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Ossining Performance Pathways Session Evaluation

Please take a moment to complete this Performance Pathways Evaluation. 

Launch of the Privacy Technical Assistance (TA) Center Website

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Privacy Technical Assistance (TA) Center website at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/ptac.

The Privacy TA Center will serve as a one-stop resource for State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), the postsecondary community, and the early childhood community on questions related to protecting privacy, confidentiality, and data security. The Privacy TA Center is developing coordinated information and best practices on privacy, confidentiality, and security measures as they relate to longitudinal data systems.
Read more...

THIRTEEN launches new Regents Exam test prep video collection with REGENTS REVIEW 2.0

THIRTEEN, one of the public broadcasting stations of New York, in collaboration with the New York Network, a service of SUNY, presents a newly launched collection of 50 short-segmented video resources on VITAL New York, an extensive library of free digital media resources produced by public television.  These resources are designed to help students prepare for the Regents Exams.  The videos, presented by New York State teachers, cover Chemistry, Earth Science, Living Environment, Physics, Global History & Geography, U.S. History & Government, Integrated Algebra, English Language Arts, French and Spanish.  
 
 
 


SWBOCES Awarded $700k Educational Grant to Benefit Local Schools

The New York State Education Department has named Southern Westchester BOCES and the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center the recipients of a competitive educational grant, which will be used to raise student performance in math and English Language Arts, and eliminate achievement gaps among middle school students in a number of local schools.

The Enhancing Education Through Technology award, which is close to $700,000, will benefit the Bedford, Brewster, Elmsford, Greenburgh Central 7, Haverstraw-Stony Point, Hawthorne Cedar Knolls, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Nyack, Peekskill, Port Chester-Rye, Ossining, Ramapo, Tarrytown, Tuckahoe, and White Plains school districts. St. Anne’s School, Ossining, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School, Elmsford, and Sacred Heart School in Mount Vernon are also recipients.

The initiative will help districts wade through the multitude of test results and other data that come out of state, district and classroom assessments, and it builds upon an initial grant that BOCES received two years ago to improve the academic performance of middle school students by using technology and formative assessment tools intended to enhance both teaching and learning.

Eight of the above districts were participants in the initial round of the grant. Support from the LHRIC Model Schools Program, particularly in the use of instructional technology to support classroom teaching, is also part of the grant.

Beginning this month, the latest grant recipients will receive all of the focused data team and leadership training opportunities that were made available to the original beneficiaries, including extensive training on the LHRIC data warehouse resources, coaching in the use of Data Mentor, a web-based student assessment tool, and support for the creation of data teams within middle schools.

Returning districts will also be offered workshops on formative assessments to enhance classroom instruction based on the work of Rick Stiggins, founder of the Educational Testing Services Assessment Training Institute, which provides professional development for teachers and school leaders.

The BOCES partnership with Sunguard-Performance Pathways, a provider of assessment software, and with Pearson Digital, the developers of the NovaNet and SuccessMaker software for classrooms, will also be available to schools.


Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Educational Policy

Boston College has a work group, the Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Educational Policy, found at the link here:
 http://www.bc.edu/research/csteep/.


On this Center homepage you will find a second link to CTEST, the Consortium for Equity in Standards and Testing.  A direct link to the site is here: http://www.bc.edu/research/csteep/CTESTWEB/documents.html.  Both these sites have some interesting links to reports and background of interest to DATAG members.  In particular, off the CTEST site (second link), you will find a link to 'documents' which contains several reports.

I found the document called "What Is A Test" to be particularly useful as a primer on standardized testing--what tests are designed to measure (domains, constructs, for example), with some simple explanatory diagrams and definitions of terms.  It's an html document that puts definitions and illustrations of key terms into link from the initial pages. If you're not entirely comfortable with issues like reliability and validity, this is a good place to start.  I think it's a good introduction to the topics.

-Dr. Brian Preston


*This new resource can also be found on the Navigational bar at the top under the Resources drop-down menu.


New EETT Resource added - Pew Internet


The Pew Internet Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center, a non-profit fact tank that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Internet explores the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life. The Project is nonpartisan and takes no position on policy issues.

Such articles include a study on the future of the Internet, referred to as Internet III which predicts the mobile device as the primary connection tool for the Internet in 2020. The full article can be found here

It's a fascinating site with lots of great data. It also lends itself to answer the question: "What is going to be happening in our schools related to this Internet III study?".
Check out the new Pew Internet resource on the Nav bar at the top under the Resources drop-down menu!


Technology Workshops Available!

