Words from Grace
Congratulations on getting through K0-3 return! It was great seeing more children and staff back in school along with the accompanying sounds of life in the building. Thank you for all that you have done to make it safe, ensure you have enough staff to meet student, safety, and operational needs, planning and scheduling adult and student testing, communicating with families, managing cohorts and transportation, beginning to launch the hiring process, finishing ordering, attending meetings and PD, becoming a diversity focus school, transformation work, assessment and data, MCAS, ACCESS, NWEA MAP, Interims, Panorama, thinking about summer learning, getting organized for next year's partnerships, keeping up with multiple communications such as these - most importantly, working hard to keep your eyes on student learning in-person and remotely. We are doing everything we used to do, plus figuring out how to do education during a pandemic... it's a lot.... thank you for all you do!
Concurrent Teaching Resource
Mary Driscoll shared this resource on concurrent teaching that Region 2 found helpful. It is from the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching and is called: Concurrent Teaching Considerations: Supporting instruction in multiple modalities. This tool is designed to help teachers plan for and then deliver concurrent lessons to ensure that learning is maximized regardless of student modality. Concurrent instruction can include:
- Teaching virtual and in-person learners simultaneously
- Teaching virtual and in-person learners in different class periods but within the same day
Important Dates
April 2 - Good Friday - No School
April 19 - Patriot’s Day - No School
April 20 - 23 - Spring Recess - No School
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School
Division of Academics
Return, Recover, Reimagine Task Force
Building from our successful collaborative efforts from last summer, this Taskforce will be an opportunity to engage BPS stakeholders in the design, improvement, and implementation of planning for our return to school in fall 2021. The Task Force will be composed of 7-10 subcommittees each with key stakeholder representation including educators, caregivers, and students. Subcommittees will meet regularly through the spring and summer. Task Forces will include: Assessments (already appointed through a previous process), Curriculum, Grading, Learning Management Systems/Digital Learning, Intervention/MTSS, Out of School Time Intervention, Transformative SEL, Multilingual Learners, Special Education. We are hoping to have five school leaders on each subcommittee. Read each subcommittee’s tentative guiding question, and apply here.
CRIOP PD Series #2
The Division of Academics and Office of Opportunity Gaps will be offering its second series of PD to support the use of the CRIOP. Please refer to this flyer for more information.
Physical Activity Series for Students and Families!
BPS Moves Together has launched their Spring Physical Activity Series! Virtual sessions are free to the BPS community. Please share the schedule with students and families for some physically active fun led by PE teachers! Next week's sessions are Yoga, HIIT, Fitness Challenges, and Dance.
Contact: Sravanthy Gumidyala, Physical Activity Program Coordinator
March 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. Contact: Carla Burley, Director of SEL Instruction
Guidance for Singing in School Buildings
On 3/1/21, DESE updated the guidance. Further information is below and in this document. Please reach out to Anthony Beatrice at abeatrice2@bostonpublicschools.org with any questions.
Updated Guidance:
Individuals singing indoors must wear masks. These masks should be tight and well-fitting. Consider what mask types may be most comfortable for singing and whether these masks can be provided to students.
When indoors, singing should be limited to 30 minutes at one time.
When indoors, schools should prioritize the use of large, well-ventilated spaces for singing, such as auditoriums or gymnasiums.
When indoors, students should sing at lower volumes. The lower the volume, the less projection required. Consider, also, the volume of any background music. The higher the volume of background music, the more vocalists will need to project to be heard.
When outdoors, staff should monitor student volume to prevent harm to students’ vocal cords.
All students should face in one direction instead of facing one another. Avoid singing in a circle or semicircular formation.
Educator Voice Opportunities for Summer Learning and Fall Return
The BTU and BPS are collaborating on several opportunities for educators to give input and feedback on this summer’s learning opportunities, and our return to school in the fall and beyond. Opportunities range from one-time online engagement to ongoing subcommittee work through the summer.
WikiWisdom Forum
This is a forum open to all BPS staff to share your best ideas in response to the overarching question:
Based on your experience with BPS, and especially this past year, we are looking for your ideas for reimagining what school could be. If there were no bounds, what would the ideal learning experience be like for our students?
Share your responses. You can respond to previously posted ideas or start a new thread of your own. All ideas will be used to produce a summary report in late March
Summer Learning Feedback Groups
Planning for summer learning experiences for students is well underway. We will be convening groups of teachers, paraprofessionals, and other educators to review plans to date and give input going forward. We are in search of those with experience in any of the following:
5th Quarter Summer Learning Academies (K-12)
5th Quarter High School Credit Recovery (6-12)
Extended School Year (ESY)
Summer Early Focus (K1-2)
EL Summer Academies (3-12)
Meetings will be held on Wednesday afternoons (3/17, 3/31, 4/7, and 5/5). Apply here.
Please Join - Performance Assessment Development
We are recruiting teacher teams to pilot the development of performance assessment tasks at the district level. Virtual meetings will occur on 3/22, 3/29, 4/5, 4/12, 5/3, 5/17, 6/21, and 6/28. There is a $1,500 stipend per participant. Detailed information and the application can be found here. For more information, please contact Sarah Jay at sjay@bostonpublicschools.org
School Social Work Week 2021
Join us in celebrating School Social Work Week 2021, on March 7th-13th! The theme this year is Beacon of Hope: Social Workers Lighting the Way. During a pandemic that included racial unrest, economic uncertainty, and political divisiveness, social workers have been fierce advocates and offered hope to students and families. They are vital members of the educational team and play a central role in creating a positive environment in a school community. Learn more about their work in this video.
In this flyer, you will find suggestions on how you can acknowledge their work! Regardless of how you decide to show thanks to your School Social Worker, the effort and sentiment will be deeply appreciated.
