Region 6 Information: #5 Choose PLC, Accountability, DataWise Institute

The beginning of the year is so full of promise! I am pleased to report that students and staff are hard at work. At the Mason, teachers are mapping the curriculum against grade level standards and the schedule of assessed standards in Illuminate. The transformation plan at Orchard Gardens is being launched through the ILT and Grade Level Teams. At the Russell, the staff are working on using the DataWise cycle to focus on a few standards based on item analysis on MCAS. The Adams and Guild Schools are using the calendar tool from the curriculum office to ensure a throughline among ILT, CPT, and PD. In all cases, schools are working to build leadership capacity among the teachers and staff in order to lead the continuous adult learning leading towards improved teaching and learning. Thank you for all of your hard work!

Mason staff hard at work mapping mathematics
curriculum for the year

Last week, Mayor Walsh and the Dr. Cassellius visited McKay and the EEC. On Tuesday, the superintendent visited the Alighieri, Adams, and Bradley. I'm so glad you have had some time to meet her and talk about your schools! Thank you for organizing student representatives and inviting parents to participate on these tours.

Accountability

Your school's accountability report is embargoed. Teachers have access to information that supports teaching and learning, but do not share accountability percentile and targets yet. Accountability reports will be public on September 24, 2019. You may hold a brief optional meeting to inform staff of your status that morning or afternoon.

Choose PLC by Monday, 9/16

Please complete the PLC Selection Form by Monday 9/16. Click here to see: PLC Offerings & Descriptions. PLC assignments will be shared on Thursday 9/19 at PD.

FAQs:

PLCs are mandatory - Choose one.
Choose a PLC that best fits with your learning needs and the needs of your school. For example, a Dual Language school leader does not have to choose the Dual Language PLC if they would prefer to be in another. School Superintendents and school leaders are welcome to discuss and decide together the best fit PLC.
PLCs sessions are six hours on each of the six PLC meeting days, but they may run slightly different lengths depending the need of the group. Deep learning is necessary in order to develop from the leaders you are to the leader you are meant to be.
The PLC topics were generated from the most popular selections and requests from the ALI survey.
PLC Facilitators were chosen in multiple ways:

Volunteered on the survey
Applied and accepted last spring
School type or work aligned with the content

Data Wise Institute at Harvard Ed Portal

Once again, the BPS Data Inquiry Team is partnering with the Data Wise Project from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in order to offer a three-day BPS Data Wise Institute. The institute approaches the Data Wise Instructional Improvement Process through the lens of equity, grounded in the curriculum and assessments used in BPS. The SY19-20 BPS Data Wise Institute will be held at the Harvard Ed Portal on October 22 and 23, with a follow up session on February 12. Last year's training was extremely well received, earning a promoter score of 9.6 out of 10. The training served either as a "booster shot" to support pre-existing inquiry practices or served as an introduction to Data Wise in anticipation of deeper coaching support from the Inquiry Team this year.

If you want to learn more, call your colleagues who participated last year from the schools below:

Warren-Prescott K-8
Quincy Elementary
Mary Lyon K-8
Kilmer
Lyndon
Russell

We are asking that school teams (school leader, 2-3 teacher leaders) register if they are interested in establishing disciplined inquiry practices in their schools and would like to learn in a collaborative, case-study driven environment. They must commit to attending all three sessions as well as work to implement their learning back at school between sessions. Participants are provided breakfast and lunch each day of the institute.

Please reach out to Sarah Jay with any questions. Please register all participants here. (This registration form includes learning objectives and logistics for the training). There is limited space at the Ed Portal, so schools should register as soon as possible.

Edvestors School Solution Seed Grant Funds - Call for applications

Do you and your colleagues have an idea for how to tackle a pressing challenge at your school but need resources to pilot or test your solution?

EdVestors will make School Solutions Seed Fund grants of $5,000-$10,000 to support educators working collaboratively in Boston schools to pilot, plan, or test promising and innovative on-the-ground solutions. Work may be implemented across a few classrooms, a grade-level or department team, an entire school, or multiple schools.

Applications are due on November 1st for project implementation between January and September 2020. Schools may apply directly or with a nonprofit partner.

Boston's teachers and school leaders know their schools best. Let EdVestors support your ideas for improving Boston's schools!

Application Deadline: Friday, November 1, 2019 at 3:00pm
Want to learn more and apply?
Contact: Alia Verner, Manager of Strategic School Support, verner@edvestors.org