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March 2014 Vol. 21 No. 3
edNews is a quarterly publication of Metro ECSU (Metropolitan Educational Cooperative Service Unit)
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Metro ECSU Executive Director:
Quick links:
Metro ECSU event calendar
Metro ECSU 2 Pine Tree Drive Suite 101 Arden Hills, MN 55112 Main: 612-638-1500 Fax: 612-706-0811
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| Success Beyond the Classroom unveils: |
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In February, SBC partnered with Normandale Community College to offer a pilot STEM program (STEMLink5) which brought 320 fifth-grade students from five metro districts to the Normandale campus to work in labs and classroom spaces with Normandale faculty and other STEM professionals. Eighteen hands-on sessions in math, geology, biology, engineering, health sciences, physics, chemistry, technology and math brought STEM careers to life -- helping students better understand the creative and challenging places STEM can take them. Students had the opportunity to participate in services a dental hygienist provides in a typical day (pictured above); learn about electrical engineering by building "circuit bugs"; figure out the correct anti-venom to aid a snakebite victim; and map earthquakes in the geology lab. View the STEMLink5 program to read about all of the breakout sessions. Comments from teachers: • After attending, I believe students will have a more in-depth understanding of the “STEM” jargon they hear at school. Participating in STEMLink5 gives them a context to encourage achievement in STEM curriculum at school. • I had a parent email to tell me their child loved STEMLink5 and couldn’t stop talking about it at the dinner table. • I was impressed with the high level of curriculum/concept presented. It was great to be reminded that hands-on learning and experimentation is still the best way to engage students.
To learn more about STEMLink5, please contact Gina Jacobson at 612-638-1521.
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| | | Young Authors Conference presenters will teach students how to create unforgettable characters
Over 4,000 4th-8th graders are registered for SBC's Young Authors Conference. The theme of this year's conference is Characters that Pop! Geoff Herbach, award-winning novelist, will keynote the conference.
Top-notch authors, including William Alexander, Swati Avasthi, John Coy, Danielle Daniel, May Lee-Yang, Chris Martin, Sheila O'Connor, and Marcie Rendon (and many more!), will lead break-out sessions.
Spots are still available on May 28, 29, and 30. Please contact Colleen Feller at 612-638-1511 for more information. |
| | | This is how Metro ECSU customizes services...
The photo collage below features Metro ECSU's Julie Krohn leading a two-day customized training, "Co-Teaching for ELs," in South Washington County Schools. Teachers collaboratively created lessons focused on modifying grade level work for all levels of English Learners while keeping academic language in mind.
Customized Co-teaching Trainings offered by Julie Krohn, Regional Education Specialist:
- workshops for Special Education specialists/EL specialists/paraprofessionals/classroom teaching pairs customized to your district or school needs
- 1-2 day collaborative trainings and on-going coaching support
- focus on integrating academic language and interactive strategies throughout training
Over 100 teachers & educational assistants participated in customized professional development this year in the following school districts: Hopkins, Eastern Carver County, Richfield, South Washington County, Fridley and more!
For more information, please contact Julie Krohn at 612-638-1522. |
| | | | The Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) invites your participation in a local "Minnevate!" event. Minnevate! is a dialogue process to build an action agenda of Minnesota educational leadership.
Everyone is welcome! Attendees will hear about the statewide process and then participate in a facilitated conversation. Results from this meeting will help inform MASA's work in the following months as they continue the conversation with communities across Minnesota. The final product--to be released in autumn 2014--will be an agenda for action that communities can use to build positive futures for education in Minnesota.
A metro regional event, offered in cooperation with Metro ECSU, will take place next month.
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| | Middle Grades Knowledge Bowl season ends with exciting Grand Finales
Teams participated in three regular season meets including the Grand Finale held at two sites. Check out the top placing teams below!
Pictured left: Students on the Jackson Middle School 7th Wheel team that received the "Moving On Up Award." The Moving On Up Award is presented to the team that made the greatest improvement in rank standings during the meet. Jackson M.S. moved up 26 spots!
