Words from Grace
I've already written a post this week, so I'll try to be brief. Please remember to invite me to your family/staff meetings, your ILTs, PD/Team time during the next two weeks - send invites to times when my presence will be most impactful. I'm finding our check-ins are taking longer than half an hour, so I apologize when I have had to reschedule.
Below, find some information from the superintendent team about this year's PLCs and planning for fast approaching professional learning.
School Leader Professional Learning Community Update
The school superintendent team is currently developing the Professional Learning Community (PLC) structure for SY21. Through this process, we are:
leveraging the strengths of last year’s school leader learning experience
learning from constructive feedback and making adjustments
incorporating a focus on the instructional shifts required due to the pandemic
aligning commitments of the BPS Strategic Plan with the potential PLC options
To do:
By September 6th: Complete the PLC survey #1 to gauge interest in some of the PLC work continuing from last year and to solicit suggestions for potential new PLC groups. There will be an open response option to make your suggestions or proposal for additional PLC options in the form.
By September 13th, the school superintendent team will send a second PLC survey to ask for your PLC preferences based on the information provided in the first survey. Prior to the finalization of PLC membership for SY21, we will utilize the Racial Equity Planning Tool to ensure alignment with our district’s core values.
By September 20th, you will receive confirmation of your PLC assignment.
This year, PLCs will be led by a school leader and supported by a member of the Central Office. The process to select PLC leads (a stipended role) and a description of the position will be finalized by the end of this week. Please note the dates of the proposed SY21 PLC and school leader PD calendar. If you have any further questions, please contact Natalie Ake, Tommy Welch, or your school superintendent.
Planning for Nine Days of PD
- How will staff re-enter the building on 9/14 so that they feel safe and welcomed?
- Where in the building will staff members be during PD sessions? Make sure you maintain safety guidelines: 6 feet of social distancing, masks on, adequate ventilation in all workspaces. Maximum group size of 25 if space allows for it.
- How will paraprofessionals and other staff who do not have their own technology access the learning?
- How can you use your outdoor space to build community and model for staff how it can be used with students?
- You can assign some staff to participate in sessions specific to their grade level, student population, or level of expertise.
- If you have already covered district content in your own summer institutes you do not need to repeat those sessions.
- District sessions will continue to be available asynchronously and could be incorporated into other PD spaces (such as CPT and afterschool PD) during the month of September.
- Provide opportunities for processing and application of new learning
- Allow time in the schedule for staff to reflect on, discuss, and begin to think about how they will apply the learning from each session.
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
Office of the Superintendent
COVID-19 Travel Policy
Please make sure you are familiar with and adhere to the City of Boston Travel Policy related to COVID-19.
-Catherine Lizotte
Division of Academics
Returning Boston Strong – Final Draft – Required PD
Returning Boston Strong – Final Draft – Optional PD
LAT Facilitator and ACCESS Test Coordinator
Please identify your school's Language Acquisition Team Facilitator(s) and ACCESS Test Coordinator by filling out this quick form by 9/7. The form includes a link to LATF duties for this SY.
Contact oellequityteam@bostonpublicschools.org with any questions.
Curriculum Access for Transformation and Sixth Grade Expansion Schools
Printed curriculum materials will be delivered next week and the week after. Please fill out this contact form with the contact information for yourself and two staff members who will frequently be in the school to support with deliveries. Jenelle Lawson from APL will contact you and your team directly as orders are on their way to your school.
Thank you to the work of the Digital Learning Team, digital access to new and continuing curriculum will start to become available on Clever this week.
General information about digital access to curriculum can be found here. A few exciting updates:
- All high school music programs will have access to SoundTrap music production software
- All elementary schools will receive a class set of Midi keyboards and ukuleles with the support of the Ernie Boch, Jr. Foundation to use when hybrid instruction starts.
- All high schools (through the generosity of Northeastern University) will have free access to Chemistry and Biology simulations and digital labs through JOVE.
- All schools will have free access to history and writing modules through the DBQ Project and financial literacy through EverFi.
- All schools using SAAVAS/Pearson math products (Investigations, CMP, CME) will have free, expanded and improved access to digital materials this year. Investigations and CMP materials will be available in both English and Spanish.
Facing History is offering a PD in partnership with DESE: Building a Foundation for Community, Connection, and Civil Discourse in History and Social Studies. The PD is Wednesday, September 9 from 10:30a - 12p. As you have more clarity on pd for Sept. 8 – 18, you may want to consider sending history and/or humanities teachers to this session. Here is the link to register.
History and Social Studies Units
In an effort to increase access to high-quality, CLSP-aligned history and science modules, The Opportunity Gap Office and the History Department are collaborating to crowd-source and curate history and social studies units from schools. Please share your best resources with danielle.alli@bostonpublicschools and/or angela.hedley@bostonpublicschools.
Science/Foss
We are in the process of establishing digital access for on-line resources for the following 6-8 Next Generation editions:
This digital access is in addition to the digital access teachers already have associated with the units sent to schools.