As part of your participation in the EETT Grant, we encourage you to take advantage of the Professional Development opportunities offered through the LHRIC's Model Schools instructional technology program. Participants can sign up for face to face workshops, technology conferences or 1 hour webinars.


Login to eChalk!


Please login to eChalk and access your team pages. Your LHRIC/SWBOCES consultants will be adding pertinent information to your team pages. District team members can also contribute information, resources etc. Enjoy building your digital learning community. If you are experiencing any technical problems please contact James Murray at jmurray@lhric.org  


NYS Ed Dept News

News and Notes from Commissioner King: Teaching is the Core - Read Full Article

Across New York, district administrators, principals, teachers, and BOCES are working hard to implement Common Core standards and instruction in their classrooms and schools. Our goal is to ensure that every student graduates from high school prepared for college and career. Thanks to the hard work of educators, Common Core instruction is happening in classrooms across the state. Please take a few minutes to watch this video to see Common Core instruction in action and check out our additional resources. In New York State, Teaching is the CORE.

Statewide High School Graduation Rate Stays at 74 Percent Despite Higher Graduation Standards - Read Full Article

New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch and New York State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. today released high school graduation rates for the 2008 cohort (students who entered 9th grade in 2008). Overall statewide graduation rates remained stable at 74 percent despite increased rigor required for graduation phased-in over the past four years. The graduates of 2012 were the first cohort for which a local diploma was not available for general education students. King said today?s announcement shows the hard work of educators, parents, and students across the state proved the opponents of higher standards wrong.

21st Century Community Learning Centers Grants Awarded; Grants Will Help Support Students in High-Poverty Schools - Read Full Article

State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. today announced that 125 grants totaling approximately $78.1 million in annual funding have been awarded under the federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Program. The purpose of the grants is to create or expand community learning centers that provide academic enrichment and youth development opportunities for students who attend schools that serve a high percentage of low-income families.

RFP Released: Implementation of the Diagnostic Tool for School and District Effectiveness - Read Full Article

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) Office of Accountability is seeking proposals from vendors with demonstrated knowledge, expertise and the capacity to conduct district and school-based reviews aligned to the Diagnostic Tool for School and District Effectiveness (DTSDE) protocol. Focus Districts and Districts with Priority Schools use the feedback from the DTSDE to complete a District Comprehensive Improvement Plan and any necessary School Comprehensive Education Plans.

Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Grant RFP Announced - Read Full Article

State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. today announced the State Education Department (SED) is accepting applications for a second round of the competitive Strengthening Teacher and Leader Effectiveness (STLE) grant program. STLE grants are targeted to support school districts and charter schools utilizing, as part of their implementation of an Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) plan, a comprehensive approach to recruitment, development, support, retention and equitable distribution of effective teachers and school leaders.

New Streamlined Menu System for Data Analysis

The LHRIC Data Analysis service is pleased to announce a new easy-to-use menu system for Level 1 Data Analysis and Verification Reports. All reports are now categorized and numbered for your reference.

This new menu system applies to all users including State Reporting, Data Analysis, Data Analysis Projects, EETT and Teacher Level Reporting.

Instructions can be found in the Documentation folder under Public Folders. They can also be found on the LHRIC Web Site

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provides reliable and timely data on the mathematics and science achievement of U.S. 4th- and 8th-grade students compared to that of students in other countries. TIMSS data have been collected in 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. TIMSS 2007 results were released on December 9, 2008.

Click here for the TIMSS website

Good Books Available to Read Online:

Focus on the Wonder Years- Challenges Facing the American Middle School
by Jaana Juvonen, Vi-Nhuan Le, Tessa Kaganoff, Catherine Augustine,
Louay Constant

Middle School Teachers' Place:  Collections of Lesson Plans 
The Math Forum



District Graduation Rate Map Tool

This resource allows users to easily map out graduation rates by zooming in on any of the nation's individual school districts. Users can then access detailed information for that district or any of its high schools. Learn More>>




eSchool News

How we created an app for our district—and why you should, too - Read Full Article

When we discovered that more than 10 percent of our website traffic came directly from mobile devices, we decided it was time to go mobile.

Tips on preparing school data for the unexpected - Read Full Article

While student safety remains schools’ top priority during threats of natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, school administrators and IT leaders must also ensure that they take measures to protect valuable student and school data.

Making the case for student-controlled devices - Read Full Article

It's time to realize that we cannot, and should not, dictate the manner in which students learn. One area where the desire for control is clearly manifested is our use of technology in school.