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May 2018, Vol. 25, No. 4
edNews is a quarterly publication of the Metropolitan Educational Cooperative Service Unit
Editor: Colleen Feller
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Professional Development Summer Sampler offered August 6-10 at Metro ECSU!
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Registration opens May 15.
All sessions are half day and offered either 8:30-11:30 a.m. or 12:30-3:30 p.m.
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Teaching English Language Learners in Core Content
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Math - August 6
Science - August 8
Social Studies - August 8
These sessions are designed for any teacher working with English Language Learners who wants to ensure engaged and quality instruction. Educators will learn how to differentiate and identify language demands for multilingual learners. Choose the session that works for you or attend all three. |
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August 6 & 9
This session presents eight things every secondary math teacher should be doing the first week and month of school to build a thinking and engaged classroom culture for all students.
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August 7
This workshop will help cultural liaisons to better work with culturally and linguistic diverse learners and mainstream and district staff members to ensure programs meet the needs of learners by providing access to both language and content development coursework. |
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Student Centered Co-Teaching
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August 7
Learning about who your students are and what motivates their learning helps prioritize a student centered learning zone. Co-teachers, join this session to dig deeper into the research-based TASK ROTATION system that can be used in the co-taught classroom and beyond!
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August 9
Establishing school and district student tech teams can offer students authentic learning experiences that develop essential technical and career skills, support school technology initiatives, and drive innovation. Join this session to learn the how-tos of setup and maintenance.
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Redefining Co-Teaching with Core Competencies
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August 10
This session is designed for leaders and teachers to investigate the core competencies of co-teaching. This session will explore the four domains and 22 competencies needed for quality co-teaching and observational feedback to co-teacher teams.
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For more information about the Summer PD Sampler, contact Martina Wagner, 612-638-1525.
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(Not Your First) Co-Teaching Rodeo
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As a former co-teacher,
supervisor, and trainer of co-teachers, I can attest that co-teaching can
sometimes be like a rodeo! Have you ever tried to make the best of the
short amount of instructional or planning time you have, just to be thrown from
the saddle? Or have you be trying to co-teach with limited resources, so
you can only hold on with one hand? I'm sure these metaphors resonate with many of the co-teachers out there today.
-Martina Wagner
JOIN US MAY 15 for Purposeful Collaboration through
Co-Teaching the Basics (8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Metro ECSU).
Or, join one of our two half-day Summer Sampler Sessions on "Redefining
Co-Teaching through Core Competencies" or "Student Centered Co-Teaching." Registration opens May 15.
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Dr. Martina Wagner, Director of
Development for Metro ECSU, shared her expertise recently at the Harvard School
of Education. Martina was part of an outstanding panel of EL experts at
the EL Summit: Leading for English Learners which spurred
TED Talk style discussions and conversations around what it truly
takes to be a leader for culturally and linguistically diverse group of students.
Advocacy for ELs should happen from multiple angles, the panelists and partners
represented diverse perspectives, from policy to practice, for both an
informative and thought-provoking evening. Learn more about Dr. Martina Wagner's
work with English Language Learners with Harvard University. |
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New Workshop Offering in June! No fee to attend!
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Digital Accessibility:
What Schools Need to Know
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Date/Time: June 19, 2018
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. (Check in at 8:30 a.m.)
Who should attend: School District and
Building Administrators, Human Resources Personnel, Technology Specialists
Cancellation
Deadline: June 15 Location: Metro
ECSU (Anderson Center, Bethel University), 2 Pine Tree Drive, Arden Hills, MN
55112
Workshop contact: Cathy Macdonald
Registration contact: Angela Skrade |
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This workshop is an overview best
practices for schools as they plan a path to compliance with The Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) and The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that address digital
accessibility law.
Learn more about the inclusive practice of digital accessibility that
removes barriers that prevent interaction with websites and apps for people
with disabilities: - Accessibility trends
- Laws that govern digital accessibility
- An overview of case law in educational settings
- Introduction to the WCAG 2.0 standards for web content
accessibility
- Simulation challenges
- How to plan for successful compliance
Accessibility 360 Presenters
- Michele Landis,Co-Founder, VP Business Development & Strategic Partners
- Aaron Cannon,Co-Founder, Lead Accessibility Engineer
In compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act, when special accommodations are needed, contact Angela Skrade
at 612-638-1528 or angela.skrade@metroecsu.org at least two (2) weeks before the
event date. Special accommodation cancellation notices are accepted no later
than two (2) business days before the event date. Cancellations after the
deadline will be billed for special accommodations fees. |
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Cathy Lyle awarded the Anne Sullivan Medal
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Cathy Lyle, Statewide DeafBlind Specialist for
the Low Incidence Projects and the Education Consultant for the Minnesota
DeafBlind Project, was awarded the Anne Sullivan Medal by Perkins School
for the Blind at the DeafBlind International
Network of the Americas Conference at Cape Cod.
The Anne Sullivan Medal is the most prestigious award in the field of
DeafBlindness. Past recipients of the
medal have included President George Bush and the late Barbara Bush; and
the late Senator Ted Kennedy.
