DESE Update: August, 31 2018

Early Warning Indicator System Reports Live in Edwin

Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) reports for the 2018-19 school year are available in Edwin for teams to use in preparing for the start of the school year. Educators can review EWIS data to understand which students are at risk of missing important academic milestones, and educators can develop additional supports tailored to their students’ strengths and needs. Student claiming must be complete to see EWIS information for the 2019 school year. See the Student Claiming User Guide for details.

The Department will be holding a webinar on EWIS at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 6, and additional training materials, videos and other resources are available on the EWIS website.

For districts that did not report data by the due dates, EWIS data will be available in mid-September.

In addition to the Sept. 6 webinar, DESE is offering a no-cost, full-day workshop entitled “Maximizing EWIS to Improve Student Achievement” on Friday, Sept. 21. Teams should register online. For more information, email ewis@doe.mass.edu. Additional webinar opportunities are also available.

Picture of the Week:

Staff and students at Wire Village Elementary School in Spencer found a colorful welcome beneath their feet on their first day of school, August 28, 2018. Welcome back to everyone who started school this week, and here’s hoping for cooler days ahead! (Photo courtesy of Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District)

Digital Connections Initiative

In partnership with the nonprofit EducationSuperHighway, the Digital Connections Initiative is back to make sure schools and districts have everything they need to upgrade their school technology networks. Check out the tools, resources, and webinars designed to make upgrades more affordable and help schools and districts take advantage of critical funding sources this year:

  1. Webinars: Register for tips and best practices to help you navigate the E-rate cycle.
    • September 12: NEW E-rate 101: What’s New for 2018-19?
    • September 19: Complete Category 1: E-rate Form 470/RFP Tips & Best Practices
    • September 26: E-rate Category 2 Masterclass Series: Optimize Your Internal Network Upgrade
  2. Compare & Connect K-12: Powered by publicly available data, thousands of school leaders use Compare & Connect K-12 to compare their existing service and pricing with neighbors and similarly-sized districts in order to plan, negotiate, and implement a network upgrade.

Redesigning School and District Report Cards

The Department is redesigning school and district report cards for 2018 and has launched a survey to collect feedback on a draft version of the new report card. The survey includes closed-ended questions about specific sections of the report as well as the opportunity to provide open-ended feedback. Please distribute the link widely so that as many community members as possible can participate before it closes on Sept. 21: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4514059/Massachusetts-School-Report-Card-Prototype-Survey.

Home and Hospital Form

With the new school year, DESE has reviewed and revised the “Home and Hospital” form, a physician’s order for the implementation of educational services in a home or hospital setting. The changes are intended to:

  1. improve the physician’s authorization process by narrowing the scope of orders to comply with the regulation, and
  2. provide additional clarity to districts by requiring that the authorizing physician provide clear and specific information.

The revised form is available online at http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/28MR/. Please contact DESE’s Problem Resolution System office (781) 338-3700 with any questions or for further clarification.

Request for Waiver from Limit on Alternate Assessments

The commissioner recently posted a Notice of Intent to Apply and Opportunity for Comment regarding DESE’s intention to reapply for a waiver of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirement that limits the number of students statewide who may participate in alternate assessments to 1 percent of all students who are eligible to take MCAS. The Department was granted a waiver for the 2017-2018 school year and must reapply for the current year. However, DESE must demonstrate that districts have made progress in reducing the number of students taking the MCAS-Alt and must maintain a 95 percent MCAS participation rate for all students and students with disabilities. To comment on DESE’s intent to apply for this waiver, email mcas@doe.mass.edu before Sept. 28.