Just a reminder that we have Social Studies PD and English Language Learner PD this week! Zoom session are 4:15-5:15 and participants will receive a stipend!
Tuesday, January 25th K-5 Social Studies-Best First Instruction
Wednesday, January 26th 6-12 Social Studies- Best First Instruction
Thursday, January 27th K-12 ELL- From Theory to Practice with Cognitive Content Dictionaries
DATE: Wednesday, February 16, 2022
TIME: 5:00 - 8:00 P.M.
PRESENTER: Tara Schmidt, MA, LMFT
TARGET AUDIENCE: Early Childhood Educators (ages 3-8)
LOCATION: East Central BOCES West Training Room
DESCRIPTION: Tara Schmidt, licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselor will be discussing how to support the social emotional needs of young students.
Zoom will NOT be offered for this session, dinner will be provided so please register ASAP.
IMPORTANT: Registration and attendance will be completed using the EC BOCES Website at www.ecboces.org for electronic check-in. We WILL NOT update attendance sheets at the end of the year. If you do not register for the and mark attendance at the training, you will not receive the certificate of attendance and the $25 stipend for each session attended.
Engaging Multilingual Newcomers (3 Virtual WIDA Webinars totaling 4.5 ED PD Hours)
Registration Limit: 40 attendees
Registration Ends: 3/21
Format: Live webinars not to exceed 90 minutes each. Webinars will not be recorded. Alternate tasks available from WIDA for participants not able to attend.
Webinar 1: Wednesday, 3/30, 4:15-5:45pm
Webinar 2: Wednesday, 4/6, 4:15-5:45pm
Webinar 3: Wednesday, 4/13, 4:15-5:45pm
WIDA Facilitator: Amy Faust Fraser (She presented in Burlington and Bethune about 6 years ago and was excellent!)
Attendance Certificate: Provided by WIDA after attendee completes survey questions following Webinar 3
One thing you must do before registering, is have the person in your district who creates WIDA Secure Portal accounts associated with your district (usually your DAC) create an account for you (unless you already have an account). This will allow you to access webinars and training on the WIDA website.
After someone in your district has created a WIDA Secure Portal account for you, register at this link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/language-specialists-engaging-multilingual-newcomers-tickets-247346819997
Please contact Mitzi Swiatkowski at mitziski@ecboces.org if you have difficulty in registering or have questions about the PD.
WE HAVE RESCHEDULED THE 1/21/2022 CPI INITIAL CLASS FOR FEBRUARY 4, 2022. IF YOU WERE REGISTERED YOU STILL ARE, IF THAT DATE DOES NOT WORK FOR YOU, PLEASE GO IN AND CANCEL YOUR REGISTRATION. IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE COURSE AND DID NOT GET SIGNED UP, PLEASE REGISTER NOW!
East Central BOCES is offering a two-day PREPaRE Training on March 29th & 30th at the East Central BOCES Office. Community agencies within EC BOCES 20 School Districts are invited to attend at a cost of $100 to cover the cost of materials and lunch on both days. Community agency employees who wish to attend may register by contacting Lorie Coonts at 719-775-2342 ext. 0 or loriec@eccboces.org.
District and BOCES employees register by logging into the ECBOCES website and clicking on the calendar link. There is no charge for District and BOCES employees to attend the training.
Day 1 Training provides school mental health professionals and administrators, teachers, and other school staff with knowledge and resources to establish and sustain comprehensive, ongoing school safety and crisis prevention, mitigation, and preparedness. The PREPaRE Program can be adapted to a school's needs and size. Special attention is given to developing, exercising, and evaluating safety/crisis teams and plans, and integrating school and community crisis response personnel. Concerns related to media, social media, technology, students with special needs, culture, and memories are also addressed.
Day 2 Training provides school mental health professionals and other school crisis intervention team members with the knowledge necessary to meet the mental health needs of students and staff following school associate crisis events. Attendees will learn how to prevent and prepare for psychological trauma, help to reaffirm both the physical health of members of the school community and students ’perceptions that they are safe and secure, evaluate conduct psychologist triage, respond to the psychological needs of the school community utilizing a multi-tiered approach and examine the effectiveness of school crisis intervention and recover efforts.
HELLO ALL - FOR SAFETY SAKE WE ARE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CANCEL THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CLUSTER FOR TONIGHT AND RESCHEDULE AT A LATER DATE. STAY SAFE AND WARM!
Tara Schmidt, licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselor will be discussing how to support the social emotional needs of young students.
Zoom will NOT be offered for this session, dinner will be provided so please register ASAP.
WE ARE PLANNING ON HAVING THIS CLUSTER TONIGHT, BUT WE WILL MAKE A FINAL DECISION BY NOON TODAY. IF WE DECIDE TO CANCEL AND RESCHEDULE WE WILL SEND OUT A NOTIFICATION THEN.
IMPORTANT: Registration and attendance will be completed using the EC BOCES Website at www.ecboces.org for electronic check-in. We WILL NOT update attendance sheets at the end of the year. If you do not register for the and mark attendance at the training, you will not receive the certificate of attendance and the $25 stipend for each session attended.
Below is a link to the Professional Development Survey to help ECBOCES and Superintendents decide on professional development activities provided by ECBOCES for next school year. If you have not taken the survey already, please do so by February 18th. Thank you!
Join Lori Cook tonight from 4:15-5:15
Learning is a process, but often students mislabel struggle in mathematics as something that is wrong with them and assume that they aren’t good at math. Students are also impacted by cultural messages that the goal of mathematics is to get the correct answer and get it quickly, rather than deepen their understanding or skills, so learning feels like a continual performance rather than productive struggle. Join Lori Cook this year as she explores how teaching students the learning process, while engaging them in meaningful experiences, can change both mindsets and outcomes. We will: · Define and deepen our own understanding of the learning process (surface, deep, transfer). · Explore methods for making the process student-friendly and part of our everyday thinking and doing. A stipend will be paid to those participating in this session.
