The Connecticut State Department of Education is seeking input and examples of innovative practice from educators to support the ongoing review and forthcoming and revisions to the Guidelines for Educator Evaluation 2017(Guidelines).

The RESC Alliance and district partners will be hosting and facilitating six virtual forums to solicit input on updates to the current Guidelines. Participants in the forum will engage in conversation and have the opportunity, through an on-line survey platform, to share innovative practices and strategies for teacher and administrator evaluation. The data from the forums and on-line survey will be used to help inform the Educator Evaluation and Support 2022 (EES 2022) Council’s forthcoming updates to the Guidelines.

Although each session has a targeted audience, all educators are welcome to attend any of the forums.

Click on the zoom link on the attached flyer to attend

Antioch University
Graduate School of Leadership and Change
Rachel M. Roberts, PhD Candidate

The purpose of this study is to understand experience of women applicants for the public school superintendency, particularly women who have applied for the position of superintendent but did not get the job.

Participation will include a brief survey (about 15 minutes to complete) and a 1:1 interview via Zoom (lasting roughly one hour). This study is part of dissertation research on women and leadership as part of the PhD program at Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change.

Benefits of participation include the opportunity to share your experiences regarding women and leadership and the school superintendency, and what the interview and selection process may have been like for you!

Requirements for participation includes the following:

• Participants must identify as women
• Participants must have applied for and interviewed in the final round for the position of school superintendent in a public school district in the United States
• Participants must have not been offered the position after the interview

Current superintendents are encouraged to participate if they have had the experience of applying for, interviewing, and not being offered the position in the past.

To participate in this study or if you have questions , please email Rachel M. Roberts at: rroberts6@antioch.edu.

The Anxiety and Mood Disorders have two treatment studies in progress. Both provide compensation for participation.
 
Attention training study: testing the effects of a brief computer-based training that targets attentional processes to reduce social anxiety in children, 10-14 years old. Attention training is a promising treatment for anxiety disorders because the hope is to train the child’s brain to divert from threatening stimuli. Participants will complete the computer program twice a week for four weeks. Earn up to $600 in Amazon gift cards.
 
SPACE/CBT study: comparing two effective treatments - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) - for children, 6-12 years old. Families enrolled in this research are randomized to receive SPACE or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for 12 weekly sessions. Check out Eli Lebowitz's SPACE YouTube channel to learn more about SPACE. Earn up to $250 in Amazon gift cards. We have two treatment studies in progress. Both provide compensation for participation.  
 
Email anxiety.csc@yale.edu or call (203) 737- 4644 to learn more about the studies.

The nomination process for the 2022 Alumni Awards is now open through Friday, Oct. 29, 2021.

The Neag School of Education Alumni Board’ nomination process for Alumni Awards opens each fall. Criteria and required nomination materials are noted in the link below.

The most prestigious of these awards is the Distinguished Alumni Award. Candidates for this award are identified by the dean and faculty of the Neag School of Education. This award is given annually to a graduate who has made a significant impact on education, has a national reputation for her/his work, has been an inspiration to other professionals, and has shown continued involvement with the Neag School of Education.

MORE INFORMATION

This fall, thousands of fifth graders across our state will vote in a real election for the 2022 Kid Governor. Will your school or district be participating?

Connecticut's Kid Governor® empowers 5th graders to change the world. It is an immersive, in-school civics program that teaches students about state government, voting, and civic participation through a real-life election for our state's Kid Governor. Registered classes can vote in the Statewide Election, nominate a candidate from their school, or both! Free and easy-to-use electronic lesson plans, worksheets, answer keys, bitmoji classrooms, videos from elected officials, ballots, and more are available to guide educators and students through the program.

The elected student serves a one-year term of leadership alongside a Cabinet of other 5th graders, inspiring students to make a difference in their communities.

See the program in action and register at CT.KidGovernor.org or contact Brian Cofrancesco, Head of Kid Governor®, at Brian.Cofrancesco@kidgovernor.org or 860-522-6766 ext.28.

Learn More/Registration

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and its Connecticut State Chapter, Connecticut Education Technology Leaders Association (CTETL), are pleased to collaborate with the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents to support the work of current and aspiring superintendents and district leadership teams in leading all aspects of digital learning transformations.

The EmpowerED Superintendent edWebinar Series:
Social-Emotional Learning: Leveraging Technology to Care for All
The third episode of Season 4 of the EmpowerED Superintendent Webinar series airs on Monday, November 8, 2021, at 5:00 pm Eastern Time and is titled, “Social-Emotional Learning: Leveraging Technology to Care for All”. The CoSN 2021 Driving K-12 Innovation Report identified Social Emotional Learning as one of the three accelerators or mega-trends in K-12 education today. The challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic heightened the need to address the social and emotional aspects of learning, not only for students and their families, but also for teachers, school leaders and administrators.

