From Grace's Desk...
During ALI last week, I experienced a full range of emotions from being eager to begin a new school year, joy at seeing us back in-person, to tears when listening to Corey share about how adults in his life saw and encouraged his potential and how being literate brought him liberation, but also fractured family relationships. When Heela shared her "why," I heard and felt pain from her sister's cries and anger at the adults who gave up caring. My heart and my mind were challenged last week. As I enter my 33rd school year, I am full of hope for the children of Boston.
As you work on your year long professional learning planner, consider using this resource from ODA that details a nine-week Data Driven Instruction cycle. Teacher planning and execution are sometimes at odds (intention ≄ impact). The cycle includes lesson internalization, which could be one way to close the gap between intent and impact. Consider using this resource to define your common planning time cycles. (Refer to the last blog post to see Jodi's planner and for the link to the professional learning template.)
Assessment Information
Part of your planning should incorporate the assessment calendar. You can access the assessment memo and calendar.
Below, find information from the district August 20th Friday Flyer. Please pay close attention to ODA Professional Learning and resources to gear up to encourage students to return to school and School Committee approved Attendance Policy Changes.
Important Dates
August 23-24 - New Teacher Institute
August 25 - Summer Graduation
September 6 - Labor Day
September 7-8 - Rosh Hashanah
September 9 - First Day of School - Grades 1-12
September 13 - First Day of school - Pre-K & Kindergarten
Division of Academics
Connect & Share Panel Discussion: Building an Equitable Classroom Community
Join us Thursday, August 26th for an educator-led panel discussion. Hear from your colleagues about what’s working in their own classrooms and schools. This month's topic came from the Telescope Network's June survey where educators are thinking about how to rebuild classroom communities as we welcome students into the 2021-2022 school year. Connect with peers from across BPS, get new ideas, and earn PD hours as well. Join us on Thursday, August 26th from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. on Zoom. Other sessions are coming in September and October. (RSVP | More info).
Observation and Coaching PLC for Administrative Team Members
BPS has partnered with New Leaders to offer a job-embedded opportunity for administrators to hone their observation and coaching skills. Sessions will be held September 21, 2021, October 19, 2021, November 16, 2021, January 18, 2022, February 15, 2022, and May 17, 2022. For more information, please complete the interest form no later than EOD August 23, 2021. New Leaders will offer two virtual information sessions on August 24th from 8:30 - 9:00am and August 24th from 5:30 - 6:00pm. Please join using this Zoom Link. You can register for the course here. A flyer with more detailed information can be found here. If you have any questions, please contact Monica Hall, mhall4@bostonpublicschools.org.
New ODA Professional Learning Calendar
The ODA team has launched a new calendar for all MAP and Panorama Student Success learning opportunities! Choose from four different sessions offered throughout August and September. Access the new calendar here. Register for sessions in TeachPoint.
You can access a sign-in link via TeachPoint, or you can use these links to access the training sessions directly: MAP sessions and Panorama sessions.
*Social workers will receive a direct invitation. There will be a Panorama 1.0 session from
3:00-4:00, followed by Panorama 2.0 from 4:00-5:00.
**Sign-up for the Attendance Symposium here.
Division of Equity, Strategy, & Opportunity Gaps
Information about the Jewish High Holidays 2021:
The following letter will be sent out to supervisors of school-based staff regarding how to accommodate and support staff members who may be observing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this upcoming school year. Please read the letter closely to learn how to support BPS staff members during the High Holidays in September.
For more information about the Jewish High Holidays and additional support for staff observing the holidays, please reach out to Becky Shuster (rshuster@bostonpublicschools.org) in the Office of Equity.
Division of Human Capital
Division of Operations
SY2021-2022 Process for Requesting Covid Materials:
As we enter the 2021-2022 school year, we have revised the systems for requesting COVID materials to ensure that BPS schools have everything they need to start the school year. The materials addressed in these systems are the following: Fans; Air Purifiers and PPE
Fans: August 20, 2021: School Leaders will have the ability to order additional fans for non-HVAC buildings through Operational Leaders. Please ensure you specify which type of fan is being requested.
Air Purifiers: August 20,2021: School Leaders will have the ability to order additional Air Purifiers through Operational Leaders. Specific room numbers and rationale will be needed as part of the request.
PPE: We are continuing the PPE request process this year and appreciate your partnership in ensuring a safe environment for our students (SY2021-2022 PPE guidance). Each school will receive an initial PPE amount beginning the week of August 23rd; this amount is intended to last through December 2021. If schools are running low on PPE at any time, PPE Coordinators can request additional materials through the request form starting August 30th. In terms of next steps:
Please register your school's PPE Coordinator by August 25th
Review the PPE request process and guidance linked here PPE request process.