Welcome Back!! We hope you all were able to rest and relax over your break. Attached is the January Professional Development dates. Please register for events on the ECBOCES website.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hzHHEExrdge-mCx-uOQlsim2D5DdcwhsPizcc6ej-V8/edit?usp=sharing
The Colorado Educator Loan Forgiveness Program offers loan repayment assistance on qualified loans for educators, mainly for those who serve in rural and hard-to-fill positions in Colorado. Those who qualify may be eligible to receive up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness for any given year. Individuals who continue to qualify may apply every year of the program for up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness annually. The program is funded for five years. The electronic application for the first round of awards will open on Wednesday, Dec. 15. More program details can be found on CDHE's website.
For More Information, Contact Megan McDermott at 720-394-3205 or megan.mcdermott@dhe.state.co.us
The mission of the Imagination Library of Colorado is to increase literacy by ensuring all young children across the state may participate in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Our goal is to provide support to current affiliates and launch new affiliates so all children in Colorado have access.
We know that reading begins at birth, that the benefits of a home library go far beyond the books, and that parents and guardians are a child’s first and best teacher. By providing books every month at no cost to families, the Imagination Library increases childhood literacy rates, fosters a love of books, and promotes a culture of reading among all families in Colorado.
Share this with families in your communities, friends with young kids, or sign up your own young kids for free! Click on the link below and select enroll
Please visit the link for December PD opportunities. We hope you all have a wonderful break!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13nkslNaBeeL0FQ29H5x3f3iZKMCFxH6vlAETcZPmd6Q/edit?usp=sharing
Please visit the link to see professional development opportunities for the month of November.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hQXZB-diAHI7CdhNQKvo-Vn0KE8SLwm-q1gvJSqKu4E/edit?usp=sharing
Zoom from 4:15-5:15 Oct. 26th for K-5 teachers and Oct. 28th for 6-12 teachers
Upcoming PD opportunity next week!!
October 19th: K-5 Zoom from 4:15-5:15
October 20th: 6-12 Zoom from 4:15-5:15
Stephanie Hartman, from CDE, and Beth Montgomery, from DBQ, will be digging into the 2020 standards and providing resources to help with implementation. Please register on the ECBOCES website to attend. This is a great opportunity to get support and resources for your Social Studies classroom.
During the Title I training on September 30th, there were many questions regarding the READ Act and wanting clarification on EL students, SPED students, and possible training. The SPED guidance for local districts in ECBOCES is to not include the READ Plan in a student's IEP. These should be two separate documents. Attached is READ Plans and Students with Disabilities Guidance Document from CDE with highlighted areas that contributed to East Central BOCES decision that the READ Plan would not be included in IEP’s. In addition, we have attached an EC BOCES document to assist in integrating components of the IEP into the READ Plan to ensure the documents complement each other.
Here is the guidance and response we received from the READ Act Team at CDE:
All students in grades K-3 that are identified as having a significant reading deficiency (SRD) should have a READ plan.
This READ Act and English Learners document provides guidance and flowcharts for determining SRD for English Learners. The READ and EL webpage provides additional information on the READ Act and English Learners and provides a sample READ Plan for English Learners.
Districts have the option to integrate READ Plan goals into an IEP based on the following language in the READ Act:
CRS 22-7-1206 (3) Notwithstanding any provision of this part 12 to the contrary, if a student is identified as having a disability that impacts the student's progress in developing reading skills, the local education provider shall, as appropriate, integrate into the student's individualized education program created pursuant to section 22-20-108 intervention instruction and strategies to address the student's reading issues in lieu of a READ plan.
However, most districts choose to keep these plans separate. This is a local-level decision, and it is recommended that district leadership (including Special Education leadership) consult with district legal counsel to determine the most appropriate related district policy. You may find the information and scenarios in this READ Plans and Students with Disabilities guidance document helpful as you make considerations.
It is important to keep in mind that students with an IEP who are identified as having a significant reading deficiency are entitled to all the supports outlined in the READ Act, including scientifically and evidence-based core instruction, READ Act assessments, and READ plan services, whether documentation of the READ plan intervention instruction and strategies are integrated into the IEP or kept as two separate documents.
Our training team is currently providing the K-3 evidence-based training in teaching reading sessions and is not available to provide live READ Act training this fall. We are updating resources on our website and will be posting a voiceover READ Plan training that can be viewed by individuals or in a group. We will let you know as soon as this training is posted on our website.
Teacher, Alex Taylor, taught four Zoom sessions of "Survival Spanish for Educators" in September.
Links for all four sessions are available on the EC BOCES website (https://www.ecboces.org/), and can be accessed by clicking on the "Professional Development" tile on the homepage, then clicking on the "English Language Learners" tile, then scrolling down to "Survival Spanish Course for Educators".
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u1YIyQaOqWTRnB4FMXTHRKtG6PVETW1tE4m7GNXcTuc/edit#
Teacher, Alex Taylor, will facilitate "Survival Spanish for Educators" Session #4 on Friday, September 24 from 9:00-10:00 AM. Links for the videos from sessions #1, #2 and #3 are available on the EC BOCES website (https://www.ecboces.org/), and can be accessed by clicking on the "Professional Development" tile on the homepage, then clicking on the "English Language Learners" tile, then scrolling down to "Survival Spanish Course for Educators". The video for Session #4 will be added as well once the session is complete.
