Words from Grace
It has been a momentous week with the inauguration on Wednesday and seeing Dr. Fauci at a press conference yesterday after a long absence was surprising. Efforts to speed up vaccination makes me hopeful that we will be able to reopen this coming fall. ☝Meanwhile, we are heading towards welcoming back our students prioritized for in-person learning in ten days on 2/1. With more daylight arriving each day, it feels like there is hope coming for all of us.
As promised last week, I will try to feature some data. Below is a snapshot of the district data dashboard that is now public. You will be able to view district and school information on student and staff attendance, learning model, technology, and online activity. A proxy for engagement could be attendance and online activity. This dashboard may be something you can use with your equity roundtable. All data can be disaggregated.
Important Dates
February 15 - Presidents Day - No School
February 16-19 - Winter Recess - No School
April 2 - Good Friday - No School
April 19 - Patriot’s Day - No School
April 20 - 23 - Spring Recess - No School
Office of the Superintendent
Learning Model Notifications Sent to Families on Jan 15
We sent learning model notifications to families of students in 6 categories. As such, there were 6 messages, 10 languages for each:
remote students
HIPP students learning 4 days a week
HIPP students learning two days a week in Group A
HIPP students learning two days a week in Group B
non-HIPP students in Group A
non-HIPP students in Group B.
Each notification also included a link to the learning model change request form on bostonpublicschools.org/reopening (also in 10 languages).
If someone needs a version of this letter in a specific language, please contact Xavier Andrews.
Division of Academics
Boston Citywide/Region VI Science Fair
On Wednesday-Friday, March 3rd - 5th, 2021, Boston Public Schools will conduct the 75th annual BPS Citywide/Massachusetts State Region VI Science Fair. This year the event will be hosted virtually. We know the Science Fair provides an opportunity for our students to demonstrate and celebrate their accomplishments in the fields of science and engineering. Thus, your support of this event is essential. More information can be found in this memo.
January SEL Signature Practices Calendar resource is now available!
Please check out the updated SEL Signature Practices Calendar on the SEL Instruction website! The purpose of the calendar is to provide a menu of SEL practices that can be modified and integrated into instructional planning each month for students to practice SEL skills while engaging in learning. Using these practices regularly provides opportunities for consistency, predictability, and relationship building.
For support or questions, please contact Carla Burley (cburley@bostonpublicschools.org).
Mass Literacy Webinar Series
This webinar series provided by DESE is a great opportunity to learn about evidenced-based early literacy.
Seesaw Professional Learning Opportunity for Administrators
Please join the Department of Early Childhood and principals Karla Jenkins, Min Jen-Tayor & Traci Griffeth Walker in a six-week professional learning community focused on using Seesaw to inform instruction and student learning, with a focus on the relationship between teacher assignment and related student output. In partnership with our longitudinal research partners, we will focus on the principal task tool, the CRIOP, and other tools to examine various teacher/student work dimensions. We will focus on task complexity, cultural relevance, standards/content appropriateness, and family engagement. Also, we will think about constructive formats for feedback for teachers and students.
Team members will meet weekly to help build a tool for administrators to explore school data (K-2nd), think of ways to improve tasks and activities (or how to give feedback to do so), think about school/district themes, and inform how to strengthen administration and use of Seesaw in remote and non-remote environments. This commitment would be separate from school leaders’ other PLC commitments. Our goal is to take the team’s learning and share it with other distinct leaders/teachers as we continue to strengthen our support for students and Seesaw for this year and next.
If you are interested in participating please send an email to jsachs@bostonpublicschools.org by February 1st.
Division of Accountability
Transformation Strategy Update - January 22
Panorama Weekly Update - Data Correction for Math and Science Interims:
Science and Math interim results were inaccurate or missing, in Panorama specifically (not in Illuminate), between 12/27/20 and 1/13/21. This issue is now fully resolved, and will not occur again in the future. We know you rely on this data to inform your work with students, and we apologize for any impact that the error may have caused. Please reach out with any questions.
MCAS Updates
Spring 2021 MCAS Grades 3-8 Testing:
Tentative schedule:
a. ELA April 5 – May 7
b. Mathematics April 26 – May 28
c. STE (Grades 5 and 8) April 27 – May 28
Note: Test administration deadlines will be provided soon. The Default administration mode is computer-based testing. Paper-based tests will be available as an accommodation.
