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Division of Special Education
Interim Executive Director of Special Education March 26, 2024
Division of Special Education
Complex Needs & Challenges
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Culture and Climate Survey
Objectives
Comprehensive & Inclusive Continuum of Service
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Deliver Ambitious Instruction & Effective Supports
Program Development
Objectives
Implement Accessible College & Career Pathways
Continue to expand opportunities and pathways for SCALE and Post Graduate programs
Continue to develop community partnerships in order to provide meaningful job
opportunities and internships
Implement Effective Staff Learning & Support
New IEP training & coaching
Provide high quality and meaningful professional development opportunities in research based methodologies and specially designed instruction
Offer a robust option of additional training opportunities for choice courses and optional training for new methodologies, curriculum and specially designed instruction
Objectives
Supporting Students and Fostering Sense of Belonging
Supporting Parents and Creating Welcoming Spaces
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Build Welcoming & Supportive Schools & District
Summary & Outcomes
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A comprehensive continuum of service and development of new and existing programs will allow students to access the specially designed instruction they need within the district and reduce the need
for private out of district placements.
A focus on well designed and meaningful professional development will ensure that we build the capacity of our staff members to deliver high quality research based instruction to
all students.
The new IEP format and training will allow the district to reset our IEP process and procedures, with a focus on parent and caregiver participation and collaboration, student input and feedback, and data driven decision making.
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Department of Multilingual Learner Education
School Committee Meeting
March 26, 2024
Agenda
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Multilingual Learner Education in CPS
English Learner (ESL) Program
In this model, students receive direct English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction in a small group pull-out setting.
English learners (EL) services across all 17 schools
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Dual Language Immersion Programs
In this dual language program model, the main goal is for students to become bilingual and biliterate in English and one of the partner languages: Mandarin, Portuguese, or Spanish.
Ola Program, JK-8 King Open & CSUS
Mandarin Immersion Program, JK-8
MLK & PAUS
Amigos School
Amigos JK-8
Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Program
In the SEI JK-12 program, multilingual learners, along with other language learners from varied linguistic backgrounds, receive grade-level instruction
in English.
Programs at:
Kennedy-Longfellow, G&P, VLUS, CRLS
Increase in Multilingual Learners in CPS
English Language Learner Programs
654 (May 2023)
To
823 (March 2024)
English learners (EL) across all schools
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Dual Language Immersion Programs
116
students in the Olá Program, JK-8
154
students in Chinese Immersion Program, JK-8
433
students in Amigos JK-8
Total: 1,521
Multilingual Learners participating in SEI, ESL, & Two-way Immersion language programs
Emergency Assistance Shelter Response
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Cambridge Preschool Program & MLE
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New DESE Guidelines for Fall 2024 for Identifying and Assessing Pre-K students
Identification and Assessment of Preschool Students
Strategic Initiatives
OBJECTIVE 1:
Deliver Ambitious Instruction & Effective Supports
OBJECTIVE 2:
Provide Accessible College & Career Pathways
OBJECTIVE 3:
Implement Effective Staff Learning & Support
OBJECTIVE 4:
Build Welcoming & Supportive Schools & District
1. Define a districtwide
instructional framework
that guides consistent, high-quality instruction in every classroom.
4. Collaborate to implement city-wide plan for universal
preschool to promote equitable access as a foundation
for student success.
7. Strengthen and expand
educator and leader career pathway programs, prioritizing hard-to-staff roles and diversification of staff.
10. Improve families access to resources within and
beyond CPS.
2. Align instructional practices and resources to instructional framework across content areas and grade bands.
5. Implement a system of individualized student success planning and
supports that prepare students for effective transitions and
post-graduation success.
8. Establish a comprehensive, role-based professional
learning strategy and system that improves practices in alignment with district vision.
11. Promote positive school cultures and climate through
district-wide vision of inclusive and restorative discipline policies and practices.
3. Establish robust
multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS)
to support students’ academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs.
6. Embed college & career exploration and
experiences across the JK-12 continuum.
