September 15, 2017

Reminder about Directory Administration:

In light of personnel changes that occur in districts at the end and beginning of every school year, ESE would like to remind districts that it is important for school district directory administrators to take the time to maintain the members list within each district and school at all times. Individuals who are no longer employed by the district or school should be removed immediately from the application and should have all access terminated. This also applies to school-level staff who move from one school to another. In such cases, access to any secure data for the prior school should be removed and access for the new school added as applicable.

Directory administrators should also be sure that all physical and mailing addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses and web addresses are up to date. That information is used to populate ESE’s School and District Profiles page and to provide shipping information for assessments.

For instructions on how to remove, add, or change users and update contact information, please go online and download the Directory Administration Quick Reference Guide. To address any problems, please submit a helpdesk ticket through the Executive Office of Education’s Contact Us page, choosing MassEdu Gateway/Security Portal from the subject dropdown box.

2017 Principals of the Year:

Congratulations to the principals who the Massachusetts School Administrators Association recognized this year! Chris Getchell, principal of Parkview Elementary School in Easton, won the Passios Outstanding Principal Award; John Clements of Nipmuc Regional High School in Upton received the Bertman H. Holland Award for High School Principal of the Year; Carl Nelson of the John F. Kennedy Middle School in Woburn received the Edmund K. Fanning Award for Middle School Principal of the Year; and Maureen Kemmett of Furnace Brook Middle School in Marshfield received the Paul J. Hunter Award for Assistant Principal of the Year.

History Teacher of the Year Becomes a National Finalist:

Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year Kevin Dua, a teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2017 National History Teacher of the Year Award from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History! Mr. Dua was teaching at Somerville High School when he became Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year. Nominations for the 2018 History Teacher of the Year awards are now open.

Chapter 74 New Program Applications:

The Office for College, Career, and Technical Education is pleased to announce the opening of its Chapter 74 New Program Application process for the 2017-18 school year. For 2017-18 submissions (for programs intended to open in September 2018) the timeline is as follows:

Intent to apply (required): Due September 29, 2017
Part A (Preliminary): Due December 8, 2017
Part B (Concluding): Due April 6, 2018
Final decisions: June 29, 2018

For more information on the process, including links to online submission forms and a series of application process webinars that will start September 19, visit our Chapter 74 New Program Timeline webpage. People with questions about the process can contact Gary Gomes at 781-338-3851 orggomes@doe.mass.edu.

Substance Use Prevention Education Training for Middle Schools:

The Department of Public Health is funding professional development in the Life Skills Training Program for middle schools across the Commonwealth. Life Skills Training is an evidence-based program that reduces rates of substance misuse. The training, curriculum, and student supplies are available free of charge. Register online, or email Kathleen.Herr-Zaya@state.ma.us for further information.

2017-18 Restraint Data Collection Tool Now Open:

The 2017-2018 data collection tool is now available in the restraint data application of the ESE Security Portal. Districts, schools, and programs should use this tool on an ongoing basis throughout the school year to enter restraint data. The restraint data instructions posted online show how to access the tool.Note: Entities with high numbers of restraints can track their ongoing data by using the Restraint Tracking Sheet instead. It is accessible online after someone has selected their “Organization” and clicked “Next.”

Please ensure that colleagues who need access to this application are provided with access privileges. Anyone with questions regarding the 2017-2018 data collection can contact ESE at (781) 338-3375 orspecialeducation@doe.mass.edu.

ESE Resource Corner: Highlighting strong work in Framingham

The Department’s District and School Assistance Centers (DSACs) provide a variety of supports to improve student learning in small and medium-sized Level 3 districts where schools are in danger of falling into Level 4. Thesupports include turnaround site visits designed to identify strengths and challenges, distributive leadership training, help in implementing state curriculum frameworks, and help implementing social and emotional supports for students. In March, three Framingham schools – the Brophy, McCarthy, and Wilson elementary schools – began working with ESE in all of these areas. Principals, coaches, and teachers partnered with Greater Boston DSAC to learn from the Massachusetts Turnaround Practices Field Guide, visited and worked with a commendation school (a Level 1 school that demonstrates very high achievement, strong progress overall, or has made strong progress toward narrowing proficiency gaps), participated in turnaround site visits, and developed a collective turnaround plan shared by the three schools that is based on distributive leadership and a shared understanding of high-quality instruction.

At Brophy, McCarthy, and Wilson, the school year is starting with greater coordination among teachers, a stronger educator voice, heightened focus on the use of formative and benchmark assessments, and greater efforts to keep families informed of and engaged in their child’s progress.

For more information about the work happening in Framingham and how it is informing district improvement planning there, contact Dr. Robert Tremblay, superintendent. For more information about DSAC support for Level 3 districts, contact David Parker, ESE’s manager for regional support and intervention.