DESE Update: July 12th, 2019

1. Deeper Learning and the Kaleidoscope Collective for Learning Pilot Program:

Deeper learning – learning that is interactive, relevant, and collaborative – was a major focus at Kairos, and it is central to the plans Commissioner Riley outlined in “Our Way Forward,” his recent report to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

This fall, DESE will release the application for the Kaleidoscope Collective for Learning pilot program, giving individual schools and entire districts the opportunity to apply to rethink classroom instruction around deeper learning. We encourage school and district leaders who would like to join the pilot program to indicate their interest online.

Picture of the Week:
Students from the Young Queens and Kings Scholar Program at Edison K-8 School in Boston (pictured here with their principal and school staff) inspired the audience at DESE’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers coordinators meeting at Devens in June. The Young Queens and Kings program focuses on social-emotional learning, team building, open circle, and closing achievement gaps.

A large group of teenaged students and a few adults pose outside a hotel. One row is sitting on the curb, and other rows are standing behind. Many are wearing black hooded sweatshirts with the same white logo on the front.

3. Massachusetts PAEMST Finalists:

The Department is pleased to announce the 2019 Massachusetts Finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). The PAEMST are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 mathematics and science (including computer science) teaching. Congress established the awards in 1983, and the President may recognize up to 108 exemplary teachers each year.The 2019 Massachusetts PAEMST finalists are:

  • Nathan Melbourne, a seventh grade mathematics teacher at Hale Middle School in Stow, part of Nashoba Regional School District;
  • Dr. Jedediyah Williams, a mathematics teacher at Nantucket High School;
  • Michael Romano, a chemistry teacher at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Acton;
  • Douglas Scott, an engineering and robotics teacher at Hopkinton High School; and
  • Ariel Serkin, a chemistry and physics teacher at Norfolk County Agricultural High School in Walpole.

Congratulations to all!

4. Early College Designation Opportunity:

The Commonwealth is once again offering the opportunity for K-12 education agencies and institutions of higher education to work as partners to obtain a formal designation for Early College Pathways. Designed collaboratively by the Executive Office of Education, the Department of Higher Education, and DESE, the pathways designation involves a two-step process culminating with a formal Early College designation from the Early College Joint Committee. Early College is a promising model that narrows educational opportunity gaps, and existing local programs are a powerful base from which to build a broader statewide early college initiative.

For more information and to access the electronic submission link to Part A of the Designation process, please visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/ccte/ccr/hqccp/. If you have questions, please email pathways@doe.mass.edu.

A competitive grant will be made available starting July 15 to support the planning required for the designation process.  Information on the grant will be posted on the link provided. 

5. Memo on Significant Disproportionality in Special Education:

The Department recently released a memorandum to help school districts and other interested parties understand requirements in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that pertain to significant disproportionality in special education and the fiscal implications of these requirements. (The U.S. Department of Education revised its regulations in 2016 to standardize the way that states and districts must identify and respond to significant disproportionality in special education.) The memorandum is available as a download and is posted on this website. School districts will be notified later this month about whether they have been identified as having significant disproportionality with regard to special education identification, placement, or discipline and how DESE will help them review policies, practices, and procedures in the upcoming school year and plan for implementation of comprehensive coordinated early intervening services in FY 21.

6. Free Access to Electronic Databases:

The Department’s Office of Planning and Research has compiled the following list of free online resources that can help people use evidence and research to inform policies and practices:

  • The University of Massachusetts Amherst curates a list of open access electronic resources through their Database A-Z list. Click on the link and change the box from All Database Types to Open Access in order to see all the resources that are freely available.
  • Massachusetts residents can get access to databases through the Boston Public Library but need to apply for a Boston Public Library ecard. The databases that can be accessed remotely are listed here.
  • Try the local public library (they often have a lot of online resources) or a local academic library with public computers.
  • For online journals, try the Directory of Open Access Journals, a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
  • For online books, try the Directory of Open Access Books or Open Access Publishing in European Networks (OAPEN).