Did you know that most the North Country's high schools are involved with the Youth Leadership Through Adventure (YLTA) program? YLTA was developed to provide schools with a youth-led prevention and leadership development model for students. The two consistent priorities for each YLTA group is the prevention of substance use among high school students, and the improvement of school climate.
 Students in YLTA recently developed an app fill with activities aimed at youth leadership. The app offers a cataloged list of activities for those in need of solutions and ideas for group facilitation along with detailed instructions on hos to use them. You can learn more about YLTA through the North Country Health Consortium. Check out this YLTA video highlighting the outdoor adventures that students from throughout the region have been partaking in.
Next month YLTA high school leaders will be coordinating a conference for middle school students. It is wonderful to see our youth involved in leading these important prevention activities.
Lori Langlois
Executive Director
lori@ncedservices.org
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Enhancing STEM Instruction
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Are you interested in developing your skills to support students as science practitioners?
To be truly scientifically literate, students must learn disciplinary content in the context of science and engineering practices. These workshops, lead by Dr. Sarah Turtle from Plymouth State University and Jacquelyn Wilson of Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, are designed to support teachers in developing the understanding and skills necessary for implementing practices as outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards within the contexts of environmental science and ecology.
The following three workshops are available to North Country educators are no cost.
Scientific Skills in the Elementary Classroom
Friday, March 4, 2016, 8:30 - 3:30
Scientific Skills for Middle/High School
Friday, April 8, 2016, 8:30 - 3:30
Incorporating Big Data into Your Classroom
Friday, April 29, 2016 from 8:30 - 3:30
Full description of each workshop here or download pdf flyer.
Instructors: Dr. Sarah Turtle, Plymouth State University and Jacquelyn Wilson, Hubbard Brook Research Foundation
Where: NCES, Gorham, NH
Cost: Free, breakfast refreshments and lunch provided.
Registration: Online, call NCES, M-F, 8-4 at 603-466-5437 or email lisa@ncedservices.org.
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Life Skills: New Thoughts, New Goals, New Paths for a Functional Life
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 In any school we can find students with ASD and similar challenges who are not accessing the general curriculum and not getting the full benefit of an instructional day. We’ve seen the goal- “Johnny will transition successfully to adult services.” We’ve felt we could have done more. We’ve felt the frustration when Sally arrives in high school and she still requires 1:1 and has few, if any functional skills and we are out of time.
Join us in a practical, challenging workshop. We’ll explore some new thought, approaches, and strategies. We’ll look at new ways to assess functional levels and new approaches to utilizing our resources.
Participants in this workshop will learn how to develop a comprehensive life skills plan, advocate for earlier intervention in functional areas, and approach Life Skills as the challenging discipline that it is. We’ll also leave with practical ideas you can put to use tomorrow and in the future.
This workshop is designed for teachers in the life skills areas whether high school or elementary level, experienced para professionals who work with “the Life Skills Kids”, parents, and team leaders.
Instructor: David F. Freschi
Dates: March 22 & 23, 2016 from 9:00 to 3:00
Location: NCES, Gorham, NH
Cost:
Staff from NCES member schools, $195
Staff from Associate member schools, $245
Others, $275
Registration: Online, call NCES, M-F, 8-4 at 603-466-5437 or email lisa@ncedservices.org.
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Community of Practice for Life Skills Teachers
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Open to those responsible for teaching life skills curriculum in grades 3 and up, this session will be facilitated by David Freschi. Part of the purpose of this gathering is to assess interest in monthly or bi-monthly community of practice gatherings during the 2016-17 school year.
Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Time: 4:00 to 6:30
Location: NCES
Cost: $35, light dinner and refreshments provided.
Registration: Online, call NCES, M-F, 8-4 at 603-466-5437 or email lisa@ncedservices.org.
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Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders
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 CarolAnn Edscorn is a dynamic and moving speaker who describes her full life as a person with autism. On day one, the focus will be on understanding the autism brain, sensory integration, and social skills implications. Day two will delve into accommodations and modifications, functional behavior analysis, and inclusive practices. Both days will include interactive experiences, personal vignettes, humor and visual illustrations support the learning experience.
Instructor: CarolAnn Edscorn
Dates: March 31 and April 1, 2016 from 9:00 to 3:00
Location: NCES, Gorham, NH
Cost:
Staff from NCES member schools, $165
Staff from associate member schools, $200
Others, $230
Only can make one day? Contact NCES for pricing on this option.
