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Pathways
A weekly collection of information, thoughts, reflections, and accolades for the Reading Public Schools Community
April 23, 2017 Volume 3, Number 31
Upcoming Dates
April 24 – (7:30 p.m.) Town Meeting in the Endslow PAC
April 25 – (7:00 p.m.) School Committee Meeting in the Endslow PAC
April 26 – (after school) Secondary Building Meetings; (6:30 p.m.) Joshua Eaton Ice Cream Social
April 27 – 29 – Parker Grade 8 Trip to Quebec
April 27 – (after school) RISE/Elementary Building Meetings; (7:30 p.m.) Town Meeting in the Endslow PAC
April 28 – (6:30 p.m.) RMHS Junior Prom @ Danversport Yacht Club
April 29 – RMHS Opera trip to NYC
May 1 – 12 – RMHS AP testing
May 1 – (7:30 p.m.) Town meeting in the Endslow PAC
May 4 – (7:00 p.m.) Parker Curriculum Night; (7:30 p.m.) Town meeting in the Endslow PAC
May 5 – 6 (7:30 p.m.) RMHS Drama Production of “The Taming of the Shrew” in the Endslow PAC
18-YEAR-OLD READING BASSOONIST TO APPEAR ON NPR’s FROM THE TOP WITH CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY
Episode airs nationally the week of April 24
Julianne Mulvey, a 18-year-old bassoonist from Reading, Massachusetts will appear on an upcoming episode of From the Top, the hit NPR radio program featuring America’s best young classical musicians and hosted by acclaimed pianist Christopher O’Riley. The show will air nationally the week of April 24, 2017 and will be available for streaming and podcast at fromthetop.org. The episode was taped before a live audience at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston on March 12, 2017.
Julianne Mulvey is a senior at Reading High School. She currently studies with Richard Svoboda of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and performs with the Boston Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and in the New England Conservatory Preparatory Chamber Music program. As part of From the Top’s Center for the Development for Arts Leaders, Julianne performed for seniors and Alzheimer’s patients at Goddard House in Brookline. Her favorite
musical experience was leading a sing-along to Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love” with the residents there. Outside of the bassoon, Julianne enjoys playing the ukulele and playing with her puppy Mikey. Julianne will be continuing her music studies at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in the fall majoring in bassoon performance. On the broadcast, Julianne performs Récit, Sicilienne et Rondo by Eugene Bozza with Christopher O'Riley, piano. Also featured: Calliope Piano Trio from Chicago, Illinois performing III. Allegro Vivace from Piano Trioin F Sharp Minor by Arno Babadjanian; 17-year-old pianist Amir Siraj from Brookline, Massachusetts performing II. Chez Petrouchka from Trois mouvements de Petrouchka by Igor Stravinsky; 12-year-old cellist Ian Maloney from Hackensack, New Jersey performing II. Allegro from Cello Sonata in D minor, Op 40 by Dmitri Shostakovitch with Christopher O'Riley, piano; and 17-year-old violinist Karisa Chiu performing Sonatensatz in C Minor by Johannes Brahms and I. Mazurka from Five Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 81 by Jean Sibelius with Christopher O'Riley, piano. Following the radio taping, these young musicians met and performed for students at Bridge
Boston Charter School in Dorchester. About From the Top From the Top is America’s largest national platform celebrating the stories, talents, and character of classically-trained young musicians. Through live events, NPR and YouTube broadcasts, scholarships, and leadership programs, From the Top empowers these extraordinary young people to engage and inspire music lovers of all ages. Support for From the Top’s radio program is made possible through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. It is also supported through the generous contributions of individuals and institutions as well as public radio stations. From the Top’s founding partners are New England Conservatory and WGBH.
From the Top is an independent non-profit organization proudly based in Boston’s vibrant cultural district. Learn more at www.fromthetop.org.
