Pathways A Weekly Collection of Information, Thoughts, Reflections and Accolades for the

Reading Public School Community April 10, 2016 Volume 2, Number 30

Upcoming Dates April 10 – RMHS

Broadway Trip

April 12 – (9:00

a.m.) Parker Author

Day; (5:00 p.m.)

Annual District

Artsfest @ RMHS

April 13 – (3:00

p.m.) District MTSS

Meeting; (5:00 p.m.)

Annual District

Artsfest @ RMHS

April 14 – (11:00

a.m.) Grade PreK –

12 Early Release;

(6:30 p.m.) Junior

Prom @ Danversport

Yacht Club

April 15 – No School;

Blue Ribbon

Conference

April 18 – Patriot’s

Day No School

April 19 – 22 – April

Vacation No School

April 22 – First Day of

Passover

ArtsFest Returns on April 12 and 13

The Reading Public Schools Art and Music Departments proudly present the 8th annual ArtsFest Celebration on Tuesday, April 12 and 13th at the William E. Endslow Performing Arts Center and Main Street at Reading Memorial High School. Art work from Grades 1-12 and music performances from Grades 3-12 will highlight this outstanding two day celebration. There is no charge to attend the performances. A special thanks goes out to our Fine and Performing Arts Staff and their students for all of their hard work in preparing for this event.

Kudos and Accolades To RMHS Seniors Jason

Kwan and Alexa Small who are this week’s RMHS High Five.

To the Barrows, Joshua Eaton and Killam staff for holding successful open house/learning fair nights this week.

Congratulations to Boys Lacrosse and Boys Tennis for posting wins this week.

To Birch Meadow DLC 2 Teacher Tricia Piacentini who was recognized by Teamsters Local 25 at their 9th Annual Light Up the Night Gala for Autism. The Light Up the Night Gala honors individuals and groups who are working to educate the public about autism.

To Parker Grade 6 students Anna Newman and Carolyn Xu, who won honorable mention awards for the 2016 Boston Sports Museum-Will McDonough Writing Contest. Anna Newman won for her argument essay titled, "Title IX," and Carolyn Xu won for "One," a fictional narrative piece.Here is the link to the Boston Sports Museum's winners' announcement page.

Reading Public Schools Transitioning to Integrated Web Tool and Student Information Management System

New system will be displayed at Blue Ribbon on Friday, April 15th

During the last 16 months, the Reading Public Schools has been looking at different solutions to replace our current websites (Edline), student information management system (Admin Plus), teacher grade book programs (Grade Quick and AP Web), and other online services. We received teacher feedback on the most critical piece of the program for teachers, which is the grade book and report card program. As part of the process, we also reviewed products that were budget neutral or less in cost. We are pleased that we finally have a solution that we will be able to transition to for the 2016-17 school year.

Over the next several months, the Reading Public Schools will be transitioning its websites, student information management system, and grade book/report card programs to and updated version of our current student information management system, Rediker Software. What this will mean is that we will be replacing Admin Plus, Edline, Grade Quick, AP Web, and Blackboard Connect with an integrated student information management system, grading program, notification system and web sites that are cloud based and provide student, parent, and teacher access through portals.

The first major change that will be happening is the transition of our Edline websites to Redisite, which is a responsive website system that works well on all devices. RediSite will give us a District Web Page and 9 School Web Pages that are interactive and responsive to mobile devices. Teacher pages will no longer exist because they will have their own class portals which students and parents will access. Here are some examples of schools that use RediSite. http://www.bridge-rayn.org/ http://www.awrsd.org/ http://www.akfcs.org/ https://www.incarnationschool.edu/ https://www.asrsd.org/ http://www.freelake.org/ https://elps.eastlongmeadowma.gov/

Over the next few months, we will be working with Rediker to develop the templates for each of the web pages for the design. By July 1st, Edline will no longer be our web host.

As we continue along the transition process, we will keep you in the loop and begin to provide training opportunities for the Grade Book program (Teacher Plus Gradebook), the Plus Portals, and the online forms. Rediker will be at the Blue Ribbon Conference this week to provide demonstrations on the new products.

Suburban Boston Superintendents Favor Later Start Time By James Vaznis, Boston Globe

A group of Boston-area superintendents has thrown its support behind the idea of starting the high school day later, a rare coordinated effort among school systems aimed at giving students extra sleep.

“The research is clear on this topic that later start times best support the social and emotional needs of our high school students,” according to a statement by the Middlesex League Superintendents, a group of 12 school systems in Middlesex County that includes Arlington, Belmont, Lexington, Reading, and Watertown. The superintendents are aiming for start times between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. That would bring the opening bell closer to the recommendations of many researchers, who have been pushing for high school to begin at 8:30 a.m. or later.