Human Systems Interactions, Waves, Earth History, Diversity of Life, Gravity & Kinetic Energy, Population & Ecology, Weather & Water, Heredity & Adaptations, Chemical Interactions
For K-5, the following digital units are available:
K2: Materials in Motion, Animals 2 x 2
1st: Air & Weather, Sound & Light; Plants & Animals
2nd: Pebbles, Sand and Silt, Insects
3rd: Water & Climate; New Plants
4th: Energy; Soils, Rocks & Landforms
5th: Earth & Sun; Mixtures & Solutions
Early Childhood Home Learning Kits
The Early Childhood Department will be purchasing materials for Home Learning Kits for students in K0-2nd grade. Lists of materials can be found here.
Materials will be shipped directly to your school buildings. Your teams will need to assemble the kits for each student before distribution. We will be sending instructions for this process later in the week when we get a better sense of when materials will be delivered. Please note that some of the materials due to high demand may not arrive before the first day of school. Thus far, we have secured 50% of the funds needed to get this to every K0-2nd student; we anticipate meeting our target and securing these items by next week (possibly sooner).
Please complete this google form to assist us in ensuring the correct number of kits are delivered to your building. Please note, we are using maximum enrollment numbers, not registered numbers to create orders. If there are any questions or concerns, please contact jsachs@bostonpublicschools.org
For K-5, the following digital units are available:
K2: Materials in Motion, Animals 2 x 2
1st: Air & Weather, Sound & Light; Plants & Animals
2nd: Pebbles, Sand and Silt, Insects
3rd: Water & Climate; New Plants
4th: Energy; Soils, Rocks & Landforms
5th: Earth & Sun; Mixtures & Solutions
The Early Childhood Department will be purchasing materials for Home Learning Kits for students in K0-2nd grade. Lists of materials can be found here.
Division of Accountability
Elementary Regions | Secondary Regions |
Karen McCarthy, Region 1 Edverette Brewster, Region 2 Camila Hernandez, Region 3 Julia Bott, Region 4 Ed Puliafico, Region 5 Mark O’Connor, Region 6 | Sherann Jackson-Alkins Gene Roundtree Tony King Herve Anoh Rachel Skerritt |
Please see the following overview for more information about the application and selection processes: School Leader Cabinet Overview (SY 20-21)
School Leader Call 9.1.20 Follow Up: Thanks for everyone’s time and communication at this week’s School Leader Call. Please see the slides, notes, and recording linked here (this document is also on the home page of the School Leader Communication Hub) School Leader Meetings Updated 9.1.20
Professional Development Opportunities to Share with Staff: Please see the following free PD opportunities offered from Boston Children’s Hospital Neighborhood Partnerships:
- Welcoming Students Back to School: Strategies to Support Social Emotional Skills
- Creating a Community of Care for Educators in Schools: A Guided Reflection
- Educators in Conversation: Centering Healing Justice in Schools
We are excited to partner with the Life is Good Playmakers (LiGP) to offer you their Playmaker 101: Healing Power of Optimism online course. For over 30 years, LiGP has provided training, resources, tools and ongoing coaching to more than 15,000 childcare professionals working in schools, hospitals and social service agencies that serve some of the most vulnerable populations. You can learn more about them on their website here.
This foundational course will introduce you to their core philosophy and approach to building safe, joyful, engaging and connected environments where everyone – especially children - can heal, learn and grow. They believe that to better serve kids, we need to better serve those who care for them. Childcare professionals across the U.S. and Haiti have called this one of the most amazing, rejuvenating and transformational trainings they have ever done. Their program has been proven to reduce levels of professional burnout and increase child resiliency.
Review this flier for more information. The course is entirely self-paced and estimated to take 3 hours.
When: September 2nd to September 16th
What: 3-hour online course
Register now: https://playmakeru.lifeisgood.com/boston-public-schools
Use Registration Code: bps0902playmaker
If you have any difficulties with the course or registration please email support@ligplaymakers.org
Division of Equity, Strategy, & Opportunity
The Division of Equity, Strategy, & Opportunity is inviting two principals to join the Districtwide PD Steering Committee. This group represents all staff across Boston Public Schools, from operational, to administrative, to educational, and from central office to schools. This work is both urgent and important as we prepare for the upcoming school year. The purpose of this committee will be to determine the framework, standards, priorities, guidance, and process for the professional development of all staff in the district. More about the Committee and selection criteria are detailed in the Application, due September 24, 2020.
Division of Student Family and Community Advancement
A Reopening for Families Toolkit can be found here. The Office of Student, Family and Community Advancement (OSFCA) will be providing home visit training for educators seeking to conduct virtual or contactless in-person home visits. Sign up for training us this link.
Division of Human Capital
Access Boston Emails
Many returning employees received an email this week that alerted them to an "Update Made to Your Access Boston Account." OHC has routinely updated position numbers in our system for the upcoming school year. These emails do not require any action. -Julia Garcia
Many returning employees received an email this week that alerted them to an "Update Made to Your Access Boston Account." OHC has routinely updated position numbers in our system for the upcoming school year. These emails do not require any action. -Julia Garcia
Division of Operations
Each school should receive a box of COVID related signage delivered to your main office. This signage promotes social distancing, wearing a face mask, hand washing, etc. The number of signs for a each school was based on the size of your building. Guidance in identifying where these signs should be displayed throughout your school can be found here.
This folder contains all of the translated signs. Please let me know if you have any questions. -Brian McLaughlin
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