#7 Links from recent days, OEL Liaison/Links, ELA MCAS Update

I have a love/hate relationship with Fall. The trees are starting to turn and it will be peak season for the beauty of New England - orange, reds, greens, rust, browns, the cool mornings and warm afternoons... but it also signals RAKING (ugh), shorter days, and putting the garden to bed. The worst part of summer for me is mowing the lawn, the best part of winter is not having to mow the lawn!

Geoff Rose reminded me last Thursday was only the 10th day of school; it feels like we have quickly settled into a routine and then over the last few days you have received a lot of information, numerous emails from various folks. Some of this is due to leadership transition as we work to define roles and be supportive. As we settle into the new year with new leadership, your strong leadership, moral imperative, and steadfastness is even more needed to keep your schools humming and focused on teaching and learning.

Recent Links:

All Admin PD Day Slide Deck
All Admin PD OEL Presentation 
PLC Roster
School Support Contact Information
School-Central Shared Folders
Schedule of Assessed Standards SY20 Folder
AHERA Letter from John Hanlon
Testing Memo Email from Mary Dillman 09/19/19

Research for Better Teaching Newsletter

Here is RBT's September Newsletter (PDF from my email). This issue is on Intelligence and Growth Mindset. There's a great video on unlearning - the Backwards Bicycle that is a great one to show staff.

From Rachel Chen, OEL Liaison

Welcome back! My name is Rachel Chen, and I am your Office of English Learners’ liaison for the 2019-2020 school year. I will be your main point of contact for questions related to support and services for English Learners. When necessary, I will also be able to refer you to various team members to provide you more direct or specialized support. We are so excited about this year!Please find some helpful resources:

• LATF / ACCESS Coordinator registration form (due September 20, 2019)

• LATF Job Description

• LATF Calendar

• LATF Meeting dates for the SY19-20

• EL Code Change Request Form (LCCR)

• English Learner (EL) Program & Scheduling Guidance (updated for SY1920)

• Aspen instructions for inputting ESL schedules

• Link to sign up for Scheduling Clinics

We are also pleased to announce that new this year Data Warehouse will have student schedule compliance updated twice a day. Please see the above guidance for more information.Finally, some things to be aware of in the near future:

• RFP for After School Programming

• LOOK Act Bilingual Programming Statement of Interest for School Leaders

First LATF meeting is Monday, September 23rd!Wishing you a great start to school year 2019! Please reach out to oellinstructionteam@bostonpublicschools.org if you have any questions.

Changes to ELA MCAS Test Design

As part of DESE’s efforts to reduce testing time for students, the test designs for the 2020 English Language Arts MCAS tests in grades 3–8 and 10 have changed. Changes include:

• the elimination of one operational essay in each grade;
• the addition of multiple choice items, including both language and reading items;
• a small adjustment to reporting category percentages; and
• a small reduction in the total number of points on the grades 6–8 and 10 tests.

In addition to helping reduce testing time, these changes are also intended to make the student testing experience on the grades 3–8 tests and the grade 10 test more similar.