Currently, high schools in the Middlesex League start between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. The goal is to get the changes in place by the 2018-19 school year.

Coalescing around this issue is significant, enabling the school systems to coordinate the scheduling of afterschool games and academic competitions, which can be one of the biggest hurdles in successfully delaying start times when a school system tries to go at it alone.

Students see benefits from later school start times

The movement for later start times is emerging in districts like Belmont, Boston, Masconomet, Mashpee, Newton, and Wayland.

Melrose, Newburyport want teens to get more sleep

The school systems are among a growing number around the region — from Newton to Newburyport— that are rethinking high school start times. The Legislature is also considering a bill that would establish a task force to examine the issue statewide. Educators, parents, and politicians have been moved by research showing that biological changes in teenagers delay the natural rhythms of their sleep cycles by about two hours, pushing their bedtimes to 11 p.m. or later. For students who must get to school by 8 a.m. or earlier, that often means they get just five or six hours of sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to a host of problems such as anxiety, depression, poor grades, and even car crashes, studies have found. Researchers say that teenagers should ideally get between 8.5 and 9.5 hours of shuteye. Researchers have found improvements in student performance when start times are delayed. Nauset Regional High School on Cape Cod, which pushed its start time to 8:35 a.m four years ago, saw tardiness fall by 35 percent and the number of D’s and F’s drop by half.

The Middlesex League Superintendents have been discussing the issue for several months. Eric Conti, Burlington schools superintendent, said the group decided this month it would be best for the school systems to explore the idea together.

The superintendents stress that moving to later start times is not a done deal and they will work with their respective communities to see whether such a change is desired.

“Our intention is to commit to a deadline and to the necessary consensus-building required to make a change in longstanding practice,” the statement said. “Doing what is right for adolescents will mean changing adult schedules and behaviors.’’

While the collaborative effort can help with scheduling afterschool events, each superintendent may have to grapple with issues specific to their communities, such as

whether starting high school later would require flipping schedules with elementary school students to accommodate bus routes.

Melrose, which is part of the league, has been exploring the idea for more than a year, and the School Committee voted last week to push back the start times by about a half hour at its high school and middle school to 8:15 a.m., starting in fall 2017.

Superintendent Cyndy Taymore, in a memo to the School Committee before the vote, said the 8:15 a.m. start time was in the best interest of children, but was not a silver bullet.

“Moving to 8:15 a.m. will not guarantee all children are on time for school; will not prevent individual students from staying up too late; and will not guarantee everyone is on task all day,” she wrote. “However, we will improve the probability of better outcomes for students academically, physically, and social-emotionally.”

Watertown, where the high school starts at 7:55 a.m., also has been studying the idea, surveying staff, students, and parents. Survey results will be presented to the School Committee in May, said Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald. Watertown is examining start times for both its middle and high schools.

“We definitely support our students getting enough sleep,” Fitzgerald said.

She added, however, that she could not predict if a change in start times would occur, given that the high school already starts close to 8 a.m. and that the town’s small geographic area enables students to get to school fairly quickly in the mornings.

Other school systems, such as Burlington, Lexington, and Reading, are in the early stages of the conversation.

Mary Czajkowski, superintendent in Lexington, where the high school starts at 7:45 a.m., said the topic typically comes up in conversations about student stress and the potential triggers, such as homework load or a lack of sleep.

“Every superintendent will be reaching out for input,” she said.

The other Middlesex League school systems are Stoneham, Wilmington, Wakefield, Winchester, and Woburn.

Richard Pearson, associate executive director of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, said the organization has no official position on the matter. But he said the debate over the impact of later high school start times on afterschool competitions often gets overstated, noting that schools within an athletic league find a way to work out the logistics.

“Some of the challenges come up when schools play outside of their leagues,” he said.

Angela Duckworth on Uses and Misuses of Assessing Character Traits

In this New York Times article, “grit” guru Angela Duckworth (University of Pennsylvania) says she’s pleased with the growing recognition of non-cognitive skills as a key element in students’ life success, including these three clusters:

Quote of the Week….

“A Real Friend Is One Who Walks In When The Rest Of

The World Walks Out.”

– Walter Winchell

Tenacity, self-control, and optimism – these help students reach their goals;

Social intelligence and gratitude – these help students relate to and help others;

Curiosity, open-mindedness, and zest for learning – these enable independent thinking.

Working with a number of district, charter, and independent schools, Duckworth and her colleagues have found that giving students feedback on these attributes increases students’ self-awareness and improves their behavior and academic achievement. It’s especially helpful to compare students’ self-assessment on key traits with teachers’ assessments.