Understanding Reading’s MTSS Framework to Better
Support Our Students
The idea at the foundation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is to use data-based decision-making to develop a cross-functional, systemic framework that serves every student at every grade-level in each school across a school district.
In 2012, the Reading School District adopted MTSS when it won the first of several grants that have funded the training, development and implementation of a customized MTSS framework. Each building has a cross-functional team that plans for, monitors and evaluates the academic and behavioral need of Reading’s students. The teams evaluate student data to identify students who need additional academic and behavioral support. Based on the data that include but are not limited to grades, attendance and discipline records, student needs are identified and interventions at the universal ( Tier 1), supplemental ( Tier 2) or individual ( Tier 3) level are put in place. The team then develops action plans that include monitoring the fidelity of the interventions and the results and overall data trends.
FY18 Budget Link
FY18 Budget Information
Through the MTSS framework, all students receive Tier One supports. If data shows that a student requires additional support in order to make progress or attain success, accommodations and supports mentioned in the District Curriculum Accommodation Plan (DCAP) are utilized within the universal supports. If a student is not making expected/effective progress with tier 1 supports, the student will be engaged in supplemental, tier 2 supports. After consistent implementation of these supports, if progress is not made, students are referred to our building-based Student Support Teams for individual intervention planning (SST.)
Reading MTSS uses data to help get students the level of support they need to succeed.
We then monitor to ensure they are making progress.
Tier One, representing 80% of the students, receives core instruction. If fewer than 80% of students in a grade are not succeeding, the team will provide additional supports and interventions to bring Tier One back to 80%. Tier Two, which includes about 15% of students, receive supplemental instruction. Tier Three, about 5% of students, receives the most intensive intervention. The team also develops plans for students who exceed benchmarks to ensure they are challenged and engaged. Typically, students in Tier Two and Tier Three are placed in smaller groups, with more teachers and assistants to give students the level of support they need. Tier Two student progress is monitored with regular short assessments to ensure they are on track; students can be moved up to Tier One for certain or all subjects. Beyond academic achievement, the MTSS framework also monitors behavior, and puts positive interventions and supports in place. Tier Two students might meet in small groups to learn and practice specific positive behaviors and social skills. The teams also monitor social and behavioral progress. Teams meet regularly to make sure students don’t “fall through the cracks,” with all teachers understanding their role in helping students be successful. “It used to be that students looked at teachers as the enemy because we assign homework and provide consequences for not handing in homework or for misbehaving in class,” said Sara M. Burd, MS, RDT, Director of Social Emotional Learning and Project Coordinator for School Climate Transformation Grant. “But with Reading MTSS, we see ourselves as coaches, focused on helping students get the supports they need to achieve academically and get the skills they need to navigate daily social interactions. The difference between punitive and looking to help students succeed is significant, and we see it paying off for students, teachers and staff alike.”
Kudos and Accolades
Congratulations to the RMHS Retail Banking students, Nick Burpee, Matt Sannella, Jake DelSignore & Jake Pineau on their recent second place finish at the annual Massachusetts School Banks Association competition.
To Tricia Stodden, Julia Hendrix, Sarah Leveque, Keri Dinapoli, and Tonia McGuire for their help in presenting math and literacy workshops to elementary teachers last Friday.
One of the important goals of MTSS is to reduce labeling and the stigmas as teachers work to improve academic and behavioral achievement. MTSS handles that in a couple of ways. First, there are common approaches used across each classroom and each tier. Second, the teams try to ensure students in the same tier are assigned to different classes and schedules so they see different teachers and students in their classes. Another important goal for Reading MTSS is to continue to improve the results and continue to train and keep our teachers and staff at the cutting edge. To that end, the Reading School District holds its annual Blue Ribbon Institute. Each year, we bring nationally-recognized leaders of MTSS and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), which focuses on behavior and social skills and is part of Reading’s implementation of MTSS. Last month, our Blue Ribbon Institute brought in experts such as
Denelle West, Director of Professional Development for Research for Better Teaching (presenting on “High Expectations Teaching,” the topic of Jon Saphier’s latest book).
