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March 2020, Vol. 27, No. 3
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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Still time to register for SBC's 30th Annual Young Authors Conference!
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Over
3,000 students are registered for the 2020 Young Authors Conference (YAC),
but it's not too late to register your school group.
Conference dates: May 26-29, 2020 (May 27 is sold out)
For: Students in grades 4-8
Location: Bethel University, Arden Hills
Details: Students attend a keynote, 3 breakout sessions led by professional Minnesota writers, book fair, live music, and open mic.
"The Young Authors Conference sparked my love for writing." -2019 participant
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Searching for a STEM experience for your middle school students?
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Bring them to STEMLink at Century College!
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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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Middle Grades Knowledge Bowl students camp out at state meet
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Thirty-three teams of 6th through 8th
graders from 10 Minnesota middle schools competed at the camp-themed Middle
Grades Knowledge Bowl State Meet on February 22 at Cologne Academy. This was the fourth-annual Middle Grades Knowledge Bowl State Meet held in the metro region and sponsored by Success Beyond the Classroom.
Teams that traveled the farthest to competition were from Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, Fergus Falls; Lincoln Park Middle School, Duluth; and Monticello
Middle School, Monticello. It was an in-tents day of knowledge and fun!
Final Standings: 1st place:
Minnetonka MS West Alpha 2nd place:
Lincoln Park Team 2 (Duluth) 3rd place:
Minnetonka MS West Delta 4th place:
Minnetonka MS West Beta 5th place:
St. Francis MS Kool Aid Clan
Special Award Winners: Spirit Award: South St. Paul Secondary
Off-Brand Doritos Movin’ on Up Award: Lake Harriet Team 1 Rookie of the Year Award: Minnetonka MS East Team 2 The Triple Team Award: Minnetonka MS West
teams, Alpha, Beta, and Delta. (pictured below). |
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SBC's Creativity events ignite curiosity and empower students to explore new ideas
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Success Beyond the Classroom hosted over 2,000
students at this year's Creativity Festival and CreativeCon on January 7-9, 2020 held at the University of Minnesota.
The
Creatives left students with "enough to spark interest for further
exploration and wonder," according to an accompanying teacher. Teachers and 5th-8th grade students alike were pleased with the variety of
real-life applications that CreativeCon explored.
93% of CreativeCon students
and 98% of teachers attending the event recognized the real world examples of how to apply creativity while problem solving!
92% of 3rd-5th graders who attended Creativity Festival learned that creativity is a skill that can be practiced and strengthened. Our Creativity Festival and CreativeCon engineering sessions, such as The Science of Roller Coasters, encouraged
out-of-the-box thinking. One teacher remarked, "It shows
creativity is in every part of our lives."
Others participants were challenged to express themselves in
a safe space through the art of dance, folk art, and storytelling. One student
recognized that Songwriting and Beat Boxing allowed them to feel
like themselves, free of judgment. Each student's creation had a unique, personal twist!
Save the dates for 2021! Creativity Festival (grades 3-5): January 5-6, 2021 CreativeCon (grades 5-8): January 7, 2021
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At Success Beyond the
Classroom, we’re powered by two things.
First: Volunteers. Let us know you have an
interest in helping fuel our success, and we’ll be in touch. We need people who
are motivated and excited to help children, and no experience is necessary.
Learn more: http://www.successbeyond.org/volunteer.html
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Help Me Grow initiative continues to aid parents and caregivers of young children
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The
Region 11 Interagency Early Intervention Committee (IEIC) is responsible for
Help Me Grow public awareness and child find efforts in the seven-county metro
region for infant & toddler early intervention and preschool special
education services. Our goals are to increase knowledge of developmental
milestones, to help parents and caregivers know when to refer a child if there
are delays, and to provide easy access for making referrals online. www.helpmegrowmn.org
New Data on
Referrals During the 2018-2019 school year, we collected data from school districts that
gave us information on whether a child was found eligible for services or if the parents
could not be contacted or refused screening, evaluation, or services. This data assists
us in understanding whether we need to provide better guidance for parents and
professionals on when or why to refer a child and how professionals could
better explain the rationale to parents for making a referral so that parents
would be willing to have their child evaluated. |
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New Resources Region
11 received additional funds from MDE to revise and update the Help Me Grow
brochure. The revised brochure is
available in English, Hmong, Spanish, Karen and Somali.
A
board book, Baby’s Busy Day, was developed by the CDC for parents to read with babies.
