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| Note about this: It feels like we are in the red on the left side of this image most of the time, making it feel as if we are on high alert and can never rest. None of us can humanly sustain this pace. It affects our being: emotions, decisions, sleep, and interactions with others. Take care of yourself, so you can care for others - including your loved ones. |
Words from Grace
I should have published this last night while listening to school committee; I was wired at 2:00 AM and did not get enough sleep! If you weren't tuned in, Mayor Walsh eloquently spoke of his support for the working group's proposal. Then the co-chair of the group, Tanisha Sullivan read aloud Dr. Kendi's statement; it was powerful to hear and watch. The meeting was nine hours long.
It was good to see you all and have visitors rotating through to answer questions. The smaller venue felt more intimate than the large group. Thank you for being there. For those of you that can, let's meet in the morning to touch base. I won't take the whole hour.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Shahara Jackson at sjackson8@bostonpublicschools.org
Important Dates
October 29 – All School Leader Meeting - 9a to 2p (one hour lunch included)
November 3 - Election Day - remote learning for all students
November 4 - School Committee Meeting @ 5p
November 11 – Veterans Day – no school
November 25 - half-day of school
November 26-27 - Thanksgiving - no school
Division of Academics
Early Childhood Updates
Some school leaders, particularly in transformation, have been asking me for more of the resources that teachers are receiving. The EC Office will provide regular updates at this link with the resources shared with school staff.
Transformation Instructional Coaches
In an effort to make sure Transformation School Leaders have all the information that is shared with the Transformation Coaches, we are sharing this slide deck from our meeting on 10.9 and this link to the Transformation Coach Document Bank.
Wellness Action Plan
Each year, Wellness Councils must complete a Wellness Action Plan (WAP) as a part of the Quality School Plan. SY20-21 WAPs will be due by Friday, December 4th. Each school’s customized WAP template can be found in this spreadsheet. The template has been updated to build in the BPS Racial Equity Planning Tool into the wellness council planning process. If you or your wellness council members have questions or would like additional support with the process, please contact Michelle Grohe at mgrohe@bostonpublicschools.org.
Clear Masks for English Learners and English Learner Teachers
Schools should have received a shipment of clear reusable masks on Friday 10/9 from Staples. The Office of English Learners is grateful to be able to provide these masks as an instructional best practice to help support language development for beginner ELs/2nd language learners. For each school, OEL placed orders based on the number of teachers coded as ESL teachers, SLIFE teachers, and Dual Language teachers as well as the number of Dual Language students, ELs in SEI and SLIFE programs, and all other ELD 1-2 students.
Action: Schools should confirm they received their OEL (clear masks) PPE orders in the OEL tab of this spreadsheet by 10/23 so we can pay the vendor: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xzLuFFDBNBFovUkXKPAW-yzBX_wWMhTViXEgLaXIxjo/edit#gid=143765775.
Last call: March 2020 Pre-IPT and K-WAPT Assessments
NACC is currently reaching out to LATFs and K2 teachers to schedule provisional screening appointments for K2 students who were not assessed in K1 prior to school closure.
Action: If LATFs have not yet entered Pre-IPT (K0) and K-WAPT (K1) assessment results that were conducted in March 2020 into Aspen SIS, they should do so by 10/23 and return the original assessments to NACC (see here for Aspen instructions). Email nacc@bostonpublicschools.org with any questions.
Reminder: OEL Office Hours Support
Does your school team or educators need support from OEL? Sign up for our office hours! We can help with school-specific support with WIDA, SIOP, Nearpd, Imagine Learning, Newsela, ESL scheduling, and any other questions related to English Learner instruction. Sign up here.
DESE Guidance Update for Playing Wind Instruments Indoors
DESE has updated its Guidance for Courses Requiring Additional Safety Considerations for Fall 2020. When in-person school is occurring, wind and brass instruments may be used indoors or outdoors with 10 feet of distance between individuals. Masks, including instrument masks that have a slit for the instrument, and the use of bell covers are encouraged if possible. Spit valves should be emptied onto a disposable, absorbent pad rather than the floor so that contents can be contained. The updated guidance is available here. Please reach out to Anthony Beatrice at abeatrice2@bostonpublicschools.org with any questions.
