The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Engagement with the Field on Major Initiatives (Curriculum, Assessment, Educator Evaluation)

At the May 20, 2014 meeting, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will hear about the Department's current efforts to engage superintendents, principals, and teachers around our core reform initiatives, including curriculum, assessment, and educator evaluation.

This past winter, in partnership with the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.), the Department formed a Superintendents' Advisory Council. The purpose of the council is as follows:

The Superintendents' Advisory Council is intended to be a working group that serves as an effective vehicle for timely, two-way communication and engagement between the Department and the Superintendents across the state during the developmental stages of initiates. The Council will be focused on the "what's coming down the pike?" question in an effort to get ahead of those initiatives, to engage together and to learn from each other. With the complexity and pace of our school reform efforts, it is essential that the Department seek input from practitioners to inform our work during the developmental stages and that our school leaders have guidance from respected peers to guide effective planning and implementation at the local level. As part of this work, the Department will be proactive in its efforts to work with the representative superintendents prior to Department staff designing outreach efforts from ESE. Additionally, this group will provide an opportunity to develop "best practices" and share amongst ourselves.

We have invited Barnstable Public Schools Superintendent Mary Czajkowski, who is President of M.A.S.S., to attend the May 20 meeting and provide an update on the initial meetings of the council. In addition, we will provide an update on the work of the principals' advisory group and the teacher advisory cabinet.