The Takeaway

October 17, 2017

SBOE Welcomes New Student Representatives

Late last month, the State Board of Education proudly held swearing-in ceremonies for its two new student representatives, Tallya Rhodes (HD Woodson HS, Ward 7) and Tatiana Robinson (Ballou HS, Ward 8). State Board President Karen Williams was joined by Ashley Carter (At-Large) and Markus Batchelor (Ward 8) at both high schools as our newest student representatives were sworn in with proud teachers, classmates, and family members cheering them on!

Tallya and Tatiana are the first students from their respective high schools to be selected as student representatives. These two outstanding students were chosen through an open application process due to their academic excellence and deep involvement at school and in the community. Tatiana and Tallya will also chair the State Board's Student Advisory Committee of youth leaders from schools around the city who will advise the State Board on its work over the next year.

The Student Advisory Committee serves as the voice of students in the State Board’s work and is consulted on all issues of policy before the Board. The Student Advisory Committee conducts its meetings approximately once per month and is happy to accept new members. If you are a District of Columbia resident and either a sophomore, junior, or senior in either a traditional public or public charter high school and would like to join, please contact us via email at sboe@dc.gov.

Click Here to watch Tallya’s Ceremony.
Click Here to watch Tatiana’s Ceremony.

Congratulations to our new student representatives!  

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#DCGradReqs Update

The October 11th meeting of the task force marks the halfway point of their important work on high school graduation requirements. During this meeting, a draft problem statement was discussed, which was synthesized from input from task force members after a series of engagement opportunities with students, graduates, counselors and other stakeholders. Feel free to watch the robust discussion below.

Check out the meeting materials below:
Meeting Overview | Watch the Replay

The next #DCGradReqs meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 25, 2017, at 6:00 p.m.

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#ESSATaskForce Update

Our SBOE ESSA Task Force held its third meeting on October 3rd, continuing their important work of devising education policy recommendations related to the District’s implementation of ESSA. At this month’s meeting, Task Force member Josh Boots of EmpowerK12 presented information on 2017 PARCC data for the District. Representatives from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) provided an overview of the report card creation process and introduced a public engagement facilitation toolkit that task force members can utilize in upcoming focus group sessions. Check out the meeting materials here and watch the replay here.

Earlier this month, the task force started holding focus groups around the District to ensure that families are informed about the new state education and the work of the task force. To find an upcoming focus group that you can attend, please visit sboe.dc.gov/essa. The next task force meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 6:00 p.m.

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Working Session To Be Held on November 6th * Meeting Date Change *

Please be advised that the date for our November working session has been moved to Monday, November 6, 2017. We will hold this working session at 6:00 p.m. in Room 1114 at 441 4th St. NW. For more information regarding upcoming meetings, please visit sboe.dc.gov.

Deeper Learning Panel at Public Meeting

At September’s public meeting, the SBOE welcomed an expert panel on “deeper learning.” The panel delved into the current research on deeper learning as the State Board continues to push District schools to provide all students with an education that prepares them for college, career, and life. The State Board was honored to receive a grant from the National Association of State Boards of Education to assist us in our work in this area.

Don Long, Director of Teaching, Leading & Learning Policy at the National Association of State Boards of Education, Dr. Loretta Goodwin, Senior Director at the American Youth Policy Forum, and Phillip Lovell, Vice President of Policy Development and Government Relations at the Alliance for Excellent Education, shared with the Board current research into the deeper learning idea and how it can impact students. These representatives spoke to deeper learning as educational strategies that develop students’ abilities to master academic content, think critically and solve complex problems, work collaboratively, communicate effectively, and learn how to learn. Panelists discussed the benefits of integrating deeper learning with social and emotional learning in a more holistic way. Click here to review their presentation.

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State Board in the Community