Registration: Online, call NCES, M-F, 8-4 at 603-466-5437 or email lisa@ncedservices.org.
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Developing a Comprehensive Autism Plan with David Freschi
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Workshop description coming soon.
Instructor: David F. Freschi
Dates: April 27, 2016 from 9:00 to 3:00
Location: NCES, Gorham, NH
Cost:
Staff from NCES member schools, $95
Staff from associate member schools, $125
Others, $140
Registration: Online, call NCES, M-F, 8-4 at 603-466-5437 or email lisa@ncedservices.org.
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Math Institute for Teachers of Grades 5-8
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The New Hampshire Math Impact Center is offering a professional development workshop for grades 5-8.
Instructor: Dr. Natalya Vinogradova
Date: Saturday March 12th from 9:00 to 3:00
Location: North Country Education Services in Gorham, NH
Cost: Free. There is a $100.00 stipend for participants.
Light breakfast and lunch will be provided. Every participant will have priority consideration for the Rural Educator Institutes described below.
Registration: Teachers can register with the NH Math Impact Center by filling out this registration form.
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Rural Educator Math and ELA Summer Institutes
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This summer, the NH Math Impact Center and the National Writing Project of New Hampshire, both based at Plymouth State University, will be offering week-long institutes for North Country educators.
Participants will receive a stipend of $100/day for participation and lunches and light breakfast will be provided. All institutes will take place at North Country Educational Services in Gorham. Preference will be given to those who attended our workshops last year or during the school year, but new participants are also welcome.
Institutes offered:
Literacy grades k-5
Dates: July 25-29, 2016 from 9:00 to 3:00 daily
Literacy in the Content areas (grades 6-12)
Dates: August 1-5, 2016 from 9:00 to 3:00 daily
Mathematics grades k-4
Dates: August 8-12, 2016 from 9:00 to 3:00 daily
Mathematics grades 5-8
Dates:August 15-19, 2016 from 9:00 to 3:00 daily
To sign up for any of these workshops, please register with Plymouth State University by filling out this online registration form.
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News for Schools from the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire
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Serve as Your School's Arts Contact
The Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire would like to have an arts contact in every North Country school to communicate with about upcoming programs and to help plan future programs that fit with each school’s goals and needs. If you’re interested in representing your school, please contact the Alliance at 323-7302 or email info@aannh.org.
Kera Washington African Music and Dance
Kera Washington, ethnomusicologist, percussionist and band leader of the all-female band Zili Misik, will be in residence March 14 to 18, offering assemblies and workshops on the sounds of the African Diaspora and its relationship to music around the globe. She'll also offer an educator workshop and a series of community events, including an African dance workshop and two full-band culminating concerts, one in a school. Learn more and sign up to participate here.
Spring Artist Residencies
Also available this spring: Marek Bennett, comics artist, whose programs incorporate sequential narrative cartooning techniques that can be used to explore any subject, from history to science, writing to math; teacher training, classroom workshops and family nights can be incorporated into his visit. Theater artist Michael Zerphy presents “Choices to Grow By” assemblies and workshops on positive decision making.
Arts in Early Learning at WMCC
Through its partnership with VSA New Hampshire, and under a contract with the John F. Kennedy Center, the Arts Alliance will be offering a two-part Arts in Early Learning training for early childhood educators, students and care providers at White Mountains Community College in March and April, as well as Universal Design for Learning-based professional development workshops.
The Alliance is happy to offer customized programs for school partners. Email programs@aannh.org to get added to the email list for announcements, or visit www.aannh.org for updates.
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The results are in-now what?
When reviewing and analyzing any assessments: DIBELS, Aimsweb, NWEA, District Constructed, State or National Testing, the POWER is in effective response.
Changes in curriculum and instruction to meet National, State and District Core Standards has asked teachers and leaders to consider:
- Why we need assessment data
- What types of data are useful
- How to best use the data to inform and possibly change instruction to assure that students achieve proficiencies
These changes have also heightened the need to:
- Monitor instructional effectiveness
- Fully understand the types of assessment
- Understand how each type of assessment is represented in best educational practice
- Adjust to new assessment requirements based on competencies
- Increasingly engage students in monitoring their own progress
Given these considerations, the Shannon will :
- Overview the research that informs best practices in assessment
- Describe commonly used formative, benchmark and summative assessment practices
- Describe how those practices have ( or have not) been shown to be effective
- Look at effective practices in monitoring learning and long term retention of learning and skills
- Show to construct assessment data collection and reporting
- Show to be leverage data collection and reports to improve instructional practices, and student engagement
Instructor: Shannon Harken, M.A.Ed.
