The CABE Journal - September 2020

Page 1

B C

www.cabe.org

Vol. 24, No. 9

September, 2020

2019-2020 CABE Annual Report

Special Meeting of the State Board of Education Sheila McKay

Sr. Staff Associate for Government Relations, CABE

Wisdom from Leadership Institute Alumni

through the challenges of educating students during a global pandemic. Lisa Steimer • P lace trust in the superintendent and Staff Associate for Professional Development and Communications, CABE staff. They have the health and safety of all students and staff as a priority. Graduates of CABE’s annual Lead• U nderstand that flexibility is critiership Institute met for their annual cal. As health metrics change local reunion recently in a virtual forum. plans will evolve. School districts will They engaged in a robust discussion continue to identify best practices and of their suggestions for the best ways protocols. for board members to support their •B oard members can be ambassadors school communities in September. In to the community in helping them this very challenging time their wisdom understand the district plans. Comoffers important guidance for all board munication is key to establishing members. trust. Their suggestions include: • S upporting a positive relationship • I t is more important than ever that with local union leadership is critical the role of board members is to be to a successful educational experience supportive of the superintendent, and this fall. to give the superintendent and admin- • Th e social and emotional needs of istrative staff the opportunity to work students and staff must be addressed before real learning can resume. These experienced leaders see the opportunity to create a 21st Century learning model for all students, sparked by the changes the global pandemic has necessitated. Throughout their discussions, they emphasized the importance of communication and flexibility. Patrice McCarthy

inside

Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

Connecticut Association of Boards of Education Inc.

See SPECIAL MEETING page 6

Heading back to school 2020

81 Wolcott Hill Road Wethersfield, CT 06109-1242

Over the last few months the State Department of Education’s Talent Office has been reviewing certification to allow for flexibility in teaching positions due to the COVID-19 virus. At its special meeting on August 11, the State Board of Education approved Emergency Generalist, PK-8 (#201), Emergency Generalist, 7-12 (#202), and Emergency Teacher of English Language Learners, PK-12 (#204), allowing an educator who currently holds an initial, provisional or professional teaching certificate to consider a different assignment. The first two allow within the grade spans, a teacher to consider teaching any content or subject area. These emergency generalist endorsements 201 and 202, exclude special education and TESOL/bilingual endorsements. 204 would allow a world language, bilingual or TESOL teacher to consider an assignment as a TESOL or bilingual education content teacher. All three certification changes are only valid for the next academic year and must be jointly agreed to by the teacher and the district. In another avenue to get more teachers into classrooms, the State

6

Book Review:

White Fragility

8

Policy Direction for Electronic Meetings

In order to best serve our members, our entire 2019-20 Annual Report, including the first eight-anda-half months can be found on the CABE website at https://bit.ly/327TZri. Below are highlights from the activities, programs and services the Association provided from mid-March through the end of June, a time like no other for our members and your Association: Mid-March, the State ordered offices closed due to the contagious nature of the disease and the concern of its spread, that resulted in a devastating impact on citizens in Connecticut and across the country. CABE closed the office shortly after a successful March 11 Day-on-the-Hill. However, even as Staff began to work remotely, we realized that our continued support of school districts was critical if school boards were to be effective in helping their communities through this unprecedented crisis. While our members were struggling to provide high-quality education to students through long-distance learning, we realized the importance of maintaining and even increasing activities for our members. One of the first decisions the Board and Staff made was to open up our services, programs and other activities to all school districts, whether or not they were 2019-20 members of the Association. We realized the importance of ensuring that ALL districts had the advantages of being able to receive relevant communications, network with other Boards and obtain up-to-date analysis of the guidelines and other information promulgated by See ANNUAL REPORT page 12

11

CABE Virtual Leadership Conference

15

COVID-19 and FOIA Related Issues

Periodical Postage PAID Hartford, CT


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.