3Rs Newsletter

MRSD Website: Portrait of a Graduate

MRSD 2024-2028 Strategic Plan

We are proud to present Monomoy Regional School District’s 2024-2028 Strategic Plan. This plan will guide the operation of our schools in the coming years with a focus on the needs of our students, providing guidance and identifying priorities for a wide range of actions related to our schools – from professional development to curriculum planning to family engagement.

The MRSD Professional Development Committee is excited to share the 2024-2025 Professional Learning Pathway Program. Based on survey feedback from all of you, the PD Committee worked hard last year to provide this programing with the understganding that every teacher learns differently, and every school has unique needs. Thus, a one-size-fits-all approach to professional development (PD) is simply not effective in maximizing teacher growth and efficacy, and therefore, does not have a direct effect on increasing student achievement. Differentiated PD offers a compelling solution by tailoring learning opportunities to the specific needs of educators. By providing targeted learning opportunities, this approach empowers teachers to become more effective practitioners, leading to a direct and positive impact on student learning.

Inside this PD Program, you will find strategic, differentiated, learner driven, and learner agency recommendations for multiple pathways of develoment including workshops, series, courses, book studies, PLCs, and conferences. This list is not exhaustive, and not mandatory or required. These are simply suggestions connected to district goals and action plans, and the program is meant to be a living, working resource.

Please note: the MRSD Profesional Learnig Pathway Program is available on the website, and by September 15th, access to the program will only be via the website: https://www.monomoy.edu/curriculum/professional-development/professional-development-pathways. It will no longer be in document form (we will close the link provided in paragraph 1). After September 15, 2024, the Professional Development webpages will be your "go-to" place to find suggested professional growth activities connected to our strategic plan and schoolwide improvement plans. It will be continually updated and revised throughout the year. If interested in any of the opportunities, please follow all contractual expectations for approval and reimbursement processes.

A special shark shout out to the MRSD Professional Development Committee for supporting these efforts, and to Ms. Jordan for creating the interactive webpages for this programming.

Welcome back!

I am excited to share the first 3Rs newsletter of the 2024-2025 school year. These newsletters are provided as an opportunity to engage in a community of practice that challenges professional debate and also supports educator professional learning and the growth of collective teacher efficacy.

Bandura (1993, 1997) defined cllective teacher efficacy (CTE) as “a group’s shared belief in the conjoint capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given levels of attainment.” Researcher John Hattie (2016) deems CTE as the "new number one influence related to student achievement several times over," and notes the effects of CTE "...is more than two times bigger than that of feedback (d=0.72), and almost three times bigger than the effect of classroom management (d=0.52)." He continues, "...the message seems to be clear: together teachers can achieve more, especially if they collectively believe that they can do so!" For more information on CTE, visit: https://visible-learning.org/2018/03/collective-teacher-efficacy-hattie/

Each month, I will forward links, summaries, and reviews of recommendations, research, and reads that are connected to our strategic plan goals and action steps. These will be articles, videos, podcasts, and texts; many being recommended by other educators. There will some to debate, some you may agree with, some you may disagree with, and/or some to challenge current thinking and/or understanding. Please send your recommendations throuhgout the year to include in upcoming editions, and as always, please continue to share thoughts and questions about the recommendation/reads/research as well. If there is a particular recommendation that you would like to host as a professional learning network discussion on or host a book club with, please let Director Lindsey Hooper, Director Kristen Callahan or me. We would be happy to create opportunities to discuss these ideas with others across the district.

I look forward to another year learning with, from, and for all of you!
Sincerely,

Robin

This paper is a bit dated (2014) but still connects nicely to the rationale and outcomes of the MRSD POG:

•The explicit aim is deep learning that goes beyond the mastery of existing content

knowledge. Here, deep learning is defined as ‘creating and using new knowledge in

the world.’ Technology has unleashed learning, and the potential for students to apply

knowledge in the world outside of school; new pedagogies leverage all of this in the

formal learning process.

•Teaching shifts from focusing on covering all required content to focusing on the learning

process, developing students’ ability to lead their own learning and to do things with

their learning. Teachers are partners with students in deep learning tasks characterised

by exploration, connectedness and broader, real-world purposes.

• Learning outcomes are measured in terms of students’ 1) capacities to build new

knowledge and to lead their own learning effectively, 2) proactive dispositions and their

abilities to persevere through challenges, and 3) the development of citizens who are

life-long learners.

For the full article: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DCvitt0pnDowU_9uK18ItbhJOLpnG8Zy/view?usp=sharing

In this 2nd edition of Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning, Mike Schmoker extends and updates the case that our schools could be on the cusp of swift, unparalleled improvements. But we are stymied by a systemwide failure to simplify and prioritize; we have yet to focus our limited time and energy on the most essential, widely acknowledged, evidence-based practices that could have more impact than all other initiatives combined. They are: simple, coherent curricula; straightforward, traditional literacy practices; and lessons built around just a few hugely effective elements of good teaching. As Schmoker demonstrates, the case for these practices—and the need for them—has grown prodigiously.

In every chapter, you'll find late-breaking discoveries and practical advice on how to simplify the implementation of new state standards in the subject areas; on the hidden pitfalls of our most popular, but unproven instructional fads and programs; and on simple, versatile strategies for building curriculum, planning lessons, and integrating literacy into every discipline. All of these strategies and findings are supported with exciting new evidence from actual schools. Their success confirms, as Michael Fullan writes, that a focus on the best "high-leverage practices" won't only improve student performance; they will produce "stunningly powerful consequences" in our schools.

Executive Summary-An Unfulfilled Promise

America intends its education system to be the cornerstone of the nation’s success, the great equalizer propelling each generation beyond the one before it. Yet we have not kept this promise. The opportunity gap in the U.S. is systemic, real, and widening, and income mobility has been on a steady decline since the 1940s.1 The job landscape is rapidly changing due to AI and advanced technologies, while graduates often emerge from high school and college without the durable skills expected in entry-level positions. Meanwhile, about 8 million jobs sit unfilled.

It’s time to build a future in which public education can truly make it possible for all young people to thrive in life, pursue careers of their choosing, and shape our democracy.

As a nation, we must ask ourselves: 1. How can we better prepare young people to navigate a dynamic world and workforce? 2. What will it take for education to deliver on its promise of economic and social mobility for all? 3. What experiences and opportunities across sectors will prepare young people to thrive in life?

These questions hold serious consequences for young people, communities, and our nation as a whole. Yet research hasn’t uncovered enough about the links between education and mobility. Few comprehensive studies track the impact of formative academic and non-academic experiences on mobility over time.3 While many organizations are measuring mobility, our sector knows far less about what leads to mobility—or how to create paths to improve mobility for all young people.

For the rest of the article: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10hSOLLQkKQ2F5POuy0v4Lgr0WLSEk-y2/view?usp=sharing

"Our shared destination is a future in which no variable—not race, not zip code, not socioeconomic

status—limits opportunities for young people. Together, we must meet the moment and prepare all

young people to succeed in a rapidly changing world, no matter where their career paths may take them." (TNTP, 2024)