Elementary Level
Date: Monday, May 16, 2016 from 9:00 to 3:30
Middle/High School Levels
Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 from 9:00 to 3:30
Discounted Video Conferenced Cost: To attend either workshop via video conference at NCES:
Staff from NCES member schools, $150
Staff from associate member schools, $180
Others, $195
Registration: For video conferenced workshops at NCES, register with NCES online or by calling 603-466-5437 between 8-4. In-person registrations for the Bedford location should be made with SERESC, For information for attending in-person at SERESC, Bedford, NH, click here.
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Grant Seeker Information Sessions for the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund
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Organizations providing services in Coos County and bordering communities in Vermont, Quebec, and Maine are encouraged to apply for funding from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund. Learn more about the Tillotson Fund’s new strategic framework which includes revised priorities and the grant application process at Indian Stream Health Center (Colebrook) on April 13th or NCES (Gorham) on April 14th, both 10:00 to 11:30.
More details
Interested in learning more about the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund? Check of the 2015 Report to the Community.
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Scholarships for Coos Secondary Math Teachers
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Every year, Phillips Exeter Academy hosts over 400 secondary school teachers from around the world. Teachers have the opportunity to learn new skills and develop curriculum. It’s a wonderful week of learning, collaboration and networking. Teachers leave feeling renewed and reenergized.
This year's Phillips Exeter Summer Conference is June 26 to July 1, 2016. The cost of each program is $1,200 for the week and includes all meals, courses, course materials, featured speakers and various events. Attendees are welcome to stay on campus (dorms) for no additional cost. Many schools use grant money or Title II funds to cover tuition. This year there are scholarships available to 4 Coos County secondary math teachers for the Anja S. Greer Conference. Contact Barbara Darby at bdarby@exeter.edu for more information.
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Universal Design for Learning & Model Arts Competencies
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Attention arts educators, save the date!
May 19, 2016 at NCES
Facilitators: Marcia McCaffrey and the Arts Alliance of Northern NH
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The Wonders of Wildlife (WOW) Program is a series of active educational programs for grades 3-6 students that are designed to increase understanding and knowledge of New Hampshire’s wildlife resources. In addition to school classrooms, programs may also be presented to scout troops, 4-H groups and other organized youth groups. Programs are presented by highly trained Fish and Game volunteer docents. Training for the volunteers is jointly sponsored by the UNH Cooperative Extension and the NH Fish and Game Department.
Wonders of Wildlife programs are offered free of charge, on a first come, first served basis. Programs take place at your school or meeting place.
Learn more
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Holocaust Education Program
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Echoes and Reflections is a comprehensive Holocaust education program that delivers professional development and a rich array of resources for middle and high school teachers. Echoes and Reflections prepares educators to teach about the Holocaust in a way that stimulates engagement and critical thinking while providing
opportunities for students to see the relevance of this complex history to their own lives.
Date: March 23, 2016, 9:00 - 3:00
Location: Keene State College
Cost: $75
More information
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Stream Safari and Project WET/Wild Workshop
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4-H Stream Safari is an environmental science program focused on
stream ecology for youth in grades K-8. The curriculum includes indoor and outdoor activities, field work experiences, data collection and analysis involving stream ecology. The workshop includes Project WET and Wild certification, Stream Safari curriculum guide, and stream field work experience. This workshop is geared towards educators working with youth in grades K-8. Registration required. Scholarships available.
Dates: May 23, 9-3pm, May 24 9-12pm
Location: AMC Highland Center, Route 302, Bretton Woods, NH
Cost: $122/person including Project WET/Wild certification.
More information or contact Sarah.Grosvenor@unh.com
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Around the Special Education World
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The special education process works best when parents and educators are able to work in partnership to meet the needs of children with disabilities. This comprehensive seminar has been broken up into two evenings, providing participants with the tools they need to be better informed and more effective members of a child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team.
Dates: May 3 & 10, 2106 from 5:30 to 8:30
Location: Lancaster, NH
More information
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A Mobile Computer Science Principles course consisting of a fully online 4-week workshop, June 27 – July 22 (with the option of face-to-face participation in the first week of June 27-July 1 and last week of July 18-22) followed by professional development support throughout the school year is available to NH teachers.
