MRVED Business
Upcoming Meetings
Upcoming MeetingsApril 18th - MRVED Common Inservice Day
April 24th - Superintendents' Advisory Council
April 24th - MRVED Board Meeting
April 18th Common Inservice Day
The spring MRVED Common Inservice Day will be held on April 18, 2019, at the Dawson-Boyd Schools. You will be welcomed with coffee, juice, and muffins to begin your day, compliments of your administration. For those individuals who are participating, you should have received an email with detailed information regarding the day. Once you arrive, please come to the registration table near the commons area to pick up your registration packet. This packet includes room numbers, clock, hours, and lunch ticket, if applicable. Please enter through Door #4.
We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!
(Please Note: Districts not participating in the inservice due to a school make-up day: Minneota/Ivanhoe, Ortonville, YME)
MRVED - Did You Know - Strategic Plan
The MRVED went through the strategic planning process a couple years ago. Below you will find the mission and goals of the MRVED.MISSION:
The mission of the Minnesota River Valley Education District is to effectively and efficiently assist member districts in meeting the goals they have set for themselves, their students, and their staff.
Goal One: Educational Success
Implement a level of services that will lead to the educational success of MRVED’s various stakeholders.
Belief:
We are committed to the development and implementation of high quality programs that enhance the educational success of the students and staff members of the MRVED school districts.
Strategies:
1. Provide a broad spectrum of professional development activities that enable all staff members to grow in their professional craft.
2. Work with member districts in the development of mentorship programs to develop the professional and leadership capacity of staff members within the MRVED school districts.
3. Provide ongoing technology training to meet the varied needs of the member districts to keep staff and students engaged in learning.
4. Through partnerships, provide high quality broadband connectivity to the MRVED districts.
Goal Two: Collaboration
Provide leadership for our member districts to connect the educational needs of each diverse school by focusing on staff and student success.
Belief:
We believe that by working collectively as a MRVED district, we can efficiently increase opportunities and cultivate a culture of professional relationships.
Strategies:
1. Provide opportunities for each district to collaborate and share resources to meet the needs of our students and staff to promote their success.
2. Increase resources to benefit member districts.
3. Continuously gather information from stakeholders to provide direction in identifying a common vision and identifying unmet needs.
4. Recognize and facilitate collaboration between districts.
Goal Three: Engagement
Engage all member districts to increase awareness, connectedness, and enhance communication in an effort to foster a cohesive partnership for educators.
Belief:
We believe investment by member districts is essential to MRVED’s success.
Strategies:
1. Communicate in an effective and consistent manner with and amongst internal and external stakeholders.
2. Utilize multiple approaches to encourage connectedness across districts and facilitate collaboration.
3. Establish clear leadership roles and responsibilities to enhance participation and expectation of member districts.
4. Inform and advocate use of the multiple MRVED resources/services.
If you are like me, you beg, borrow, and steal from the internet. Sometime you come across files that are in PDF format and you want to do something else with them. There are two great online tools to help you work with your PDF. Check them out today!
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Strategies:
1. Communicate in an effective and consistent manner with and amongst internal and external stakeholders.
2. Utilize multiple approaches to encourage connectedness across districts and facilitate collaboration.
3. Establish clear leadership roles and responsibilities to enhance participation and expectation of member districts.
4. Inform and advocate use of the multiple MRVED resources/services.
Student Mental Health
MREA did a nice write-up of the joint house hearing on student mental health and the shortage of mental health workers in our schools. The statistics are staggering in this area and it is well worth the read to become educated about this huge issue facing our schools.- 50 percent of student mental issues begin before age 14.
- 20 percent of students age 14-18 will live with a mental health issue.
- 1 in 5 students had a symptom of depression in the last two weeks.
- Suicide is now the second leading cause of death in people aged 10-34.
Check out the article and the corresponding files and slides that go with it.
Tech Tip of the Week - PDF Tools
PDF Candy
Clever PDF
Ditch That Textbook - Section 4 Ditch That Curriculum
Chapters 34 to the end of the book are interesting chapters to read. They really give the reader the map to ditch your textbook. Miller uses the analogy of being a pilot and taking your kids on a journey.
Chapter 34 is about establishing your philosophy. Miller says, "The motivation to ditch that textbook isn't only - or even mostly - driven by a desire to go paperless...it's about purpose. What do you want to do with the powerful platform you've been given? (Miller, 198)" Having a clear understanding of who you are and what you want your students to be is the first step to ditching that textbook. Miller says to use the following questions to help determine your purpose:
Chapter 34 is about establishing your philosophy. Miller says, "The motivation to ditch that textbook isn't only - or even mostly - driven by a desire to go paperless...it's about purpose. What do you want to do with the powerful platform you've been given? (Miller, 198)" Having a clear understanding of who you are and what you want your students to be is the first step to ditching that textbook. Miller says to use the following questions to help determine your purpose:
- What kind of teacher are you?
- What do you want to be known for?
- What do you want your students to be known for?
- What do you want your students to be able to do at the end of the year?
- What skills do they need to develop for success?
- What discussion do they need to have to cultivate new ideas?
The next chapter Miller writes about establishing your mission statement. He talks about creating a one word mission statement that guides everything you do in your room. Miller says, "What is your mission? What one word encapsulates what you want to accomplish this year? (Miller, 203)" For example, his word was "create" one year. He wanted to create more and he wanted his students to create more. Everything he did was centered around this one word. Think about, for next year, what one word do you want for your mission statement?
He ends the book by talking about planning and learning from failures. Utilize some form of curriculum map to guide your process of ditching your textbook. Backwards plan with the end in mind. When your plan blows up in your face, learn from it, grow from it. It can be really easy to drop what you are doing and go back to your textbook. Don't! Fight through it and fail forward. Failure is bound to happen, expect it and react accordingly. Miller says your students will forgive and forget.