9. Improve evaluation systems for all staff to support professional growth as part of a
culture of continuous improvement.
12. Develop a multi-year facilities improvement
plan based on pending building study.
Update on Strategic Initiatives FY24
CREATE Grant to expand Multilingual Learner Educator pipeline
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Align ESL and SEI Curriculum with new WIDA 2020 ELD
Standards
Design a Strategic Vision for Multilingual Learner Education in CPS
Looking Forward: Strategic Initiatives FY25
District Plan Objective | Department Priorities | Measurable outcome |
OBJECTIVE 1: Deliver Ambitious Instruction & Effective Supports | Strategically aligning the ESL curriculum with the WIDA 2020 English Language Development (ELD) Standards is a department priority. This initiative aims to ensure uniform and high-quality instruction specifically tailored for newcomers operating at English Language Proficiency Levels 1-2 across Grades 1-12. | Increase percentage of students attaining English language proficiency benchmarks from 61% to 66% |
OBJECTIVE 1: Deliver Ambitious Instruction & Effective Supports | Create Dual language curriculum for Mandarin, Portuguese, and Spanish that ensures teachers are able to provide consistent, high-quality instruction for students in grades K-8. | Increase percentage of students attaining proficiency in the partner language as assessed by the STAMP language test |
OBJECTIVE 3: Effective Staff Learning & Support (Indicator #8) | Provide training to school-based staff on how to increase comprehensible input in daily lesson plans and create a more inclusive classroom for all Academic English learners. | Increase percent of EL students meeting grade-level expectations on the district screeners iReady, mClass, and Forefront 9 |
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Student Success Planning
Tuesday March 26, 2024
Budget Workshop Presentation
Core Team Members, Co-Leaders
Khari Millner
Co-Director Cambridge Agenda for Children Out-of-School Time, Cambridge
Public Schools
Skyler Nash
Chief Strategy Officer, Cambridge Public Schools
Core Team Members, Liaison
Terrance Mitchell
Harvard Fellow, Liaison between Cambridge Public Schools and Harvard EdRedesign
Core Team Members
Lendozia Edwards
Chief of Academics and Schools, Cambridge Public Schools
Victoria Greer Superintendent, Cambridge Public Schools
Christine Gerber
Principal, Kennedy-Longfellow
Kim Huffer
Director of SEL, Cambridge Public Schools
Leslie Jimenez Director of Equity, Cambridge Public Schools
Julie Sizer
Principal,
Rindge Avenue Upper School
Nancy Tauber Executive Director, Cambridge Family Policy Council
Christine Turner
Director of Programs, Cambridge Community Foundation
David Weinstein
School Committee Member
Goal of Core Team
Co-create Cambridge’s Student Success Planning Framework
During the 2023-2024 school year, we are learning, planning, and designing
a pilot strategy for launch during the 2024-2025 school year.
Success Planning
Success Planning is a personalized, relationship-based approach for ensuring all children and youth have a caring adult, in
addition to their families, who knows them well, and develops a plan for ensuring their needs, interests, and goals are met by connecting them to supports and opportunities available in their community.
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Success Planning Components
A Personalized Action Plan - a dynamic tool to guide individualized support.
A Coordinated Systems of Support - a strategic vision, resources, and collaborative support offered by various stakeholders
A Navigator - a caring adult who fosters a positive individual relationship.
A Data Platform - documents plans over time, captures information, and provides a systems-level snapshot
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Optimally, Success Planning is part of a community-wide strategy coordinated by a cross-sector body.
Emerging Theory of Change & Goals Cambridge Community of Practice
Goals
Ensure every student has access and is connected to a Navigator (Increase community engagement, develop a Navigator directory, strengthen pre-existing relationships)
Improve the academic outcomes and the social emotional supports for all students.
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Theory of Change
If we create structures and systems to make sure every young person from preschool through high school is known by a Navigator and connected to resources, supports,
opportunities, and interests, we will improve the academic outcomes and social emotional supports for all Cambridge students.