Every day we depend on technology in order to complete our varied responsibilities. Tuesday, September 21st is National IT Professional Day and we want to take this opportunity to thank all of the IT Professionals at East Central BOCES and our 20 member districts who help support us every day. Thank you Allen Bell, Emma Richardson, Jarred Masterson, and Sandy Kane for making sure we have the technology we need to do our job. Also, thanks to all of the IT Professionals in the districts who help support all of us when we are in the buildings. We could not help students without all the hard work you do behind the scenes.
Join us for a great opportunity to dig deeper into the new social studies standards!
The Social Studies professional development will begin tomorrow, Sept. 21, for elementary and Tuesday, Sept. 22, for secondary teachers over zoom from 4:15-5:15. We will be digging into the new standards to gain a deeper understanding of what we should be teaching and moving into instructional strategies throughout this 5 session course. Register on the ECBOCES website to join.
Dear Fellow Educator,
Come join us for a day of learning about "how we learn" at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
Sessions facilitated by educators like you and other experts!
Looking forward to seeing you there,
Tim Blesse
Teacher Programs Consultant
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
MIND & BRAIN EDUCATION MINI-CONFERENCE For Practicing K-12 Teachers | ||
| | Join us at the Museum of Nature & Science for a day of " Mind & Brain Education" presented and attended by local K-12 educators and other experts with a common interest in applying psychology and neuroscience to their practice as they learn about things like:
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Register here: www.dmns.org/tpd | ||
Tim Blesse
Teacher Programs Consultant
Denver Museum of Nature and Science
2001 Colorado Boulevard, Denver CO 80205
(W) 303.370.8298 (C) 303.949.8683
Full-Time Special Education Paraprofessionals needed for our West Area Center-based Learning Program located in Strasburg. Competitive pay and benefits including individual health insurance. $13-$17 per hour depending on experience. Rewarding position in a supportive work environment with same schedule as Strasburg School District. To apply for this position, please complete the Classified Application for Employment available for download on the ecboces.org website under "Jobs" or contact Tracy at (719) 775-2342, ext. 101. Please fax completed application to 719-771-4001 or email it to tracyg@ecboces.org Equal Opportunity Employer
Oops! The Survival Spanish for Educators Course will be offered on Fridays from 9:00-10:00 AM; register on the EC BOCES website.
DATES: 9/3/2021, 9/10/2021, 9/17/2021, 9/24/2021
TIME: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
PRESENTER: Alexandros Taylor
LOCATION: Via Zoom
Join us! Enhance your ability to communicate with English learners through Survival Spanish for Educators Course taught by an educator from the Limon School District who teaches Modern Languages, and also provides English Language Development support to language learners. Instructor has varied experience living and learning language and culture in multiple countries through his volunteer service in the Peace Corps. Depending on interest level and attendance, the course may be extended. Participants are highly encouraged to attend the first three classes in a row to build knowledge supporting course activities and future coursework. PD contact hours certificate will be generated after each session on the website once participants have completed evaluation. Register on the EC BOCES website.
DATES: 9/3/2021, 9/10/2021, 9/17/2021, 9/24/2021
TIME: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
PRESENTER: Alexandros Taylor
LOCATION: Via Zoom
Join us! Enhance your ability to communicate with English learners through Survival Spanish for Educators Course taught by an educator from the Limon School District who teaches Modern Languages, and also provides English Language Development support to language learners. Instructor has varied experience living and learning language and culture in multiple countries through his volunteer service in the Peace Corps. Depending on interest level and attendance, the course may be extended. Participants are highly encouraged to attend the first three classes in a row to build knowledge supporting course activities and future coursework. PD contact hours certificate will be generated after each session on the website once participants have completed evaluation. Register on the EC BOCES website.
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Mitzi was award the the Roy G. Brubacher Award on July 12, 2021 at the Colorado BOCES Association meeting held in Colorado Springs. Mitzi is pictured above with Jason Westfall, EC BOCES Executive Director and her husband Greg. The Roy G Brubacher award recognizes outstanding leadership at the regional, state, or national level. Without question awardees show leadership that has impacted school districts in our region, across our state, and even at a national level. This is a well deserved award for Mitzi. She is voice for East Central BOCES schools and other rural schoosl at the state level. Mitzi is very skilled at her job and spends countless hours ensuring everything is completed appropirately and timely to ensure EC BOCES districts receive funding they need to provide services to students. As Jason shared in his nomitation letter, most of us are replaceable as someone could step in and take are place if needed, but that is not the case with Mitzi. The skills and knowledge she exhibits are outstanding and she it not replaceable. Congratulations Mitzi for this well deserved award!
(Edited by Jason Westfall - original submission Thursday, July 15, 2021, 8:43 AM)
Professional license extension increased to 7 years
Recently passed Colorado House Bill 21-1104 extends all professional teacher, special services, principal and administrator licenses from five to seven years. Beginning July 1, all applications for professional licenses will be issued for seven years and all active professional licenses will automatically be extended two years, (as will any professional licenses issued in response to renewal applications already submitted).
This two-year extension also delays the deadlines for meeting any required English learner, special education and behavior health professional development activities at the time of renewal, thus granting educators additional time to meet these requirements. Visit the Educator Professional Development Requirements webpage for more information.
Please keep in mind that READ Act requirements do not pertain to licensure so this extension does not apply to them. However, the deadline for individuals teaching reading in a K-3 classroom to meet this requirement has been extended to the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. Visit the K-3 Teacher Evidence-Based Reading Training Requirements webpage for more information about the READ Act and how individuals may fulfill its expectations.
