MSAA Matters
March 2020 Special Edition II
March 16, 2020
Dear Colleagues,
Firstly, I hope each of you is well and taking all of the scientific precautions that we have been urged to follow from the experts like Dr. Anthony S. Fauci.
Secondly, please be advised that all MSAA Professional Development Workshops are cancelled through Friday, April 10th. We are working on plans for the Leadership Licensure Program. MSAA Professional Development Workshops beyond Friday, April 10th will be reviewed in the near future as we obtain more information. MSAA Standing Committee work will be cancelled, postponed, or continue virtually as needed. Summer Institute planning meeting will be held remotely on Tuesday, March 24th.
Thirdly, I, like each of you, have been spending a lot of time on social media lately reading all of the resources for how to 'do school' in these unprecedented times. The level of collaboration that is taking place world-wide is simply awe inspiring. I feel so fortunate to have such a rich and vast Professional Learning Network and thank each of you for being a part of it. This is just one more example of how we are better together.
I am excited to share with you a Padlet MSAA is working on to house the amazing resources we find, in one place. Hopefully this will be a valuable, one shop resource for you, and an easy way to access resources instead of trying to keep up with Twitter feeds! I encourage you to add to it and to share it widely. Please know we are in the development stages of this resource and will need your help to make this a robust resource for one another. We started with the PK-5 Padlet, moved to the middle level and are just starting the high school one. Your support in this endeavor will be greatly appreciated! Click on the links below to access our resource banks:
Additionally, MSAA will host a Zoom conference twice a week. Our goal is to provide a thirty minute opportunity for those who are interested to check in, to share how we are supporting our school communities and to support one another. Through every crisis, I weathered during my principalship, I learned that it is very important in this role to take care of each other as we cannot support our school communities if we do not take care of ourselves!
Hopefully our Zoom conference calls will be one more way to do just that. We will send out the Zoom links weekly on Mondays. This week's links are:
- Tuesday, March 17th, 3:00 pm: https://zoom.us/j/671472875
- Thursday, March 19th, 11:00 am: https://zoom.us/j/647137756
In the meantime the links that were shared in the last two newsletters are included below as many shared they were valuable resources. Please find the links below.
In closing, if there is anything you need or you just want to talk through an idea and brainstorm with a colleague, please do not hesitate to reach out as we are here to support you!
Sincerely,
Beth
Beth Wittcoff
MSAA Assistant Executive Director
Middle Level and Elementary Committee Liaison
MSAA Matters Newsletter
Social Media
Precautions to take in several venues
NAESP Leadership Immersion Institute
NAESP Leadership Immersion Institute
May 5-6, 2020 | Augusta, ME
This 2-day event is a highly structured, interactive professional learning opportunity that integrates research-based best practices in mentoring and adult learning with educators’ knowledge and experiences. Principals from all grade levels and district personnel are encouraged to participate! Training topics include:
- Mentoring Principals to Lead Learning Communities
- Build Culture: Creating Schools that are Great Places to Teach and Learn
- Empower People: Leading Learning to Bring Out the Best in Teachers and Students
· Optimize Systems: Ensuring School Operations, Processes and Contexts Support Effective Teaching and Learning
The program curriculum has been newly redesigned to align with NAESP’s 2019 edition of Leading Learning Communities: Pillars, Practices, and Priorities for Effective Principals, the 2015 Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, and NAESP’s Mentor Competencies. To learn more about the program, visit https://www.naesp.org/mentor or Register
Upcoming Professional Development, Special Events & Conferences
Special Events/Conferences
NAESP National Leaders Conference, Sunday, 3/22 - Wednesday 3/25 Crystal City Hyatt Regency, Arlington, VA Click here to review NAESP's platform and resolutions. Cancelled by NAESP 3/11
PK- 8 Spring Conference, Friday 3/27 at Devens Common Devens , MA Cancelled as of 3/12 MSAA Board Vote
Assistant Principals Conference , Monday, 4/06 8:00 AM (Register) 8:30 AM Conference begins at the Doubletree Hotel Milford, MA Cancelled as of 3/12 MSAA Board Vote
NAESP Leadership Immersion Institute, Thursday 5/5 - Friday 5/6 in Augusta, Maine
Upcoming Professional Development:
March
Wednesday, 3/18, Teaching with Poverty in Mind: How to Build High-Achieving Schools for ALL Students, Dr. Nancy Spitulnik, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Tuesday, 3/24, Legal Aspects of Employee Discipline, Colby Brunt, Esq., 9:00 am - 2:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Thursday, 3/26, PBIS Systems: Creating a Positive Climate and Safe, Supportive Learning Environment, Maureen Gilman, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office,. Cancelled
Thursday, 3/26, How School Leaders Build Strong School Cultures, Improve Faculty Morale and Increase Student Achievement, Dr. Paul B. Ash, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Friday, 3/27, Using Data for Continuous SEL School-wide Improvement, Cathy Giles, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Friday, 3/27, Supporting the Literacy Growth of "At Risk" Students, Dr. Deborah Brady, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Friday, 3/27, ADHD and Executive Function in the Classroom, Brendan Mahan, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office Cancelled
Monday, 3/30, Increasing Student Engagement in the Middle School Classroom, Dr. Nancy Spitulnik, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Monday, 3/30, Rethinking Behavior Support Second Offering! Jessica Minahan, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Tuesday, 3/31, Don't Give Up! Strategies to Build Perseverance and Tenacity in Adolescent Learners, Jennifer Miller, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
April
Thursday, 4/2, School Law Update, Colleen Shea & Joan Stein, 9:00 am - 2:30 pm MSAA Office Cancelled
Thursday, 4/2, Finding the Write Answer: Writing in Mathematics for Grades 9-12, Polina Sabinin and Rebecca Steinitz, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Friday, 4/3, Anxiety and Unmet Needs in the Classroom ADHD Essentials, Brendan Mahan, M.Ed., M.S., 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Friday, 4/3, Integrating Technology in the Classroom: An Ed Tech Workshop for Beginners, Maureen Gilman, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Monday, 4/6, Cultivating SEL for Staffs: Caring for our OWN Emotional Well-Being!, Cathy Giles, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Tuesday, 4/7, The School Leader: Surviving & Thriving, Andrew Marotta, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office. Cancelled
Monday, 4/13, Working in Classrooms with Students with Neurological and Emotional Disorders, Jane M. Hardin, M.Ed., 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office, Register
Tuesday, 4/14, Everybody Reading, Everyday: Creating a School-wide Culture of Literacy, Liz Garden, Principal, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office, Register
Tuesday, 4/14, How to Build High Performance Teams in Your School and Design Effective Meetings, Paul B. Ash, Ph.D., 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office, Register
Thursday, 4/30, "I'm Done; What Do I Do Now?": Meeting the Challenge of Academically Advanced Students in a Classroom of Diverse Learners, Janis R. Baron, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office, Register
Thursday, 4/30, So You Want (Or May Want) To Be A Superintendent, Paul B. Ash, Ph.D., 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office, Register
May
Tuesday, 5/12, Recalibrating Schoolwide Discipline and Student Support: Building a Restorative and Accountable Approach, Larry Dieringer, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSAA Office, Register