate and expand our strategic workforce diversity initiatives.
Register now for November 30, 2020!
The Division of Equity, Strategy, and Opportunity Gaps now comprises four offices: the Offices of Equity; Opportunity Gaps (OOG); Recruitment, Cultivation, and Diversity (RCD); and Strategy and Innovation. Collectively, we aim to align the work of the district to the Strategic Plan, the Opportunity and Achievement Gap Policy, and the principles and practices of anti-racism.
Our Division invites all district employees -- school-based and district office staff -- to the launch of our professional development arc of learning opportunities for SY20-21 on Monday November 30 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. This meeting is strongly encouraged for department heads and school administrators, but all staff are welcome to attend.
To register, please sign up here . You can also use the form to indicate your interests in any of the 40 workshops we offer; sign up for any of the four RCD Intentional Recruitment Affinity Councils for Latinx, Asian, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing educators; or to learn more about becoming an Equity Champion.
If you are unable to attend, the asynchronous video and materials will be linked in Around BPS, Lead BPS, and the Friday Flyer following the session. You can also email us at ESOGProfessionalLearning@bostonpublicschools.org. Further, next month we will be sending out a Calendly link so you can sign up for coaching sessions for your team’s differentiated support needs. In the meantime, make sure you are using the latest Office of the Supt-BPS Racial Equity Planning Tool - July2020 (REPT) for key decisions and major initiatives involving our historically marginalized students, families and staff. Requests for assistance with the REPT and completed REPTs should be directed to REPTsuptoffice@bostonpublicschools.org for support and feedback.
Please join us in recruiting, hiring, developing and retaining our most talented and diverse educators by sharing and utilizing the resources and opportunities available through our Office. To learn more, see our RCD Overview , our brochure, and our website.
Division of Human Capital
Educator Evaluation Update
Linked here is a quick reference guide for evaluators with helpful how-to's and reminders about evaluation for this point in the school year.
Please share the link with your evaluation team, and feel free to reach out to your PMT Liaison or eval@bostonpublicschools.org with any questions.
Fraudulent Unemployment Claims
At this time the district is experiencing high volumes of fraudulent unemployment claims. This is a nationwide issue, and the state is working hard to deny all false claims. If you receive a letter in the mail for an unemployment claim that you did not initiate, please complete a form using the link below for the state to investigate.
The Office of Human Capital (OHC) will begin sending notifications to let employees know when we receive a claim that we believe to be fraudulent. The OHC team managing unemployment claims is responding to the state and flagging all claims with fraud for the state's immediate attention.
Should you have any questions regarding unemployment claims please contact Jania Bell (jbell4@bostonpublicschools.org).
State of Massachusetts Unemployment Fraud Reporting:
https://www.mass.gov/forms/unemployment-fraud-reporting-form
Division of Operations
Athletics
Final Fall BPS Speaker Series
Sunday, November 15, 7pm
Positive Coaching Alliance Workshop #4
Honoring the Game - Social Media
Registration Link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEtcuqsqj4rH9VSivpjNI3v46nSfVg3aS2q
BPS Athletics Speaker Series Meeting #4
Mental Side of Sports
Public Link: https://bostonpublicschools.zoom.us/u/aIZKHVDgQ
Facilities
As work continues to move forward in buildings please ensure the Building Occupancy During Remote Time tracker is up to date.
Food Service
FYI for leaders, food service staff are still on-site during remote until negotiations are finalized.
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