Division of Accountability
All School Leader PD
Thursday, October 29th (9a -2p) - current PD schedule overview (more detailed agenda to come):
9:00a-11:00a: Morning Session
11:00a-12:00p: Break/Lunch
12:00p-2:00p: Afternoon Session/PLC Launch
MAP Assessment Support
Schools are balancing the demands of administering the MAP assessment along with all of the newness of remote and hybrid learning. In order to honor this work to implement the BPS assessment system while factoring in the time necessary to make instructional adjustments based on the data, the following adjustments to the assessment calendar and assessment memo will be made:
MAP testing window extended through October 30 to allow for schools to assess all students. (It was previously set to end 10/23)
BPS Interim 3 is an OPTIONAL assessment to be given in May
Current assessment windows for Interims 1 & 2 moved back to allow for teaching and learning time between the MAP and Interim windows. Schools may always opt to give the interims during the original window, if they have scheduled for the existing assessment calendar.
Supports for Remote Testing:
Assessment Hotline: (617) 635-8066
MAP Professional Learning
MAP Growth and Fluency Data Analysis (synchronous and asynchronous options)
School Leader Communication Hub
Our goal is to make the School Leader Communication Hub a sustainable, one-stop-shop for school leaders that is user-friendly and provides equitable access to information...so that school leaders can focus more on supporting teachers to improve instruction and support students more effectively.
Panorama Weekly Implementation Update
Do you or your staff have questions about Panorama Student Success? You can sign up for office hours here. There will be sessions focused on attendance-related questions, and sessions that are open to all questions (also shared in LeadBPS and AroundBPS)
How should I guide my staff about using Panorama Support Notes and Aspen Journal?
We expect staff, teams, and schools to use both systems. We do not expect staff to double-enter any information in both Panorama and Aspen.
We are hoping for staff to understand the capabilities and limitations of both. See below for more information:
Connection with recent memos:
The 10/8 memo explains that Panorama Support Notes can replace many common uses for Aspen Journal.
The 10/15 memo shows examples of best uses for Panorama Support Notes.
Lynch Leadership Academy Fellowship
The Lynch Leadership Acacademy's team invites you to learn more about Cohort XI of the Lynch Leadership Academy Fellowship at an upcoming virtual information session on Tuesday, October 27th, 6-7pm. If you are interested, please complete this google form. A calendar invitation with the Zoom details will be sent to you. Ready to apply? Click here to start your application. Please email us with any questions at lynchacademy@bc.edu.
Development for Aspiring Leaders
In partnership with New Leaders, we are offering a bridge program, Foundations for Breakthrough Leadership, for aspiring school leaders. To learn more about this opportunity consider attending one of the three upcoming information sessions.
Since 2001, New Leaders has supported school districts by strengthening the skills and capacity of aspiring school leaders to advance student achievement. If you are interested in learning more and applying for this district-sponsored (at no cost to selected participants) program, complete the Interest Form no later than Wednesday, October 28, 2020. New Leaders will offer 3 virtual information sessions on October 29, 2020, 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm, October 29th, 2020, 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm, and October 30, 2020, 9:00 am - 9:30 am to answer any question you may have related to this unique opportunity.
Once you complete the interest form, Donald Malone dmalone@newleaders.org, Senior Manager of Operations for New Leaders, will email you with a link to the application. The application window is from November 16 - 27, 2020. You will receive a decision letter no later than December 4, 2020.
Lead in BPS Website
Please take an opportunity to check out the Lead in BPS website. Our website provides information about recruitment, cultivation, pipelines, and induction programming. It highlights some of the great work of incredible leaders in the district as well!
Do you or someone you know want to learn more about leading in our schools as a principal or assistant principal? Now is the time to register for one of the upcoming School Leadership Recruitment Information Sessions to hear about the hiring process, have questions answered, and speak with current school leaders about their leadership path. These Zoom sessions are scheduled for 10/28/20, 11/18/20, 12/9/20, 1/13/21, and 2/24/21 from 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm. Register for an upcoming session here. Please spread the word!
Leadership Development Opportunities
The Office of Leadership Development (OLD) is excited to share upcoming leadership opportunities! If you or someone you know would be interested in finding out more about the Lynch Leadership Academy, BPS/PSi Aspiring Leaders Fellowship, and other leadership opportunities, please complete the Leadership Opportunities Recommendations form. The OLD Team will follow up with recommended educators with additional information. If you have any questions, please contact Megan Reed, mreed@bostonpublicschools or Monica Hall, mhall4@bostonpublicschools.org.
Division of Equity, Strategy, and Opportunity
Recruitment Support
School leaders in need of candidates for open positions can refer to this memo for the process to get support from the Office of Recruitment, Cultivation and Diversity Programs (RCD).
Division of Finance
Each year, central departments submit their budget requests to the Superintendent. As part of that process, the Finance team makes proposals for investments in school budgets based on feedback we have heard in prior budget years. Members of the finance team are excited to develop a proposal that would support more inclusive classrooms across the district, but we need your feedback before our October 30th deadline to submit to the Superintendent.
