March 23, 2018
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to Meet:
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will hold two meetings in Malden next week: a special meeting from 5:30-7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 26, 2018 to discuss competency-based and personalized learning, and a regular meeting from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 27. The agenda for the regular meeting includes updates from John Connolly, chair of the Lawrence Alliance for Education, and Holyoke Superintendent/Receiver Stephen Zrike; a discussion of existing school safety measures in Massachusetts (download the item here) and a possible vote on a resolution opposing the arming of teachers; a vote to solicit public comment on proposed changes to regulations related to English learner programs; a vote to align regulations with the foster care provisions of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA); a vote to solicit public comment on proposed changes to regulations needed to implement the redesigned accountability system that the U.S. Department of Education approved as part of Massachusetts’ ESSA plan; a possible vote on Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School‘s request to appeal the commissioner’s decision not to recommend its expansion; and a vote on new probationary conditions for Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School.
Both meetings will be streamed online at https://livestream.com/
Graduation Requirements for Students from Puerto Rico:
The Department has posted guidance about how high school juniors and seniors who relocated to Massachusetts after fleeing last year’s hurricanes in Puerto Rico can complete the Puerto Rico high school curriculum and earn a Puerto Rico high school diploma if they choose to do so.
Public Comment on History and Social Science Framework Ends Soon:
The Public Comment Period for the revision of the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework that began on January 23 will close on April 2. Until then, the draft document will be available for public review and comment via a public survey. The final public comment presentation on the draft framework will take place from 3:00-4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 29 at DESE’s offices in Malden. (This session was rescheduled from March 21.)Registration and additional information is available online. In May, DESE staff will present a new draft of the framework to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and in June, the Board will vote on whether to adopt the final version of the framework.
Graduation and Dropout Rate Events:
In late February, the Department announced that the state’s four-year graduation rate improved for the 11th consecutive year, and the state’s annual dropout rate had fallen to 1.8 percent, the lowest overall rate in more than three decades. The Department will offer a deeper dive into these data in a webinar at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3.
In addition, on Wednesday, April 25, the Office of College, Career and Technical Education will host the Spring Dropout Prevention and Re-Engagement Work Group Gathering focused on grade 9 success. Students who fail even one course in grade 9 are 14 times more likely not to complete high school in four years, and the current state average for completing and passing all grade 9 courses is at 79 percent. Great Schools Partnership will bring its knowledge, experience and research to the day. The Gathering is open to any district or school that wants to improve ninth grade success for ALL students. Registration is open online.
2018 VOCAL School Climate Survey:
The Views of Climate and Learning (VOCAL) is an annual voluntary survey that DESE sponsors. The 2018 VOCAL surveys will be administered to students in grades 5, 8, and 10 at the end of the MCAS test administration. Last year, approximately 70 percent of students across the three grades participated in the VOCAL pilot. The VOCAL survey measures students’ perceptions of three dimensions of school climate: engagement, safety, and environment. Districts and schools that choose to have their students participate will receive summary measures of their students’ responses (an overall school climate index score and index scores for the three dimensions) and aggregate information on item-level responses. This FAQ has more information on the content, administration, and reporting of VOCAL data. Please note that in the MCAS manuals, the VOCAL surveys are referred to as student questionnaires.
Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers Initiative:
On March 21, the Council of Chief State School Officers announced the Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers Initiative, a network of nine states, including Massachusetts, that will connect with each other and experts in the field over the next year to create and implement plans to diversify their educator workforce and support the cultural competence of future and current educators to meet the needs of all students.
ESE Resource Corner
“How Do We Know?” Initiative: The Department’s “How Do We Know?”Initiative web pages are intended to support districts in using, building, and sharing evidence to improve student outcomes. This site is DESE’s repository for information and guidance for districts on evidence-based practice.