Shorter Testing Experience for Schools and Students:
a. Schools will be administering only one test session for each subject area to students in 2021. Instead of taking two sessions each of English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science and technology/engineering (STE), students will take only one session each.
b. Each student will take only a portion of each MCAS assessment in each subject. This will significantly reduce testing time for students.
c. There are no changes in the MCAS curriculum framework and no shifts in instruction are to be expected.
Training: District Office departments will provide training in the coming months to prepare testing coordinators for this unique administration.
Spring 2021 MCAS High School Testing schedule and details are still yet to be released.
MCAS-Alt Teacher Training: Please encourage teachers who are conducting the MCAS-Alt to sign-up for a virtual portfolio review session in January. Educators may sign up for a single one-hour session between 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on any of the available dates. Refer to this flyer for the dates of the reviews, including sessions for educators completing Competency and Grade-Level portfolios.
The 2021 MCAS Service Center passwords for schools are located in the MCAS 2021 Data folder in DropBox Central, which is located in the Department’s Security Portal.
Massachusetts Performance Assessment for Leaders (PAL)
The Office of Leadership Development is seeking feedback from BPS educators who either have completed their Massachusetts Performance Assessment for Leaders (PAL) or desire to complete the PAL within the next few years. Please fill out the linked survey to provide your reflections and suggestions relative to your experiences completing (or perhaps not completing) the PALs. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes of your time and will remain open until January 31, 2021. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences as we work to develop a new program for PAL support in BPS.
We are looking forward to First Year Leader Cohort Professional Learning on January 20th with a focus on Literacy and support in operational functions. To learn more about our induction programming for first and second year leaders, take a look at our website here.
MAP Growth and Fluency Data Dive #2 Professional Development Session
For either MAP Growth or MAP Fluency, participants will learn how to access and analyze major reports and apply them to planning for instruction.
MAP Fluency:
Tuesday, January 26th, 4:00-5:30 PM
Tuesday, February 2nd, 7:30-9:00 AM
Monday, February 8th, 3:00-4:30 PM
MAP Growth:
Thursday, January 28th, 3:30-5:00 PM
Monday, February 1st, 4:00-5:30 PM
Thursday, February 4th, 7:30-9:00 AM
Wednesday, February 10th, 3:00-4:30 PM
Division of Equity, Strategy, & Opportunity Gaps
Office of Recruitment, Cultivation and Diversity Programs (RCD)
Recruitment & Cultivation Team Updates & Events
The Early Hiring Pool is now open, and we would love your help in encouraging highly qualified and diverse candidates to apply! For prospective teachers only. We are excited to share that so far, our pool is more diverse than ever before!
UPDATED: SAVE THE DATE!!! Demo Day (flyer) will be on Saturday, February 27 for all grade levels (deadline to RSVP is 2/12). Please come and support aspiring educators by giving feedback to demo lessons they will present. Also, get a preview of candidates for next year. We encourage you to invite members of your hiring committees to join as well. School Leaders and designees may RSVP here. Note there will be an orientation session for Demo Day on 2/11 from 5-6pm where we would also love to get your input on what would be helpful for us to provide to you from candidates.
Affinity Recruitment Advisories: The RCD team is excited to launch the development of Affinity Recruitment Advisories to increase recruitment in diverse populations. If you would like to join an advisory to support this work, we will be meeting monthly...please contact the following:
HBCU’s: Carrie King-Woodson (ckingwoodson@), Ernest Coakley (ecoakley@), Derrick Ciesla (dciesla@), Rena Stone (rstone@), Jamilah Murrell (jmurrell@)
Latinx: Antonelli Mejia (mejia2@), Brandon Lopez (blopez@)
Asian: Andrea So (aso@), Priscilla Lau (plau2@)
Deaf & Hard of Hearing: Jiyoung Jou (jjou@), Stephen Weiner (sweiner@)
Cultivation - Licensure and Certification Team - Pathways Program
UPCOMING DEADLINE - Fall/Winter Pathway Programs
The upcoming Pathway Programs offer professional development and licensure preparation in three areas: English as a Second Language, Severe Disabilities, and Moderate Disabilities. The programs should be of particular interest to teachers with emergency licenses or waivers in these areas, as well current and prospective inclusion and ESL teachers, as well as grade and content teachers in SEI program schools. The deadline for submission of applications is Monday, December 14. Click here for program information and application. For questions, please email pathwayprograms@bostonpublicschools.org.
