|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
YAC 2016 asks young authors:
|
|
|
You know the feeling. You are going to burst if you don’t write this down. But why? Why are you compelled to write? Is it to tell a great story? Argue a point? Express sympathy or love? Record history?
Students in grades 4-8 are invited on March 17, 2016 or during the week of May 24-27, 2016 to explore their own motivation for writing and to take their writing to a deeper level. Students attend the keynote address and three hands-on breakout sessions led by published authors, illustrators, journalists, poets, and musicians.
|
|
March 17, 2016
March’s
YAC keynote, Joe Horton, is a powerful performing artist and
Minneapolis-based rapper best known for his work with the experimental
hip-hop band No Bird Sing. Horton will share his story and provide insight as
to how writing has profound implications as a way to listen
and understand oneself. Register for March YAC.
|
| May 24-27, 2016
Michael Perry, a New York Times bestselling author, humorist, singer/songwriter and radio show host from New Auburn, Wisconsin, will keynote May's YAC. With four bestselling memoirs under his belt, one adult novel and one young adult novel, and three live humor albums, Perry has a lot to say about life and the underlying reasons he writes. Register for May YAC.
|
|
|
September 2015
Vol. 23, No. 1
edNews is a quarterly publication of Metro ECSU.
Additional Metro ECSU publications include the Composite Calendar for all Metro Districts and the Annual Class Size Study.
|
|
|
|
Metro ECSU Executive Director: Julie Frame
julie.frame@metroecsu.org
612-638-1508
Metro ECSU
2 Pine Tree Drive, Suite 101
Arden Hills, MN 55112
612-638-1500
www.metroecsu.org
edNews Editor: Colleen Feller
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Metro ECSU will host "Really Great Reading" workshops on October 28-29
|
|  |
Metro ECSU is excited to host two Really Great Reading workshops:
Decoding and the Struggling Elementary Reader (Grades K-5)
Date: October 28, 2015
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Metro ECSU
Presenter: Nancy Gould, Implementation Specialist for Really Great Reading, LLC
Decoding and the Struggling Adolescent Reader (Grades 6-12)
Date: October 29, 2015
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Metro ECSU
Presenter: Nancy Gould, Implementation Specialist for Really Great Reading, LLC
An overwhelming number of peer reviewed documents have linked strong decoding to fluent and accurate reading. Too many students are failing to acquire the skills they need to become efficient and effective readers. Guessing/skipping words, inability to pass standardized tests, reading slowly and inaccurately are all obvious symptoms of decoding deficits.
At our upcoming workshops, participants will learn how to quickly and accurately identify students who have decoding deficits. They will learn how to administer and score diagnostic decoding surveys and how to progress monitor students. Participants will leave with immediate strategies to help struggling readers pay attention to every word, read with a high rate of accuracy, and use tactics for attacking unfamiliar, complex content area and multisyllabic words.
Classroom and content teachers, reading specialists, literacy coaches and special education teachers will benefit from these activity-driven, hands-on workshops. Find our flyer and register at www.metroecsu.org/registration/events
For more information, please contact Susan Frame at 612-638-1543.
|
| | Paraprofessionals, save the date!
Winning Strategies Conference set for March 5, 2016
The 11th annual Winning Strategies Conference for Paraprofessionals and Future Teachers will take place on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at Normandale Community College. More information will be posted on Metro ECSU's registration site later this fall.
Questions? Please contact Colleen Feller at 612-638-1511.
|
| | | Also for paraprofessionals...you can take the Praxis ParaPro Assessment Exam at Metro ECSU |
| Metro ECSU serves as an exam center for the Praxis ParaPro Assessment Exam. This value-added service offers schools and districts a resourceful and efficient way to comply with the employment guidelines for classroom paraprofessionals established under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.
Over the past year, Metro ECSU has administered over 130 exams to practicing and prospective paras. Exam appointments are arranged on an individual basis, Monday through Friday during normal business hours, to offer scheduling flexibility to those needing to take the exam. The exam fee is $85.
To learn more or set up an appointment to take the ParaPro Assessment Exam, contact Sandy Giancola at 612-638-1502 or sandy.giancola@metroecsu.org
|
| | | Looking for a way to measure or assess how your PLCs or Collaborative Teams are doing? |
|
Many schools have been operating in a PLC structure for more than a decade. Most likely you have collaborative teams/PLCs in place in your school.
If you are a district or building leader, what system is in place to assess your PLC process? How are teachers using data? Are student learning targets assessed routinely? How do teacher teams respond when students need modifications to learn?
Metro ECSU has developed a new support system for Buildings/Districts using PLCs or Collaborative Teams. Our PLC/Collaborative Team Appraisal Process is designed to result in higher levels of learning for all students groups.
