Board of Elementary and Secondary Education: vision and mission

 There's a backup on this here
Johnston: "you are our audience right now" 
as we go into this transition, want to be make sure we're grounding this work in the vision we have of change for our schools
when he was a superintendent, "I was on the receiving side" of DESE work
"while the creativity was always clear" was not always clarity in how those spoke to each other? were they timed well? 
for students who have been historically marginalized, there is no time for DESE to lose its footing

impact we want to have in serving nearly a million students
back to priorities set in the fall
bring voices of students into the conversation

"not just in Board members' heads: it's in their blood"

drawing lines between work and the aspects of vision
"I've received the On the Desktop messages for superintendents, and it can sometimes be one thing after another"

• By 2026, the state will return to pre-pandemic levels (or higher) of the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations on the MCAS
• By 2026, the state will return to pre-pandemic levels (or lower) of the percentage of students who are chronically absent.
• By 2026, at least 85,000 high school students will be enrolled in a designated high school college-and-career pathway or program.
• By 2026, the percentage of diverse staff in schools and districts will increase by at least 4 points to 17.9 percent.
• By 2027, the state will offer structured professional learning on evidence-based practices for literacy for all teachers and administrators with responsibility for early literacy.

Deputy Commissioner Regina Robinson walks through this

"This is the slide out of all the slides" 
a summary of principles and what that looks like in the classroom

strategic objectives informing Student Opportunity Act guidance, and use of staffing

"believe we have to center all of our work on the whole student...[with] a diverse workforce...to impact the learning 
being on the receiving end can feel disjointed
"DESE, get it together, is what I heard from one of my colleagues"

"what does it mean to educate the whole student...fostering joyful, healthy, and supportive learning environments...so that all students feel valued, connected, nourished, and ready to learn"
acknowledging and elevating front line: bus drivers, bus monitors, front office, crossing guards
healthy: nurses, social workers, physical therapists
supportive: counselors
"so many staff members are crucial to impacting students"
"we have to recognize that our school nutrition professionals are critical" as hungry students can't learn
"so that students are ready to learn"
many initiatives that have been taking place, but need to shift in practice
asset based view

Johnston: third objective on diverse and effective workforce
teacher diversification grants
alternative routes to licensure
teacher apprenticeship programs

Chief of Schools Komal Bhasin: instructional materials, academic supports and interventions, reimagining the high school experience, holistic range of programming
how to relate that to MCAS and college and career pathways goals
over 100 programs under this strategic objective
all academic programming now has to include all practices: high quality materials have to include English learning guidance, leadership including culturally and linguistically sustaining practices, and multi-tiered systems of supports
three objectives in this section: 

• increase from 44% to 60% (a 36% increase) of the state's K-8 schools that have adopted high quality instructional materials (in at least one new content area: ELA, math, science)
• increase from 25% to 50% (a 100% increase) of the K-8 schools that have adopted evidence based early literacy curriculum, as defined by meeting the definition of high quality instructional materials in grades K-3
• increase from 26% to 30% (a 15% increase) of the state's high schools that have adopted high quality instructional materials in at least one new content area

"a means to an end" to better the experience of kids in the Commonwealth"
she gives a happy example of students understanding why in math class 
(which has nothing to do with the objectives here, which are a facile understanding of curriculum, and also is not under DESE's control, at all)

Johnston welcomes feedback, projects April 1

final slide has "questions and comments from the Board" which I haven't seen before

• what resonates most from today's presentation?
• what is something new you learned today?
• in upcoming meetings, what would be helpful to learn more about?

Craven says they could talk for several more hours

Gardiner: so excited, younger sister's high school experience will be vastly different than her own
asks about personal finance

Fisher: appreciate the new guidelines for the education prep program (speaking as a higher ed education department chair)
more urgency and the ability to do more with inclusion of culturally and linguistically sustaining practice

Rocha: excited, but a sadness that takes over my body, especially as a parent and one who helps other parents whose first language is not English
joyful learning: but emphasis on metrics and measures and outcomes
"how are we measuring 'joyful'?" how are we supporting staff 
Robinson mentioned bus drivers, and the greeting of students, asks how we're supporting those adults, paraprofessionals

on chronic absenteeism: thinking about accountability on reporting
tardiness to class getting recorded as an absence; holding people accountable on that

Robinson: we know everything rises and falls on leadership
there are so many different adults from the time a child leaves their home through their day
"looking under the hood at the systems"
"recognizing the value of local control" but look at what is happening
elevating students: ask them about joy, sense of belonging
encourage tools and resources, "coming alongside you as DESE, as partner, to elevate student voice"
Johnston: how we are unified in what matters
joyful environment
the development of a unified observation tool on these three strategic goals 

Bhasin: common language in monitor 
"is there a literacy coach" is there feedback process

Craven: is there a standing update on the agenda?
Take us on the road to see things in action
"the thing you want to reach for and the thing that's actually there"
focus on high quality instructional materials: "repeat it repeat it repeat it, lest they forget"
if we can do it anything to call out the best practices
Stewart: thank you for articulating that
"struck by the shifts in practices that are ongoing"
"what's the environmental...around joyful learning?"

and adjourned

The board is next scheduled to meet on April 30