Grand Finale meet held February 6, 2014 at South View Middle School in Edina: - Blake Bears (Blake School)
- South View 4 (Edina)
- South View 3 (Edina)
- Cologne Academy 1 (Cologne Academy)
- Ramalynn Montessori 1 (Ramalynn Montessori Academy)
Grand Finale meet held February 13th, 2014 at Northdale Middle School in Blaine:
- Centennial White (Centennial)
- Westwood 1 (Spring Lake Park)
- Oak View Avengers (Anoka-Hennepin)
- Roosevelt 4! (Anoka-Hennepin)
- Roosevelt XLII (Anoka-Hennepin)
To learn more about Middle Grades Knowledge Bowl, please contact Julie Schaal at 612-638-1540. |
| | | Register today for Metro ECSU's 2nd annual Adolescent Literacy Summit!
Metro ECSU will again offer a two-day summit to assist teachers in meeting the challenges of supporting literacy at the secondary level in content area classrooms with diverse student populations.
Dates: August 12 & 13, 2014
Location:TIES Training Center (St. Paul) 12 Continuing Education Units
The Metro ECSU second annual Adolescent Literacy Summit will provide a context for sharing specific literacy practices for academically and culturally diverse adolescents and address the special challenges teachers face as they integrate literacy practices into content area classrooms. Participants will explore the delivery of high quality literacy instruction at the secondary level and supported by research to be effective in secondary classrooms.
Keynote address and breakout format. Topics include: Digital literacy, motivation & engagement, literacy practices for ELs, CCSS & disciplinary literacy, vocabulary strategies, classroom strategies for accessing content, formative assessment, struggling readers, and more.
If you would like to submit an idea for a presentation, please contact Cathy Macdonald below.
Summit contact: Cathy Macdonald, 612-638-1516. |
| | | SBC partners with the YMCA Beacons to support Academic Challenge in three Minneapolis Public Schools
Success Beyond the Classroom's partnership with the YMCA Beacon program brought together students from three Minneapolis Public Schools for an afternoon of academic challenge. Hats off to students from Nellie Stone Johnson, Anne Sullivan/Anishinabe Academy and Northeast Middle School for their hard work and great preparation for the fifth annual Blizzard Cup event!
Listening closely to 80 questions from all academic areas, teams battled to be the first team to “buzz in”. Once “in”, teams had 15 seconds to discuss among themselves the best answer and relay their answer to officials. Teams were awarded one point for every correct answer. At the end of the day, teams were recognized for the most points overall plus the most points in four subject areas: math, language arts, social studies and science. The goal of the Blizzard Cup is to increase academic achievement, build positive relationships, and offer kids a chance to use their brains in a fun, competitive way.
Congratulations to these exemplary students for their brilliant display of talent, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Kudos to the YMCA Beacons, Dairy Queen International and MPS for their collaborative effort to underscore that learning is fun and it is cool to be smart!
For more information, please contact Gina Jacobson at 612-638-1521. |
| | | Check out our new outreach efforts for Help Me Grow!
Metro ECSU hosts the Help Me Grow Region 11 Interagency Early Intervention Committee (IEIC), which is responsible for public awareness and child find efforts in the 7-county metro region for infant early intervention and preschool special education services.
Partnering with the Risdall Advertising Agency, Region 11 has developed an updated look as part of a major marketing campaign for Help Me Grow. Our goals are to increase knowledge of developmental milestones and help parents and caregivers know when to refer a child if there are delays as well as to provide easy access to online referrals.
Media outreach grows
• Since starting our Facebook page in July, we have had an enthusiastic response with over 8,500 followers.
• Help Me Grow made its podcast debut on Mom Enough that aired in February.
• Articles have appeared in community organization newsletters and blogs.
All of this exciting work has resulted in a significant increase in referrals since the beginning of the marketing campaign last summer. In the period from August to December 2013, referrals were nearly double what they were one year ago during that time period.
To learn more, please visit www.HelpMeGrowMN.org |
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