Last week, four teams were selected by a collaborative group of teachers, union leadership, and school and district leaders to receive our first round of School-Based Professional Learning Grants. Established as an initiative of The District Capacity Project, a unique collaboration between the BTU and BPS, this grant program asked school teams to identify a challenge in their school and design a teacher leadership-driven learning project to address it. Learn more about the program. Congratulations to the four teams that were awarded grants:
- Boston International and Newcomers Academy who will identify the most promising reading instruction and intervention strategies for secondary ELL students. Project Leads: Nicole DaSilva, Alexis Pearce, Caitlin MacLeod-Bluver
- Charlestown High School who will study and implement competency-based, personalized education in our classrooms to ensure that students master core concepts and skills and stay on track to graduation. Project Lead: Lauren Brett
- Mozart Elementary who will implement a teacher-driven professional learning plan to equip teachers to take a critical, anti-racist stance when making choices during ELT guided reading instruction. Project Lead: Edwin Cebrian
- Orchard Gardens Pilot School who will implement a common language among students and teachers to develop a school culture that encourages student autonomy, competence, and a feeling of connection between staff and students. Project Lead: Jeffrey Cipriani
We look forward to learning from them as they pursue their projects, and thanks to all of those who applied.
Opportunity and Achievement Gap Speaker Series
This speaker series continues with a number of thought provoking speakers including Yvette Modestin today, Tuesday, April 4 and Dr. Claude Anderson this Thursday, April 6. See here for details and to register.
Social Emotional Learning and Wellness
Stress Management Workshop Series – A five-part series on understanding the effects of stress on teachers, students and teaching and learning.
Committee on Teachers Assigned to Suitable Professional Capacity: First Meeting
Per membership resolution, the first meeting of the committee to support teachers assigned in a suitable professional capacity will take place on Tuesday, May 9 from 4-6 PM at the BTU. The committee will work to further understand the specific issues faced by permanent teachers who the School Department refuses to assign to a position, and to create resources for building representatives to support these teachers. This meeting is open to all members. RSVP here or contact Paul with questions or for more information.