Superintendent's Report to SC 10.23.19

Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee

October 23, 2019

MassCUE Conference

Attending: Lytania Mackey, Brandy Wilbur, Natalie Poverchuk, Sue Comparato, Stephen Silbert, Talbot Penniman, Jenna Klemonski, and Jess Massanari-Sapp
Presenting: Lytania, Natalie, Sue, Talbot
Sessions:

• Getting Started with Google Sites - Natalie

• Improve Your Workflow with Google Tasks, Chrome, & Calendar - Lytania & Sue

• Physical Computing for Fun Learning: From SCRATCH to MakeyMakey, and Beyond - Natalie & W. Talbot 

• Free Productivity Tools to Enhance Learning - Lytania & Sue

• Creating Interactive Models with SCRATCH - W. Talbot

METCO - Directors Association Monthly Meeting

• Latoya Ogunbona brought them here at the high school last week

• CEO Milly Arbaje-Thomas

• Discussing the revamped online application process

• Invited to meet district leadership and Student Executive Board

Safe and Supportive Schools Competitive Grant

• Dr. Bacon and high school administration applied
• One of 12 districts to receive the grant
• $8,000 2019-2020 school year

Schools and districts convene a school team to respond to all questions in the Safe and Supportive Self-Reflection Tool. Teams then create action plans to identify priority areas as they relate to the six areas in the Tool which include: Leadership, Infrastructure, and Culture; Professional Learning Opportunities; Access to Resources and Services; Teaching and Learning that Fosters Safe and Supportive Environments; School Policies, Procedures, and Protocols; and Family Engagement.

The goal of the self-reflection (or self-assessment) Tool is to catalyze a reflective and creative inquiry-based, year-long or multi-year process to create and enhance a school`s work to become safer and supportive for the entire school community (including but not limited to: students, staff, families, and community partners). This tool is intended to assist with documenting current practices that support students` behavioral health ranging from the whole school community to individual students that require more intensive supports. It also examines the role of various school professionals and staff in providing these supports. This process enables schools to identify their most pressing local priorities and create action plans that can be incorporated into School Improvement Plans to address these priorities. It may be helpful to revisit your school`s responses to this tool on a regular (e.g., quarterly, annual) basis to review progress and continually work towards full implementation on a range of practices that address and remove the barriers to learning.