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Hi All,
If you are receiving email reminders about the June 14 and 15 training as a video conference, it is incorrect. THE TRAINING WILL BE FACE-TO-FACE at the BOCES office in Limon.
Thanks!
All teachers (especially secondary, CTE, and special education teachers), counselors, administrators, and service providers: If you are interested, but have not yet registered for Rich Feller's training, Helping Students be Future-Ready...Tips, tools and practice in Career Development, do so now! All EC BOCES consortium member educators attending and engaging in the event will be provided with a stipend of $150 per day. Please register by June 10 at 4:00 pm. to assist us in planning for lunch.
9:00 AM-3:00 PM Monday and Tuesday, June 14 and 15
PRESENTER: Rick Feller, Ph.D.
LOCATION: East Central BOCES West Training Room
DESCRIPTION: We want to design futures, not fall into them. “Future-ready” learners is the new accountability. This two-day “hands-on” workshop promises you’ll practice tools to use immediately. You’ll learn how they fit into “life design”, practice them, take some home to use, have access to videos to support your use, AND your EC BOCES consortium school will receive a box of additional tools. You’ll each learn to use, peer practice and leave with a set of: Personality Lingo cards and demo video Career Value Cards and demo video Motivated Skill Cards and demo video and more. You’ll have access to your school or organization’s Box of Tools which will include: Who You Are Matters Facilitator Kit (2 game sets and profiles for 40 game players) 5 Sets of Career Values Card Sorts and worksheets 5 Sets of Motivated Skill Card Sorts and worksheets 5 Sets of Personality Lingo Card Sets. Lunch will be provided, so make sure you register for an accurate count. This will NOT be offered over Zoom. If you have community people or someone that would not have an account on our website, please have them call Lorie Coonts at 719-775-2342 Ext. 100 or loriec@ecboces.org to register for this event. Thank you!
If you are working to earn the 45 contact hours of EL PD, please take advantage of one of the Beth Skelton PD events taking place on June 1, 2, or 3 hosted at Deer Trail, Limon and Burlington. See the BOCES website calendar to register and for more information about the content.
Additionally, CDE is offering self-paced eWorkshops and a series of online courses. These opportunities will not always be available, so please take advantage of them while they are being offered. The State Board of Education adopted new rules in June 2018 requiring educators with elementary, math, science, social studies and English language arts endorsements to complete Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education training or professional development (PD).
CDE has paid WIDA to provide self-paced EL eWorkships until August 31. The person in your district who manages the WIDA Secure Portal accounts, will need to create an account for you if you want to access these trainings.
WIDA Self-Paced eWorkshops can be a valuable resource to use in a Professional Learning Community (PLC). WIDA Self-paced eWorkshops are available to Colorado K-12 educators with a school district email through August 31st. To access the workshops:
Summer CLD Professional Development Opportunity
They are also providing a series of online courses titled CLD Professional Development. See the attached flyer for more information.
A series of 5 online courses will provide educators with a foundation in language and literacy development, materials, methods, and assessment to best support their culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Please open the attached flyer for more details and contact information.
Please see the updated flyer for upcoming professional development. Make sure you register at ecboces.org for an accurate lunch count for the June English Language Learner trainings.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VuLYpxHmtLqph5p_m4mFArN7dwJJkQgBayof8cr_lUI/edit?usp=sharing
New learning opportunity with CDE!
Assessing, Preventing and Overcoming Reading Difficulties Summer 2021 Online Course
The course will start June 1st and will run until September 13th 2021.
This is an online course designed by David Kilpatrick Ph.D. in collaboration with the SLD specialist from CDE. The course follows his book of the same title. Please see the attached flyer for more info and a registration link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OOC7l7T2Pwh8OHtiX5doWorsvTEaHgDx/view?usp=sharing
Please see the attached flyer for professional development opportunities this summer. You can register on the ECBOCES website. Make sure you check the location of each training. You can contact Megan Donnellon at megand@ecboces.org for any questions.
If you have the opportunity to see, email or talk with Lorie, Craig, Marianne and Tracy today please let them know how much you appreciate all they do. EC BOCES would not run as smoothly as it does without these four amazing people! We apprciate everything they do and always with a smile on their faces.
We also want to thank all of the administrative assistants in the 20 school districts who help support BOCES providers on a daily basis. We could not do our jobs without your help and support!
April is appreciation month for Occupational Therapists and Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants. Please up us to celebrate the outstanding OT's and COTA's that work in the 20 school districts. They assist students to increase their motor skills which allow the students to complete everyday tasks and help students to address any sensory needs they may have. If you see any of our OT team this month please let them know they are appreciated. We send our thanks and appreciation to Callie Burgess, Gina Martin, Sharon Mason, Christina Graham, Trish Cauthon and Louise Wamsley.
Please see the link below for April PD offerings!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GQK9Yd_SXdmomJb-TfzUXBhy3Oc4YxDcShfIaQ3n3qA/edit?usp=sharing
Please fill out this quick 2-minute survey specific to Social Studies teachers. This will help us determine the professional development needs for the 2021-22 school year.
Last December, EC BOCES shared out the news of approval from CDE to use Title II funds for EC BOCES consortium district K-3, Title I, Special Education and ELD teacher stipends for successful completion of CDE approved READ Act PD.
Terms: The stipends will be paid out on a first come, first serve basis. Once the budgeted amount has been expended, no more funding will be available to be paid out. Hard deadline: May 28, 2021 (if the funding lasts through that date). Please submit as soons as you have completed the training, and gathered the documentation. Almost 50 stipends have already been paid out which is about 1/3 of the funding available for the stipends.