But Duckworth is alarmed that some educators are incorporating assessments of character into schools’ high-stakes accountability systems. “[W]e’re nowhere near ready – and perhaps never will be – to use feedback on character as a metric for judging the effectiveness of teachers and schools,” she says. “We shouldn’t be rewarding or punishing schools for how students perform on these measures.”

Duckworth’s concern springs from two limitations inherent in students rating themselves on character traits:

• Reference bias – Different schools have different standards for what constitutes “coming to class prepared” (one of the self-control attributes), for example. In one school, it might mean that when the bell rings, you’re at your desk with your notebook open, last night’s completed homework in front of you, and your full attention on the teacher. In another school, the criteria might be more relaxed. Researchers found that students’ self-ratings varied considerably depending on the norms of their schools and weren’t objectively reliable.

• Incentives for gaming the system and cheating – Attaching high stakes to character attributes can create extrinsic rewards and punishments that displace the hoped-for intrinsic motivations to behave better. “While carrots and sticks can bring about short-term changes in behavior,” says Duckworth, “they often undermine interest in and responsibility for the behavior itself.”

Duckworth concludes with these observations on the burgeoning study of non-cognitive skills:

Character matters.

Character is not just innate – it can be cultivated by specific interventions.

Getting students to self-assess on character traits can lead to important self-discovery.

The ways in which we give students feedback on character can be improved.

Scientists and educators need to collaborate to improve character education.

Measures of character should not be used as high-stakes accountability metrics. “Don’t Grade Schools on Grit” by Angela Duckworth in The New York Times, March 27, 2016, http://nyti.ms/1SLaHBj. Reprinted from Marshall Memo 631.

Reading Public School Happenings

Birch Meadow Celebrates Autism Awareness Last week, Birch Meadow Elementary educated the school community about autism awareness. The students received a surprise visit from the Cookie Monster. Below are some pictures from the week.

Disney Tweet of the

Week

“The only way to achieve the impossible is to

believe it is possible.”

–Charles (Alice in Wonderland)

Killam Learning Fair On Thursday, Killam Elementary School held its annual learning fair which had a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) theme. Below are pictures of the art gallery of student work that was on display in the cafeteria and a student in Grade 2 teacher Ally Burns class discussing his biography of Paul Revere.

Reading Education Foundation Announces Grant Awardees

The Reading Education Foundation is pleased to announce the 2016 Grant Awards of $44,214.19, benefiting every school in our district. Please join us in congratulating this year's recipients. HIGH SCHOOL GRANTS Computing in the Arts: With user-friendly micro-controllers and software, students will create meaningful visual or musical artifacts that respond to human inputs. Grant proposed by Steve Cogger

Active Sitting Workspace Options: A pilot study of specially-designed seating options which will improve focus, attention and concentration. Grant proposed by Danja Mahoney

3D Printers for Hands-on Design Production: The addition of three 3D printers will allow all students in the Intro to Engineering Design course to produce their designs. Grant proposed by Charles Strout

HIGH SCHOOL/MIDDLE SCHOOL GRANT STEAM Makerspace at the Secondary Level LCMs: The purchase of kits and materials will support hand-on, collaborative creativity in these DIY areas designed for blending Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. Grant proposed by Sharon Burke MIDDLE SCHOOL GRANTS Digitized Reading in the 21st Century: Through the purchase of additional iPads, 6th Grade Parker students will have increased access to digital text and beneficial accompanying software. Grant proposed by Donna Martinson

Green Screen Video Studio: The easy-to-use technology of iPads and Apps will allow students to facilitate video production and focus on content. Grant proposed by Christine Steinhauser

Bandroom Dynamic Soundfield System: This sound system will allow the 90+ students to clearly hear the band director during practices. Grant proposed by Cheryl Webster

World Music Drumming: This set of instruments, to be used in African-American slave and new American music units, will increase 7th grade students' engagement in the general music program. Grant proposed by Anna Wentlent

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRANTS Art in the Sky, A Transformational Adventure in Perspective: Through the creation of a giant living painting on a field that can only be understood from above, Killam's all-school,

three-day residency program will deepen perception and develop a big-picture approach to creative problem solving. Grant proposed by Amy Hussey

Access for All Elementary Library/Media Collection: This grant will establish a collection at each school to benefit all students including ones with language based learning challenges. Resources, including audio book kits and readers, dyslexia friendly books and low level-high interest books, will be available for in-class and student check-out. Grant proposed by Krista Erikson

Makerspace Robot Coding Kits: Each school will procure K-3 and 4-5 robot kits to support hand-on, collaborative creativity in these DIY areas designed for blending Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. Grant proposed by Tracy Thrasher Hybl

Core Value Literature Collection Development: Each school will establish a collection to support social/emotional/mental health and diversity. Grant proposed by Lisa Norcross

Stepping Stones… We welcome the following new hires to our school district:

Shaheen Aryan, Daily Substitute, District Cassie Liston, Daily Substitute, District Patricia Hubbard, Daily Substitute, District

Anne Bowen, Special Ed. Paraeducator, Birch meadow

We have posted new positions. If interested, please visit https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx to view the job details.