Diversity Programs & Retention Services
Central Office and School Leader Affinity Groups: Weekly or monthly gatherings to share questions and concerns, celebrate cultural diversity and to support each other’s work in a safe and inclusive environment working towards an anti-racist workplace. For more information: rmartin2@bostonpublicschools.org. If you’d like support in establishing school-based or department based affinity groups or to participate, please email eoccultivation@bostonpublicschools.org. Click the link below to sign up.
Central Office convened:
RCD Convened:
ABA (Applied Behavior Specialists) of Color School-Based staff
School Leaders of Color Network (SLOC) - designated
School leader convened:
APIDA School Leaders
Black School Leaders
Latinx School Leaders
Do you need a degree? RCD has several degree completion programs through our higher education partners for Associates, Bachelors, Masters, CAGS and Doctoral degrees from the Boston University Wheelock College of Education, DUET-Southern New Hampshire University, Northeastern University and Regis College. To receive information, click here.
Office of Strategy and Innovation:
$5000 Stipend for Transformative Mentoring in the Middle Grades
The Transformative Mentoring program will provide intensive relational mentoring and college, career, and life planning support for our BPS students in the middle grades (6-9). It will not only help BPS students succeed through the current crisis during these critical years of development but will be a foundational component of our forward-moving redesigned model of college, career, and life readiness for all grades. Mentors will receive training and support to become skilled in My Career and Academic Planning (MyCAP) tools, culturally and linguistically sustaining practices (CLSP), and transformative social-emotional learning (TSEL). They will have an opportunity to support students and assist them in building networks that support their growth in their individual identities and connections with the world around them. - Apply Here
Campus Without Walls: Are you a passionate educator who would like to join a cohort of other teachers focused on promoting racial equity in education. You have the opportunity to join a team of talented Lead Teachers across the city to improve teaching and learning in Boston during COVID and beyond. Through our initial pilot, we plan to serve up to 2,000 students in grades 8-12. Through Campus Without Walls, students will have access to talented Lead Teachers across the city, skilled at providing student-centered digital learning experiences as well as a culturally responsive, anti-racist decolonized curriculum. In addition, students will be able to access a wide menu of classes offered through Outschool.org that tap into their interests and passions. High student engagement is at the center of this initiative. To nominate a great teacher in Boston, or to nominate yourself, please follow the link to the nomination form.
24/7 Respect Week
The 3rd annual rollout of 24/7 Respect will occur February 8-12, 2021! 24/7 Respect is a groundbreaking program to educate students on how to prevent and address bias-based and sexual misconduct in person, by text, and/or online. Thank you to the point people at each middle and high school, who will ensure all 6th through 12th grade students discuss our new Telly Award-winning video.
If you have questions, please contact the Director of 24/7 Respect, Jonathan Zielke, at jzielke@bostonpublicschools.org.
Division of Human Capital
Formative Assessment Deadline
Due to some misunderstandings around the deadlines for Formative Assessments (FAs), OHC has amended the deadlines to the following:
1. Complete FAs for educators for whom there are performance concerns by the original 1/15 deadline.
2. Complete FAs for ALL provisional educators by 2/1
3. Complete FAs for remaining permanent educators by 2/15
For any formative assessment whose date is being moved from 1/15 to 2/1 or 2/15, advance written notice to the educator, including the new deadline (2 weeks prior) for Artifacts, is required and should be delivered prior to the Winter Recess.
Excess Deadline
Permanent teachers who do not have a future year position in your school will be marked “excessed,” and they will receive notification from the district prior to March 1st (February 1st for autonomous schools). For those that you excess, please ensure you have conversations with them regarding their statuses prior to that date.
If a position opens up that the excessed teacher is eligible for in your building, their excess will be rescinded and they will be returned to your school.
If an excessed teacher earns their license for the role they were excessed from prior to the position being filled, their excess will be rescinded and they will be returned to their role.
Division of Student, Family, & Community Advancement
Update on BPS Reopening
When: Jan 28, 2021 05:30 PM
Topic: Update on Boston Public Schools Reopening
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://k12-bostonpublicschools.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fj_Ndo_uRSehHt-pLdJJGQ
Partner Connector Events
The Partnerships Office will be holding a series of "Partner Connector Events" to assist school leaders in learning about partner opportunities on Wednesdays starting January 13th through February 3rd. These events are in lieu of our Annual Partnership Event. This is an opportunity for schools to rethink their partnership strategy, and review options both in person and online partnerships while considering the needs of your school community.
The events will be on Zoom each week and will have 2 focus areas. The events will be broken down by grade level to ensure school leaders meet with partners that are a potential match. The full schedule is available on www.PartnerBPS.org and registration is on Eventbrite.
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