In this edWebinar, three innovative, compassionate superintendents share how they address the social and emotional needs of the students, staff, and families in their school districts. The following recommendations from the CoSN 2021 Driving K-12 Innovation Report will be highlighted along with examples for leading the implementation of each recommendation:
1) Provide SEL and well-being support for educators and students.
2) Integrate SEL into curriculum.
3) Build educator and community buy-in.

Additionally the superintendents will each review the strategies and practices they are leading in their districts to leverage technology tools to address the challenges of social-emotional learning.

You are invited to join in the conversation with Dr. Ann Levett, Superintendent, Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, GA, Dr. David Miyashiro, Superintendent, Cajon Valley Union School District, CA; and Mr. Glenn Robbins, Superintendent, Brigantine Public Schools, NJ. Free registration for the November 8, 2021, webinar is now available at https://home.edweb.net/supers/

The CoSN 2021 Driving K-12 Innovation Report which will be referenced during the edWebinar SEL conversation can be accessed at https://www.cosn.org/edtech-topics/driving-k-12-innovation/hurdles-accelerators/

Cybersecurity: School Leadership Strategies for Preventing and Responding to Cyberattacks
The October 11, 2021, EmpowerED Superintendent Webinar was titled Cybersecurity: School Leadership Strategies for Preventing and Responding to Cyberattacks. In this edWebinar, Superintendents Matt Miller, Lakota Local Schools, OH, Dr. Michelle Reid, Northshore School District, WA and Dr. Hank Thiele, Community High School District 99, IL, shared their knowledge and experiences in leading cybersecurity awareness in their school systems. Strategies for preventing cyberattacks and recommendations for responding effectively when they do occur were also discussed.

Free access to webinar recording: If you missed the Monday, October 11, EmpowerED Superintendent Webinar, co-hosted by CoSN, AASA and edWeb.net, and sponsored by ClassLink, you can still access the free webinar recording at https://home.edweb.net/supers/. You will also be able to access free recordings and podcasts of multiple previously broadcast webinars in the EmpowerED Superintendent series at https://home.edweb.net/supers/.

CoSN Membership
If your school or district would like more information about joining CoSN or getting more involved with CoSN, please contact Brian Calvary, CAE, CoSN Director of Membership and Chapters, at bcalvary@cosn.org.

The Governor M. Jodi Rell Center of the University of Hartford promotes integrity in government and public service as well as responsible participation in public life. Civil discourse is critical to the strength and robustness of our democratic systems. We believe integrity is a lifelong pursuit. What better way to recognize, model and foster these characteristics than this award! Through this award, we seek to highlight the ways that teachers, schools, and school groups can teach/ coach others to positively spread  civility, respect and collaboration.

Can you think of a group- perhaps an entire school, a classroom, a grade, or a student club—that has promoted integrity, civility, respect, or collaborative discourse through a program, project, or initiative?

Perhaps their initiative has encouraged dialogue, action, education, or engagement on demonstrating integrity in action, public discourse and civility? We want to learn more about it! The Governor M. Jodi Rell Center for Public Service at the University of Hartford Civility Award will recognize a group for their work to raise the bar for civil discourse in American society.

We anticipate making awards at both the K-12 level and for projects at institutions of higher education.

Share your stories with us through this nomination form. Self-nominations are welcome.    

Nominations will be accepted through December 1st of 2021, for initiatives taking place between January 2021-November 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has created extreme disruption and extraordinary circumstances for educators, students, and families. Still, we have seen amazing examples of strength, dedication, and passion in the K– 12 space—teachers and students bringing the classroom online and navigating new, and often imperfect, systems to connect with one another, and communities working tirelessly to ensure children are safe, fed, and emotionally supported.
 
Looking forward to the future, educators are reimagining the structure and culture of their schools and districts to establish a new connected learning environment that serves all students. Connected Learning Era: Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 is offered as a resource by HMH® summarizing “what works” in connecting educational technology with teaching and learning in both virtual and in-person classrooms.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created extreme disruption and extraordinary circumstances for educators, students, and families. Still, we have seen amazing examples of strength, dedication, and passion in the K– 12 space—teachers and students bringing the classroom online and navigating new, and often imperfect, systems to connect with one another, and communities working tirelessly to ensure children are safe, fed, and emotionally supported.
 
Looking forward to the future, educators are reimagining the structure and culture of their schools and districts to establish a new connected learning environment that serves all students. Connected Learning Era: Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 is offered as a resource by HMH® summarizing “what works” in connecting educational technology with teaching and learning in both virtual and in-person classrooms.