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December 2019, Vol. 27, No. 2
edNews is a quarterly publication of the Metropolitan Educational Cooperative Service Unit
Metro ECSU - 2 Pine Tree Drive, Suite 101 - Arden Hills, MN 55112
Front desk: 612-638-1500
edNews Editor: Colleen Feller
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| Young Authors Conference celebrates its 30th anniversary!
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| Success Beyond the Classroom is excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Young Authors Conference (YAC) with the theme Words Have Power!
Do you have students who are passionate writers? This is the field trip for them!
At
the Young Authors Conference, students learn from and write with
amazing local fiction and non-fiction authors, spoken word artists,
playwrights, media professionals, and more. During their time at the conference, students attend a keynote address, 3 breakout sessions, enjoy live music, and have the option of attending a book fair and open mic.
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| Conference date: March 20, 2020 For: Students in grades 4-8
Location: Bethel University
Keynote: Geoff Herbach (pictured)
Early bird rate registration deadline ($39/student for Metro ECSU members and $53/student for non-members): December 13, 2019 Regular rate registration deadline ($41/student for Metro ECSU members and $55/students for non-members): January 17, 2020
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| Conference dates: May 26-29, 2020 For: Students in grades 4-8
Location: Bethel University
Keynote: Kevin Kling (pictured)
Early bird rate registration deadline: February 3, 2020 Regular rate registration deadline: February 28, 2020
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| In 2019, of the 4,000+ young writers,
- 96% of students said the Young Authors Conference encouraged and challenged them to be better writers.
- 98% of students said the Young Authors Conference gave them new strategies, ideas, and skills to become a better writer.
- 95% of students left the Young Authors Conference understanding that strong writing skills are important in life.
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| | New This Year! Senior High Young Authors Conference debuts on March 20, 2020
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| Eighth grade students who attend YAC frequently write on their evaluations, "I wish I could come back next year!"
Now they can!
On March 20, 2020, high school students are invited to attend
our first ever Senior High Young Authors Conference. This conference will be held concurrently (but separate) from the YAC for 4th-8th graders. Senior High students will attend a keynote and 3 breakout sessions. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Lunchtime will include the opportunity to interact with organizations that provide writing resources to high school students, such as Hamline University Creative Writing Programs.
The details:
Senior High Young Authors Conference: March 20, 2020 For: Students in grades 9-12
Location: Bethel University
Keynote: Michael Torres (graffiti artist turned poet and creative writing teacher!)
Cost: $41/students for Metro ECSU members and $55/student for non-members)
Registration deadline: January 17, 2020
Presenter roster includes:
- Swati
Avasthi
- Diego
Vázquez
- Vanessa
Ramos
- May
Lee-Yang
- Daniel
Bergin
- Michael Torres
Because this pilot conference is limited to 120 students, schools are invited to register a minimum of 5 students and a maximum of 30 students.
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| | | Century College will host STEMLink in May 2020 - Register today!
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| Join us on May 21, 2020 for a day of STEM career immersion at Century College in White Bear Lake. Fifth and sixth grade students will attend a keynote presented by H2O for Life and spend the day attending three
different hands-on sessions learning about careers in the STEM fields. Led by
STEM professionals and Century College professors, students can build a
prosthetic leg, write code, program a robot, experiment with solar energy, explore the Fab Lab, and more! Learn more
Discover STEMLink!
In 2019...
- 95% of students agreed that STEMLink provided them with real-world examples of STEM work and workers.
- 90% of students who attended STEMLink said that each session they attended could be described as interesting, hands-on, and challenging.
- 89% of students said that STEMLink helped them understand how studying math and science can lead to exciting careers.
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| | Metro ECSU hosts Twin Cities Regional Spelling Bee - register by Dec. 20!
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| Metro ECSU
is pleased to serve in our fourth year as the Twin Cities Regional Spelling Bee
sponsor. In this
important educational event, 50 school champions compete for a chance to move
on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.
The Metro ECSU Regional Spelling Bee will take place Tuesday,
March 24, 2020 at the Shoreview Community Center, 4580 Victoria St. N,
Shoreview, MN 55126. The champion of the Metro ECSU Regional Spelling Bee will receive an expense-paid trip to compete in the 2020 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington,
DC!
