Words from Grace
Thank you for a very smooth 5-day re-opening 💕. Seeing and hearing hundreds of children back in class has been so gratifying! The work you have done to communicate with families, redo schedules, grant accommodations when feasible, separate remote/in-person teaching and/or make simultaneous teaching is paying off. Although it feels unnecessary to do so for adults, you have had to reset expectations for staff - think of it as a behavior booster - after all, it has been over a year with this week being our first Wednesday since March 11, 2020. We have all needed to adjust to changing context.
Although it's the first 5-day in-person week, I've been pleased to see so many teachers and students focus on learning regardless of mode of delivery. Every staff member I saw or spoke with, regardless of role, were making the best of in-person return. Thank you for your leadership.
This coming Tuesday, we will review draft guidelines for reopening this fall for two purposes - 1) for your feedback 2) so you can start planning and 3) to think about regional and school funding.
Follow-up from last Tuesday's presentation on goals from the Office of Special Education: Here is the link to the inclusion project.
Region 6 Hiring Progress (Garrity: Teachers & Guidance Counselors)
As of yesterday afternoon, Region 6 is looking for a total of 40 teachers and guidance counselors. Our progress so far:
- 23/40 filled, 2 submitted (63%)
- 60.8% diverse, off-target from goal of 85.2%
Recap of 4/29 email from Corey on diversity hiring of teachers and guidance counselors:
- School Leaders who find that current applicants for a vacancy lack racial diversity and/or needed language capacity are strongly encouraged to complete this form to request assistance in identifying potential candidates.
- In each instance where a candidate who does not self-identify as a person of color (African-American/Black, Alaskan Native, American Indian, Asian, Hispanic, and/or Pacific Islander) is selected for a teacher or guidance counselor position, completion of the Diversity Hiring Commitment form is required, effective 4/29/2021.
- If the form is not completed prior to the hire submission, Human Capital managers will send a mail merge requesting the completion of the form to the school leader, their school superintendent, and the chief of schools. Similar to the waiver process, once the form is submitted and all other hiring criteria are met (ex. waiver approved, license(s) applied for on DESE, interview competencies filled out, etc.), the hire will be processed.
Summer Reading
Heads up Summer PD Opportunity for Teachers and Future Leaders (for SY22)
Latinos for Education, the first Latino-founded and led national organization solely dedicated to creating leadership pathways for Latinos in education, is excited to launch recruitment for their 2021 programs. They would love to have BPS teachers and future leaders represented this coming year in programs designed for teachers (summer 2021) and future leaders (SY22). Unique to this year’s programming is that Fellows will have the opportunity to learn from others across regions as we bring together New England and Houston cohorts to elevate the learning experience. These opportunities are all at no cost to you!
What are the Latinos for Education programs offered in 2021?
- The Latinx Teachers’ Fellowship (LTF) through Latinos for Education will provide a national cohort of 45-75 Latinx K-12 teachers with a learning network of peers and the tools to collaboratively prepare to maintain and improve the skills needed to serve large ELL populations during the re-entry process. The goal of Latinos for Education is to equip Latinx teachers to navigate the increased demands of a post-pandemic education system and improve their likelihood of progressing in their careers as teacher leaders into the next school year and beyond. The Fellowship takes place virtually over 4 weeks in the month of July 2021.
- The Aspiring Latino Leaders Fellowship (ALLF) through Latinos for Education is an academic-year program that invests in K-12 Latinx education leaders (“Fellows”). The program helps Fellows become even more effective in the roles they’re in by strengthening their skillsets across several core competencies including: State of Education, Community Engagement, Civic Engagement & Public Policy, Dismantling Anti-Blackness, Leadership, Identity and Personal Development. The Fellowship takes place virtually one Friday per month from October through May with one virtual weekend retreat in September.
- Please share this information with your staff. You can also nominate potential applicants that Latinos For Education would directly reach out to via: Nominate HERE
Assessment Calendar (includes MCAS, etc)
May 12 - School Committee
May 20 - PLC
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School
June 18 - Last Day of School
August 16-18 - August Leadership Institute
September 9 - First Day of School - Grades 1-12
Division of Academics
Early Childhood Update
Focus on K2 and Focus on First - Unit 4 Decodables were delivered the week of April 26th. There are copies for each kindergartener and first grader in your building. Please ensure classroom teachers receive their texts. The full list of Focus decodables can be found here. Please reach out to Brooke Childs, bchilds@bostonpublicschools.org, with questions.