Theatre Technician https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=22

Climate Change Presentation-The Reading Garden Club and the Friends of the

Reading Public Library are sponsoring a presentation called, Climate Change: What does it mean for New England, on Tuesday, April 26th from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the Reading Senior Center, Pleasant Street, Reading. Quentin Prideaux, of the Climate Reality Project, combines powerful imagery with concrete data to present the basic science of climate change, its risks to New England, and what actions to take now to protect Massachusetts. For more information, go to the following link.

Blazing Trails….

New Resource: Ideas for Celebrating Earth Day-April 22 is the 46th anniversary of Earth Day, and this year’s focus is trees. Learn more about this year’s theme, download your on Earth Day Action Toolkit, and search for events near you online.

Here are a few other web resources to consider if you're looking for Earth Day activities for your students and school communities:

ReadWriteThink: Celebrate Earth Day!

Edutopia: Earth Day: Lesson Plans, Reading Lists, and Classroom Ideas National Education Association: Earth Day Curriculum Resources, Grades K-5

Get Involved: Upcoming Webinars from ESE’s Office of Digital Learning-The Office of Digital Learning supports the expansion of districts', students', and educators' digital learning capacity and literacy in order to advance learning for every student in the Commonwealth. The team provides polices, guidance, professional development, and support in the following areas: district technology and infrastructure capacity, classroom level instructional tools, assistive technology resources, virtual schools and online courses, and emerging digital learning trends.

Check out these two upcoming webinars:

Digital Learning Webinar: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Initiatives – April 28, 2016, 3–4 p.m. Given the potential of technology to enhance teaching and learning, many districts are considering having every student use a mobile device (laptop, tablet, netbook, smartphone, graphing calculator, etc.). This webinar will share information on bring your own device initiatives in K-12. Learn more about the guest speaker and register here.

Digital Learning Webinar: Universal Design for Learning and Ed-Tech – May 25, 2016, 2–3 p.m. Grounded in the learning sciences and leveraging multimedia technology, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that guides the design of instructional approaches and curricular materials that support learning for all students. Please join the Office of Digital Learning and guest speaker Sam Johnston, a research scientist at CAST and member of the state's Digital Learning Advisory Council (DLAC), to discuss UDL and educational technology.

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 information to John Doherty at john.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us

The Buzz: “12 Words That Should Be in Our Educational Vocabulary”-In an Education Week blog, author and former elementary school principal Peter DeWitt shares the 12 words he believes should be in everyone’s educational vocabulary. He reminds us that the power of these words is up to us and how we use them:

“The interesting thing about words that should be banned from... or added to... our vocabulary is that their success is dependent on how we use them in school. If they are words that are seen as pushing more compliance, then educators will want them banished. If they are words that bring people together in a positive way or foster teachers maintaining their identity, they will be used more positively.”

Read “12 Words that should be in our educational vocabulary” online at EdWeek. "Five Strategies to Help Educators learn for Life." How do you find the time to grow professionally and be a lifelong learner while also being a rock star with your students? In this Inservice post, ASCD Emerging Leader Rachael George shares five strategies and approaches for educators to keep your own professional development and learning integrated seamlessly into your life. These include getting connected, making professional learning a priority, and choosing your friends wisely. Read More

"New Education Secretary: Bold Agenda. Just 10 Months To Get It Done." Education

Secretary John King Jr. in this interview outlines his agenda for the last 10 months of

President Barack Obama's term in office. His top priorities include implementation of the

Every Student Succeeds Act and improved access to high-quality preschool programs and

higher education. Read More

"Should High Schools Consider Later Start Times?" Students can sleep more if school starts

later -- perhaps improving academics and health -- suggests Aaron Carroll, a professor of

pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. In this commentary, he cites other

benefits of starting school later. Read More

"When Kids Have Structure for Thinking, Better Learning Emerges." Researchers at

Harvard University's Project Zero are working with schools to build "cultures of thinking"

where students are given structure for collective and individual thinking. Project Zero has

identified "thinking moves" and "thinking routines" that help students reach understanding

and become lifelong learners. Read More

"Australian Students Hone STEM Skills by Designing Video Games." The Australian

Indigenous Mentoring Experience is seeking to improve indigenous students' achievement

in math and science through video games. The program, funded in part by Google,

challenges students throughout the country to design their own video games. Read More

Have a Great Week!