Make sure to
register your school by December 20, 2019! Registration is available now on spellingbee.com
We look forward to once again providing this fantastic opportunity
to metro area
students! |
| | New! December Co-Teaching Workshops
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| Presented by Martina Wagner
Leading and Supporting Co-Teaching
Systems Featuring Co-Teaching Core Competency
Framework
with classroom observational tools for
Administrators Date: December 16, 2019 Time: 12:30-3:00pm
Location: Metro ECSU Cost: $50 Metro ECSU member; $95 Non-member
Are you an administrator who is trying to
support co-teacher teams, but might not know how? Or are you an effective
instructional leader who just needs a deeper level of understanding on how to
best implement and sustain highly effective co-teaching? If so, this session is
for you and your team. View flyer
Advanced Co-Teaching through an Equity Lens Date: December 17, 2019 Time: 8:30am-3:30pm
Location: Metro ECSU Cost: $115 Metro ECSU member; $225 Non-member Co-teachers,
you’re not on an island. If you’ve found your co-teaching partner and are
looking for more to take you further, this is the session for you! Participants
will dive deeper into the models of co-teaching, critical setup and maintenance
of their co-teaching partnerships, and will analyze the makeup of the students
in their co-taught class through an EQUITY LENS. Likewise, this session explores
how equity mindset impacts instructional strategies and the conceptual concept
of collaboration! View flyer
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| Martina Wagner, Ed.D has served English Language
learners in grades pre-K through adult education for every twenty years. Her
expertise includes best practice and programming for ELs, Sheltered
Instruction, Co-Teaching, Special Education Identification of ELs, WIDA
standards (World-class Instructional Design and Assessment), and English Language Learning assessments and analysis. Martina’s
background in co-teaching spans from classroom to district implementation,
professional developer, instructional coach, as well as strategic district
action planning and implementation. Martina has done extensive research
throughout the United States on co-teaching and currently serves public,
private, and charter schools as a professional development consultant.
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| | Education leaders: Ring in 2020 with MELN winter workshops!
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| Metropolitan Education Leaders Network (MELN) had a great
start to the school year with dynamic Leadership In-Service workshops. Two workshops
are yet to come in 2020; like a great New Year's Eve party, you won’t want to miss them.
Both workshops take place at Metro ECSU and are offered both from 8:30am-11:30am and 12:30pm-3:30pm. Choose the time that works for you! |
| The January 14 workshop, Problem Solving with Student Voice:
Practical Strategies and Lessons from the Field, will be a valuable
learning opportunity with metro area leaders.
Imina Oftedahl, director of
Curriculum and Instruction, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage, and Kristine Schaefer,
Assistant Superintendent Academic Excellence and Accountability, South
Washington County, will explore proactive strategies to address hearing student
voice, facilitating conversations, and working with student data. They will
provide specific examples of how these strategies are being used successfully in various
situations. Register |
| | On February 11, John Eller from Leadership Development and
Coaching, will lead a Difficult Conversations workshop. Discussion will
include understanding what motivates difficult behaviors in others and tools
for holding difficult conversations, including a planning template and keys to
working with specific situations.
All education leaders are welcome at MELN events including
school and district administrators, principals, assistant principals, teacher
leaders, teaching and learning directors, superintendents, content and
instruction coaches and others.
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| | Paraprofessionals: Mark you calendar for the 15th Annual Winning Strategies Conference!
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| | Metro ECSU and
Normandale Community College are proud to present the 15th Annual
Winning Strategies Conference for paraprofessionals and future
teachers. This year’s keynote, Dr. Jodi Janati, will address the topic "Balancing Your Conflict – Step by
Step Communication to Transform Difficult Interactions."
Date: February 1, 2020
Location: Normandale Community College (Bloomington)
Cost: $25/person Register for the Winning Strategies Conference!
Balance Your Conflict!
Find your Conversation Peace. Most people have come to accept
that conflict is inevitable. Assertive communication promotes healthy
boundaries and can transform conflict during difficult conversations. There are
a number of conflict management workshops offered each year, yet rarely does
the facilitator tell participants exactly what should be said or done. The
purpose of this workshop is to specifically address, "What do I say and
do" when dealing with people during difficult situations to avoid destructive
patterns. Participants will learn how to control their anger and emotions, be
assertive and effectively defuse conflict through a variety of applied
approaches. Multiple techniques will be discussed to demonstrate that practical
solutions are attainable through a variety of step-by-step methods. For more
information, visit https://findyourconversationpeace.com/
Conference participants will also attend three
different break-out sessions, many of which are tailored to mental health and
relate to strategies for paraprofessionals and future teachers.
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| | MNCoE welcomes Karen Satre!
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| Minnesota Centers of Excellence for Young Children with
Disabilities (MNCoE) is excited to welcome Karen Satre to our team
in Region 11. Karen comes to us with a
vast array of experience in the field of early childhood special education. Specifically, Karen offers deep knowledge and
expertise to our team and collaborating partners around areas such as ongoing
assessment, Early Childhood Indicators of Progress, and service delivery under
Part B and Part C of IDEA.
Prior to
joining MNCoE, Karen worked directly as an early childhood special education
teacher for seven years in two metro area school districts and then engaged in
systems-level work through her position as an Education Specialist for three
years at the MN Department of Education (MDE).
Karen has been working with the MNCoE for a couple of months
now as an Early Childhood Special Education Professional Development
Facilitator, supporting school districts throughout the metro area in both
foundational and innovation work. Karen
will also be supporting MNCoE in continuing to scale up a data system that
allows our collaboration partners to engage in ongoing data-based decision
making.
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| Minnesota DeafBlind Project welcomes Jackie Bauer!
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| Jackie
Bauer joined the Minnesota DeafBlind Project in September 2019 as the Family
Engagement Coordinator. She is a parent of a 9-year old son, who is
deafblind and has CHARGE Syndrome. She has devoted the last 9 years to
learning as much as possible about navigating life with a special needs child. She has been closely connected with the MN Deafblind Project and many of the
families that are impacted by deafblindness. Jackie is motivated to share
her experience and meet families in a similar situation.