Thursday, Sept. 2nd from 3:00 - 4:00pm
Google Meet (515-218-2345 PIN: 354 245 606#)
Friday, Sept. 10th from 9:00 -10:00am
Google Meet (505-596-0206 PIN: 853 576 606#)
Facilities Contacts
We are excited to announce that Brian Forde Jr joined the Facilities Department of BPS in July. Brian has a background in engineering, construction and facilities management. We are equally excited to share that Tony Pomella is now the Assistant Director of Planning and Engineering for the Facilities Department. We would also like to share that Pat Mulvey- Welsh no longer works for BPS, and the department is activily recruiting for his replacement. Below is clarification on who to contact for needs.
Division of Student, Family, and Community Advancement
BACKPACK PICKUP
Backpack pickup is scheduled for August 30th to September 2nd from 9AM to 3PM at the West Roxbury Educational Campus (WREC) located at 1205 VFW Parkway in West Roxbury. Please find your backpack allocation here. Backpack boxes are slightly larger than the box for a playstation or DVD player and hold 12 backpacks each. At the same time, we are asking schools to pick up a box of 300 UNIQLO masks. Schools can send any representative to pick up, we will collect their name at the door. Delivery is not available. After September 2nd any uncollected backpacks will be reassigned to other schools. For additional backpacks, please email FBorders@bostonpublicschools.org with how many extra you are requesting.
Division of Student Support
Department of Opportunity Youth
For questions or additional information, email Brian Marques (bmarques@bostonpublicschools.org)
“I’m In” Back to School Attendance Campaign
Resources to Condcut Home Visit Outreach
As we focus on how to RETURN strong from the pandemic, RECOVER from learning loss, and REIMAGINE our education system to promote greater equity and excellence, we must have a strategy to promote strong school attendance and prevent chronic absenteeism. Beginning in late August, all school leaders are asked to mobilize school staff to conduct virtual and in-person home visits for students who had a high rate of absenteeism over the past two school years. The goal is to build stronger relationships, while establishing a partnership with students and families to promote consistent attendance from the start of the school year.
Process and Protocols for Home Visits: Detailed information describing the rationale, steps, and procedure for Home Visits
Panorama Process Guide: Describes how to run the list of students for your school and how to create an Attendance Success Plan for each student following the home visit.
Student Back to School Videos
Hit record and help boost student attendance! As a way to promote school attendance, students are invited to submit a short video (less than one minute) by September 10, covering these topics:
Why they are excited about returning to school
What helps them to not miss school days
Students will have the opportunity to win gift cards and selected videos will be presented at the BPS Attendance Symposium on September 23, 2021. Please help spread the word by sharing the following with your school community:
Register for the 5th Annual BPS Attendance Symposium (Virtual)
Please join us on September 23 as we explore best practices, frameworks, and insights to better support student attendance and engagement. Primary focus areas of the Symposium will be the introduction of the revised Attendance Policy and new "nudge-style" attendance letters, as well as improving the quality of Attendance Success Plans using Panorama and the benefits of the Tiered Attendance System (TAS) to schools. Click here to register.
COMING SOON: New “Nudge-Style” Attendance Letters
As we continue to reimagine our attendance practices, our focus is reducing chronic absenteeism by building relationships with students and families, boosting engagement, and adhering to culturally and linguistically sustaining practices. This includes using language that is inclusive, student-centered, and non-punitive in our communications. Following this imperative, we will introduce new evidence-based attendance letters that model behavioral science theory to clearly communicate individual student attendance data, highlight the importance of consistent attendance, and engage parents and caregivers as partners in helping to improve their child’s attendance. These will replace the current attendance letters and be available to print and mail or distribute electronically via Aspen SIS. Guidance materials and key details will be communicated to school leaders in advance of the planned launch in late September.
Revised District Attendance Policy - Key Attendance Policy Changes for SY21-22
Please note that the School Committee approved a revised attendance policy that is effective for the 2021-2022 school year. Key changes include:
Schools may no longer convert tardies to an absence. This includes high schools.
In order to facilitate competency-based grading across the district, schools may no longer assign grades of “No Credit (NC)” to students. The following guidance has been provided regarding credit recovery for students:
Passing grades should be competency based, which may be impacted by attendance due to missed assignments or school work, but should not be tied exclusively to attendance or participation.
It is essential that schools outreach early and often for students at risk of a failing grade.
As an alternative, schools may mark a student with an “incomplete” grade to enable equitable learning recovery.
In all cases, a student not earning a passing grade must be given the opportunity and responsibility to equitably recover any learning loss or make up the work missed within a marking period to earn a passing grade.
Provided below is an overview, as well as translations of the revised policy in multiple languages:
Remember, accurate attendance reporting is a critical process as we welcome students back for the 2021-2022 school year!