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Serving Aztec, Bloomfield, Central, Farmington, Gallup, and Zuni school districts; San Juan College...
and all New Mexico schools
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Updates from REC #1
In this newsletter, you will find information about...
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- EEDW - Extending Equity into the Digital Workforce!
- Professional Development Opportunities
- Tech for Teachers
- The Professional Teacher
- CLIA
- SEL4NM
- San Juan Early Childhood Coalition
- CNDL - Kellogg Foundation
- Other Partnerships
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We are seven months into our federal project, Extending Equity into the Digital Workforce! (PR# S411B210027). It’s been a busy few months, for sure.
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The purpose of EEDW is to study the efficacy of online learning for students in the state’s early college high schools. We know that early college high schools work in terms of student program completion, career preparation, and entrance and retention when students enter higher education or other trade schools. What we don’t know is whether or not online learning works as well for students in these schools as more traditional dual credit course options.
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That’s what we hope to learn through this 4-year project.
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Visit the EEDW web site at http://eedw.nmrec1.org for full details, partnerships, IT program options and more!
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Project Implementation Snapshot:
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- Study environment: Early college high schools, with their focus on “wraparound” services
- Target field of study: Information technology, with an emphasis on cybersecurity
- Course access: Dual enrollment with higher education partners
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- Minimum student participation: 2 credit hours in online courses
- Business & Industry: Mentoring, Q&A sessions, virtual internships, capstone projects
- Study: Randomized control study of the ECHS student population on a school-by-school basis and in the aggregate
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The initial study sites will begin project implementation in Fall 2022, which we are calling “Year 0” of the study. Year 0 is a building year to get more schools in the project and to get students interested in enrolling in information technology pathways.
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Implementation Highlights To Date:
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- Hired: Early College High School Coordinator, Business and Industry Coordinator, Administrative Assistant
- 7 initial participating sites beginning enrollment in IT pathways in Fall 2022 (more expected during the year)
- Higher education IT programs of study identified
- Additional higher education IT programs being developed as a result of this project
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- Project Advisory Team assembled and meeting monthly, comprising PED, Higher Education, K-12 leadership, Early College High School Leadership, Evaluator
- Business Advisory Team assembled and beginning monthly meetings, comprising experts in the IT industry from a variety of perspectives
- Evaluation plan approved by federal program office – a really big deal given the difficulties of conducting randomized control tests in an education setting
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REC-1 is looking for a Higher Education Coordinator to facilitate access to higher education coursework, help ECHSs enter partnerships with additional higher education partners, guide and influence new online program development, and lead a higher education work group. (We are also looking for a higher education partner to serve as the hiring agent for this position.) See the project web site for a position description: http://eedw.nmrec1.org/about-us/now-hiring/
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Ongoing and next steps...
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- “Re-build” project outcomes to guide deployment
- Initiate student promotions beginning with 8th grade students who will feed into the early college high schools, to ensure a sufficient study population
- Execute partnerships with additional early college high schools
- Build partnership with up to 25 more business and industry representatives
- Conduct procurement for career-based videos to support student interest and engagement
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2022-2023 Professional Development
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We have a lot of PD options scheduled for the upcoming year – available to school administrators, PreK-12 educators, and community members statewide. Most offerings are free to educators from REC-1 member districts, with very low costs for others.
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Social-Emotional Learning.
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The Professional Teacher
Cooperative Learning and SEL
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- Cooperative learning and cultural relevancy within an Early Childhood Education program October 15, 2022
- Infusing cooperative learning with social-emotional development (provided in collaboration with SEL4NM)
February 10, 2023
- Spring Structured Literacy Reading Conference
March 2, 2023
- Phonics and Phonemic Awareness September 19, 2022
January 23, 2023 (repeat)
- Vocabulary
Oct 10, 2022
February 13, 2023 (repeat)
- Oral Reading Fluency
October 31, 2022
March 6, 2023 (repeat)
- Comprehension
November 14, 2022
March 27, 2023 (repeat)
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Tech for Teachers
Every student and teacher in NM has access to Adobe Creative Cloud through the PED. These sessions focus on using the two most common applications for desktop publishing.