Jackie
graduated from UW-River Falls with a degree in Business Management. She
attended St.Paul College and earned a certificate in ASL to better communicate
with her son. Prior to the birth of her son, she spent 7 years working in
the commercial real estate industry. She is married and is a mom to 3 busy
children. She enjoys entertaining at her home, spending time with friends and family, reading, and traveling.
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| | Be safe this winter with Health and Safety winter programs and resources
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Upcoming Health and Safety
Events at Metro ECSU
- 12/05/19
- Health and Safety Meeting, 9am-11am, Machine Guarding
- 1/06/20
– Unlicensed Electrician Training, 8am-11am
- 1/09/20
– Health and Safety Meeting, 9am-11am, Active
Shooter Protocols
- 2/04/20
– Chemical Hygiene Training, 12pm-3:30p
Winter brings with it the usual cold weather challenges:
extreme temperatures, ice, snow and freeze-thaw-freeze. It’s important to
be prepared for the weather to stay safe and healthy. Take steps to protect
your home, prepare your vehicle, plan for emergencies and protect your
family and pets. For more information on winter weather safety, go to:
Staying healthy this winter includes avoiding the flu
and norovirus. The City of Minneapolis rolled out a
campaign to educate people about norovirus that includes an
unmistakable visual graphic. The Minnesota Department of Health has a
trove of information
on influenza. A basic step to fighting the
flu is to get vaccinated. For more information on vaccination, contact your
provider or the MN
Department of Health
Accessibility
The Health and Safety program at Metro ECSU has grown
and now offers members assistance on issues related to accessibility under
Title I and Title II of the ADA. Do you need help navigating a reasonable
accommodation request? Have you identified areas needing improvement and
aren’t sure where to start? Do you plan to restripe a parking lot next year
and want to avoid making mistakes? For questions related to physical space
accessibility or reasonable accommodations, feel free to contact Bianca
Virnig at bianca.virnig@metroecsu.org
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| | | Congratulations to Rich Burke, recipient of MNSHAPE Carolyne "Dolly" Strumbel Award |
| Rich
Burke has been awarded the Minnesota Society of Health and Physical Educators
(MNSHAPE) Carolyne "Dolly" Strumbel Award, which is intended to honor and recognize the
significant contributions professional retirees have made to MNSHAPE for at
least 10 years.
Rich Burke retired after thirty-six years of teaching,
1982-2018. He began his career in Minot, ND at South Prairie
after completing his Bachelor of Science degree from Minot State University. He then moved to Minnesota where he taught in the
Bloomington School District for many years, then at Mounds View Schools.
Rich is currently the Statewide Developmental Adapted Physical Education (DAPE) Specialist with the
Minnesota Low Incidence Project, hosted at Metro ECSU, a position he has held for the past ten years. Rich
has served on the DAPE Leadership Committee since 1988 and remains very active
with this position. Rich has made many presentations at state, district and
national SHAPE America conventions. His passion for our profession motivates
all those who have ever heard his presentations.
Rich's commitment and
knowledge of physical education and physical activity is evidenced again and
again. Rich has been a driving force behind the many efforts to promote the importance
of daily physical activity and daily quality physical education for ALL
Minnesota students.
Rich has been serving on the Minnesota Department of
Education and MNSHAPE Standards Leadership Committee ensuring that all students
will be represented with these new standards. A few past awards include
Minnesota DAPE Teacher of the Year; Central District TOY and SHAPE America
Adapted Physical Education Teacher of the Year; the MNSHAPE George Hanson DAPE
Award; MNSHAPE President, 2002-03; and Central District President, 2003-04.
Rich Burke is enthusiastic, committed, knowledgeable, compassionate, honest,
and a very dedicated retired professional who always has a positive impact on
those around him. |
| | Cooperative Purchasing: Reliable and Competitive (see for yourself!)
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| Vendor Conference!
Vendors
from across the country came to the City of Ramsey Municipal Center to learn
more about how using the CPC Contract supports Minnesota (and Metro) education
and municipal communities, saves members time and money, and enables
departments to make purchases that advance their strategic goals while
remaining in compliance with state and local procurement policies.
The
conference was opened by Bill Harvey, a member of the Anoka-Hennepin School
Board and the Executive Committee of Metro ECSU. Bill shared a message of
gratitude that was echoed throughout the day. CPC is truly grateful to all the
members and vendors that work to ensure that money spent by Minnesota schools,
cities, counties, and nonprofits is spent responsibly.
In
a telling moment, one vendor noted that some Texas cooperatives used by school
districts across the country are organized in someone’s garage and operated for
profit. With CPC, both members and vendors know that their contracts are backed
by a statewide, compliance-first, educational service nonprofit that was
created by the Minnesota State Legislature.
CPC
is proud of its awarded vendors and the services that we provide to members and
participating organizations! Thank you for your support. |
| | Metro ECSU wishes you a safe and joyous holiday season!
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