October Board of Ed: update on STEM initiatives

update on STEM
"trying to extend that STEM Week feeling!" Erin Hashimoto-Martell, Associate Commissioner

high dosage tutoring in Mathematics from Ian Stith
contracted with Imagine Learning, Carnegie Learning, Mind Education, Catapult, SAGA Innovations
12 week cycles 90 minutes per week in grades 4 and 8
more than 3000 students every year
funded by ESSER
looked at MCAS, accountability, demographics, high need communities
second year didn't need to say no to anyone
"good variety of participation"
improvement across both cycles for all content areas of those participating
West: "these results are very startling...how much is attributed to high-dosage tutoring:
Stith: didn't do a comparison
didn't institute a mandatory common assessment so we didn't assess those not participating
Rocha asks about different groups of students
Stith: generally consistent across groups
scheduling more difficult in eighth grade; interest more of a challenge for eighth grade, as well
Kate Lally of Haverhill: thank to teachers and others for opportunity and commitment
use iReady data: 58% grew "more than one and half grade levels" in first cycle; 72% in second cycle
(grade levels here as measured by iReady)
we just had some sort of side conversation about what kind of math curricula was being used
illustrative math or application math
could align differently with tutoring depending on what curricula is used
this also highlights that 'grade level' is rather subject to what is defined as being in what grade level
impact on school environment: students have confidence
"the shift in self-perception is crucial to academic success, particularly in math"
concentration on 4th grade in Haverhill moving forward
Martinez: it takes time, building the infrastructure
Hills: investment and infrastructure
"any sense of how much stickiness, how much continuity" there is when districts have to fund it themselves
Haverhill: will propose due to success of it
"found the magic number was 100 students, give or take"
budgeting for a specific number of students will be successful in the long run
state is looking at who will be continuing in the long run
mention of uncertainty of Title I funding at national level
$500-700 per student per cycle
master contract agreement available to districts: approved vendors
learned: middle school schedule is a challenge
during the day better than after school; higher attendance
groups at 1:4 ration or lower
consistent tutor to build relationship "especially in the virtual environment"
aligning topics with classroom topics
site lead or coach needed; building-level point of contact
building a positive culture
vendor hire tutors "for best use of funds possible" (this raises questions to me about the treatment of tutors and what their pay and such works)
Craven: how we measure success?
Martinez: great example of a district that saw success and continue in a targeted way
"want to be very careful about pursuing magic solutions"
"they're all tools, and all tools have their strengths. But it's really meeting children where they're at"
variable of teacher capacity, always
"can be an effective strategy as part of multi-tiered interventions"
where districts see the value or they don't
"what's fascinating to me is how they picked which children"
logic: multiple tools to support children
collecting information, sharing lessons, work with districts on the alignment of resources
(um, I am not sure what this means in terms of the state's actual role in budgeting)
"most of the time you're trying to make decisions with current resources"
for districts that see it as an effective tool, working with them on how to continue it
West: what it is displacing in the schedule of a student participating?
depends on the school
West: student is getting tutoring rather than another form of intervention
important to understand, as you can understand a lot depending on what is being displaced
look at MCAS gains across schools by those participating?
Grant: partner with research to validate findings
(there wasn't a control group so I am not sure how you're doing that now)
Craven: is there a body of work that we could add on to?
contract with evaluator has ended; highlights shared today are from that work
foundational information about students would allow us to continue and address questions about MCAS
Martinez: understanding the components; variability across schools
Hills: "just to pile on this point" 
Tom Kane mention (bingo!) "don't take it all upon yourself to get that further insight and analysis"

Science curriculum adaptation project
Nicole Scola, director of science at DESE
worked with MCAS alt team: more science learning, more resources
teacher PD 2022-23
teachers collaborated to develop online bank of adapted materials
2024-26: yearlong institute for district leadership in science and special education
district teams develop an implementation plan
North Andover: ensure biology and special education
universal design for learning, high quality instructional materials
how district curriculum adaptation plan was working 
analysis of curriculum adaptation
class visit data found strengths and areas for growth
back to state: not only "hands on but minds on" for students
time needed to co-plan and collaborate (science and special education)
adding second cohort while continuing "with a lighter touch" with the first cohort
"really showed there's no excuse: this is for all students"
this is done through IDEA funding; hope to put some learning modules online so others can access
Martinez: struggle with inclusion practices, and "our data shows it"
really do a disservice to students when we don't expose them at a younger grade level
"work is focused on the structures...our districts are really struggling with inclusion"
Stewart: while these efforts are a commitment to rigor, they also invite us to think differently
use of crochet and tactile work in Einstein's theory of relativity
"not just conceptual, but actual tactile"
hope to hear more as we go forward with vision of a graduate
Smidy: very worthy work; lack of representation in western Mass?
A; people who responded, needing to keep spreading the word
targeted recruitment
area for growth
Martinez: always been by volunteer; need is across the Commonwealth
thinking about how, as we think about schools that are struggling, how to align where there is a lot of need
"imagine what we could do if we had more resources; we could take this to scale"