Tuesday, October 24, 2023

October Board of Ed: civics

Erin Hashimoto-Martell, Associate Commissioner of Instructional Support,
Katherine Tarca, Director of Literacy and Humanities
Reuben Henriques, History and Social Science Content Support Lead
Dave Buchanan,  Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition

Hashimoto-Martell:
2018: Act to promote and enhance civic engagement
Board adopted revised history and social science framework
every eighth grader has to have a civics project
trust fund

Tarca: prepare students to be participants in democratic society and a complex world
Civic knowledge
Civic dispositions
Civic skills
"civics learning is deeper learning"
"relevant, real world and interactive"
Civics Action Project; once in eighth grade and once in high school
take real world action in an attempt to influence their issue
challenges are real, but work to buck trends

Henriques runs through funding and PD (and this is on a slide with tiny writing that I cannot read) 
video here of students speaking about their projects
"a chance for students to share their work" with real world individuals

Buchanan: thanks everyone
position with iCivics and co-director of Mass Civics Learning Coalition
partnership with DESE
continued and increased state funding
professional learning pathways
launch of state's showcases
"still much to do":

  • give clear directions to districts on instruction in elementary grades and resources to support
  • make civics showcases accessible across state
  • professional devolvement rollout continue
  • meaningful data, accountability: would like to see metrics become part of accountability system
  • make all DESE history and social studies staff positions permanent
additional reviews of curricular materials K-12
Investigating History for grades 3 and 4
rollout of civics MCAS (which includes a performance task)

 Gardiner: credits work with her being here
urged continued work and rollout

West: voting for new framework was first work as Board member
"actually change practice as a Commonwealth"

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