South East Education Cooperative Newsletter - April 2019
Last Year's SEEC Impact Report & Next Year's Professional Learning Opportunities

2017-2018 SEEC Impact Report:

The 2017-18 SEEC Impact Report is now here! As the SEEC strives to support member schools, it is important to communicate with all stakeholders, not only on what we do, but also on how it is impacting schools, educators, and students! 

The report highlights notable facts in the areas of Teaching & Learning, Student Services, and Business Services.  If you're interested in viewing the 2017-18 Impact report, please click here.

2019-20 SEEC Professional Learning Guide:

The 2019-2020 SEEC Professional Learning Guide is now ready! As we head into the last quarter of the year, we invite you to take a look at the professional learning opportunities and start planning for next year.

SEEC Teaching & Learning staff will be engaging school leaders in professional learning planning meetings during the month of April. To view the 2019-20 SEEC Professional Learning Guide, please


In this issue:TopPage




-   Beginning Teacher Network Training

-  Standards-Based Learning

Out-of-School Time Summer Conference






 
April is Occupational Therapy Month
This Month we Celebrate and Thank All Those in the Field

We, at South East Educational Cooperative, would like to extend a  
"Thank you" to all those in the field of occupational therapy who are
Taryn Nims
Brittney Waloch

part of a vitally important profession that help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). 

SEEC currently employs two occupational therapists in partnership with South Valley Special Education and Rural Cass Special Education.  Brittney Waloch has worked with SEEC for six years and serves students in Enderlin, Fairmount, Hankinson, Kindred, and Wyndmere. Brittney has also provided support with SEEC's School-Based Medicaid program with both special education units for the past four years.  Taryn Nims was hired in 2016 to help provide services to students in Enderlin, Lidgerwood, Lisbon, Milnor, North Sargent, Sargent Central, and Wyndmere. 

Thank you Brittney and Taryn for striving to help children participate to the best of their abilities with their peers! To learn more about occupational therapy within the educational setting,

Generally, practitioners  enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, and prevent - or live better with - injury, illness, or disability. 

Occupational therapist's holistic and customized approach to evaluations, interventions, and outcomes help a child with disabilities participate in school and in social situations, assist a person recovering from injuries to regain skills, aid an older adult to stay as independent as possible, and offer the specialized support and services to people of all ages in all circumstances that only occupational therapy can provide. 


PreK Reading Corps: 
Apply to Participate for the 2019-20 School Year! 

South East Education Cooperative is accepting applications for schools to participate in its PreK Reading Corps cohort for the 2019-20 school year. 

PreK Reading Corps provides professional development for the lead or assistant teacher in a PreK classroom to support the development of preschool children's early language and literacy skills using research-based intervention techniques primarily targeting the following language and literacy skill areas: 

  1. Oral Language, conversation, and comprehension 
  2. Vocabulary and meaning 
  3. Book and print concepts
  4. Phonological memory and awareness
  5. Alphabetic principle and knowledge
When children are present, tutors dedicate their time to provide embedded and explicit instruction to support the core curriculum throughout the daily routine and provide targeted small group and one-on-one support to children needing more intense supplemental instruction. 

The Guide to Becoming a PreK Reading Corps Site outlines the program model. PreK Reading Corps can be implemented in classrooms with 3 to 5 year old students in district or community-based childcare programs. If you'd like to view the guide, please click here. 

For more information, contact Director of Student Services, Jolene Garty at 701-446-3173 or Jolene.garty@k12.nd.us
Grant Application:  
SEEC submits its 21st Century Community Learning Center (21CCLC) Grant Application -  

kids_reading_book.jpg
SEEC submitted its 21st Century Community Learning Center (21CCLC) grant application to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (DPI) last week to request $1,377,680 in federal funding for afterschool programs annually for the next three years. 

The grant application covered 21 elementary and 1 middle school buildings across the following 10 SEEC school districts: Edgeley, Ellendale, Fairmount, Fargo, Griggs County Central, LaMoure, Jamestown, Mapleton, Wahpeton, and Valley City. West Fargo left the consortium as their district now has its own 21CCLC grant. 

