MRVED Update - January 11, 2023

MRVED Business

MRVED Meetings

Monday, January 16th - MELT @ LqPV

Tuesday, January 17th - Community Education Directors

Wednesday, January 25th - Superintendents' Council

Thursday, February 2nd - Teachers' Advisory Council

Friday, February 3rd - Principals' Advisory Council

Friday, February 10th - Title III Teachers

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all of you from all of us at the MRVED. We hope that 2023 will be a great year for you and your students. We know it's been a slow start for many of you with snow days. Our hope is that Mother Nature has purged the snow from her system and we will have an uninterrupted rest of the school year.

MELT Information

The MELT conference is once again knocking on our doorstep!  

The MELT (MRVED Educators Learning Together) is only days away. MELT is held at Lac qui Parle Valley High School. The conference has over 600 individuals registered with around 100 sessions throughout the day!

Please look over these important points regarding the conference:

• First and Foremost, the WEATHER POLICY: If the weather is inclement, any cancellation or delay relating to the MELT will be posted by 6:00 am on the WCCO website under ‘School Closings’. We will be listed under MRVED (just the initials). This will also be posted on WCCO’s TV channel (CBS). It will also be listed on our MRVED website at http://www.mrved.com under “Latest News”.

• Enter through Door #5 (follow the walkway to the left of the eagle statue). The door has the number “5” on it.

• Be sure to stop by the registration table in the commons area to pick up your registration packet (personalized agenda with session selections, room numbers, clock hours, and lunch ticket, if applicable). We have over 600 people picking up packets, so if you would say your name when it is your turn or simply find your own registration, it will go that much faster.

• Breakfast will be available when you arrive, compliments of your administration. Breakfast will be available until 8:40 a.m.

• The first session will start promptly at 8:40 a.m.

• Please DO NOT switch sessions as the sessions become overcrowded and there will not be enough seating for everyone.

• Coats - The bleachers will be down in the gym for you to leave your coat. Please pick up your coat after lunch and bring it with you to your last session as the janitorial staff will begin cleaning up.

• Dress in layers. The commons area (morning refreshments and lunch) could be cool because the main doors are there and people are always coming and going. In addition, some of the rooms could be warm or cool depending on the number of people in the session.

• Coffee and hot water for tea/hot chocolate (you must bring your own tea bags and/or hot chocolate packets) will be available all morning in the commons area.

• Lunch - There will be 2 lines so that lunch can be served in a timely fashion. Both lines will form around the outer edges of the commons area, NOT down the middle. You MUST have your lunch ticket to go through the line. If you have misplaced it, see Katie Raymo at the registration table.

• If you are not eating the meal provided by LqPV, we suggest you bring a bag lunch. Per Minnesota Department of Health regulations, bag lunches CAN NOT be stored in the school’s cooler/refrigerator. Food CAN NOT be heated up in the school’s kitchen either. You may either carry your lunch with you or leave it in the gym with your jacket. The school is out in the country and nearby towns are not close enough to allow you to drive there, eat a relaxing lunch, and return in time for the afternoon session which begins promptly at 1:00 p.m.

• Please be aware that there is poor cell phone reception inside of LqPV school.

• An electronic evaluation will be sent out on Tuesday, January 17th. Please complete it as soon as possible. We listen to your suggestions and feedback.

• If you are attending a networking session during the day, remember there is no “expert” presenting at these sessions. This is a time for you to bring items (websites, lessons, apps, projects, etc.) to share with others. The facilitators in these sessions are simply to provide guidance and order to the session.

• There will be rooms available for nursing moms. Check with Pam Weber, in the high school principal’s office, for availability.

• Here are the session times in case you are not arriving right away in the morning.

            o Session 1: 8:40-9:40 a.m.

            o Session 2: 9:55-10:55 a.m.

            o Session 3: 11:10-12:10 p.m.

            o Session 4: 1:00-2:00 p.m.

• There will be students located throughout the building to assist you in getting around the building.

• The students will be selling pop and candy in the hallways for your convenience.

• There will be press at the conference taking photographs or video. Presenters may be taking photographs or videos as well.

• We ask for your patience and understanding in the case that a presenter(s) becomes ill at the last minute.

We are looking forward to a great MELT!

#WeAreMRVED

MRVED Meeting Updates - Weather Woes

The Teachers Advisory Council (TAC) and Principal Advisory Council were set to meet in December. However, due to school being cancelled in all the MRVED districts on those days, these meeting were not held. The TAC meeting was rescheduled to January 11th. The group will be discussing and devising a plan for the April MRVED common in-service day. The principal meeting was not rescheduled. The Superintendents met briefly during their regularly scheduled monthly meeting, but the meeting was cut short due to many schools releasing early due to snow and wind. We are crossing our fingers that all our snow days are behind us and it's sunny and 75 very soon!