Morris H. Ervin Jr., Youth Development Specialist and Founder of Mansa Consulting.
Missy Sturtevant from the Massachusetts Safe Schools Program.
Keith Trawick, principal of a nationally recognized elementary school in Madison, Alabama.
Stacy Barnette, first grade teacher from Tennessee and Instructor for Blue Ribbon Academy.
Dr. George Sugai, co-director of the National Center on PBIS.
Dr. Devon Minch, University of South Florida.
Dr. Ashley MacSuga-Gage, University of Florida.
Dr. Sara Whitcomb, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The Blue Ribbon Institute is a great opportunity to share and learn from many talented practitioners. And hosting it on our campus ensure Reading teacher participation so that we can continue to improve.
Orchestrating “Productive Struggle” in Math Classes “When a teacher models and provides direct instruction at the start of a lesson, it
rarely enables students to explore mathematical tasks or engage in productive struggle,” says Drew Polly (University of North Carolina/Charlotte) in this article in Teaching Children Mathematics. However, the so-called Gradual Release lesson plan is deeply embedded in U.S. pedagogical culture: the teacher models how to solve a problem (I do), then goes over the problem with the whole class (We do), and finally gets students working independently (You do).
But researchers have found that if students grapple with a task before the teacher explains and models it (and receive appropriate follow-up), they’re more engaged and learn better. Perhaps shifting to this approach would solve what Polly identifies as one of our biggest math achievement problems: “students consistently struggle with how to approach, set up, solve, and reason about cognitively demanding mathematics tasks.”
There’s a caveat: the struggle-first lesson plan may not be appropriate for students with certain learning needs. That suggests a flexible approach in which students who need direct instruction get it when needed. Polly details the 5E approach, in which students spend most of a lesson exploring mathematical tasks with limited support from the teacher, and some students get individual or small-group support:
Superintendent’s Office Hours this Week
All are welcome 4/24 (2:00 -3:00 p.m.) –Barrows 4/24 (6:00-7:00 p.m.)-RPS Administration Offices 4/28 (2:00-3:00 p.m.) –Wood End
- Engage – The class is given a math task or activity. - Explore – Students have time to work on the task with their partner or a small group,
with the teacher giving only instructions and circulating, sometimes posing questions to support students’ exploration.
- Explain – The class comes together to discuss the problem and how different students solved it. The teacher facilitates the discussion, perhaps choosing a main focus based on what was observed during the work time, and provides direct instruction as needed.
- Elaborate/extend – For the rest of the class, the teacher gets students working on activities, math games, and small-group activities that deepen understanding of the concept and zeros in on students who seem confused or off track.
- Evaluate – Students solve a final task or participate in a discussion of concepts, allowing the teacher to assess learning and plan for future lessons.
“Supporting Opportunities for Productive Struggle: Implications for Planning Mathematics Lessons” by Drew Polly in Teaching Children Mathematics, April 2017 (Vol. 23, #8, p. 454-457), available for purchase at http://bit.ly/2pJ2jc7; Polly is at [email protected]. Reprinted from Marshall Memo 682.
