Weekly Update
*HS MCAS begins this week*
Monday, March 24-Regular School Day
State Budget Hearing on Education at UMass Amherst at 11am
Fire Extinguisher Training 3:30pm on main campus
Tuesday, March 25-Regular School Day
Wednesday, March 26-Regular School Day
Thursday, March 27-Regular School Day
Friday, March 28-Wear jeans and your Gator Gear!
State Budget Advocacy Opportunity!
I know many of you are interested in how the state budget is playing out as it has a direct impact on our work here. I want to share two opportunities that are coming up to play a part in the budget process.
The first is this week, Monday, March 24. It is the joint ways and means committee hearing on education at UMass. I know that there are many schools who plan to attend and bring signs with their school name on it to demonstrate that this is an issue that we all care about across the state. I also know many schools are planning to bring students. HOWEVER, there is no opportunity for public testimony, so the purpose will be to stand with districts from around the state to show the legislators we care about funding and to listen to those invited to give a testimony. If you would like to attend, please see your principal. There will be a limited number of staff who can have professional release time to attend as long as it doesn't disrupt operations at school (like 100 staff can't go 😅).
The second opportunity is I believe on Tuesday, April 8 in Boston at the state house. This is the opportunity for the Joint Ways and Means committee to hear public testimony. THIS is the event that we could bring students to speak about funding like we have in the past. More information is coming about this soon!
Anti-bullying District Working Group Posting
Regulations require the review of our anti-bullying policies and procedures every two years. A task force did a great job with this work two years ago. The time has come to review the policies and procedures again. Since the last task force met, there have been no updates to the laws, so the bulk of the work will be to review our current policies and procedures to evaluate if they are working for us.
If you are interested in this work, I expect it will be done over 3-4 meetings that will last 1-2 hours long. The rate is $50/hour for this work and it is grant funded. Ideally, there would be up to eight members on this working group representing all schools.
Please let me know if you are interested in serving on this working group by April 1. We will schedule meeting dates and times once participants have been identified. Thank you!
Fire Drill Reminders
As spring approaches, we will be moving forward with ensuring that we are in compliance with conducting mandatory fire drills. The law requires four drills per year. Please review the safety protocols for fire drills at your school, particularly the requirement to grab your yellow backpack on the way out the door, take attendance, and turn information into the required person. The fire department has been grabbing a student to double check that our procedures are in place to catch any missing students, so your diligence about these checks is appreciated!
Fire Extinguisher Training
Speaking of fires (but not dumpster fires), the Huntington Fire Dept is graciously offering a Fire Extinguisher training 3:40-4:30 on Monday, March 24. Thank you for those who have pre-signed up. If you didn't sign up but still want to attend, please stop by. This will be a hands on training where fire extinguishers will be sprayed (?-if that is the right term? I need the training!).
March Instructional Vision Challenge! (THREE Prizes this month!)
We will continue into March with inviting staff to share how YOU are implementing a part of our instructional vision.
This month's focus are the fifth two bullets in the instructional vision are:
Students will push through challenge tasks with a positive attitude.
Staff will trust students to succeed after productive struggle.
Staff are invited to fill out a brief (2-3 sentences!) summary of how you are implementing this part of our vision. It can be specific or general, and it should clearly describe how your actions are moving this part of our instructional vision forward.
Here is the link to share!
https://padlet.com/ksmidy1/march-instructional-vision-challenge-7xmxexo3ycau0pe5
To add to the board, click the plus sign in the bottom right corner and write in your submission. Finally, hit Publish and voila! You're done!
Staff who share how they are implementing or supporting implementation of December's focus area of the instructional vision by March 31 will be entered to win a $50 gift card to one of the following locations: Carms, Common Table, Moltenbreys, Amazon, Big Y, Dunkin or at a place of your choice that I can get a gift card with relative ease 😂
DESE Looking for feedback re: Educator Licensure
DESE's Educator Licensure Office is looking for feedback about an opportunity they have to create an alternative pathway to licensure. I have very strong feelings about DESE's licensure office, as I don't think they make anything easy for educators, and that is difficult to not resent. BUT this is a good opportunity to provide feedback for a new opportunity:
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8218646/Alternative-Licensure-Pathway-Outreach
Here is what the lincesure office said to superintendents:
The new LEADS Act, passed in November 2024, authorizes DESE to create alternative licensure pathways that may waive one MTEL requirement per individual educator seeking licensure. With the flexibility of the LEADS Act, DESE can consider other ways to determine an educator’s communication and literacy skills and/or content knowledge. DESE is looking to create alternative licensure pathways using this new flexibility that are aligned to DESE’s Vision while continuing to promote rigorous licensure requirements to ensure that all students have access to an increasingly diverse and effective educator workforce.
District Data for your review
I am going to try to share some data with you each week that may be of interest to you.
Some have asked how many districts receive a share of the rural school aid, or $16 million allocated statewide. The answer is 67 school districts! Here is a list of the districts that received rural aid last year. $16 million doesn't go that far when you're splitting it 67 ways...
