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Director's Notes
Celebrating Forty Years of Serving North Country Schools
September marks forty years since North Country Education Services was established. Though incorporated in 1971, the agency began providing services in 1969 as a result of project "ARISE", a cultural arts project that operated from 1966-1969. The concept for the organization was written by its first director, Victor Walton. It was started from Title III monies for innovative projects which would not normally be undertaken by school districts.
Over the course of forty years, NCES has held true to its founding purposes: professional development for teachers, collaboration and communication amongst North Country schools, training and services to build technology to improve education and serving as a central agency to disseminate information and materials. We look forward to many more years of service to North Country students, teachers and the educational community.
New Faces on the NCES Board of Directors
As many of you may know, NCES is a consortium of School Administrative Units 3, 7, 9, 20, 23, 35, 36, 58, 68, 77 & 84. The agency is governed by its Board of Directors which consists of the Superintendent (or their designee) of each member SAU, a representative of White Mountains Community College, Granite State College, Plymouth State University, Tri-County Community Action Program and a few Members at Large.
Five of the eleven SAUs have had a change in leadership for the 2009-2010 school year. We welcome these new Directors, Corinne Cascadden, SAU 3; Paul MacMillan, SAU 35; Tom McGuire, SAU 77; Ronald Paquette, SAU 58; and Tommy Stephens, SAU 84. The full listing of NCES Board Members is available on our website www.ncedservices.org/board.htm.
And a Few New Faces on the NCES Staff
NCES welcomes its new staff members, Danielle Bizier, Occupational Therapist and Courtney Daffinrud, Autism Spectrum Consultant; and welcomes back former staff member, Bruce Showalter, School Psychologist.
Back to School...
To all those in the educational community, we wish you a great start to the school year. We look forward to serving you. Please inform of us of your needs for special education services, professional development, extended learning and other resources.
Lori Langlois
Interim Executive Director
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Math Coach Institute
Hurry, registration ends Sept 4th!
What math is taught and how math is taught are fundamentally different from what they were only a couple of decades ago, before the “standards movement” took hold. Teaching by telling is being replaced with an inquiry approach, moving us past memorization of paper-and-pencil manipulations and into conceptual understandings, multiple representations and connections, reasoning and proof, communication, modeling, and problem solving. Using manipulatives is the single most powerful way to differentiate the math classroom at all levels because it allows students to readily think in pictures rather than predominately in words. The manipulatives invite greater engagement and serve as a medium for understanding and communicating math concepts, skills, and problem solving.
In this institute, math coaches will meet with Tom throughout the school year to participate in an ongoing dialog about the issues of most concern to the participating coaches. Participants will learn to use manipulatives to teach and assess the math curriculum.
Consultant/Instructor: Tom Schersten
Dates at NCES:
Monday and Tuesday, September 28 & 29, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, March 12, 2010
Participants would observe on at least two of the following dates:
October 27, 28 & 29 (Tues, Wed, Thurs) at Whitefield School
December 1, 2 & 3 (Tues, Wed, Thurs) at Lisbon School
March 9, 10 & 11, (Tues, Wed, Thurs) at Lancaster School
Cost: $1500 per coach (includes 3 credits from Plymouth State University)
Limit: 15 coaches
Registration deadline: Friday, September 4, 2009
Registration: Contact Lori Langlois at 603-466-5437 or lori@ncedservices.org. Purchase orders should be faxed to 603-466-2907 or checks mailed to NCES, 300 Gorham Hill Road, Gorham, NH 03581. MC/Visa accepted.
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Writing Cohorts: Grades K-2 / Grades 3-6
For as long as we've been doing process writing in classrooms we are still seeing samples that lack focus and organization, that are weak in elaboration and student accountabilty for effective revising and editing skills. The purpose of this course is to fine tune existing practices and to establish significant strategies at each stage of the process, in all aspects of content writing, that will transfer to student ownership and bring students to their optimal ability to write quality pieces.
