MASC 2017 Summer Institute

Presentations from the 2017 Summer Institute are now available - download them here (must be logged in).

Topics Include:

• New updates on ESSA
• School budgets (including the impact on your budget of key federal changes)
• Goal setting and monitoring
• Issues surrounding opioids and marijuana legalization
• Equity in education (and its role in student achievement)
• The role of the chair (yes, Virginia, it’s true—school committee meetings don’t have to last till midnight!)

Conference Details

Date: Friday, July 28 (4pm - 6pm) - Saturday, July 29 (8:15am - 12:30pm)
Location: Courtyard Marriott, Marlborough (directions)
Cost: 1-day - $50; Both Days - $75

Sign Up

Registration includes all materials, Friday and Saturday coffee/snack breaks and Saturday continental breakfast.

Sessions at a Glance

Friday Sessions (4:00pm - 6:00pm):

Working Toward Continuous Improvement: Goal Setting and Monitoring
School committees have a responsibility, along with the superintendent, to articulate a vision and set goals for the school district. Goals can provide both a frame and a structure for the work of the school committee. By planning its work around defined goals, the committee can truly have a positive impact on student achievement. In this session, we’ll discuss a process for setting goals and monitoring progress toward accomplishing the goals. We’ll also talk about the importance of defining and measuring goal outcomes that lead to true progress for the benefit of students in the district.

ESSA and the State Accountability System: Yes, You Can Make Sense of Them
The latest revisions to the key federal labor laws for education are complex, and made more so by the rescission of one set of regulations in favor of another set still being planned. What is a district to do? This session will help frame the discussion about what accountability systems are required, how they are applied to districts, and what we might do to make them work better. A key element of the session will be to examine what Massachusetts does because it’s the right thing for our schools and students versus what we do because Washington demands that we do so. This session will also look at:

• How the level that districts or individual schools are assigned to has been determined?
• What is the authority of the state over local districts that have been labeled as underperforming?
• How vulnerable to labeling are districts that are currently high-performing?

Saturday Sessions (8:15am - 10:15am):

School Finance and Budgets 201: Beyond the Basics
You’ve been through a budget and have some idea of where the money comes from and where the money goes. But what do you do when it isn’t budget season? What parts of financial management for the district is your job? How does financial management interact with the other pieces of school committee responsibility? What best practices of budgeting should your district adopt? Bring your questions to MASC Finance and Budget 201!

Working for Equity in Education: Authentic Family Engagement
Learn key strategies to work with families as equal partners in the education of diverse students and gain an understanding of how the school committee’s role is crucial to ensuring educational equity through policy and strategic school-family partnerships.

Saturday Sessions (10:30am - 12:30pm):

Opioids and Legalization of Marijuana: “Just Say No” Isn’t Enough
The opioid crisis persists in our communities. The legalization of recreational marijuana potentially makes the drug more accessible to students. Medical marijuana could legitimately be prescribed for students or staff. These factors all increase the challenge and complexity of keeping students safe and protecting their social-emotional welfare. In this session, policy makers and practitioners will discuss how schools can address these issues through policies and with programs to educate and protect students, as well as ensuring that students in need of intervention are identified and helped.

Servant of the Assembly: The Role of the Chair
The Chair of a school committee does much more than preside over meetings. The position takes time, attention to detail, leadership skills, interpersonal skills, communications skills and knowledge of the legal obligations of the board. An effective chair can successfully lead the committee to focus on student achievement and accomplish the mission, vision and goals of the district. In this session we’ll discuss the administrative aspects of the job, such as planning the agenda and running the meeting. We’ll also discuss the relationship side of the job, such as facilitating communication, working with the superintendent and helping your committee work as a team.