Through 21CCLC, SEEC will operate afterschool programming in participating rural districts and subgrant funding to nonprofit organizations like the YMCA and Wahpeton Youth Club to run programs in larger districts. The program anticipates serving over 1000 students each year with a content focus on 21st Century Skills and Social-Emotional Learning during afterschool and summer programming. For more information, contact Director of Student Services, Jolene Garty at Jolene.garty@k12.nd.us or 701-449-3173

Beginning Teacher Network Training: 
Enhancing Classroom Practices with First-Year Teachers

Energy...Enthusiasm...Fresh ideas. All of these abound at the Beginning Teacher Network (BTN) sessions. With a goal of accelerating growth and enhancing classroom practices, the BTN is a professional development program that offers 1st year educators an opportunity to collaboratively explore topics that arise from the teachers' day-to-day practices and discus challenging aspects of their first year in the classroom. It is offered through the South East Education Cooperative and a grant provided by the North Dakota Teacher Support System. 

48 first-year teachers attended the first meeting in September, 2018. The full day session was filled with topics including managing the classroom environment to maximize student learning and using active learning strategies to engage the learners. Teachers brainstormed ways in which to create positive relationships with parents, even practicing a parent-teacher conference. 

During the winter months, teachers worked on Formative Instructional Practices through an online platform. Using learning targets to focus instruction, matching the assessment to the desired learning, creating quality assessments, gathering good data, and giving effective feedback were all addressed. Two check-in opportunities gave the teachers a chance to connect and share. 
 

Standards-Based Learning: 
Why Do Educators Make it so Complex? 

Education Week Article by Thomas Guskey

Educators have the odd habit of taking simple ideas and making them inexplicably complex. Granted, there are always subtleties and nuances in education related to the varied contexts in which teaching and learning occur. But adding complexity to simple ideas often yields more confusion than clarity. It can confound implementation efforts and frequently results in the demise of potentially good ideas. A classic example is what's happening with standards-based learning. 

The simple idea of standards-based learning is to ensure transparency in all elements of the teaching and learning process: curriculum, instruction, assessment, and reporting. 

In curriculum, standards-based learning requires educators to articulate clear learning goals that identify what students should learn (content) and be able to do (cognitive behaviors). Effective learning goals always include both of these components. These goals are then shared with everyone involved: students, families, teachers, school leaders, and community members. 

Typically we organize learning goals in grade levels at the elementary level and in courses at the secondary level. But organizational structures associated with continuous progress, learning progressions, individualized programs, or personalized learning could be equally valid. 

Out-of-School Time Summer Conference
July 30-31, 2019 | Bismarck Career Academy   

On July 30-31, 2019 The South East Education Cooperative's Afterschool Network is excited to hold the 2019 Out-of-School Time Summer Learning Conference at the Bismarck Career Academy. 

This 2-day learning opportunity will focus on Youth Engagement & Workforce Readiness in Afterschool. It is open to any teachers, program directors/coordinators, leaders and staff working in out-of-school time settings. 

Keynotes and a variety of breakout sessions will focus on student engagement, behavior challenges, staff retention, parent communication, STEM, social-emotional learning, and much more! 
 

NDMTSS Conference: June 10-12, 2019
Registration Opening April 16th! Click Image Below 


Metro Tech Camp 2019
June 5 & 6, 2019 | Horizon Middle School - Moorhead   

Are you looking for new and innovative ways to incorporate technology into your classroom? Do you want to streamline your work process? Are you curious about 21st Century Skills? You can get answers to all of these questions and more at Metro Tech Camp 2019! 

Cost: $80 Registration ($40/day)
 *Fee paid for staff members from sponsoring districts (Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, DGF) and New Teacher Candidates. 

 Grad Credit: $50 NDSU Graduate Credit 
* 10 sessions must be completed 
* Reflection and lesson plan required

Pollinators in the Classroom Workshop: 
June 25-26, 2019 | 8:00am - 4:00pm | VCSU Skoal Room 

Pollinators in the Classroom is an education workshop made available through the Valley City Area Teacher Center for teachers, environmental educators, or anyone that works with youth. This workshop features all new materials. Students will examine different animal species, both alive and specimens to get an up-close look. Participants will also receive the new Urban Pollinator Curriculum and explore the three distinct sections of this curriculum leading them from information to positive actions in their community. They will explore the urban pollinator gardens on site with inspiration to develop their own pollinator garden in their community or at their school. Different instructional methods will be used to teach across the curriculum integrating subject areas. The course is suitable for both elementary and secondary teachers. 

Outside Opportunities
Conferences, REA statewide opportunities, and more
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South East Education Cooperative
1305 9th Ave S  Fargo, ND 58103
701-446-3170  |   ndseec.info@k12.nd.us  |   www.ndseec.com


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