You can register and get more info at the MBLC Site: bit.ly/MBLCsite or check out our Google Calendar of Events: bit.ly/MBLC_Eventcalendar. You can also view the Year at a Glance.
For events open to Friends of MBLC, look for this symbol: 💟
Tuesday, September 17 from 3:30-5:00 pm - Monthly MBLC Online Meeting
For all Cohort 1 & 2 MBLC school teams and interested staff
Friends of the MBLC, you are welcome to join the presentation (first 40 minutes of the meeting). Break-out rooms are for MBLC member schools only, so please jump off when we transition to the break-out room portion of the meeting. 💟
The MBLC Meetings are a series of online events that meet throughout the year. In these meetings we will share webinar presentations on essential components of Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Mastery-Based Learning. Each webinar will be followed by breakout room sessions during which MBLC educators will be able to connect with others from across the collaborative to discuss the ideas shared in the webinar, and to share dilemmas, questions, successes and resources.
Outcomes:
- Build understanding of how to use a combination of Culturally Responsive-Sustaining and Mastery-Based approaches to achieve greater educational equity in schools and districts
- Build understanding of how to integrate youth voice and leadership into school change efforts
- Increase awareness of resources, tools, and approaches being used successfully across the Collaborative
We strongly encourage teams to attend together. Register your team today!
MBLC Event archive: Our growing event archive on the MBLC Community Site is a treasure trove of recordings and resources from past events.
POCIS Northwest Equity and Inclusion Virtual Speaker Series
Dr. Gholdy Muhammad
Oct 9, 2024 at 5:00 PM
In this keynote, Dr. Gholdy Muhammad offers a unique, culturally, and historically responsive approach to cultivating genius and joy in education. This approach is essential for accelerating the growth of all students and uniquely youth of color, who have been traditionally underserved in learning standards, policies, and school practices. Register here.
The Aurora Institute Symposium 2024
November 2-5, 2024, New Orleans, Louisiana
The Aurora Institute Symposium is the leading conference for transforming K-12 education systems, advancing breakthrough practices and policies, and implementing personalized, competency-based learning.
Registration is now open.
Read this, watch that!
Here are resources for your use. Enjoy, and let us know your wish list for next time!
Tumwater School District honored as the Pacific Education Institute FieldSTEM District of the Year
 On a drizzly day in May last spring, Tumwater middle schoolers and their teachers gathered at Isabella Bush Park in Tumwater for a FieldSTEM day. As the students climbed out of the school bus, they were greeted by an array of volunteers and Tumwater science teachers who had gathered to help them explore the natural world of the park. In small groups, the students gathered around water scientists, specialists from Pacific Education Institute, experts in invasive species, and science teachers, who engaged them in a variety of activities. There was laughter and joking as the students spread out beneath the cloudy sky; there was also thoughtfulness, questioning, and observation. The fieldSTEM day was the result of Tumwater’s efforts to bring together mastery-based learning, culturally responsive-sustaining education, and project-based math and science. The joyful learning happening throughout the park was a testament to the power of these three approaches when combined.
At one station, students measured trees with a carbon sequestration tape, which enabled them to calculate how much carbon each tree could store in a year; at other stations, students learned to test groundwater for contaminants, to identify non-native species, and to name local trees . As they moved from station to station, the students recorded their observations, thoughts and questions in a trip booklet created by their teachers.
Due to the ingenuity and dedication of the teachers involved in Tumwater’s MBLC work, this field trip is only one example of the many ways that Tumwater students have engaged in hands-on math and science, frequently outside the walls of a traditional classroom. Among other things, students have ventured onto golf courses to apply mathematics with teacher Suzanne Jones, participated in summer programs on drone orienteering, engineering design, and water testing, engaged with professional scientists in their science classrooms, and explored local ecosystems with water-testing groups.
Teacher Jason Roberts, describing an activity in which students used cardboard, tape, and paper to build the tallest chairs possible for teddy bears, said of the hands-on work, “That’s what real science is - They’re actually practicing being scientists. The other thing is, it’s just a lot more fun!” Roberts has been a leader in Tumwater’s MBLC work, experimenting with various ways to enable students to self-assess and track their progress on the science standards as they participate in project-based learning.
Due to the creativity, dedication, and excitement that all of Tumwater’s STEM teachers have brought to their work over the past year (and also due to the efforts of TOSA Michelle Paul, who coordinated the MBLC and Field STEM work,) Tumwater has been named the Pacific Education Institute “FieldSTEM District of the Year,” and will be honored at a ceremony on Sep. 26. It’s a wonderful accolade for this MBLC member district - be sure to give Tumwater teachers a cheer when you see them at Fall Gathering!
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