Superintendent’s Bulletin 3/11/16

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WEF Spring Grant Proposal Deadline Extended to March 11, 2016

Have a new idea you’d like to try out in the classroom?  Is there a piece of equipment you know would enrich your students’ learning experience but it’s just not in the budget?  Consider putting together a request for funding from the Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF).  WEF is now accepting grant proposals from Wellesley Public Schools teachers, administrators and specialists for the spring cycle of grants.  The deadline to submit a proposal for this spring is March 11, 2016.   This spring all proposals and administrative signoffs will be made electronically through the WEF online grant application process.  To access the application, go to the Wellesley Education Foundation website, click ‘Grants’ and click ‘Apply Now/Login‘ from the drop down menu.

For more than 25 years, WEF has been providing grants to educators for innovative educational projects at all grade levels. In awarding grants, WEF works closely with school administrators to fund projects that result in richer and deeper learning experiences and have the potential to impact a large number of students in innovative ways. Criteria used to determine whether to fund a particular grant include (1) innovativeness, (2) potential to affect a large number of students, and (3) potential for replication by other teachers or classrooms.  Last fall, WEF funded nearly $105,000 in teacher and administrator requests.  For additional details and some examples of well-written grants, please visit the WEF website,  click ‘Grants’, click ‘For Educators’ from the drop down menu and click WEF Grants Criteria & FAQ.

For more information or answers to questions about potential grant ideas, please feel free to email the WEF Grant Chair Susan Clapham at grants@wellesleyeducationfoundation.org   

WellesleyPD
Registration is open for the following  courses through WellesleyPD:

New Dates! – “Special Education for General Educators: A 5 Part Series”

• Instructors: Astrid Mazariegos & Kristen Stacy
• Participants: K-12 Educators, Specialists, Special Educators
• Dates/Times: 04/30/16, 8:30am – 3:00pm; 05/02/16, 05/09/16 & 05/17/16, 3:30pm – 6:30pm
• To Register: Login to WellesleyPD and select “Offerings” from the menu on the left, then select “Special Education Courses” from the pull-down menu.

Share Your Expertise with Colleagues
Teach a WellesleyPD course this summer or during the 2016-2017 school year! The rate of pay is $60 per course hour for non-graduate level courses or $100 per course hour if the course is approved for graduate credit. The rate of pay is adjusted for multiple instructors.

We are especially interested in courses that align with and support the WPS Strategic Plan and District goals in the following areas:

• Social and Emotional Learning
• Differentiation
• The 4 Cs

To propose a course, please submit a completed WellesleyPD Course Proposal to Chelsea Bailow, Professional Development Coordinator, no later than Thursday, March 31^st.

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C&I Proposals Now Being Accepted for Summer 2016 and the 2016-2017 School Year

Regular Education
We are seeking C&I proposals whose focus is to develop curricula and/or innovative teaching practices resulting in products that can be shared with colleagues. Priority will be given to Proposals related to current Curriculum Review Cycles or aligned to the Strategic Plan and District goals.

Special Education
We are seeking C&I Proposals whose focus is on specialized instructional inclusive practices, e.g., co-teaching models, and/or emotional/social/behavioral support systems.

To access a fillable C&I Proposal Form, please click C&I Proposal.  Proposals can be initiated by administrators or by teacher groups who have worked with your department head.

C&I Proposals are due no later than Thursday, March 31, 2016.  For Regular Education proposals, please submit to Anne Allieri, Teaching & Learning Department.  For Special Educationproposals, please submit to Lori Cimeno, Director of Student Services.

Approval notifications will be sent prior to April Vacation.

Primary Source Summer Institutes
The district has an annual Primary Source membership through which we are allotted seats in their courses. Since the number of seats is limited, you must receive approval from the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning prior to registering.

To view the summer catalog of face-to-face and online offerings, click here. A hard copy will also be available in buildings.

If you’re interested in registering for a course, please submit the Primary Source Registration Request form. Deadline to request registration is Friday, April 15^th. Notification of your registration status will be sent after April vacation.

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Other Opportunities

TEC Online, Self-Paced Courses Free to WPS Educators
WPS has partnered with The Education Cooperative (TEC) to offer two online, self-paced courses free of charge to Wellesley educators. Please note that the ELL course is NOT an endorsement course.

• Engaging All Students with Differentiated Instruction    (Click here for more details.)

• Strategies to Enhance Instruction for English Language Learners in the Classroom    (Click here for more details.)

  To Register: Go to tec.registration.etlo.org and complete the registration page. You’ll receive an email with a URL for the course you’ve selected, as well as instructions on enrolling in the course.

PDPs: Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a certificate of completion. Submit the certificate to Chelsea Bailow, Professional Development Coordinator, in order for the course to appear in your WellesleyPD records.​​
BU Leadership Program
Boston University launched its Institute for Creative Educational Leadership in the summer of 2015.  An extraordinary and diverse cohort of aspiring education leaders are now engaged in a unique 16-credit Certificate of Educational Leadership program that can, with additional coursework, lead to Ed.M. and CAGS degrees in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.  The initial reviews by the students have been extremely positive.  For additional information on this program, please click here.

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Apply Now to Enroll Children

of Non-Resident WTA Members in Wellesley Schools.  

Children of teachers or nurses residing outside Wellesley shall be entitled to attend Wellesley Public Schools without charge for tuition on a space available basis (Article 12, WTA Unit A Contract).  If you are interested in this benefit for the 2016-17 school year, please click here to access the form.  Once complete, please return it to District Registrar Nancy Costigliola in Central Office or email it back to her at registrar@wellesleyps.org.  The Application Deadline is May 1, 2016.

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Graduate Course Reimbursement

Course reimbursement funding of $30,000 is available to distribute in FY17 among qualified teachers.  This funding is for graduate course work done as part of a master’s degree program to fulfill a teacher’s obligations for the Massachusetts Educators Professional License and for course work required to achieve the next stage of licensure culminating in a professional license.  To apply for this course reimbursement, please send the following information to Valerie Spruill, Administrative Assistant to the HR Director,spruillv@wellesleyps.org:   your name, evidence of your enrollment in an applicable master/doctoral degree program, name and description of the course, evidence of course cost (a billing statement), proof of payment (i.e. credit card statement, canceled check or receipt of payment), and transcript.  The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2016.  You will be notified of the amount awarded to you some time prior to the first paycheck in September 2016.  Please note:  all information must be received by June 1, 2016 or you will be disqualified for reimbursement.  All courses must have occurred in the summer of 2015, fall of 2015 and spring of 2016 and have been completed by June 1, 2016.   Any courses taken prior to the summer of 2015 will not be considered reimbursement.

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Thinking About Retirement?

For WTA members interested in retiring in 2016: Contact a representative from MTRS at 617-679-6877.

For further information to determine eligibility for retirement benefits visit: http://www.mass.gov/mtrs; to calculate your retirement benefits, go to  http://www.mass.gov/mtrs/active-and-inactive-members/retiring-from-the-mtrs/regular-superannuation/estimate-your-retirement-benefits.html and tohttp://www.mass.gov/mtrs/forms-and-general-resources/downloadable-forms/

If you plan to retire this year, please send a signed letter (four months prior to retirement) indicating your intention to Director of Human Resources Gayle McCracken, Wellesley Public Schools, 40 Kingsbury Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481.

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​​​​WPS Internal Job Postings on District Website