Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)

Some of you reading this blog may have seen the story on CBS 3 Springfield regarding the PARCC pilot in Belchertown (click here to read the story and see the video). PARCC stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a consortium of several states working to establish an assessment system designed to help us determine how well our students are prepared for the twenty-first century challenges in college and the workplace. You can read more about PARCC and look at some sample test items at: http://www.parcconline.org/.

Purpose of the PARCC

If all goes as expected at the October State Board of Education meeting, PARCC will be chosen to eventually replace our current state assessment system, the MCAS. In order to prepare for its implementation, pilot assessments will be given to selected students in many districts across Massachusetts this spring. These assessments will take place in two windows of time: mid-March to mid-April, and early-May to early-June. There will be two types of assessments. The first type, given during the earlier window, is a performance-based assessment (PBA). These assessments are designed to assess students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The second type, given during the later window, are end-of-the-year assessments (EOY). These are designed to assess students' content knowledge and skills after a year of instruction.

PARCC Pilot

This year's PARCC assessment will be administered to a small number of students, about 15% of the total population state-wide. This will give us information about the nature of the assessments, what it will take to administer them, and what issues might need to be ironed out in the process. Because this is a pilot, there will only be limited results reported and none of these results will be used to rate schools or educators. We recently received information from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) indicating which grades will be tested, how many classrooms will be randomly selected, and how many sessions each. The grades and assessments that will be given in Belchertown are as follows:

School Name	Grade/Course	Subject Area	Number of Classes	Mode of Admin.	Component	Number of Sessions1
Chestnut Hill Community School	4	Mathematics	2	Paper	EOY	2
Swift River Elementary	3	ELA	2	Paper	EOY	2
Jabish Middle School	7	ELA	2	Online	PBA	3
Jabish Middle School	8	ELA	2	Online	PBA & EOY	5
Belchertown High	Algebra I	Mathematics	2	Online	PBA	2

Why the upcoming switch?

The PARCC is designed to measure new national standards in English Language Arts and Math, known as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Massachusetts is one of 45 states to have aligned its state curriculum frameworks to the CCSS. Teachers in Belchertown worked together to write curriculum in these two areas that align with the new standards. There's a lot to this topic, so check this blog next week with more on the CCSS.

As more information about PARCC and the pilot becomes available, we will be sure to update you via this blog. Be on the lookout in the next couple of weeks via this blog and our district web site, www.belchertownps.org, for information about an opportunity to discuss both the PARCC and the CCSS during our first quarter Coffee and Conversation with the Superintendent gatherings in each of our schools.

As always, if you have any questions about this blog post, please feel free to call me at 413.323.0423 or email me at superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

Pinwheels for Peace on Display!

Every student in the district made a pinwheel as a kick-off to this year's PeaceBuilders program and as a participant in the Pinwheels for Peace project (see my September 7th post for details). On Friday, September 20th, a crew of students and adults from Swift River Elementary School, Chestnut Hill Community School, Jabish Brook Middle School, and Belchertown High School gathered in front of the tennis courts on State Street to place the 2,500 pinwheels in the ground as an art installation in celebration of World Peace Day.

Students putting up the pinwheels.

Ms. Kenneally, the art teacher at SRE, laid out a peace symbol pattern that the children followed, then the BHS students took her lead and made a second one! The rest were lined up from the driveway leading from CHCS down to the Belchertown Day School. It was an impressive sight!

Pinwheels lined up on State Street.

As we worked together, traffic slowed, some honked their horns, others gave a wave! It was great to see the excitement in the faces of the passersby at our massive gathering of pinwheels. The pinwheels were out for people to see as they made their way to the Belchertown Fair over the weekend. We hope you got a chance to see them!

An up-close view of some of the creations!

The installation crew poses for a picture after their work was done.

I would like to thank Mr. Brian Cameron, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, for coordinating the project and all those adults who helped students create pinwheels and install them. Your efforts are much appreciated! As always, if you have any questions or comments about this post, feel free to contact me by phone: 413.323.0423 or email: superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

Friend of Education Award and Coffee and Conversation with the Superintendent

Country Bank for Savings receives Belchertown Public Schools' Friend of Education Award

The Belchertown School Committee recognized Country Bank for Savings at their September 10, 2013 meeting with the 2013-2014 Friend of Education Award. Paul Scully, President and CEO, and Shelley Regin, First Vice President and Director of Marketing & Public Relations were on hand to receive the award. The award was given in recognition of their 10+ years of funding for the Jabish Brook After School Program. During this period of time, they donated over $175,000 to provide enrichment and academic support activities, keeping students engaged in positive ways beyond the end of the school day.