Email a scanned copy of the Stipend Request Form, W-9 and certificate of of the successful completion of an approved training to:
Mitzi Swiatkowski (mitziski@ecboces.org)
East Central BOCES
719-775-2342 Extension 114
The stipends will be paid for with Federal funds and are approved only for payment to certified teachers for completing CDE approved and provided online, or face-to-face online PD.
The following are not eligible for stipends: Holding a State of Colorado Endorsement as a Reading Teacher or Reading Specialist, CDE-approved Alternative Assessment, Undergraduate or Graduate Reading Course.
As per CDE guidance, the state provided training, and payment of the stipend will be limited to K-3 teachers and other teachers providing literacy instruction for students grades K-3, such as a Title I teacher, EL teacher or Special Education teacher.
Zoom logins for the ECBOCES account are now working again.
Just to let you know that we are experiencing some issues with our login provider for Zoom which will stop you from being able to login via SSO. It is being worked on and I hope to have it resolved shortly.
Please see the link below for March Professional Development provided by the BOCES.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-v8SmN_LEPfIbc2DhgzFm-eFUTzKK01PurpgXaxHf0Y/edit?usp=sharing
Hi All!
If you are a teacher in an EC BOCES consortium school district, you should have received a link for a District Teacher and Administrator Survey from your superintendent last week.
This 4 minute survey is a way of asking EC BOCES consortium educators what PD has been most beneficial this year and what they see as their most important professional development needs related to 2021/2022. The results of the survey will assist in guiding future EC BOCES PD offerings. Deadline 2/26/21.
Please take time to complete the survey. Your input matters!
Note: Each district has their own unique link, so I am not including "a link" in this reminder.
Beth Skelton will be facilitating a Zoom session for K-12 teachers of English Learners. This session is intended to support teachers in all content areas. IF you have already registered-you are still enrolled, the title of the session has just been updated to align with planned activities.
DATE: Thursday, February 18, 2021
TIME: 4:15 - 5:15 P.M.
PRESENTER: Beth Skelton
LOCATION: Over Zoom
DESCRIPTION: Developing Writing Across the Curriculum for English Learners: In this hour-long session, you will learn how to analyze your English Learners’ writing with a Can Do lens, build on their strengths, and implement strategies that develop improved complexity in academic writing across the curriculum. This session is appropriate for K-12 teachers who work with English Learners. Bring a student writing sample from your class, if you have one. Objectives: 1) Analyze student writing to determine next steps in instruction 2)Implement strategies that develop academic writing across the curriculum
In addition to the robotics kits for the schools listed below, the first 20 participants for ANY ECBOCES district to sign up will receive a Sphero Bolt Robot and a stipend! Sign up today for this great training.
DATE: 2/1/21 and 2/8/21 TIME: 4:15 PM to 6:15 PM PRESENTER: Christa Kovak, MindSpark LOCATION: via Zoom DESCRIPTION: K5 Intro to Robotics This 2 part workshop provides virtual experiences with robots, along with practical classroom applications. For participants from the following districts that attend both sessions and complete a lesson with their students, there will be a $125.00 stipend provided by the Gill Foundation and a Robotics kit including several robots for your classroom. • Arickaree • Arriba Flagler • Bethune • Cheyenne Wells • Strasburg School District 31J • Woodlin School R-104 • Agate School District #300 • Idalia RJ-3 School District • Genoa-Hugo School. For those that attend that are not from these districts, there will be some other giveaways during the trainings as well so you will still have a chance to win a robot or circuitry kit for your classroom plus get some great PD!
Due to COVID-19, we will be conducting the January 22nd and 29th CPI classes virtually. The last day to sign up for the initial is January 8th and the last day to sign up for the refresher is January 22nd in order to have your book delivered to your school prior to the classes.
We will not be certifying new trainees in the safety intervention skills at this time, but will do this in the future as restrictions allow.
Once signed up, you will complete Online Modules via CPI Learning's website (a link will be sent to your email used to sign up for the class). Instead of coming to Limon for the classroom portion of the CPI training, we will meet virtually via Zoom on the day of the scheduled class. Please monitor your emails as the dates get closer for Zoom links and further instructions.
Don't miss this great opportunity to get a Robotics kit for your classroom plus a stipend!
DATE: 2/1/21 and 2/8/21 TIME: 4:15 PM to 6:15 PM PRESENTER: Christa Kovak, MindSpark LOCATION: via Zoom DESCRIPTION: K5 Intro to Robotics This 2 part workshop provides virtual experiences with robots, along with practical classroom applications. For participants from the following districts that attend both sessions and complete a lesson with their students, there will be a $125.00 stipend provided by the Gill Foundation and a Robotics kit including several robots for your classroom. • Arickaree • Arriba Flagler • Bethune • Cheyenne Wells • Strasburg School District 31J • Woodlin School R-104 • Agate School District #300 • Idalia RJ-3 School District • Genoa-Hugo School. For those that attend that are not from these districts, there will be some other giveaways during the trainings as well so you will still have a chance to win a robot or circuitry kit for your classroom plus get some great PD!
As a follow-up to the brief survey that so many of you responded to (THANK YOU!!), please take a couple of minutes and let us know what specific equipment/technology would be beneficial to support remote learning.
Please visit the link for February PD offerings.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DezjIgB-C9ZbbQFYdW09yNtB9X56cnVLF2vsg8P0ev4/edit?usp=sharing
Please visit the link to see PD offerings for January.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W6kSqcy6m-SqIN_PHtoarDvE29ZCCUcWFC6I8La-2uo/edit?usp=sharing
Visit the link to see PD offerings for December.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1INO8ONnMsBenWDpbgjU_SLY2QOE0eQjq_6dmDmb_9Z8/edit?usp=sharing
We will be doing some work on the ECBOCES Website later this morning. The site will be offline from 11am for a few hours. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.