Using a rubric, which combines DuFour’s work on team structure (and other critical elements of PLCs) and an interactive evaluation process, schools can receive real time feedback regarding strengths and growth areas in their collaborative efforts. The appraisal process includes observations, interviews with administrators and teachers, and collection of evidence covering the following dimensions of PLCs:
1. PLC foundational principles
2. Team processes
3. Curriculum, instruction and data to support essential learning
After engaging in the appraisal process, coaching and personalized support is designed to help you take your teams to the next level. The cost for the appraisal is based on the number and size of sites. Contact Julie Frame at 612-638-1508 for more information or to schedule an appraisal at your site.
|
|
| Online Community Learns and Grows with SIM
|
| Metro ECSU piloted the new SIM Strategies for Literacy online learning project in collaboration with MDE during January - May 2015. It was exciting to see the engagement and energy of teachers who participated. We are ready to expand this effort.
SIM strategies have been building literacy for over 30 years. Online delivery of SIM strategies offers distinct advantages to educators today including flexible scheduling, a wealth of resources posted online, no substitute teachers or travel needed, and strategies aligned with ELA standards.
The purpose of this professional development is twofold: 1) give teachers evidence-based practices to deliver to students with fidelity; and 2) demonstrate improved literacy skills in students who use new literacy strategies.
|
| During strategy instruction, the instructor models each strategy and teachers actively engage in practice activities. The cohort group is also an online learning community, sharing resources and problem-solving together. We believe that coaching teachers who are learning strategies has an important impact on student learning. Bottom line, online SIM training and coaching from SIM professional developers provides a convenient and economical way to support quality implementation of these evidence based practices.
For more information about participation in SIM literacy learning cohorts, please contact Cathy Macdonald at 612-638-1516.
This initiative is supported by a grant from MDE. The funding source is federal award Special Education – Program to States, CFDA 84.027A.
|
| | Creativity Festivals: the ultimate STEAM experience
|
| The interactive sessions at SBC’s
Creativity Festivals are led by established professionals in the
arts and sciences. Students celebrate their creative potential in many
different ways and learn first-hand the importance of flexible thinking,
risk-taking, communication and self-expression.
The Creativity Festival for grades 5-7 will take place on December 1-4, 2015 at the Science Museum of MN. Register
Sneak peek at sessions:
- 3D Printing: The Art of Possibility
- Thinking Outside the Ellipse (geometry + painting)
- CSI: Nature (forensic science in the wild)
- The Power of Storytelling (an essential skill in this tech age)
- App, Build, Code (build an app for an Android)
- Bengala Dye
- Aerospace Engineering (build and launch straw rockets)
- Squid Dissection returns!
- Cell Lab
The Creativity Festival for grades 3 and 4 will take place on January 12 and 13, 2016 at the University of Minnesota's Ted Mann Concert Hall. Register
|
| | We’re getting ready for another exciting season of Knowledge Bowl! (Can you tell?)
|
| | Knowledge
Bowl is a thrilling sport for the mind. During the competition, teams
compete in written and oral rounds by answering questions related to all
areas of learning.
Questions test students' recall, problem
solving, and critical thinking skills. Teams work cooperatively
developing teamwork and joint decision making skills.
Visit our
website for more information on both Senior High Knowledge Bowl and
Middle Grades Knowledge Bowl! Posted are preliminary schedules, season
overviews, and coach resources.
Senior High Knowledge Bowl registration information.
Middle Grades Knowledge Bowl registration information.
|
| | Super heroes and academic competition collide at the Middle Grades Knowledge Bowl Super Kick-Off Meet!
|
| At the MGKB Kick-Off, students in 6th-8th grade participate in a full night of rigorous Knowledge Bowl competition with costume contest and awards for top placing teams.
Come dressed to vanquish your foes and restore order or to implement chaos. Costume Prizes will be awarded -- earn the Key to the City or the Certificate of Corruption.
New to Middle Grades Knowledge Bowl? Register a team for the kick-off meet free of charge and see why 115 teams from 35 metro schools participate in Knowledge Bowl!
MGKB Super Kick-Off Dates/Locations:
• Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at Westwood Middle School in Blaine
• Thursday, November 19, 2015 at Lake Harriet Upper School in Minneapolis
Registration information
|
| | On-Call AV Expertise - At Your Service, At Your Site
|
| Metro ECSU brings you a personal AV Handyman, Steven James, LLC, to provide quality, unbiased, non-vendor dependent service without full or part-time staffing costs. James has over 35 years of experience in educational AV; he is dedicated to providing great service. The flexibility of using AV Handyman a couple times a month or several times a year can provide the AV expertise schools need while getting the most out of AV budget dollars.