Celebrate Massachusetts Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day
Reimagine your route to school! Schools can host Spring Walk to School Day on Wed, May 5. Ask students and staff to wear their brightest & boldest colors and celebrate their return by walking to school together. Let’s celebrate across the district! Central Office staff can show their support on social media by posting a picture of their walk with the tags #MAsaferoutes #BostonSafeRoutes #BPSWalktoSchoolDay. See the flyer for more information and register your school here.
Contact: Debra Brendemuehl, dbrendemuehl@bostonpublicschools.org
Exciting Donation Announcement
The Boston Athletic Association generously donated funding to BPS to purchase and distribute functional fitness equipment for all high schools. All BPS high schools will receive a fitness pack including this equipment. Please fill out this form no later than May 7th to identify a liaison to receive this shipment. Contact: Erin Robinson, erobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
2019 YRBS Report Translations Available!
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) reports share crucial information on the health risk behaviors and trends in middle and high school students. The reports from the 2019 survey results have now been translated into the nine major BPS languages. Please share the translated reports with families! All middle school reports can be found here and high school reports here.
Contact: Maryka Lier, mlier@bostonpublicschools.org
Final Week for Nominations for School Wellness Award
Each year, BPS celebrates innovative, collaborative approaches to creating sustainable, healthy school environments that advance students’ healthy development and readiness to learn. The awards recognize school wellness councils that have enhanced school health and excelled in implementing the wellness policy.
We want to recognize and award schools that found creative ways to adapt to the challenges of this year and to attend to the health and wellbeing of students, staff, and families. The School Wellness Award is an opportunity to honor school teams’ outstanding efforts to promote the wellness policy’s different areas. Anyone can nominate a school for their work using this form! Contact: Maryka Lier, mlier@bostonpublicschools.org
SAVE the DATE! Annual BPS Wellness Summit
Join members of the BPS community as we come together to share resources, success stories and inspire one another to create safe, healthy and sustaining learning environments. Featuring a Keynote Address & School Wellness Awards Ceremony. More details & registration coming soon! See Flyer for more info!
FERPA Training Registration for School Leaders
This spring ODA will provide mandatory FERPA training for all School Leaders. You will learn FERPA, State, and BPS regulations about Protecting Student Privacy and Education Records. If you have not attended a previous FERPA Training, register for one of the spring sessions.
Registration form for FERPA Training
MAP Administration Refresher PD Opportunities: Spring 2021
Want a quick review before administering MAP this Spring? Attend one of ODA's MAP Refresher Sessions! PDs will offer a quick refresher on administering both MAP Growth and MAP Fluency. Questions? Contact Dana Pulda-Acone at formatives@bostonpublicschools.org.
When: 5/12 (9:00-10:15), 5/17 (3:00-4:15), 5/19 (4:00-5:15), 5/24 (4:00-5:15), 5/26 (8:30-9:45)
Who: Open to all BPS employees administering MAP this Spring.
Register Here: MAP Refresher Sign-up Form (Spring 2021).
Panorama Weekly Update - Course Attendance is Back, and Window 2 Interim Results are Completely Uploaded
Course-level Attendance Data is Back
There had been a long-standing technical issue, preventing many schools from seeing course-level attendance on student profiles. ODA and OIIT have now addressed the underlying cause.Thank you for your patience!
We hope that the feature will help school teams to more easily/quickly understand student attendance. Please see the screenshot example at right. If you have any questions about this feature or any other aspect of the platform, please reach out to mtssdata@bostonpublicschools.org.
All district interim assessments that students took in Window 2 are now available in Panorama!
Please note the following details:
The platform displays interims based on the date range in which students took them, not based on the assessment number/sequence. Example: if a student took interim 1 during window 2, the system displays the result as part of window 2.
The platform’s summary view (shown in the data bar below) only displays a single window’s results at a time. However, you can see multiple windows’ results on a student profile page.
Panorama shows only the most recent assessment from each window, but averages the two sections (A and B) if both are taken.
Note that scores will appear artificially low if open responses are unscored.