Keys to Happiness In this sidebar article within a New York Times Education Life piece on stressed-out suburban high-school students, author/journalist Julie Scelfo reports on what psychologists say about cultivating lasting well-being and happiness. “Psychology is generally focused on how to relieve the negative emotions of depression, anger, and worry,” says Martin Seligman (University of Pennsylvania). “Freud and Schopenhauer said the most you can ever hope for in life is not to suffer, not to be miserable, and I think that view is empirically false, morally insidious, and a political and educational dead-end. What makes life worth living is much more than the absence of the negative.” Scelfo summarizes Seligman’s more positive philosophy: “[W]ell-being consists not merely of feeling happy (an emotion that can be fleeting) but of experiencing a sense of contentment in the knowledge that your life is flourishing and has meaning beyond your own pleasure.” The key is cultivating the components of well-being, which include engagement, good relationships, accomplishment, and purpose. Four strategies that Seligman and other psychologists have found to be effective: • Identify signature strengths. Write down a story about a time when you were at your best and re-read it every day for a week, asking, What personal strengths did I display when I was at my best? Creativity? Good judgment? Kindness? Loyalty? Courage? Passion? Forgiveness? Honesty? Writing down key qualities “puts you in touch with what you’re good at,” says Seligman. Then you can think about how to use those strengths to your advantage, intentionally organizing and structuring your life around them. • Find the good. Set aside ten minutes before going to bed, write down three things that went really well that day, and ask with each, Why did this good thing happen? This exercise “turns your attention to the good things in life, so it changes what you attend to,” says Seligman. “Consciousness is like your tongue: It swirls around in the mouth looking for a cavity, and when it finds it, you focus on it. Imagine if your tongue went looking for a beautiful, healthy tooth.”
• Make a gratitude visit. Think of someone who has been especially kind to you and hasn’t been properly thanked, write a letter describing something he or she did that benefited your life, and then get together and read the letter out loud. Seligman reports that when people do this, there are often tears of joy: “It puts you in better touch with other people, with your place in the world.” • Respond more strongly. The next time someone you care about shares good news, go beyond the regular “That’s nice” response and express genuine excitement, prolong the conversation, and encourage the person to tell others or engage in a celebratory activity. “The Happy Factor: Practicing the Art of Well-Being” by Julie Scelfo in The New York
Times Education Life, April 9, 2017, http://nyti.ms/2nxK6l5. Reprinted from Marshall
Memo 682.
Quote of the Week . . .
Not everything that is faced
can be changed, but nothing can be changed
until it is faced.
-Lucille Ball
T O G E T H E R F O R T E W K S B U R Y E V E N T O N A P R I L 2 9 T H
Join us for a 5k walk/run in Reading, Massachusetts on Saturday, April 29th, from 9 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at Birch Meadow Elementary School to celebrate the life and work of Jolene Tewksbury. This event will honor Mrs. Tewksbury’s commitment to the current and former students of the Birch Meadow Elementary School. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and the 5K walk/run begins at 10:00 a.m. Immediately after the walk/run there will be music, snacks and raffles. All proceeds from the event will endow the Jolene Tewksbury Memorial Scholarship. This perpetual scholarship will be awarded to a graduating Reading Memorial High School senior who attended Birch Meadow School. For information about donating to the scholarship fund, please visit the Together for Tewksbury website. Registration fee is $25 for individuals and $45 for a family. Registration/check-in begins at 9am. The 5k will begin at 10am. Register for the Race. Please check out the website at http://togetherfortewksbury.com/ and like us on Facebook @TogetherForTewksbury Any questions, please contact [email protected]
May 15
Disney Tweet of the Week
If good you give, hope for better, and when
better is achieved, hope for extraordinary.
–Mickey Mouse
Reading Public Schools Happenings Students Get their YEAHs at Birch Meadow
Reading Public School’s Birch Meadow Elementary School’s emphasizes school values of Present, Safe, Kind, Responsible, and Respectful. Celebrating success for these value, the school awards “YEAHs” to students who demonstrate these characteristics with a stamp on the back of their hands and with High Fives on the school bulletin board.
Important Websites
Help Desk (To submit a ticket) [email protected]
RPS District Website
www.reading.k12.ma.us
Access Your Email https://login.microsoftonline.com/
Baseline Edge
https://baseline.ioeducation.com/Site/login
Interface Health Services
https://interface.williamjames.edu/community/reading
By Reinforcing “TRRFC” Core Values, MTSS at Killam Improves Behavior Sometimes organizations develop core values and never do much with them. That’s not the case across Reading Public Schools. As part of the MTSS framework, each school in the district reinforces five core values that help students learn appropriate behaviors and values – and the students learn to understand and demonstrate those values. The core values at the J. Warren Killam Elementary School are pretty TRRFC – for Trustworthy, Respectful, Fair and Caring Citizens. These values (as seen above) provide students with age-appropriate expressions, making core values fun and relevant.
Parker Students Learn About the Rock Cycle Before vacation, students in Kim Peterson’s class at Parker Middle School were engaged in a variety of different activities to learn about the rock cycle. These activities included creating games, developing videos, and writing stories. Below are some pictures of students in stations learning about the topic.
Professional Development Activities in Math and Literacy Last Friday afternoon, elementary teachers were engaged in literacy and mathematics professional development activities. Teachers in Grades 3-5 were continuing their work in Writer’s Workshop and Grade K-2 teachers were reviewing student math assessment data. Special thanks goes to Literacy Instructional Coach Tricia Stodden, Birch Meadow Principal Julia Hendrix, Killam Principal Sarah Leveque, Wood End Teacher Keri DiNapoli, and Killam Teacher Tonia McGuire for presenting.
Stepping Stones… Congratulations to Barrows teacher Bethany Granoth on the birth of her
daughter Kadence Victoria on April 8th weighing 9 lbs., 9 oz. and 20” long.
Congratulations to Wood End paraeducator Stephanie Gauthier on the birth of her son, Luke Avery, on April 9th weighing 8 lbs., 4 oz.
Our thoughts go out to Birch Meadow Teacher Maria Simon who has a family member who is ill.
We welcome the following new staff to the Reading Public Schools: Rupinderpal Kaur, Long Term Substitute Biology/Anatomy Teacher,
RMHS Samantha Weld, Long Term Grade 2 Substitute, Barrows
We have posted a new position. If interested, please visit https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx to view the job detail
1.0FTE Special Education Team Chairperson (anticipated 2017-2018) https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=249
1.0FTE Middle School Spanish & French Teacher, Parker Middle School 2017-2018 https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=250
0.5FTE Board Certified Behavior Analyst (Anticipated Opening 2017-2018) https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=251
2017-2018 High School Advisorships, Reading Memorial High School https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx to view this posting please login to your employee TalentEd account first.
2017-2018 District Advisorships, Reading Public Schools https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx to view this posting please login to your employee TalentEd account first.
2017-2018 Elementary School Advisorships, Elementary Schools
Contact Us
The Pathways newsletter is published weekly for the Reading Public School Community. If you have anything that you would like to share, please email your info to John Doherty at:
https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx to view this posting please login to your employee TalentEd account first.
2017-2018 Middle School Advisorships, Coolidge and Parker Middle Schools https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx to view this posting please login to your employee TalentEd account first.
1.0FTE Grade 4 Teacher, Killam Elementary School 2017-2018 https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=256
1.0FTE Kindergarten Teacher (one-year), Killam Elementary School 2017-2018 https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=257
Reading Student Services Webpage Now Up and Running-The Student
Services webpage is now up and running. This website includes information on special education, Section 504, English Language Learners, Nursing and Behavioral Health. There is also a link to the Reading Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) website which contains helpful resources for parents and information on upcoming meeting and events. If you are a parent of a student with a disability, the website now contains a link to an electronic format of the Team Meeting Survey. If you have had a recent IEP Team meeting please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Your feedback helps us ensure that parents are active members of the IEP Team meeting. It also allows us to recognize those staff members who have been helpful to you or your child. The Student Services website can be found at the following link: https://www.reading.k12.ma.us/departments/student-services/
Your MTRS Benefits-"Your MTRS Benefits" is an optional, free, two-hour (4-6 p.m.) informal program for MTRS members who want more information about retirement benefits--whether you are a recent member, mid-career educator or soon-to-be retiree. Topics include:
MTRS benefits and services, estimating your retirement benefits under the regular and RetirementPlus formulas, various issues you need to consider in retirement, including health insurance
coverage, taxation of your retirement benefit, the rules on working after retirement, Social Security--and more!
