The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) are working collaboratively to create a comprehensive Birth-Grade 12 Family Engagement Framework for use in home visiting programs, early intervention services, childcare centers, public school settings, and more.

The Family Engagement Focus Groups will bring together members of the cross agency team, national partners, and stakeholders from a variety of fields to provide insight, guidance, and feedback on the work currently underway to draft the Framework.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will interview finalists for the Commissioner of Education on Friday, Jan 26, with a vote taking place Monday, Feb 29.

The interviews are open the the public and can be viewed in person at the Omni Parker House in Boston or via livestream (recordings of BOE livestreams are also available on this page for later viewing): https://livestream.com/accounts/22459134 

Advocate for the addition of a new Dual Language Educator endorsement in Massachusetts -- Deadline May 1

• Support creation of a new Dual Language Educator Endorsement for educators in dual language program models
• Continue the current endorsement for Transitional Bilingual Learning for grades PK-6 and 5-12 in CMR 7:06section (9)(b)

A Dual Language Educator endorsement is necessary to meet the needs of the increasing number of dual language programs in Massachusetts, to establish equitable requirements for highly qualified teachers working in dual language programs, and to promote high standards for dual language education.  (For a detailed discussion, see MABE's position statement on the DL endorsement, which is supported by MATSOL.)

New from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Guidance for Defining and Implementing Two-Way Immersion and Transitional Bilingual Education Programs

• Overview: Defining TWI and TBE Programs
• Defining and Designing a Two-Way Immersion Program
• Defining and Designing a Transitional Bilingual Education Program

View guidance document...

The Department of Elementary and Secondary education has released new guidance on SLIFE students: "Massachusetts Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) Definition and Guidance."

• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Definition of SLIFE
• Part 1: Initial Identification of SLIFE
• Part 1.1: Identification of SLIFE Currently Enrolled in Massachusetts Schools 
• Part 2: SLIFE Programming Guiding Principles 
• Part 3: Programming Considerations 
• Part 4: Redesignation Criteria for SLIFE into Non-SLIFE Status 
• Appendix A: Sample SLIFE Pre-Screener 
• Appendix B: Sample SLIFE Interview
• Appendix C: Sample Individualized Learning Plan
• Appendix D: Glossary of Key Terms 

http://www.doe.mass.edu/ell/guidance_laws.html