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- Photoshop: Making Selections and Using Masks
September 7, 2022
- Photoshop: Getting Colors Right September 21, 2022
- InDesign: Basics of Desktop Publishing
November 30, 2022
- Excel, Part 1 – Basic data analysis strategies, tools, and formulas
August 13, 2022
- Excel, Part 2 – Intermediate techniques (prerequisite: Part 1)
August 20, 2022
- Excel, Part 3 – VBA coding to automate data entry, analysis, and management
August 27, 2022
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CLIA
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REC-1 is under contract on behalf of the NM Department of Health to assist public, charter, private, and tribally controlled schools obtain a CLIA Certificate of Waiver, which they need for on-site testing for Covid, influenza A & B, and pregnancy.
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In brief, we have a waiver, and we bring in other schools as “associated sites,” much like a school district has a waiver and covers multiple district schools.
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Once a school site is incorporated in our waiver, we conduct virtual visits every 90 days to check for compliance with the waiver requirements.
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September 30: Deadline for new sites to join our waiver
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Implementation Highlights To Date:
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- Acquired: Certificate of Waiver
- Hired: CLIA Coordinator to manage the program
- Contracted: Site Visitor(s) to conduct on-site visits
- Visits: Already started!
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REC-1 serves as the fiscal agent for a LANL Foundation grant to SEL4NM, and this role has helped us build stronger connections to both the program office at LANL-F and SEL experts in our region.
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SEL4NM is the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for New Mexico, which comprises many of the best minds and most experienced experts in SEL. REC-1 is helping SEL4NM establish itself as a legal entity and a self-sustaining organization. We are pleased to be a facilitator and “thought partner” in their work.
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Their work focuses on “Three Pillars”:
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- Build statewide awareness for SEL
- Advocate for state and local SEL policies and funding
- Connect local SEL stakeholders to share research and best practices
SEL4NM also provides professional learning and consulting services. Their experts will provide the full-day workshop on infusing cooperative learning with intentional SEL development. We’re also exploring other opportunities for SEL4NM to support the work of REC-1 districts.
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You can learn more about SEL4NM and access their resources and professional events here: https://sel4nm.org/
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San Juan Early Childhood Coalition
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We participate in the SJECC as an external partner, learning from practitioners and seeking ways to support quality programming for our youngest community members.
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The goal is to help ensure that students enter kindergarten ready to master age- and developmentally appropriate knowledge and skills.
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Our involvement in this group resulted from the early childhood component of our Kellogg Foundation project.
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Recently, REC-1 advocated for SJECC to receive funding for an executive director to help kick-start the efforts of this new group of early childhood leaders, directors, and practitioners.
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Currently, we are planning a joint workshop on early childhood cooperative learning and cultural relevancy, which are two major needs identified during the EC program assessments conducted through the Kellogg Foundation project.
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Following successful completion of our Kellogg Foundation-funded project CNDL (Project #: P0132562), REC-1 has received an addition program funding extension.
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Funds will be used to begin the “Phase Two” of the work: disseminating and implementing the plans to enhance Navajo language instruction and early childhood instruction.
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Already, we’re setting up a series of school and district meetings across the REC-1 service area to share our instructional approaches and resources and to help identify and mitigate challenges to implementation throughout REC-1 districts. We’ll also have professional development and coaching available to Bloomfield educators.
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This “Phase Two” work will begin with contracting for lead Early Childhood and Dual Language coordinators. Positions will be opened soon!
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Other Partnerships and Initiatives:
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REC-1 is participating in, or supporting, the following partnering organizations as a means to expand our capacity and provide additional benefits to our service area.
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Four Corners Economic Development (4CEd) – Desk to Careers Initiative
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REC-1 works with 4CEd to explore and design career pathway options in information technologies to students throughout San Juan County. More about 4CEd: https://www.4cornersed.com/
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100% Community – San Juan County
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100% Community – SJC is the local implementation of the regional initiative to coordinate efforts by various community sectors to support all community members access to quality services. More about this initiative: https://www.100nm.org/sanjuan/
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National Math + Science Initiative
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REC-1 just recently began a new partnership with NMSI to explore options for enhancing teaching quality in math and science. In coordination with REC-1, NMSI may be offering a series of professional development opportunities for our teachers. More about NMSI: http://www.nms.org
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Here for you!
We are in a challenging and uncertain time. Even so, we have many opportunities to learn, grow, and help one another. At REC-1, we are committed to making the best of every opportunity we have to serve you and our member districts.
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Thank you, and best wishes to each of you!
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Four Corners Regional Education Cooperative #1
505-603-3411 || director@nmrec1.org
http://nmrec1.org
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