Please join us in November for any professional development courses that interest you. Sessions with Beth Skelton, Rachel Fairchild, and Lori Cook offer a $25 stipend.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RzJeJ3I0wRUeypKQmR2QzXSLOTIAzt1eqvcO13Z2Fv4/edit?usp=sharing
The East Central BOCES website will be offline briefly today while it undergoes an upgrade. We have noticed before that when we upgrade, sometimes all of your certificates will be emailed to you. We apologize in advance if this happens again today.
Please take a couple of minutes to let us know your needs as we tackle the new world of remote learning. This very brief survey will help us gauge the needs of our teachers so that we can figure out how to best support you all.
Thank you for your time.
Good Morning All,
One of the consortium teachers emailed me with a question about the EL and READ Act PD requirements. She had been reviewing the READ Act online module introduction. It indicated that many ELL strategies are included in the online program. This was her question, "Is there a possibility that this class/program could also count toward the 45 hours of ELL training that we need in order to renew our teaching license?" I emailed Jennifer Simons who works in licensure at CDE in Educator Talent as an Educator Development Principal Consultant. She responded with, "This should be fine."
If you choose to earn the EL PD hours as you are completing the READ Act PD requirements, please take notes that will allow you to provide a description of how the module addressed the selected elements in the EL PD Matrix. Jennifer at CDE has told me that "justification is key".
From my perspective, the READ Act PD will most likely meet EL PD Standard III, Elements A and B related to literacy development.
Please visit the link to see the October professional development offerings. Register on the ECBOCES website in the calendar events page. We look forward to seeing you!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SI_9sfcYLyKyWqNg_U_PwTD4N3tkYzTGLix9C6_rqyE/edit?usp=sharing
Just a reminder for next Tuesday, September 29th there will be an interactive zoom session with CDE on the new Colorado 2020 Science Standards. Please join us from 4-5:30 for a deep dive with the new standards. We look forward to learning with you!
MindSpark learning will be offering our ECBOCES members a training on using drones in the classroom. This training will be offered remotely over four Thursday afternoon 2 hour sessions starting on October 15th. Participants will receive a Tello drone for your classroom. Commitment to attend all four sessions is required. Please register by October 1st to ensure that we have enough time to get the drone sent out so that you have it for the training.
Please register at https://www.ecboces.org.
https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/onlinecdetraining
Due to COVID-19, we will be conducting the January 22nd and 29th CPI classes virtually. The last day to sign up for the initial is January 8th and the last day to sign up for the refresher is January 22nd in order to have your book delivered to your school prior to the classes.
We will not be certifying new trainees in the safety intervention skills at this time, but will do this in the future as restrictions allow.
Once signed up, you will complete Online Modules via CPI Learning's website (a link will be sent to your email used to sign up for the class). Instead of coming to Limon for the classroom portion of the CPI training, we will meet virtually via Zoom on the day of the scheduled class. Please monitor your emails as the dates get closer for Zoom links and further instructions.
WIDA Resources: eLearning Professional Development
WIDA (Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, at University of Wisconsin, Madison) provides eLearning courses for Colorado educators as part of their contract with CDE. These courses are free and count toward the English Learner Professional Development Quality Standards Professional Development requirement for relicensing. Educators can request access to WIDA eLearning by contacting the WIDA Client Services Center (help@wida.us) from their school issued email. Please share this information with new and veteran teachers in your district.
CDE has training courses available for K-3 teachers needing CDE hours to meet the READ Act requirements.
Reading Course Details:
I hope the school year has started off great for everyone and you have enjoyed being back with your students!
Here is a link to all the professional development happening with ECBOCES during the month of September. We look forward to learning with you!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e4g4CbiEofzuDYgaVxKAO_HMHtFSSrz8TQTqwp9P5K4/edit?usp=sharing
We currently have 7 science teachers interested in the PEERS Physics Grant opportunity. We need to have 10-12 teachers to receive the grant. Science teachers, please review the attached flyer and sign up if you are interested. This is a great opportunity for teachers in our BOCES to bring back curriculum, web-based resources, and ideas to engage students in science and engineering.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CPJvLEOLzuPLFmDUJpI0sn4a48oVtKeW/view?usp=sharing
The link for the CU Peer Physics grant has been updated. The RSVP link should now work.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CPJvLEOLzuPLFmDUJpI0sn4a48oVtKeW/view?usp=sharing
We are collaborating with Belize to provide some teachers to share a session or so for their teacher training conference this summer. If you have a great idea, are considered innovative or just have something that you want to share with other teachers, ECBOCES, through the help of the Morgridge Foundation is offering stipends for teachers who would be willing to teach a session or so via Zoom/Google. Please contact Emma Richardson (emmar@ecboces.org) for more information.
ECBOCES is looking for a part-time Spanish teacher to teach over our Distance Learning system. Please see https://www.ecboces.org/course/view.php?id=19 for more information.
PLEASE READ THE UPDATED FLYER FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TRAINING:
We will again be offering the Orton Gillingham training this summer - July 22nd - 24th. Please see attached flyer for details and information.
The BOCES will be expanding on the STEM PLC group from this year to improve professional development for MS and HS science teachers. Our goal is to create a collaborative PLC group to learn more about Problem/Project Based Learning, Virtual Labs, 2020 Science Standards, and other topics requested by participating teachers.
If you are a middle school or high school science teacher interested in participating in a Science PLC group for the 2020-21 school year, please fill out the attached survey so we can get your name and contact information. Please respond by May 22nd. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!