Alternate Entry to the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program
See this document for further details.
Panorama Weekly Update - Assessments Updated
ODA Continues to update the assessments data in Panorama Student Success. For a reminder of the update cadence across all assessments, see the data guide. New updates include:
MAP Fluency (middle of year): These assessments are now available! (An update this week supplemented the initial upload of results earlier this winter.)
Interim 2: The first upload will be complete no later than Wednesday 3/10, with data through Friday 3/5 (may become available earlier). ODA will re-update the data again by Wednesday 3/17, with results through Friday 3/12 (this is the final planned upload of the current window). In other words, starting on 3/10: by Wednesday of each week, the platform will reflect all results through prior Friday.
Panorama only displays the result for the most recent interim taken.
If the student took both sections (A + B) for the most recent interim, Panorama displays the average of the sections.
If the most recent interim taken is not interim 2 (for example, interim 1 taken during the interim 2 testing window) then the platform will display interim 1 because it is the assessment taken most recently.
Please email mtssdata@bostonpublicschools.org if you do not see your interim data displayed. ODA manually uploads interim results to Panorama. Thus, assessments taken outside of interim windows may not be uploaded.
The screenshots below are examples from a student profile. The top-right image illustrates positive growth on MAP Fluency. The bottom-left screenshot shows the most recent available interim result, with the date; there will only ever be one interim result shown, and it will always be the most recent one.
Division of Equity, Strategy, & Opportunity Gaps
Paid Opportunity: Academic Mentoring and Tutoring
See link Academic Mentoring and Tutoring Call for Applications for more information.
Office of Recruitment, Cultivation and Diversity Programs (RCD)
Recruitment & Cultivation Team Updates & Events
Diversity Fair For Teachers: Friday, March 26, 5p - 8p. Want a chance to meet with talented and diverse candidates via Zoom? RSVP here
A SECOND Demo Day is being added on Saturday, March 13, 9am-12pm. Due to the overwhelming interest by candidates, we are adding another Demo Day. We have several more talented candidates in all grade levels. Please RSVP by Friday, March 5 if you would like to join us.
Looking for Diverse Teacher candidates? Please complete this request form for leads to candidates for your open and difficult to fill positions. We will respond within 48 hours!
Signing Bonuses: Through a grant with DESE, there are fifty $1000 Hiring Bonuses available for the hiring of new to BPS Latinx teacher candidates and BPS MTEL prep program completers. Complete this referral form for candidates you want to recommend to receive the bonus. Priority given to Latinx candidates (to close our largest teacher/student diversity gap), and our BPS MTEL prep completers.
Emergency Licenses: DESE has extended Emergency licenses validity from June 30, 2021 to June 30, 2022. Any teachers you currently would like to retain on Emergency Licenses should apply in the Educator Licensure and Renewal (ELAR) system. Additionally teachers who do not have a current license, may apply for the Emergency License. See: Update on DESE Emergency Licensure - February 12, 2021 for additional information.
Division of Operations
Fire Drill/Evacuation Requirements (updated 3/2/21)
During these challenging times, we are still required to conduct mandatory drills. As we return to school buildings, all occupants will need to familiarize themselves with their evacuation plans. This includes all phases of reentry into school buildings. All students must engage in four fire drills per year; this may translate to eight drills total to ensure that students in both A and B cohorts have four opportunities to practice evacuation.
IMPORTANT DEADLINE INFORMATION March Fire Drill Requirement:
If you completed a drill in December please complete your documentation and submit as soon as possible.
Your next Fire Drill is DUE no later than March 31, 2021. Per the current reopening plan please note that you will need to complete more than one drill to accommodate cohort A and B within the month of March.
This link will take you to circular FSE#2 if you need any further guidance:
During evacuation drills all students and staff will need to wear their PPE and move through the building as quickly as possible (without running). Exiting the building in a timely fashion is the highest priority to ensure that each school community has practiced the proper response in the event of an actual emergency. While exiting, individuals should attempt to maintain a reasonable distance from each other. When they arrive at their designated meeting spots all students and staff should socially distance themselves in compliance with current state guidelines. This link will take you to the memorandum from State Fire Marshal, School Emergency Planning and COVID-19, dated July 29, 2020.
Safe Mode Requirements
During these difficult times we should still be prepared for any type of emergency that might occur. In order to be prepared to respond to an emergency, teachers and staff should practice Safe Mode drills WITHOUT their students to support current COVID19 protocol. Staff should identify the safe place in their rooms that they would move to should an emergency occur and be able to articulate this to their students during a real event. All staff and teachers should plan and be prepared to go into Safe Mode if it is required.
IMPORTANT DEADLINE INFORMATION for current requirement:
Safe Mode drills were DUE no later than January 29, 2021. If you have not completed this drill, please complete WITH STAFF ONLY not later than March 31, 2021.
If at anytime you feel you need support to develop a plan or conduct a drill, please do not hesitate to reach out to Rick Deraney at rderaney@bostonpublicschools.org or 617-212-2397
FSE#8 Link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B3uV5Tndvx1zWjFQRmMtMENkSlE
Division of Student, Family, and Community Advancement
Department of Opportunity Youth
Supporting Chronically Absent English Learner (EL) Students
Data show that our English Learner (EL) students have lower attendance than their peers on average. As part of the overall effort to ensure all chronically absent students have an Attendance Success Plan in Panorama, school student success teams (SST) and/or attendance teams should use Panorama to identify and monitor ELs who need additional support through an Attendance Success Plan. See EL Panorama Guide for schools. Contact: Brian Marques (bmarques@bostonpublicschools.org)
Grade-Level Assignment Circular
The updated version of the grade level circular can be found here.
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