In addition to their support of the after-school program at JBMS, they provide financial literacy education to our elementary students through their banking program. Mr. Scully and Country Bank have also been major corporate sponsors of the Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award program, along with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Many teachers in the Belchertown Public Schools have been recognized through this program over the years.

This award presentation allowed the School Committee to formally recognize Country Bank's support for education in Belchertown and beyond and for that, we are truly grateful.

Paul Scully, center, and Shelley Regin, left, receive the BPS Friend of Education Award.

Paul Scully shares smiles with JBMS after-school program coordinators, Sarah Becker (L) and Sheila Mulvaney (R).

Coffee and Conversation with the Superintendent

Parents and guardians of all our students are cordially invited to share in a "Coffee and Conversation with the Superintendent" gathering once per quarter at each of our schools. The principals of each school, along with other district-level administrators will be joining in for what we hope will be an exchange of ideas regarding the many activities in our district. In order to best prepare for these sessions, we have put together a quick survey. It will only take a few moments to complete the survey. Please be sure to complete the survey by September 23rd. Click here to go to the survey site.

If you have any questions or comments about this blog post, please feel free to call me at 413.323.0423 or send an email to superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

Rembering 9/11

I'm sure that most of us can remember vividly where we were and what we were doing twelve years ago on this day, as a tragedy of unspeakable magnitude fell upon our nation at the hands of those who would do us harm. Belchertown High School marked this event this morning. Principal Christine Vigneux's remarks were eloquently spoken and so, with her permission, I share them here:

Good morning. Today we at BHS remember, as we have every year, the events of September 11, 2001 as they unfolded in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. We remember with grief and sadness the lives lost and changed forever. We remember with pride, gratitude, and admiration those who acted so selflessly on behalf of others, in many cases, perfect strangers. We remember the difficult days immediately thereafter made a bit easier by the outpouring of patriotism and generosity that swept across our country. And, sadly, we also remember that 9/11/2001 was neither the first tragic day for our republic, nor the last. Whether it is the lives lost at the attacks on Pearl Harbor, or the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, or the bombings at this past April's Boston Marathon, there will always be those who seek to undo the American way of life. And sometimes we may wonder what we can do in the face of such evil. Today, I suggest we consider this: let us carry on in doing what we do...teaching, learning, thinking, living, and loving...continuing to do all the everyday things that so many heroes of 9/11 did: got up, went to work, lived their lives. After all, this day is about them...not us. As President Lincoln said at Gettysburg: "We cannot dedicate...we cannot consecrate...we cannot hallow this ground. The brave [men], living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced."

So let us remember the heroes of 9/11 by pausing to reflect and then carrying on the daily routines of life to which they were so committed. That indeed may be the highest tribute any of us can pay to them. With that, I ask that we now all observe a moment of silence to remember all those who lost their lives or loved ones 12 years ago today. Thank you for your attention this morning.

Thank you, Mrs. Vigneux, for taking the time to observe this moment and for your inspiration that we all attend to the hope of the future - our children - in honor of those who lost so much that day. As I look into their faces when I am in our schools, I am always full of hope for the promise of the future that is in their hands and ours, who work to keep that hope alive.

If you meet an emergency responder or military service person/veteran today - please be sure to thank him or her for the work they do every day to ensure our town, state, and nation remain safe and free from those who would choose to bind us in the tyranny of fear. This is a day of sadness for them as they, too, remember the lives of colleagues lost on this day twelve years ago.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this blog, feel free to call me at 413.323.0423 or email me: superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

Pinwheels for Peace Project

As we launch into year 3 of our PeaceBuilders program, September's kick-off activity in all of our schools is to participate in the "Pinwheels for Peace Project." Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two Art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, who teach at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida, as a way for their students to express their feelings about what's going on in the world and in their lives. The project was quickly embraced by their students and the entire school community and by millions of art teachers, teachers, parents, children and adults who desire peace in our world. The project is timed to coincide with World Peace Day, which is September 21st of each year, with the theme "Imagine Whirled Peace."

In our schools, all students will create pinwheels and encouraged to decorate them with messages related to the PeaceBuilders guiding principles: to praise people, to give up put-downs, to seek wise people, to notice and speak up about hurts I have caused, to right wrongs, and to help others. These messages are part of the broader theme of PeaceBuilders to build peace at home, at school, and in the community.

Since World Peace Day 2013 coincides with the Belchertown Fair, the pinwheels will be collected and installed along State Street and near the fair as a welcoming message to visitors!

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this blog post, please feel free to call me at 413.323.0423 or email me at superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools