Pelham Student Wins Google Doodle Competition! Help Her Win Nationals!

On Thursday, May 3, representatives from Google came to Pelham Elementary School to announce the New Hampshire winner of their 2018 Doodle 4 Google competition. First grader, Molly Baker, was thrilled to be the recipient!  Now we have an opportunity to help Molly become the National Winner.  She has a chance to win a trip to visit Google, a $30,000 college scholarship AND $50,000 of technology for our school.

The voting site went live at noon today, May 7. Please help Molly and the Pelham Elementary School by voting for Molly’s Google Doodle!  Thanks for your support!

Vote for Molly Baker

Feel free to share this email with anyone and everyone!

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“Meeting Students Where They Are” Report Release by CompetencyWorks

Today, CompetencyWorks (@CompetencyWorks), an initiative of iNACOL, released a new report, Meeting Students Where They Are. This paper explores how K-12 competency-based schools and districts can more effectively meet students where they are, fully preparing students for success in college, career and life.
Competency-based education (CBE) models are organized to advance learning, starting with where students are in terms of academic, cognitive and lifelong learning skills (growth mindset, habits of work and learning, metacognition, and social and emotional skills). The models stand in stark contrast to traditional education systems, which use a one-size-fits-all approach to delivering grade-level content.

Designing for Equity: Leveraging Competency Based Education to Ensure All Students Succeed

CompetencyWorks releases new publication, Designing for Equity: Leveraging Competency Based Education to Ensure All Students Succeed.

This publication offers equity strategies for personalized, competency-based education to ensure a more equitable K-12 education system. Districts and schools can use the equity principles within this report to develop an equity agenda within their personalized, competency-based systems. Competency-based education systems, designed to ensure all students achieve success, holds promise as a uniquely powerful model for fostering equity, but only if equity is an intentional design feature embedded in the culture, structure and pedagogy.

Download it at: https://www.inacol.org/resource/designing-equity-leveraging-competency-based-education-ensure-students-succeed/

 

OPEN NH Spring Session Course Registration is Now Open

Spring 2018 Session Online Course Session Dates: April 11 – May 29

The following courses are Scheduled to RUN:

BP-02 Improving Teacher Success through Effective Mentoring
BP-08 Using Reflective Writing to Develop Metacognition in the Classroom
BP-12 Creating a Successful Response to Intervention Plan
CE-02 Engaging K-12 Students with Digital Portfolios
CE-03 Aligning Curriculum with Standards and Learning Expectations
IE-02 Collaboration in the Digital Classroom
IE-03 Thinking Critically with Data
SE-04 Parental Involvement Strategies to Enhance Student Achievement

Register for Spring 2018 Courses Here!

Register early and save $10.00. Early Bird Special offer ends on March 27, 2018.

Application window now open for Title IV A Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants for personalized learning and competency based education!

These grants can be used for a wide variety of purposes, but must fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Effective Use of Technology, supporting the effective use of technology (e.g. professional development, blended learning, and technology devices).
• Student Health and Wellness, supporting safe and healthy students (e.g. school mental health, drug and violence prevention, and training on trauma-informed practices, health and physical education).
• Well Rounded Educational Opportunities, providing students with a well-rounded education through STEM, arts, civics, IB/AP, health, physical education, and other learning rich experiences.

Information is posted on the Student Support and Academic Enrichment page on the NH DOE website.

Guidance and Resources are available in a freely accessible OPEN NH Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant tutorial.  The resources and information on the OPEN NH tutorial will be developed and updated over the next few weeks. Feel free to bookmark the training site and visit often.

Applications are due April 13, 2018.

DOE Page URL: https://www.education.nh.gov/instruction/integrated/title_iv_a.htm.

OPEN NH Tutorial URL:  at http://www.opennh.net/course/view.php?id=566. 

New Hampshire’s State Education Plan Approved by U.S. Department of Education

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the approval of New Hampshire’s consolidated education plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on Friday, January 19^th, 2018.

“New Hampshire’s plan met the requirements of the law, and so I am happy to approve it,” said Secretary DeVos. “This plan should not be seen as a ceiling, but as a foundation upon which New Hampshire can improve education for its students.”

On September 18, 2017, the New Hampshire Department of Education had submitted a final ESSA Consolidated State Plan that was based on feedback from hundreds of Granite State citizens and educators over the course of a year and a half.

iNACOL Publishes Guidance on Moving Education from Current to Future State

Current to Future State: Issues and Action Steps for State Policy to Support Personalized, Competency-Based Learning

This report provides a roadmap and action steps for state policymakers to catalyze transformational change in K-12 education toward a future vision for systems that ensure success for all students.

In this report, iNACOL articulates a vision for the future of K-12 education and offers action steps for state policymakers. Its purpose is to inspire state policymakers, including governors, state legislators, state boards of education, state school chiefs and state policy staff with a vision for transformation and to provide specific steps, policy strategies and recommendations for enabling personalized, competency-based education.

This report explores five issues to tackle to build toward a vision and strategy for transformation to personalized, competency-based education systems:

• Redefining student success;
• Meaningful qualifications;
• Accountability as continuous improvement;
• Developing educator capacity; and
• Building capacity to lead change.

Download a pdf of the report at https://www.inacol.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/iNACOL-CurrentToFutureState.pdf.

See it on the iNACOL website at https://www.inacol.org/resource/current-future-state-issues-action-steps-state-policy-support-personalized-competency-based-learning/.