Next Steps
Group and Individual Tasks
Professional Learning Overview 2024-2025
Overarching Goals:
Our goals for the 2024-2025 school year are to promote the professional growth and effectiveness of all educators by ensuring that they have access to learning experiences that:
The following represent the primary mechanisms that we will use to achieve these goals:
District-Designed Professional Learning
The SY24-25 Professional Learning Calendar will block out specific days and times for key district leaders and teams to present to each school community around practices aligned to district goals and priorities, including the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), creating safe and welcoming schools for LBGTQ+ youth, making grade-level content accessible to multilingual learners, etc. These presentations will help establish a “through line” of expected practices and promote cohesion and coherence across all CPS schools. All Unit A and Unit E members will participate in these
district-designed professional learning modules.
Building-Based Professional Learning
Specific days and times will also be scheduled for school leaders to facilitate building-based professional learning aligned with the goals of their respective School Improvement Plans. All Unit A and Unit E members will participate in school-based professional learning activities.
Department-Based Professional Learning
Role-alike professional learning will largely take place during the three full-day staff professional learning days (11/7, 1/2 & 3/19). On these days, department coordinators and their teams will lead professional development focused on curriculum implementation and best practices within their specific roles (from P.E. teachers to speech and language pathologists to high school math teachers, etc.). Much of the professional learning associated with the implementation of the new CKLA curriculum will also take place during these department-based professional learning days. These professional learning days currently exist only within the Unit A/B contract.
Additional Role-Specific Professional Learning Opportunities
As part of their contractual requirements, Unit A and Unit E members also engage in 10 hours of professional learning driven by their own professional needs and interests. During the 2024-2025 school
year we will continue to work with the CEA and with our district leaders to identify “choice course” opportunities that match the broad range of learning needs represented among the many diverse roles, interests, and levels of experience of our teachers and paras.
Ongoing professional learning will also be scheduled on a monthly basis for principals, coaches, directors, and coordinators. We are currently in the process of identifying goals and outcomes for this job-embedded training, particularly as we look to strengthen our approach to feedback and supervision.
New Teacher Induction & Mentoring Program
Approximately 60 educators currently participate in the New Teacher Mentoring and Induction program, which is an essential component of our district’s approach to supporting beginning teachers who enter the district holding Emergency, Provisional, or Initial licensure. These early-career educators participate in weekly meetings with a qualified mentor teacher, attend regular new-to-CPS seminar meetings, and complete monthly field assignments and reflections.
During the 2024-2025 school year, we will enhance the induction and mentoring program with a differentiated approach that acknowledges and responds more effectively to the broad range of roles and levels of experience represented among our new teacher corps. The SY24-25 program will include an intensive foundational training component for those who have not previously completed an approved teacher-preparation program, as well as a new three-year sequence of induction modules to more intentionally strengthen educator effectiveness and retention during the probationary years leading up to Professional Teacher Status.
We will also look to strengthen the effectiveness and impact of our mentoring program with the goal of more intentionally fostering a community of practice among our mentor teacher corps, providing differentiated job-embedded ongoing training for mentors, and introducing mechanisms for evaluating program effectiveness.
New Leader Induction Program
During the 2024-2025 school year we also plan to introduce an induction and coaching model for new Unit B members, including new Assistant Principals, Directors, Deans, and Coordinators. This program will be aimed at cultivating key leadership practices, building a more intentional internal pipeline for the principalship, and creating a safe space for new leaders to identify and reflect upon problems of practice.
Continuous Improvement to Professional Learning in CPS
In collaboration with our educators, we will continue to engage in a continuous cycle of feedback, reflection, and improvement to ensure that all staff development activities are meaningful, relevant, and impactful.
Additional Resources
If you have not done so already, please visit the CPS Professional Learning Website, which provides more information about the current systems and structures that support professional learning in the Cambridge Public Schools. If you have additional questions, please contact Dr. Chad Leith, Director of Professional Learning & Leadership.