MN ELA and Math Standards Update

ELA

Rulemaking Public Comment Period for Proposed K–12 Academic Standards in ELA

The public comment period for ELA’s Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR) in the statutory rulemaking process started on Wednesday, Dec. 28, and will run for 30 days, closing on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 4:30 p.m. To provide feedback on the standards as a part of the statutory rulemaking process during this period of Dual Notice, review the Request for Comments document posted on the MDE rulemaking webpage for the proposed Minnesota K–12 Academic Standards in English Language Arts. Comments must be submitted to the Office of Administrative Hearings’ e-comments system.

Next Steps in the Statutory Rulemaking Process

The next step of the statutory rulemaking process is that MDE will review the public comments submitted to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) during the 30-day statutory public comment period. If there are 25 requests for a hearing to discuss the K–12 Academic Standards in ELA, a public hearing will be held Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Math

Rulemaking Public Comment Period for Proposed K–12 Academic Standards in Mathematics

The initial public comment period in the statutory rulemaking process began on Wednesday, Dec. 28, and will run for 60 days, closing on Monday, Feb. 27, at 4:30 p.m. To provide feedback on the standards as a part of the statutory rulemaking process review the Request for Comments document posted on the MDE rulemaking webpage for the proposed K–12 Academic Standards in Mathematics. Comments must be submitted to the Office of Administrative Hearings’ e-comments system.

Additional Public Comment Period for Mathematics Benchmarks

The public comment period on the supporting benchmarks will last 30 days and will close on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 4:30 p.m. To provide feedback on the benchmarks as a part of MDE’s public comment process, complete this Public Comment Survey or email mde.academic-standards@state.mn.us. Comments sent via postal mail will also be accepted.

Next Steps in the Statutory Rulemaking Process

It is still early in the statutory rulemaking phase of the standards review and revision process. There are multiple opportunities throughout this phase for the public to make comments and provide feedback on the proposed standards language and for changes to be considered and made to the initial proposed standards draft. Learn more about the K–12 Academic Standards Development Process.

The next step of the statutory rulemaking process is that MDE will review the public comments submitted to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) during the 60-day statutory public comment period. Next, MDE will draft the Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR), which has traditionally taken 14-17 months. The full statutory rulemaking process can take up to 24 months.

The statutory rulemaking process for the Minnesota K–12 Academic Standards in Mathematics is not complete until the Notice of Adoption is published in the State Register. Each content areas includes an implementation date in the adopted rule language. If adopted, the proposed K–12 Academic Standards in Mathematics will be implemented in the 2027-28 school year.

Resource of the Month

Minnesota Questions Tool

The Minnesota Questions Tool (MQT) provides access to the released questions from past MCAs (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments) in math and reading across all grade levels. The MQT includes released items for Science MCA IV in grades 5, 8, and HS.

Users can search questions by standard, benchmark, and grade; read rationales for correct/incorrect answers; review student performance data; and download questions for use in planning classroom assessments and instruction.

• The questions in the MQT are provided as examples of questions that probe students’ knowledge and skills of a specific content area in different ways
• a way to see how our students have performed on the question

In order to maintain test security and ensure validity of results, a certain number of questions must be kept secure and are not released for public use. The released questions in this tool do not represent a complete assessment that meets the blueprint outlined in the test specifications, including the range of cognitive skills assessed and difficulty level. These questions are not intended to be used as practice tests for future MCA assessments. Rather, they are intended to support educators in understanding how the academic standards are assessed on the MCA, to help identify student misconceptions, and to provide examples of questions that assess student understanding at different DOK (Depth of Knowledge) levels

Interesting Read

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2022

I found this article posted on Edutopia and compiled by Youki Terada and Stephen Merrill interesting because it covers a variety of different topics of significance to the world of education. There are studies on effective highlighting to understanding and using brain breaks in the classroom. I highly suggest glancing at the article and then digging deeper into one of the topics that interests you.

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2022 by Youki Terada and Stephen Merrill

EL Resource

Language Objectives for English Learners

Teachers and administrators are familiar with content objectives, that is the specific content that will be taught in the lesson. There are also Language Objectives that can be written for the purpose of supporting Multilingual Learners (MLs, English Learners). The purpose of Language Objectives is to articulate for learners the academic language and skills they will need to fully participate and meet the grade-level content standards (Echevarria, Short, & Vogt, 2008).

Writing Language Objectives

• Language Objectives involve one of the four domains of language, speaking, listening, reading, or writing
• Considerations when writing Language Objectives
• Choose key vocabulary, concept words, and other academic words
• Think about language functions (how will students be using the language?) and language skills
• What task or assignment will the students be completing after the lesson? What language will they need to be successful?

Objective Examples

(https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/language-objectives-key-effective-content-area-instruction-english-learners)