For more detailed information about interim results, please use the Illuminate platform. Panorama provides only the overall performance level.
ODA will update the interim data on the schedule below; by each Wednesday listed, results will be up to date through the previous Friday. These are manual uploads, scheduled to reflect the Assessment Calendar.
Proposed Amendment to Regulations on Accountability
Commissioner Riley is proposing to the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education that the state refrain from issuing new accountability determinations for districts and schools for SY20-21. DESE requested – and has since received – a waiver of certain federal accountability requirements for SY20-21 from the US Department of Education.
Instead of issuing new accountability determinations in fall 2021, DESE will use each district’s and school’s most recent accountability determinations (from 2019), to ensure that they continue to receive support as needed. DESE will resume its regular annual accountability reporting practices following SY20-21.
Division of Equity, Strategy, & Opportunity Gaps
School-Based Equity Roundtable PD for School Teams
Equity Roundtables are conversations amongst a group of stakeholders that reflect the racial, ethnic, linguistic and socio-economic diversity of the school community to push our thinking about who we are as a school. The goal of the School-based Equity Roundtable is to eliminate opportunity, achievement gaps, and barriers for BPS students as we work to expand opportunities for the most marginalized. The roundtables also serve as a project monitoring tool for the Whole School Improvement Plan to expand opportunities for the most marginalized population of students at the school.
The School Based Equity Roundtable Handbook is a helpful tool however, the ESOG Team will offer support every Wednesday starting February 10 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. If you need more information or have questions, please contact Velecia Saunders at VSaunders@bostonpublicschools.org.
Division of Human Capital
Hiring Status Emails
OHC's bi-weekly Hiring Status emails went out last Friday! Please review these emails carefully to make sure you know your school’s targets for hiring diverse candidates, as well as excessed teachers, and share these goals with your hiring committee. Additionally, please check each position listed and reach out to your hiring manager directly if you see any inconsistencies with posted positions of hire statuses. If you have feedback on the frequency or content of these emails, please contact your HC Manager.
Substitute Hiring Requirements
Applicants for substitute positions are no longer required to possess a Bachelor's degree to be hired for per diem substitute needs.
Key points:
Applicants must apply to the district-wide substitute posting, and you must submit them for hire to the SubCentral workflow.
Substitutes without a Bachelor's degree cannot work in LTS assignments.
Internal candidates are preferred (student teachers, lunch monitors, etc.)
If a candidate does not hold a Bachelor's degree and has no teaching experience/license they will be required to complete the Substitute Training Course ($39.95 fee involved).
Please contact: bpssubcentral@bostonpublicschools.org with any questions regarding substitute hiring
Division of Operations
Fire Drill/Evacuation Requirements (updated 4/6/21)
During these challenging times, we are still required to conduct mandatory drills. As we return to school buildings, all occupants will need to familiarize themselves with their evacuation plans. Please review the document linked HERE.
Division of Student, Family, and Community Advancement
School Site Council (SSC) Waivers
The Joint Steering Committee is scheduled to meet on 5/19 to review SSC waivers (see page 2 of the Joint Steering Committee Overview). Schools seeking to submit a waiver may submit by May 6th to Nathalie Louis, clouis3@bostonpublicschools.org. Please inform your School Superintendent. If you need support with the waiver process, please contact Nathalie Louis. An additional date will be scheduled for June and will be shared at a later date.
Attention all Secondary School Leaders
Greater Boston Regional Student Advisory Council Elections Must Be Completed and information submitted to DESE by Thursday, May 20th.
Massachusetts takes pride in being one of a handful of states with full voting rights for a student on the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board) and the only state where the student Board member is elected by his/her peers. Mass. General Laws Chapter 15, Section 1E provides for voting student representation on the Board through a state Student Advisory Council. The Student Advisory Council (SAC) network consists of five regional councils and the Statewide Student Advisory Council (SSAC).
Secondary school principals play a key role by encouraging student participation and overseeing the election of two student representatives from each secondary school to serve on the appropriate Regional Student Advisory Council (RSAC) each year. Each BPS Secondary School must identify two student representatives to serve on the Greater Boston Regional Advisory Council. Representatives must be elected by their peers and registered online with DESE by Thursday, May 20th. Confirmations will be sent to students and school staff notifying each of you of the upcoming orientation meetings for new members.
