Thursday, September 10, 2020

Post #7 Thursday Memo - September 10, 2020

"We can't go back." - Bettina Love 

"We have been too quiet for too long. There comes a time when you have to say something. You have to make a little noise. You have to move your feet. This is the time." - John Lewis

Words from Grace

Each time I hear Bettina Love speak, I get more fired up! Now that all staff have heard of her description of what it means to be an anti-racist educator and organization, the door is open to dive into CLSP and see action in our classrooms and schools, not just through words, posters, and celebrations. I had the pleasure of visiting the Timilty and Tynan yesterday as they dove into the the CLSP continuum with their staffs, and I know that Lee Academy is also doing deep work in talking about race and changing mindsets. Now, after hearing Dr. Love, we can move more quickly along the CLSP continuum and explore the CRIOP tool as well. (See links on the right side of this blog).


I know you all have been working 24/7 and in general professional development is always a big lift, never mind planning for NINE days of it! These days will help you set the tone for the year and engage with staff to problem solve on the thorny problems such as scheduling and reaching out to families for a great start to the year! Also, information is raining down fast and furiously - if you're unsure check this blog or just call!


MOU: Thanks for jumping in on the 9 pm call last night. We wanted to provide you the information from us even though many of you already heard from staff. Here are the talking points that Corey shared this morning. I look forward to seeing you at 3:00 pm today if you can make it.


Links to district PD and Exit Ticket:
PD calendar with asynchronous video links here.

In order to provide feedback on the sessions and obtain PDPs, each staff member must complete this exit ticket for each session. I recommend going through the sessions in groups for processing, implementation, and accountability.

WIDA Training: Because we may have students in classrooms spanning three levels (3, 4, 5 or 1, 2, 3), the DOJ is requiring 15 hours of PD for the staff who will need additional strategies to address students' English language development. WIDA training is required for staff in this situation only; not all of your staff will need this PD. Try to front load the training during these two weeks and provide time to be completed by the end of November. The district will not pay stipends for teachers to complete this training outside of contractual hours.

Not So Distant Learning Course: was created by Jess Madden-Fuoco in collaboration with 48 BPS staff. The course is designed to guide teachers step-by-step through planning for remote and hybrid instruction that is grounded in antiracist pedagogy with examples for K-12 for all subject areas and for all student populations. The course is free for all BPS teachers and leaders and staff.

For BPS teachers and leaders to get access to the Not So Distant Learning course for free, you should complete the following steps described below and in this 1-minute screen recording:
  • Visit this link.
  • Scroll down to the section called "Join our course today" and click on "enroll now."
  • On the sales page, click "Add coupon code" on the top left under the heart.
  • In the coupon code box, type BPS2020 and click apply.
  • Then, scroll to the bottom and click "Enroll - Free." People should enroll using their BPS email.
If you haven't used Teachable before, it might ask you to create an account and create a profile in Gravatar. 

You are welcome to share the course with friends outside of BPS. It is priced at $49 to make it affordable to teachers everywhere, and 60% of the money raised will go to support restorative justice professional learning in BPS, the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, and Monica Cannon Grant's work on Violence in Boston.

Looking for past blogs? Go to the top of the page where it says "Archives." It looks like this:




Family Survey Response Rates: We're all in the green! (as of 9/8/20, 9 pm)














By school response rates:









Important Dates

September 7 – Labor Day
September 8 – Teachers and Paras report
September 16 – School Committee Meeting @ 5p
September 21 – 1st day of school – All students start remotely
September 30 – School Committee Meeting @ 5p 
October 12 - Columbus Day 
  

Office of the Superintendent

Committee Recruitment for Innovative Science Assessment


DESE is seeking educators to serve as members of the Innovative Science Assessment Committee (ISAC) and the Bias and Sensitivity Committee (BSC) as part of the development of a new, innovative assessment pilot for Grades 5 and 8 Science and Technology/Engineering. Application instructions can be found here. Applications are due on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020 by 5pm. 


This is an exciting opportunity to have a voice in the creation of a new model for statewide assessment. To prepare for a first pilot in May 2021, DESE will develop a new approach to science assessment in Grades 5 and 8 intended to measure students’ deeper learning and promote equitable practices.