It’s available at no cost to schools and agencies within the seven-county metro
area.
A Resource Request form to order the free Help Me Grow resources can be found
on the Help Me Grow website.
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Mom Enough Podcasts
Help Me Grow partners with Mom Enough to produce podcasts on a
series of relevant topics. Here are links to our podcasts in the past year:
Training Stipends
Funding up to $1000/event is
available to local school districts and other agencies to help defray costs
when hosting training workshops about Help Me Grow and child development.
Contact Kathy McKay at kathy.mckay@metroecsu.org for more information. |
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Evidence-based Quality Intervention Practices (EQIP) rolls out across the state of Minnesota!
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Evidence-based
Quality Intervention Practices - EQIP (formerly
Family-Guided Routines Based Intervention) is an evidence-based initiative
supported by the Minnesota Centers of Excellence for Young Children with
Disabilities (MNCoE). This initiative is
for Early Intervention practitioners and is based on the work of Dr. Dathan
Rush and Dr. M’Lisa Shelden.
EQIP teams
are learning about this approach to early intervention, which incorporates
evidence-based practices to build caregiver capacity and embed intervention into daily routines using coaching interaction practices. There
are four guided trainings included in EQIP innovation: ● Family-Centered &
Culturally-Responsive Practices ● Natural Learning Environment
Practices ● Coaching Interaction
Practices ● Resource-based Practices
To learn more about the EQIP Innovation and the
Minnesota Centers of Excellence, please visit https://mncoe.org |
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New opportunity to join a Literacy CoP
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So far, the Literacy CoP has met three times this school year with
in-person and virtual participation options for greater Minnesota.The final meeting for 2019-2020 will take place on April 30. The meetings provide guidance and resources across the state to areas attempting to
implement literacy with struggling readers with low incidence disabilities. Our
overarching goal is to increase Minnesota educators’ ability to implement conventional
and emergent literacy practices with fidelity.
The CoP group has identified key
problems from the field as areas of focus for the year which include access
to evidence-based instructional strategies, trainings for special education
teachers on comprehensive literacy, and time for collaborating with others.
The Low Incidence
Projects are providing up to two individuals from each district within Region
11 the ability to attend any Community of Practice meetings free of charge and receive sub coverage
reimbursement as designated District Representatives. We have collaborated with
the Minnesota Department of Education to seek out Literacy Camp alumni and are
calling on all educators working with low incidence disabilities who are passionate
about literacy to indicate their interest from across the state.
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Take advantage of Metro ECSU's Health & Safety Program Opportunities!
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The following topics will be covered at the monthly Metro
ECSU Health and Safety meetings for member districts. The meetings are hosted
at our Arden Hills location and start at 9:00am. Donuts and light refreshments are
provided.
- March 5, 2020: Opioids with Keith Narr and Stephanie Devich
- April 2, 2020: Indoor Air Quality with the EPA
- May 14, 2020: Playground Inspections with Marissa Bauer &
Mara Peterson
- June 4, 2020: MDE Town hall with Sarah Miller
Additionally, the following professional development events are being held at Metro ECSU:
Health and Safety - Did you know?
Employers are required to post five state-mandated
workplace posters where employees can see them. These posters (available in 5 languages) can be ordered at no cost
from the Department of Labor and Industry.
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Save time and money using Cooperative Purchasing Connection
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| Nonprofit Senior Services Manager at Tri-Valley Opportunity
Council, Alicia Berhow, started her career at Tri-Valley as the administrative assistant.
One of her first tasks was finding an office supply provider and ordering the
supplies. The new service needed to be streamlined, easy to use, carry both
every day and specialty items, and most importantly, be a service that was a
good fit for the Tri-Valley team.
After sifting through several options, Alicia found Express
through Cooperative Purchasing Connection (CPC). Alicia states, “I love that
the program is easy to use, and you can form it to meet your needs. We have
many sites within Minnesota, and it was very easy to get them set up within the
program (Express). Ordering is quick, easy and very reliable.” Last year, Tri-Valley Opportunity Council completed a
120-day price comparison study and reported that they saved over $1,000 a month
on orders by utilizing Express and CPC.Tri-Valley’s Administrative Office is moving
to a new location this year and Alicia says that throughout the moving process they
have worked with several CPC vendors who “secured discounts and were great to
work with!” CPC is proud of the service that was provided to Alicia and
continues to strive for success stories such as hers. Read the full interview
and register for Express at https://purchasingconnection.org/ |
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