We will be hosting two focus groups with school leaders next week:
Tuesday, 10/27 at 4pm
Wednesday, 10/28 at Noon
We would love for you to join us to share your thoughts/ideas and challenges to inform our initial proposal due October 30th.
Use this link for both meetings:
https://zoom.us/j/7650573420?pwd=N2xDdUdVOGhVby91S3V2c2JwZVBPQT09
Meeting ID: 765 057 3420
Passcode: 7gLSSk
If you cannot attend one of these sessions and would like to share your ideas over email, please reach out to the following members of the finance team before October 30th:
Jerleen John - jjohn@bostonpublicschools.org
Katie Kline - kkline@bostonpublicschools.org
Patti Tao - ptao@bostonpublicschools.org
PeopleSoft & Timekeeping Review
PeopleSoft is the online database that OHC uses to track all data about our employees-- their positions, absences, and payroll.
For a cheat sheet with some especially helpful queries for School Leaders to run in PeopleSoft, click here.
For a reminder of the school leader’s role in tracking and managing employee absences, click here.
And for a reminder of the school leader’s role in Department Time Summary Reports, click here.
Employment Agreement Employees - EAEs
All School-Based Contracted Workers and Contracted Retiree’s must be processed through the Office of Human Capital and approved by the City of Boston & Chief Human Capital Officer. These staff are referred to as Employment Agreement Workers/Employees (EAE's) and are hired into our PeopleSoft System.
For review of the Request & Approval Process, please view our EAE Quick Guide
You and your selected candidate will be asked to submit either:
EAE's may not start prior to the contract being approved and processed. For any questions related to hiring EAEs, please contact your OHC Coordinator!
Division of Operations
Early Voting - Oct. 24 & 25
The following Schools will host Early Voting on Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25, 2020 from 9:00am through 8:00pm Voting will take place from 11:00 am – 7:00pm
Harvard/Kent School Gymnasium - 50 Bunker Hill Street Charlestown 02129
James F. Condon School Cafeteria - 200 D Street South Boston 02127
Perkins Community Center/ Lee School Gymnasium - 155 Talbot Avenue Mattapan 02126
Mildred Ave School Gymnasium - 5 Mildred Avenue Mattapan 02126
Margarita Muniz Academy Gymnasium - 20 Child Street Jamaica Plain 02130
Reminder: The Operations Links for School Leaders lives on the communications hub and contain links to items in the COVID materials folder.
Athletics - Positive Coaching Alliance Workshops
follow @athleticsbps on twitter and instagram for an updated link for Sunday 10/25/20.
October 21 - 7 pm
Character + Leadership Development Program
Be there to become a better athlete, better teammate, and better leader in sports and in life
October 25 - 7 pm
BPS Success
- Farnold Degand (O'Bryant '05) - Basketball
- Raheem Singleton (Madison Park '07) - Basketball
- Trevor Garrick (Boston Tech) - Track and Field
- Annissa Essaibi George (Boston Tech) - Softball
November 1 - 7pm
College Athletes for Respect and Equality (https://www.mimeh.org/care.html)
- Kellan Grady (Davidson/Catholic Memorial)
November 8 - 7pm
College Night
- Darlene Gordon (Umass-Boston Athletic Director)
- D2 Rep
- D1 Rep
November 15 - 7pm
Mental Side of Sports...
- David Marsh (Spiked Performance Consulting)
Facilities
As a reminder, all cleaning protocols and information on cleaning supplies can be found in the operational links.
As of Friday 10/9 heat has been turned on in all buildings. If you are having issues please contact the energy office 617-635-8740
Food and Nutritional Services
We are reviewing the possibility of adding supersites at the beginning of November and will share out information as soon as possible.
Safety Services
Please review the following updated circulars.
SAF - 12 School Access Control
Transportation
If you have not as of yet, make sure you contact Rosalie West (rwest2@bostonpublicschools.org) to pick up your school's M7 Passes from the Bolling Building by appointment only. All schools must schedule pick-up for M7 Passes by 10/23
Division of Student, Family, and Community Advancement
Please return any unused Staples cards. We need just a few more to ensure every student receives a gift card.
Out-of-School Time Pods
The Office of Student, Family and Community Advancement will be reaching out to families identified as high need starting by the end of this week to connect them with Out-of-School Time programs. We will be working with the Family Liaisons and Counselors in schools. We ask for your assistance and patience as we work to connect some of our highest need families.
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