Below are some excerpts of Cathy’s
nomination letter.
Cathy’s enthusiasm for the field of deafblindness is second
to none. It is obvious that
deafblindness is her passion as she only sees opportunities, not barriers when
thinking about our students. Her belief
in the abilities of children and youth with deafblindness is limitless. She remains steadfast in her belief that if you do
what is right for the kids, you can’t go wrong. She has an unwavering respect for family
members, and a willingness to support and inform them so that they can make
educated decisions for their child.
I believe Cathy is most deserving of this award as
deafblindness has been her passion during her entire 40 year career in
education. Her passion for this field is
contagious, and as a result, she has recruited numerous people to this field,
including her sister and two nieces. Cathy is always encouraging others to
further their education to best serve our students with deafblindness. She is helping to create the new generation
of experts in the field of deafblindness.
Some of the many accomplishments Cathy has attained during
her time working with the Minnesota DeafBlind Project and Low Incidence
Projects are: the creation of a statewide deafblind community of practice for
educators, the development of the very successful intervener training program
in Minnesota, the implementation of a valuable iPad loan program for teachers
and families, and producing an effective model for online learning using the
Open Hands, Open Access (OHOA) Learning Modules.
Cathy collaborates with persons in the field both nationally
and internationally. She participated in
the OHOA Learning Modules as a creator and reviewer. She was involved in the creation of the
National Intervener Certification e-Portfolio (NICE) with continued involvement
as a portfolio reviewer along with numerous other projects.
Congratulations to Cathy for this tremendous and deserving honor!
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| | Celebrating Successes with the Minnesota Centers of Excellence for Young Children with Disabilities
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The Minnesota Centers of Excellence for Young Children with
Disabilities (MNCOE) partners with the Minnesota Department of
Education to provide Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) programs around the state to offer school districts the opporunity to participate in
innovations of evidence-based practices for increasing outcomes for students birth to 5 and their families.Twenty-three new districts were accepted as partners this upcoming year for one of the three innovations:
- Family-Guided Routines Based Intervention/FGRBI (for birth through 2-year-old families),
- Classroom Engagement Model (for 3-5-year-old classrooms), and
- The Pyramid Model (for both infants/toddlers and 3-5-year-old classrooms), which is a framework for supporting social competence and preventing challenging behavior in young children, particularly those with or at risk for delays or disabilities.
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Along with
in-person trainings, support, implementation meetings, coaching, webinars,
and new-and-improved data collection measures, MNCOE provides a separate day-long retreat for northern Minnesota, southern Minnesota, and metro schools districts involved in any
of the innovations.This year retreats were held with the implementing teams to celebrate their successes and to share their journeys. The
teams offered poster sessions, slideshow presentations, and videos of
what has been happening in participating districts.
Many wonderful ideas were shared and the growth in the practices across
the state was evident.
For a
SSOOPPRR special treat, watch what the Robbinsdale FGRBI team put together on
using Coaching for FGRBI!
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Cooperative Purchasing testimonial from St. Anthony-New Brighton
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Linda Guenther (pictured) orders all of the teachers' supplies for St. Anthony-New
Brighton schools. She highly recommends using Cooperative Purchasing
Connection’s Express Online Marketplace. With the ability to search multiple
sites with one login and password, she gets her work done much faster and routinely has great savings news for the teachers in her district.
“Teachers appreciate that I can find them a comparable product
and save them money,” said Linda. “Especially at the elementary level where they are
allotted $100. If I can save them $20, that’s extra supplies they can order.”
Learn more about Cooperative Purchasing.
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Metropolitan Principals' Academy offers two events - May 15 and June 27
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Metropolitan Principals’ Academy is offering two Special
Learning Opportunities before the end of the school year.
Because of your
requests, Assessments for SEL and School
Climate is offered May 15 at Metro ECSU. In this workshop, you will learn
how and why to use tools for assessments identified during Clay Cook’s social
emotional learning presentation last fall. It will include an overview of
several different assessment tools, and you will leave with resources to use
with your schools and district.
Registration information
On June 27, two representatives from ISD 287 will share
their extensive knowledge, progress, and successes about Compassion Fatigue and Staff Self-Care: Strategies and Resources for
Leaders. District 287 has been working hard on this topic and has successfully
developed compassion fatigue self-care practices and activities for education professionals.You will learn
what works, what tools you need, and how you can successfully implement these
strategies, even without adding extra staff. This workshop will take place at Metro ECSU.
Registration information
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SBC programs reach 5,000 students in May
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Between three days of STEMLink and four days of the Young Authors Conference, Success Beyond the Classroom programs will touch the lives of 5,000 students in the month of May. What an exciting way to end the school year!
Be sure to calendar the following dates for 2018-19.
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CreativeCon
Location: Science Museum of Minnesota
Date: November 13 & 14, 2018
Grades: 5-8
Registration is open.
Creativity Festival
Location:Ted Mann Concert Hall, U of MN
Date: January 8 & 9, 2019
Grades: 3-5
Registration is open.