Program schedule
WOBURN, Tuesday, May 2; Woburn Memorial High School auditorium
HANOVER, Thursday, May 4; Hanover High School auditorium
CHARLESTOWN, Tuesday, May 9; MTRS Main Office, Presentation Room, 2nd Floor
MILLBURY, Tuesday, May 9; Millbury Memorial Jr./Sr. High School auditorium
LUDLOW, Thursday, May 11; Ludlow High School auditorium
NORTHAMPTON, Tuesday, May 16; Northampton High School auditorium
PEABODY, Tuesday, May 16; Peabody Veterans Memorial High School auditorium
CHARLESTOWN, Thursday, May 18; MTRS Main Office, Presentation Room, 2nd Floor
SOUTH YARMOUTH, Tuesday, May 23; Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School auditorium
NORTON, Tuesday, May 30; Norton Middle School auditorium
To attend, simply register online!
Blazing Trails…
"Boston English High School Credits Attentiveness, Data For 'Dramatic' Academic
Progress." On its website, WBUR-FM Boston reports Boston's English High School "shocked
the state" in 2015 when the number of students who scored "advanced" on the math
portion of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam more than doubled.
The score increase was so "dramatic" that it prompted state officials to scrutinize the results
for potential "anomalies" before certifying them as legitimate. The self-proclaimed "oldest
public high school" in America "is coming off some of the most difficult years in its history,"
marked by a one-out-of-seven out-of-school suspension rate in 2013, fifty percent
enrollment decline over the last decade, and criminal charges against a dean over a student's
attempted murder. Additionally, 98 percent of the student body identifies as a minority,
more than two-thirds are low-income, and more than half are English-language learners.
Educators and students both attributed the progress to a "data revolution" and "system of
individualized education, building skills and rebuilding confidence, student-by-student." Read
More
"Massachusetts School Funding Estimates $1-2B Short." The Fall River Herald News reports
that funding formulas for Massachusetts public education fall short "by $1-2 billion when it
comes to projecting the real cost of public education each year," according sponsors of a bill
that would "overhaul the current K-12 funding formula." The bill, S. 223, is sponsored by
State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz (D-Jamaica Plain) and "dozens of state lawmakers and education
leaders gathered Monday" to champion the bill. The legislation would require "the state to
use averages from the Group Insurance Commission, the health insurance provider for state
employees, to more accurately project each school district's healthcare costs." The new
funding formula would "direct additional funding" to low-income communities. Read More
"For Every $1 Spent on SEL, There's an $11 Return." SEL is critical - not just for elementary
school students, but all the way through to higher ed and preparing students for the
workforce. A new research brief from Penn State University and the Robert Wood
Foundation found that for every $1 spent on social emotional learning initiatives, there is an
$11 return on investment. The researchers found successful SEL programs integrate SEL
principles into the total structure of the day and weave its principles into the curriculum. So
far, the researchers found, 11 states - CT, ID, IL, KS, MA, ME, OH, PA, VT, WA and WV - have
explicit SEL policies and benchmarks for elementary school students. Read More
"With Math, Seeing Is Understanding." Helping students make sense of math requires
moving back and forth among visual, relational models and the abstract lexicon of math
symbols. Whether using everyday objects (like the classroom rug) or graphic organizers (like
a tape diagram), visual cues make math concepts stick and help students learn in lasting
ways, as evidenced in this ASCD Express post. Read More
"Canada: Can Fitness Breaks Help Concentration?" Students at a school in Canada have
access to workout circuits throughout the day. Physical-education teacher Jeff Marshall, who
started the program, said it's designed to give students options and to help them feel
empowered. Read More
Have a Great Week!