There will be two cohorts for this course. One for K-2 teachers and the other for grades 3-6. This course will be most effective if you participate as a team.
Instructor: Jean Mann
Grade K-2 Meeting Dates: 10/21, 12/2, 1/13 & 3/10/2010
Grade 3-6 Meeting Dates: 11/4, 12/9, 1/20 & 3/17/2010
Time: 8:30 to 4:00
Location: NCES, Gorham
Cost: $899/person (includes 3 graduate credits from Plymouth State University)
Onsite, school based consultation: Ideally participants in this course would purchase additional consultation time with Jean Mann. This would include modeling lessons and strategies in classrooms. Contact Lori Langlois at lori@ncedservices.org for more details on arranging for onsite, school-based visits.
More details, including a brochure available soon.
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Project SUCCESS
Project SUCCESS (Schools Using Coordinated Community Efforts to Strengthen Students) is designed to prevent and reduce substance use among students 12 to 18 years of age. The program was originally developed for students attending alternative high schools who are at high risk for substance use and abuse due to poor academic performance, truancy, discipline problems, negative attitudes toward school, and parental substance abuse. In recent years, Project SUCCESS has been used in regular middle and high schools for a broader range of high-risk students.
This training will be offered at NCES on September 22, 23 & 24, 2009 with limited availability.
Download Project SUCCESS registration brochure.
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NECAP Fall 2009 Test Administration Workshops
Fall 2009 NECAP Test Administration workshops for new test coordinators and new building administrators will be held the mornings of September 9 (Grappone Center, Concord), September 10 (SERESC, Bedford), and September 11 (NCES, Gorham). To register go to http://iregister.measuredprogress.org/ then select “New England Common Assessment Program”.
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North Country Professional Development Day
North Country Professional Development Day will be on Friday, October 9, 2009 at White Mountains Regional High School. The program booklet will be available for download from the NCES website on or around September 11 and the registration period will be from September 14-25.
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Extended Learning Opportunities News
The Pittsburg School recently installed a video conferencing unit to use for virtual field trips, meetings, and eventually student classes. Contact Ann Gray if you would like more information about their video conferencing program.
WMRHS Teacher Jon Dugan-Henriksen is teaching AP US History to three schools via video conferencing in addition to the students in his classroom.
Lin-Wood High School joined the North Country Virtual High School Consortium enabling their students to take any of the 200+ VHS classes. Wendy Porter is serving as their Site Coordinator. Gorham, Groveton, Lisbon, Littleton, Pittsburg, Profile and White Mountains Regional High School are also members of the North Country Virtual High School Consortium.
Fifty-four North Country Students are currently registered to attend VHS classes this fall. Class titles include Bioethics Symposium, Marketing and the Internet, Classical Law, Genes and Diseases, Preveterinary Medicine, DNA Technology, and The Holocaust.
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Lesley University North Country Cohort
Lesley University is currently accepting applications for a new cohort meeting in the Woodsville area.
Target Start Date:
November 2009
Master of Education in Special Education (M.Ed.)
For General Educators (Non-licensure) The Special Education Program seeks to impart and support the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of reflective, skilled, and ethical educators to teach in the diverse classrooms of the 21st century.
Learn about:
(RTI) Response to Intervention
(UDL) Universal Design for Learners
(PBS) Positive Behavioral Supports
No GRE or MAT required.
For more information:
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NH Arts in Education 2009 Partnership Conference
Maps & Journeys
October 30 - November 1
Highland Center, Crawford Notch
Conference highlights include a keynote address, "How an Art Form Defeated an Army," by James Tusty, director and producer of The Singing Revolution, a riveting documentary film on Estonia's independence movement; a talk and workshops on "The Power of Creativity" with artist-in-residence Julie Lyonn Lieberman, master violinist, vocalist, composer and educator; and a presentation by Bob Morrison of Quadrant Education Research on the N.H. Arts Education Data Project, the first comprehensive survey of arts education in the state.
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Conference details
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