Future City Competition
Location: Dakota County Technical College
Date: January 19, 2019
Grades: 6-8
Registration is open.
Young Authors Conference
Location: Bethel University
Date: March 22, 2019 and May 28, 29, 30, and 31, 2019
Grades 4-8
Registration will open this summer.
STEMLink
Dunwoody College - TBA
Normandale Community College - TBA
Century College - TBA
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Charting the Cs Student-Family Conference is a BIG HIT!
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The 6th Annual Charting the Cs Student-Family
Conference was held on a recent spring Saturday afternoon at the Arrowwood
Conference & Resort Center near Alexandria, with the goal of bringing
together over 50 families from around the state to gather, play and learn. This annual event offered families of
children with low incidence disabilities an opportunity to connect with other
families and learn about a wide array of topics from knowledgeable speakers,
such as: having fun with literacy, technology for the home, music, family yoga, building
helpful routines into a child’s day, and learning about boundaries.
Motor movement games for all family members were also a huge hit with
everyone, as well as learning about animal-assisted interventions and meeting
Munchkin the Therapy Horse! |
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Zot Artz
A popular activity at the Family
Conference was found in the Kid Zone, where kids of all ages and abilities used
adaptive art tools designed by Zot Artz to create huge, amazing art pieces by stamping, drawing, painting, and printing.
It’s all play, but children learn, explore, and develop a variety of skills while having
fun together and completing art projects.
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Learn more about the Annual Student-Family Conference. Note to Region 11 Member Districts: The Metro ECSU has all the equipment
and materials you need to host a Zot Artz activity at your school! The
Judy Wolff library provides the Zot Artz equipment
and consumable supplies; all you provide is the staff support, equipment
transport and location. In addition, this library has hundreds of special education books and resources
available for checkout to educators and families. For more
information, contact Dolly Carr at 612-638-1529. |
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Metro area's top spellers compete for a chance in Washington, DC
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On March 27, 47 spellers from the metro area gathered at St.
Catherine’s University in St. Paul to compete in the 2018 Twin Cities Regional Spelling
Bee, a qualifier for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Metro ECSU proudly
served in our 2nd year as the sponsor for this important educational
event!
The participating fourth through eighth grade students were all champions of their local bees, moving on to our regional bee by achieving
a top score in an online qualifying exam.
After 9 rounds, Peter Clementson, a seventh-grade student
from Yinghua Academy in Minneapolis, was named champion after correctly
spelling “coralline."
Clementson was awarded a plaque, spelling supplement, mint
coin set, a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online, a one-year
subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, and travel expenses and
accommodations for two people to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC. Aayush Goud, an eighth-grader from Parnassus Preparatory
School in Maple Grove, put forth a courageous effort, taking second place,
after missing his word “Kiddush."
The top spellers also included Riddhipriyanka Suresh from Scott
Highlands Middle School in Apple Valley, and Silas Falbo from Burroughs
Elementary in Minneapolis, who battled 5 rounds for third place. Suresh finally took the title by correctly
spelling “roti."
In addition to improving students’ spelling skills and
increasing their vocabularies, spelling bee participation provides valuable
experience in developing poise—a necessary skill for success in public
speaking, performing arts, and athletics. Metro ECSU would also like to acknowledge the following sponsors: Barbette, Blue Plate Restaurant
Co., The Commodore Bar and Restaurant, Encyclopedia Britannica, Guthrie
Theater, Hexico Academic, Innovative Office Solutions, Mall of America, and
Merriam-Webster. Thank you for helping
to make our 2nd year a great success! |
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Metro ECSU Year in Preview 2018-2019
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Regional / Customized / Online / On-demand
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Metro Education Leader Network
MELN
(formerly Metropolitan Principals’ Academy). For all education leaders. Assists
with developing and renewing leadership skills and attitudes. Components based on
research and
determined by participant
needs. |
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Microcredentialing
A
natural extension
of professional development allowing educators to prove competency in areas by reviewing
research,
implementing learning, documentation and reflection. |
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Metro Talks
A powerful series of TED style talks with an educational focus. A collaborative bridge for
building partnerships to provide sound systemic supports for lifelong learning. |
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Math & Literacy
Effective teaching and practical classroom
strategies bridging standards, content, equity and culture to promote student
success and engagement. |
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Multilingual Learners
Academic
language development
and achievement for culturally and linguistically diverse learners through EL
program set up, high quality instruction, assessment,
research, and
professional learning for educators and leaders. |
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School Climate
Learning
experiences
focused
on assessments, social emotional
skills, teaching and learning practices, student engagement, social media, bullying
prevention, restorative
practices, conflict intervention, youth voice, and
organizational structure. |
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School Safety
Guided sessions on school
safety and violence prevention as well as
environmental safety issues and requirements that support healthy
learning. |
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An exciting new school year at Metro ECSU begins in September. For more information about professional development opportunities contact Jake Law at 612-638-1553 or Martina Wagner at 612-638-1525.
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Metro ECSU wishes you a summer filled with rest and adventure!
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