The BOCES is looking to work with the DBQ Project for the 2020-21 school year. This project will provide professional development and resources in US and World History, Civics, Geography, or Economics. If you are a middle school or high school social studies teacher interested in this professional development and resources for next school year please reach out to Megan Donnellon at megand@ecboces.org
In your email, please include your name, school district, the content area you are interested in, and the best contact information to reach you at. Please respond by May 22nd if you are interested. The BOCES will be setting up an interest session with the DBQ Project and those who respond by May 22nd. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you!
Hi All,
I realize you have had so many resources and links passed on and it can get a bit overwhelming to keep track of all of them.
In the last several weeks CDE has passed on info about serving students including:
Links to all of these resources can be found in one place on the EC BOCES website:
In order to access them, log into the website.
Look for the "COVID-19 Resources for Districts" (orange rectangle on the right side of the homepage).
On the next page look for "CLICK HERE FOR FEDERAL PROGRAMS RESOURCES" (on the right side of the page).
Clicking on that link will take you to the resources CDE has shared with me. I will continue to add the the list as the resources are made available.
Best,
Mitzi
Free Online Teacher Professional Development Opportunity!
Join the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at CU Boulder and the NE BOCES for a curriculum workshop on Wildfire, Floods, and Drought! The Hazard Education, Awareness, and Resilience Task Force (HEART Force) project engages Colorado students, teachers, and communities to take proactive steps in preparing for potential hazards. Our extensive curriculum incorporates local scientific data, games, and service projects.
WHO: Colorado Middle and High School Rural Science Teachers
WHEN: May 27th, 9:00am – 3:00pm
WHERE: Online, with the NE BOCES
See attached flyer for more information and directions on registering.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cP_NYQHV21xNofKef8C3LjZx_-5sg5qhIf you have a Twitter account and would like to talk with Rachel Fairchild about Empowered English Learners during this difficult time, join tonight April 7th from 4:30-5:00 pm/MT. On Twitter, use #corechat to join the 30-minute Q1/A1 formatted Twitter chat. 
Need Resources and Support with Transitioning to Remote Learning?
We recognize the unprecedented moment in education across the country. Are you in need of support with maintaining student engagement in scientific practices through remote instruction? PEER Physics has online resources to help with timely and effective web-based support for teachers and parents.
Remote learning link for resources: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kOOmCOl9XHQo-iSP1wsIl2LbBx7TW19e
Jonathan Mann
Director of Educational Partnerships
University of Colorado, Boulder | School of Education
jon.mann@peerphysics.org | Cell: 303-887-6216
PEERphysics.org
Please see the attached flyer to continue to receive online professional development for the month of April.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SCK9EPMFI0A-qleospkhqNtvy7oJdN5tNTP5_XA_nCA/edit?usp=sharing
While we know that everything is kind of crazy right now, you are all getting very used to being on Zoom(!), so please join us for this exciting opportunity.
On April 8th, we have the third in a series of meetings with engineers from Lockheed Martin. See below for details.
The
idea of this series is to start connecting teachers with industry
partners who are willing to embark on projects with your students.
These discussions are to introduce you with people at Lockheed Martin
who are wanting to work with educators and introduce your students to
the world of aerospace and engineering.
To get the most out of this, I would ask that you come prepared. Take a look at the job description below for the first presenter and have your students do a little research and come up with a few questions for you to ask during the session. If you then want to try and get together with one or more of the people that we introduce you too and connect them with your class for a session or two, we will work with you to get that organized.
VIA Zoom Videoconferencing: CLICK HERE TO JOIN CONFERENCE
Darin Bolthouse is the Manager of Collaborative Human Immersive Lab (CHIL) in Littleton, Colorado. The CHIL is an advanced Virtual Reality (VR) center at Lockheed Martin for the design, production, and operation of space systems such as the next generation GPSIII satellites and the Orion human spaceflight vehicle. Darin has managed the CHIL lab since it opened in 2011. Prior to Lockheed Martin, his background includes 15 years in the automotive industry. Working for General Motors, his responsibilities spanned from assembly line design to standing up new assembly plants for future vehicle programs. After 8 years with General Motors, he worked as a manufacturing consultant focused on improving production operations through the use of advanced modeling and simulation for companies including Toyota, Honda, Harley Davidson, and Tesla Motors. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and Master of Information Management Degree from Washington University in St. LouisEast Central BOCES has started a webpage of resources for our districts that might be looking at closing down during this COVID-19. This page will continued to be updated as we continue to research options for our schools that might need to support their students remotely. A link to the page is found on the ECBOCES website or the page can be found HERE.
The ECBOCES website will be offline briefly today to allow for an upgrade.
The Dyslexia Training scheduled for March 14th at the East Central BOCES office has been cancelled. We will send out any rescheduled date when available.
Increase the impact of your career advisement with anyone who is navigating career decisions
As an initiative of the Education Leadership Council and on behalf of the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Education Initiative is offering Colorado Career Conversation training. The training and framework were also built in partnership with the Colorado Workforce Development Council, Colorado Department of Higher Education, and Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
This free professional development experience is intended for anyone who might have a career conversation. The goal of the project is to train 5,000 individuals by June 2020, expanding the number of skilled advisors able to deliver a consistent career advising experience.
CDE will offer reimbursement for sub coverage (for training hours only) at $20 per hour. This sub coverage is for instructional individuals in any setting, including P-12 teachers, adult education instructors, college professors, etc. Additionally, travel reimbursements are also available including: parking (if applicable), mileage, and hotel if overnight is necessary. Once you register for a training, you will receive an email with the required forms and instructions. For more information about travel reimbursement, please contact Michelle Crawford at crawford_m@cde.state.co.us.