Accepted teachers will receive a $4,000 stipend for successfully completing the PD plus $1000 upon teaching AP Mobile CSP course during 2016-2017 school year. Teaching the course in 2016-2017 is a requirement for participating.
More information
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No Snow, No Problem
The STEM Resource Partners spent their February meeting focused on the topic of snow making. From the engineering design, to the economics, to the environmental impacts, and to the science behind snow, the topic lends itself to a true integration of STEM. Using a compressor and snow gun designed with less than $50 worth of parts from the hardware store, the group generated approximately a 1/2 inch of snow in three hours at a temperature just below freezing.
Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship and Professional Development Scholarships
The nominations for the Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship and applications for the scholarships are both due on April 22.
Learn more
Become a Northern Forest Canoe Trail Summer Intern
If guiding youth groups on paddling trips or leading a volunteer effort to build stone staircases on a portage sounds like a fun summer job, check out the internship opportunities from Northern Forest Canoe Trail.
Learn more
Broadband and Economic Development
UNH is hosting a workshop/meeting for small business owners in northern NH on March 31, 2016 from 5:00 - 6:30 PM at the Town & Country Inn and Resort, Gorham, NH.
Learn more
Nominations for K-6 Presidential Awards due by April 1st
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the nation's highest honors for teachers of mathematics and science (including computer science).
Learn more
Free He Named Me Malala DVDs for Classrooms
Students Stand #withMalala, is making 20,000 DVDs of He Named Me Malala available for free to teachers across the U.S. to use in their classroom. The 2015 film chronicles the life of eighteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and an outspoken advocate for girls’ education across the world.
Get your DVD
Substance Misuse Prevention in Schools
Save the Date
May 10, 2016 in Manchester, NH
The first ever NH Governor's Summit on Substance Misuse aims to inform and foster a continued collective response through prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery supports. The event will encourage participants to reach beyond their professions and understand and learn from their peers in other sectors to develop an environment of understanding and establish a strong network of resources for the individuals they serve.
North of the 44th
North of the 44th placemakers pledge to...
Share resources and passion to strengthen the region.
Highlight what is inspiring and right in the region while recognizing that challenges exist.
Attend to relationships and networks to build trust, optimism and a common sense of purpose across the region.
Practice Asset-Based Thinking and building from strength in daily work and life.
Emphasize inclusion, reaching beyond traditional barriers of age, class and education.
WorkReadyNH is a tuition-free workforce development program tailored to meet the needs of job seekers and career builders as well as provide training in the specific skills employers are seeking in their current and future employees. White Mountain Community College provides classes are various North Country locations throughout the year.
Learn more at www.ccsnh.edu/workreadynh or call 342-3099.
Brain Building Moments
Every parent has what it takes to be a brain builder. Share the Vroom website and app with all the parents and caregivers of children under age 5.
Join Vroom today
A new initiative launched in support of public education in New Hampshire.
Learn more
Why Data?
Have you seen the new NHDOE video, Why Data? The New Hampshire Department of Education leads the nation with its focus on the use of multiple measures to inform instruction, and the state-wide support structure that provides every school with access to student data. Educators in schools can access multiple measures including both state assessment data and local school assessment data. NHDOE data coaches work with schools to help educators embrace data at they target instruction for each individual student and groups of students. This video helps convey the accessibility of using data.
It is available on Vimeo at: https://vimeo.com/145661565
North Country Jobs in Education
Visit TeachNorth.org for education related jobs in the North Country.
Coos Networks
Coös NetWorks supports people of the region, the cultural and natural resources, future community and economic development of the region. This network is comprised of people who share a common passion for the greater Coös Region. If you're one of those people, join today.
Stay Informed with NHDOE Key Messages
Did you know that the New Hampshire Department of Education publishes key messages each month? You can find them online here:
http://education.nh.gov/key/index.htm
Odysseyware provides online curriculum for grades 3-12, with customizable core, elective and CTE courses, assessment & remediation tools and much more. Odysseyware is ideal as a stand-alone curriculum or for blended learning, credit recovery, RTI, alternative and special education, ESOL, 1:1 and more.
Support NCES with a tax deductible donation
Your tax deductible gift helps support the work of the organization in being a leader in providing professional development and educational services, facilitating partnerships and fostering collaborations that benefit member schools, advocating for resources for teachers and students, and continuously creating opportunities that enhance education in the North Country.
Contact Information
North Country Education Services
300 Gorham Hill Road
Gorham, NH 03581
ncedservices.org
603-466-5437
nces@ncedservices.org
NCES is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
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