Division of Academics

STEM Survey


Please help the STEM department identify the STEM Specialists in the district by filling out this survey. The STEM department would like to use this information to help us plan targeted professional development, seek funding for classroom materials and curriculum, and to use schools with specialists to help develop and implement a STEM mission and vision for the district. If you have any questions, please contact Beth Milewski: ekenney2@bostonpublicschools.org 

Division of Accountability

 School Level School Selection Form Data Available

Currently, over 40,000 students and families have responded to the Fall 2020 School Selection Form survey. Student level responses are currently available in ASPEN (directions here). To see a high level view of your school's participation rate and responses by student group, please follow this link. School-based staff have access to the dashboard using their BPS email address. Please reach out to Stephanie Marek with questions (smarek@bostonpublicschools.org).


School Leader Call 9.4.20: Please see the resources from Friday’s School Leader Call


School Leader Master Calendar: Please see the initial draft of the School Leader Master Calendar Draft 9.8.20 that includes:

  • The google doc with all of the August School Leader meeting slide decks/agendas

  • Overview of School Leader meetings

  • "Week at a glance" by the current month

  • "Day at a glance" by the current month

  • "Year at a Glance" by Divisions and future months

  • This Master Calendar is posted on the Home Page of the School Leader Communication Hub


Tech & Wellness Checks: We are asking all school-based staff to engage/continue to engage in Tech & Wellness Checks as a “Tier 1” core action. The goals of these check ins are to proactively and positively connect with students/families.


Standards Institute – Winter 2020


A robust document with amazing resources from the winter Standards Institute can be found here. 


Division of Finance

Scheduling Support

We continue to host ongoing strategic scheduling working sessions for school leaders and schedulers to envision strong remote and hybrid schedules. These sessions will run almost daily through at least September 18. School leaders and schedulers can attend as many sessions as they find helpful. These will evolve over time as more information becomes available, but will always focus on collaborative work time where school leaders can share ideas and problem solve together. For more info, click here.

Note: these sessions are distinct from Aspen scheduling sessions, and can help with strategic decisions that need to be made before inputting a schedule into Aspen, or how to best strategize use of time within a content period.  -Patti Tao

Division of Human Capital

Pilot School Leaders


A BTU grievance regarding excessing was recently denied. The arbitrator ruled that in a pilot school excessing is measured by a different standard than excessing in other schools and that the standard covered in the Autonomous Schools Manual is upheld. Please note, excessing should not be used to circumvent the evaluation process, but this decision enforces the excessing standard in the manual, preserving pilot school excessing autonomy.

                                                            -Hannah Hall


Substitute Start Dates 


In a typical year, substitutes are not paid for days that students are not in the building. This means, if you would like them to attend Professional Development, you must submit paper PS08/09 stipends for this work. The report date for substitutes is currently a topic of negotiations, but the earliest they will be able to be paid is September 10th (the original first day of school). 

 

Supporting New Employees

 

  1. Please remember to wait until you have received a clearance email from your staffing coordinator to ensure that a new employee has passed his/her background check and has complete OHC clearance to begin work. You can also have your secretary run a timekeeper query to view which of your staff are active in our system. If you have a new staff member who is not active, please reach out to your staffing team to inquire about their status.

 

  1. OHC is working to activate all new employees in the City of Boston before their effective dates so that they have an active email address on the first day of work, however, there are a variety of reasons why there may be a delay. If your new employee does not have an email, and they don’t want to use their personal email address temporarily, you can problem solve by pairing them up with a buddy to access SIS programs and google drives, or set them up with a temporary work gmail address.

 

  1. If your new employees reach out with questions about enrolling in Health Benefits you can share the following resources:


To Enroll: Please visit the City of Boston benefits site to view the plan comparison and download enrollment forms. 

  • Your employee ID number must be active before you enroll

  • You must provide proof of eligibility such as a certified marriage or birth certificate if enrolling a spouse or any dependents


Please submit any enrollment forms and supporting documentation to Boston City Hall, Room 807 or fax to 617-635-3932. For questions contact: 617-635-4570.


Deadline: You have 30 days from your effective date to enroll in health benefits. If you fail to enroll, you must wait until open enrollment to enroll, typically in the spring. -Julia Garcia



at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)