For more information about Colorado Career Conversations training, please contact Liz Kuehl at lkuehl@coloradoedinitiative.org.
On March 11th, we have the second in a series of meeting with engineers from Lockheed Martin. See below for details.
The
idea of this series is to start connecting teachers with industry
partners who are willing to embark on projects with your students.
These discussions are to introduce you with people at Lockheed Martin
who are wanting to work with educators and introduce your students to
the world of aerospace and engineering.
To get the most out of this, I would ask that you come prepared. Take a look at the job description below for the first presenter and have your students do a little research and come up with a few questions for you to ask during the session. If you then want to try and get together with one or more of the people that we introduce you too and connect them with your class for a session or two, we will work with you to get that organized.
VIA Zoom Videoconferencing: CLICK HERE TO JOIN CONFERENCE
Sue Linchhttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1tcSkEMQ8kSAozHOpoxl7JeA5JvH-OIgrMARit2tZYRs
Starr Sackstein will be providing an ELA training at the ECBOCES on June 12th from 9-3. She has created a survey for teachers to fill out so she can meet the needs of participants. Please take a couple of minutes to provide input on what would benefit you the most during this training. Thank you!
https://forms.gle/e9u7Xoj8kSisTyLz5
Just a reminder that we have a great training this Thursday. This training will show secondary teachers how to start introducing coding to your students with the use of free curriculum found at code.org. All participants will receive Circuit Playground kits to help introduce students to circuitry as part of this curriculum. Lunch is included.
We have seats open - don't miss out on this!
Click HERE to register.
Tips for educators to meet the English Learner Professional Development requirement
All educators with elementary, math, science, social studies and English language arts endorsements are required to complete Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education training or professional development (PD). This new requirement was adopted by the State Board of Education in June 2018. Below are some tips and reminders about how to ensure educators are meeting this requirement.
How to check if you need this professional development?
Educators can look at their current teaching license to check if they already meet the requirement. If an educator has either of the following endorsements on their teacher license, the educator is not required to complete the additional CLD training.
If educators don’t have these two endorsements on their teaching license there are multiple pathways to meet this requirement.
For educators that already have some relevant PD completed
WIDA is offering six free self-paced, online eWorkshops through Monday, Aug. 31 that total 34 hours and are aligned to the CDE standards for CLD professional development. For more information about accessing this free PD opportunity, visit the Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education webpage.
For educators that don’t have any of the relevant PD completed
There are 21 programs approved by CDE offering 45 hours of the required PD around the state that educators can choose from. Additionally, 14 districts are approved to offer the full 45 hours of required PD to their educators. The list of these programs can be found on the Approved English Learner Professional Development Programs webpage.
For educators currently enrolled in a teacher preparation program or who have recently graduated
All approved educator preparation programs in Colorado must have the CLD standards in place by Spring 2020. Upon completion of an educator preparation program that has been verified by CDE to meet the new standards, educators will receive an Approved Program Verification (APV) form denoting that the educator has satisfied the new CLD requirement.
For detailed information on the requirement for educators, visit the EL PD Information for Educators webpage. A tutorial video is also available for educators about how to meet the requirements.
For questions or comments, contact Jennifer Simons at simons_j@cde.state.co.us or 303-866-6793.
Reminder: Isaac Wells will be zooming with us Tuesday, February 18th from 4:15-5:15. Register for the event on the ECBOCES website. This will be a great session on connecting reading and writing strategies. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!
Next week (sorry for the short notice), we are starting a series of meeting with Lockheed Martin employees. I was lucky enough to visit Lockheed Martin a couple of months ago - it was amazing, we got to go in the clean room - we saw three spaceships/satellites that they currently working on and had a great tour with one of the engineers.
The idea of this series is to start connecting you with industry partners who are willing to embark on projects with your students. These discussions are to introduce you with people at Lockheed who are wanting to work with educators and introduce your students to the world of aerospace and engineering.
To get the most out of this, I would ask that you come prepared. Take a look at the job description below for the first presenter and have your students do a little research and come up with a few questions for you to ask during the session. If you then want to try and get together with one or more of the people that we introduce you too and connect them with your class for a session or two, we will work with you to get that organized.
Lockheed Martin Series - first session
Date: Feb 19th.
Time: 4:30pm.
Location: Via Zoom at https://ecboces.zoom.us/j/7197758111
Presenter: Jamie Gammel - Senior Software Engineer, Scrum Master (Rotary & Mission Systems (RMS) Signals Reconnaissance Programs)
Job Description: I am responsible to Lead/coordinate/monitor/review all Engineering & Technology responsibilities and technical execution on the Canadian Surface Combatant Program. Provide technical expertise/support for the conduct of the formal Aegis Review processes and methodologies (SDR, PDR, CDR) for the FMS, CMS-330 Combat System, Solid State Radar, and Shipbuilding components of the program. Provide coordination/leadership for system engineering tasking as assigned by the NC&MDS International Chief Engineer; e.g., required special studies, system engineering performance trades/analysis, staffing projections/analysis, or cost proposal development. I participate in the design, development, verification and deployment of complex new software. Develop and maintain software using the following languages and technologies; C++, Java, Python, Big Data, Data Science, Cyber Security, and Embedded systems, working on world class product lines such as Orion, SBIRS, GPS-III, Commercial Vehicles, Deep Space Exploration, Classified Special Programs. As a scrum master for the Enterprise Products and Services, I lead a group of 17 software engineers through all phases of the development process using agile methodologies. I am required to hold a Top Secret Security clearance and SCI (sensitive compartmentalized information) a highly specialized security clearance. Travel to Military/Air Force sites for software installations/maintenance.
You do not need to register for this event. Just use the link above to connect.