Your AV Handyman will provide:
• Reliable, non-vendor dependent guidance in managing, designing and supporting your AV technology.
• Unbiased representation in dealing with consultants, contractors and equipment dealers.
• Management of current AV maintenance contracts and the RFP/RFB processes involved with upgrading systems.
Special rates are available for Metro ECSU members.
Contact Julie Frame at julie.frame@metroecsu or 612-638-1508 for more information.
|
| | | 7th Annual Charting the Cs/Cross-Categorical Conference a BIG Success!
|
|  |
Late April ushered in the 7th annual Cs Conference, one of the largest special education conferences in the five-state region, and a much anticipated three-day statewide event with over 750 special educators in attendance.
This year’s theme continued the emphasis of the previous year, concentrating on "Access for All," and offered many innovative and exciting activities, including 60 breakout sessions on a wide variety of topics, make ‘n take sessions, UDL & AT team training, Tweet Camp, ASL sessions, App Smackdown, and more. Joy Zabala, a well-known and respected national speaker on the topic of accessibility in the classroom, kicked off the conference with an inspiring keynote presentation. Throughout the conference, low incidence educators had the opportunity to attend multiple statewide Community of Practice meetings, numerous poster sessions, and the opportunity to browse among 30 exhibitor tables.
This event is sponsored by the Minnesota Low Incidence Projects and is held at the Arrowwood Conference Center near Alexandria, MN. Funding for this annual event is made possible through a grant from the MN Department of Education, with planning and coordination provided by state low incidence specialists and staff from the Region 4 Lakes Country Service Cooperative. To learn more about the upcoming 2016 Charting the Cs/Cross-Categorical Conference, contact Deb Williamson, MN Low Incidence Projects: deb.williamson@metroecsu.org or 612-638-1532.
|
| | Charting the Cs 3rd Annual Student/Family Mini-Conference: Access for ALL!
|
|  |
The annual Student/Family Mini-Conference continues the tradition of taking place on the Saturday before the annual Charting the Cs/Cross-Categorical Conference for educators, and is devoted to meeting the needs of children and youth with disabilities and their families.
This year’s event was held on Saturday, April 25, at the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center in Alexandria, Minnesota. Participants will tell you the day was filled with fun and educational activities offered in a relaxed, recreational atmosphere where kids and families could unwind and connect. All family members were encouraged to participate in the activities -- and most jumped right in with little encouragement! Some activities at this spring’s event included movement activities with fitness balls, hula hoops, and parachutes; archery; geo-caching; make ‘n take sessions; and music activities. Additional sessions focused on family storytelling, disability benefits, tech tools for home and school, friendship skills, the transition to adulthood and adult medical care, and a family-centered approach to self-advocacy.
Most families chose to stay overnight at the Arrowwood Resort, allowing for additional opportunities to meet other families, relax in the huge indoor water park, or walk along the lakeshore and nearby wooded hills. (Resort and water park rates were offered at a reduced rate for all participants.)
Similar to the Charting the C’s Conference for Educators, this event is sponsored by the MN Low Incidence Projects, with funding made possible through a grant from the MN Department of Education. Planning and coordination is provided by the MN DAPE (Developmental Adaptive Physical Education) Leadership group, the state low incidence specialists, community agency staff, and staff from the Region 4 Lakes Country Service Cooperative. To learn more about the upcoming 2016 Annual Student-Family Mini-Conference, contact Deb Williamson, MN Low Incidence Projects: deb.williamson@metroecsu.org or 612-638-1532.
|
| | Three metro schools selected for School Climate grant
|
| Three metro area schools were selected to participate in the School Climate grant through MDE and the National School Climate Center. Garlough Elementary in West St. Paul and Bailey Elementary and Royal Oaks Elementary in South Washington County will join 17 other Minnesota sites in this opportunity. Application information for this grant opportunity through MDE and the Minnesota Service Cooperatives was sent to schools in April 2015.
The School Climate grant provides resources for sites to assess and enhance their school climate. Each school has a facilitator from their region as well as experts from the National School Climate Center to provide assistance along the way. A Readiness Assessment was completed by leadership teams at each of the sites. Results will be reviewed and discussed by teams. Sites will then have the opportunity to learn from students, staff and community members through a survey developed by the National School Climate Center. Data from the survey will be collected by the Center and provided to leadership teams for use in creating an action plan specific to the needs of each site.
Site teams participate in three training opportunities between July 2015 and June 2016. Previously, the National School Climate Center provided support to individual sites or districts across the country. This is the first time the National School Climate Center has partnered with states to provide consistent statewide opportunities.
|
|
|
