October Board of Education: opening remarks and STEM panel

The meeting begins at about 8:30; the agenda is here. Posting as we go once it starts.
Sagan calls the meeting to order and has no opening comments
no public comment today

Riley: "I was under the impression that I could cancel the Board meeting if the Red Sox win; I was disappointed to find that this was not the case"
Sagan quips that it is the reverse; he can cancel for a period of reflection if they lose

Milken award announced
updating of education funding "very interested that formula is looked at in a serious way"
taught in North Adams for the day; heard about some of challenges in western Mass, including broadband
"looking forward to talk about STEM in the coming moments"

Peyser "I'll just pile on STEM week"
"I was in North Adams myself; they were still talking about your teaching there, Jeff...I think they're still in recovery"
Governor signed dyslexia bill; Governor to appoint additional member to early literacy panel, plus panel to develop language on screening for potential neurological issues on reading
"the work that the Legislature has asked us to do is already under way"

Sagan: "no week seems normal"
can't go forward without acknowledging what happened in Pittsburgh
"act of hatred directed at another member of our community"


STEM panel
Riley: I got to see students making and shooting rockets, dissecting calf brains...
Peske: panel of educators and leaders from our schools
"science and engineering practices"
grounding of the projects and the intellectual pursuits during STEM week

Grounded in practices as follows: #MAEdu pic.twitter.com/DDp60LJuru

— Tracy O'Connell Novick (@TracyNovick) October 30, 2018

each panelist has five minutes
Everett Public Schools is up first with the Novartis Community Lab project
great punctuation to our work
students wrote their name in binary, did a lab in the Novartis lab, played game on energy decision making, worked with EL students at 9th grade STEM academy
community partnerships made it possible
Randolph: "every day is STEM week for us"
community and project-based learning; "Project Lead the Way" curriculum
using real-life challenges
budget, problem-solving, and planning
students: "a wonderful week...developing how to help other students who are disabled...we had a budget...we took time to discuss the stuff that we needed...to develop how to help kids"
"creative and wonderful week for kids to learn better and have hands-on activities to work on"
"STEM week was really good...really every day in engineering class...design a boot for them so it would fit them right and they wouldn't have any other problems"
"when we finish our work, the teacher lets us present our design to the class, and that can inspire us to...improve our work"
students brought in examples of their work
"requirement for the design...needs to be a pattern that makes the patient feel comfortable, as well as put their foot flat on the ground...needs to be up around their lower leg so it can attach and they can take it off"
student notes limited time and money "so that helped make it more of a challenge"
Sagan notes report from this morning on student who signed with NIKE
Peyser: students engaged not only in designing the boot, but also understanding the engineering process
Boston: Perry School and i2
partnership for STEM week: building a lunar colony, a friendly monster, surgical techniques
"has really changed adult practices"
"what i2 learning is doing for our students and our adults" in their brains
talk about "sweaty brains" for "students who are productively struggling"
"access and agency for kids"
not only can the design, but can they explain their work
"to watch a kindergartner probe an eighth grader's thinking" is a great thing to watch
"direct connection to social-emotional learning"
"to watch a student with a mood disorder show other students how to code their monster"
"to watch the amount of group work over the course of this week"