Executive Director S Report to the Board of Directors

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS November 16, 2016

Dear CES Board Members:

I first want to recognize that the 2016 Presidential Election was momentous, no matter where on the political spectrum you fall. We at CES have been exchanging messages and articles to support and encourage each other, and to use this as an opportunity to re-dedicate ourselves to the work that is most critical for the future of our country – the education of our young. I am also proud of the work of all of you -- and your superintendents, principals, and teachers -- in conveying to our students, family, and friends, messages of inspiration, hope, the need for civil discourse, inclusion, and civic engagement, and the abiding resilience, empathy, integrity, and generosity of spirit that is critical to our future as Americans and citizens of the world.

Second, there is plenty to read for this Board meeting – including the Annual Audit and the 64- page Annual Report – so this Executive Director report will be brief.

I am pleased that the Annual Audit was successfully completed and the independent auditors had no findings. Among the many positives captured in the audit are:  The total revenues for FY16 were $38,775,123 (not including pension revenue and offsetting expenses). This was an increase from $37,784,045 in FY15.  In FY16, CES had slightly higher expenditures than revenues. Overall, there was only a . 3% difference between revenues and expenditures, reflecting a well managed budget.  In FY16, CES received and managed over 60 new or continuation local, state, federal, private, and foundation grants and contracts. This was a decrease from 75 in FY15, reflecting the reduction in grants from ESE as Race to the Top sunsetted and from the federal government. The number of grants was in line with FY14 and FY13. On the other hand, we saw a slight increase in recognized special fund revenue. In this regard, CES recognized special fund revenue of $30,619,355 an increase of $316,538 FY15 special fund revenue of $30,302,817. (FY14 special fund revenue was $29,482,549.)

The FY16 Annual Report describes the range of CES programs and services, their cost- effectiveness, the participation levels, and impacts. The report has many impressive highlights, including:  In FY16, CES provided a range and depth of direct services to children, youth, and families in Special Education, alternative education, afterschool, internships, career-technical education, and early childhood programs. Combined, these programs touched over 5,500 individual educators in our member districts and others (up from bout 4,000 in FY15). We also provided direct education programs and professional and curriculum development support to the Department of Youth Services education programs and at Special Education in Institutional Settings sites; these served over 2,025 children and youth in over 70 settings.

1 November 2016 Executive Director Report to the Board of Directors  Our Professional Development and Licensure department provided offerings to over 3,400 distinct K-12 educators and we hosted eight regular Professional Learning Communities.  Many K-12 educators took more than one course or workshop during the year; and so, courses or workshops were delivered to a total of 8,183 participants during the year.  Our Early Childhood Department provided extensive PD in our member districts and beyond. Over 2,380 early educators and 3,150 parents / caregivers took part on our many early childhood workshops and in our Assessment for Responsive Teaching offerings.  Our Technology Department provided about 30 tailored trainings to our districts, including workshops on Google Apps for Education. Technology also provided consulting services to districts and hosted the highly successful Technology in Education conference that drew many educators from member districts. About 600 educators were part of the Technology professional development.

A few highlights since our last Board meeting include:

 Our Professional Development department provided inclusive education services, including student-specific inclusion consultation (two member districts); site-based workshop addressing best practices in inclusive education (three member districts); and Inclusive Practices Ambassador technical assistance for administrators in member districts.

 Through a grant from ESE, we planned and are conducting the Special Education Team Leader Institute (SETLI) -- a 4-day intensive training to be followed by a year-long hybrid online course to 28 IEP team leaders from across the state, including five participants from four member districts.

 In addition to a full slate of Fall PD offerings from Early Childhood, Technology, and Professional Development, we provided seven Election Day workshops enrolling educators from 10 member districts, as well as site-based PD in three member districts.

 CES hosted the first annual conference on “Transforming Education for Social Justice” on October 15 at Holyoke Community College. This is an outgrowth of our Social Justice and Equity (SJE) initiative. The conference was well-attended and included participants form most of our member districts as well as lots of youth participants.

Anne McKenzie, Superintendent of Hadley and I put together panel presentation on “Diversifying the Educator Workforce.” Panelists included John Provost, Superintendent of Northampton; Sam Intrator, professor and chair of the Education and Child Study Program at Smith College; Kwame Webster, Regional Director for Teach for America; and Rachel Bowen, Human Resources, Amherst Public Schools and member of ESE's Diversity Task Force.

 We received notification just last week that we were awarded a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Western MA to support follow-up to this conference as well as other work with our staff and districts.

2  Board Chair Dan Hayes and I were two of the panelists at one of the sessions of the MASS/MASC conference on November 3. The theme of the conference was Social Emotional Learning and the Impact of Poverty on Education. With three other collaborative directors and one superintendent, Dan and I presented Your Educational Collaborative: A Partner in Addressing Barriers to Learning in Your Region, in Your Schools, and in Our Programs. The session was standing-room only and was well-received.

 Leading up to the referendum on lifting the cap on charter schools, I was a panelist at two community forums – one at the University of Massachusetts and one at Smith College.

 Several districts in the northern Berkshires asked CES to help them with a proposal, submitted on 11/15, to the State of Massachusetts “Efficiency and Regionalization Grant” program. The proposal was submitted by the North Adams School District, with initial work to be subcontracted to CES. It entails laying the groundwork for a new Educational Collaborative; the Berkshires does not have a collaborative. The plan is to build the relationships and agreements among districts through establishing a cross-district special education program for a specific group of high-need students, as identified by a needs assessment that will be conducted by a CES staff member as part of the grant. This program will open in SY 2018 and will initially be operated by CES, then turned over to the new collaborative.

 The Proud of Western MA Schools Facebook page continues to garner stories from throughout the region. Please “like” the page and encourage your administrators and teachers to send us items or links to post.

 We continue our twice-monthly CES E-Newsletter, designed to provide information and news about CES projects and service areas that are not event-oriented. I hope you’ve seen and enjoyed the E-Newsletter. If not, you can sign up to receive this every other week using our website e-newsletter sign up form.

I continue to be grateful for and amazed by the impressive staff at CES. We are so fortunate to have so many people working for and with us who are undauntedly determined to make positive impacts on all the lives they touch. In the end, that is what will matter.

Best regards,

3 November 2016 Executive Director Report to the Board of Directors