NESC newsletter
May 2022
The NESC at a Glance
Summer Arts Opportunities for Students

NESC ConnectEd, the ND Afterschool Network, and the ND Council on the Arts invite you and your students to take part in a SUMMER ARTS opportunity!

What is this SUMMER ARTS opportunity?
  • Visual arts lessons led by a teaching artist from the ND Council on the Arts
  • Facilitated by the Northeast Education Services Cooperative (NESC) on Zoom
  • Taught in the grade spans of K-2 and 3-5
  • Two-day lessons (One grade-appropriate lesson is completed over two days; 30 minutes each day)
  • 10:00 – 10:30 AM CDT each day
 
What lessons and dates are available?
  • June 7th – 8th  – Kindergarten - Second Grade lesson, “Painted Paper Bugs and Butterflies”
  • June 15th – 16th – Third - Fifth Grade lesson, “Doodled Feather Water Colors with Wax Resist”
 
Who is our teaching artist?
Nicole Gagner is a regular partner and guest artist through our NESC ConnectEd program. You can learn more about her at https://www.arts.nd.gov/grants/arts-education/rostered-artists/nicole-gagner and http://nicolegagner.wix.com/artwork.
 
What arts materials are required for these lessons?
  • View the full list of required materials for each lesson within our registration site. The material list for each lesson is minimal; you likely have most, if not all, supplies at-hand already.
  • It is the school’s/site’s responsibility to have all required art materials purchased/gathered and ready before the date of the live Zoom lesson.
 
What does it cost to participate in the live Zoom lessons with the artist?
Nothing! This is a FREE curriculum enrichment opportunity for your summer program thanks to a partnership between the NESC, the ND Afterschool Network, and the ND Council on the Arts!
 
How do we register to participate in the Summer Arts lessons?
Registration is required for participation.
  • Complete the NESC’s registration Google Form using this link: 
  • Complete one registration per participating student group, per grade span (K-2 and 3-5).
  • We request that the school administrator or program/site coordinator complete the registration(s).
  • Registrations are due to the NESC using the above Google Form link by June 1st
 
Who do we reach out to with our questions?
NESC Student Services Specialist, Cortney Shuley (Cortney.Shuley@nescnd.org, 888-701-NESC) 
 
We look forward to our summer learning, arts enrichment, and collaboration across North Dakota!

ConnectEd is supported in part by the North Dakota Afterschool Network's Million Girls Moonshot Initiative and a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Members at Work
Time for a Break!
It's been a pleasure working with all of you, our region's educators, during the 2021-2022 school year! You've stepped forward, day after day, to support students and their families and we're honored to have been a part of that journey. We hope you have a fun and rejuvenating summer vacation! We'll see you again soon!
Celebrations!
The work of our state's educators and one of our North Dakota Standards-Based Learning resources has been featured in the recent Marzano Resources publication, Planning and Teaching in the Standards-Based Classroom. A North Dakota Grade 1 Math sample unit of instruction was shared by authors, Jeff Flygare, Jan Hoegh, and Tammy Heflebower, as a sample instructional cycle plan that includes the ND priority standard, proficiency scale, and correlating information regarding planning and assessment.

This resource (and similar resources across K-12 grade levels and within English Language Arts) was created by teachers from across the state in partnership with the NESC, SEEC, and CREA through support from the ND Department of Public Instruction. Congratulations to these teachers for this recognition!

We also want to celebrate the fact that more of this amazing statewide collaboration and resource development will be happening in June 2022! Educators will be coming together to prioritize learning within the North Dakota Social Studies and Science Content Standards and create aligned proficiency scales. We hope that the ever-expanding collection of standards-based learning supports helps schools in building their systems and achieving student outcomes. You can access the North Dakota standards-based learning resources at http://www.ndrea.org/index.php?id=112.
NESC Learning Opportunities
NESC 2022 Regional Fall In-service
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Lake Region State College, Devils Lake
Foundations of Reading
The Foundations of Reading learning series is aligned with the Science of Reading. It targets the five Big Ideas of Reading (phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary) in three key areas: instruction, assessment, and intervention. This three-part learning series is designed to provide educators with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to address a variety of students’ needs in reading.

Objectives: 
Day 1
  • Identify and describe the five Big Ideas of Reading
  • Understand the scope and sequence of skills within each of the big ideas of reading
  • Analyze multiple instructional routines and materials to teach each of the big ideas
  • Evaluate current instructional practices and explore ways to enhance those practices 
Day 2
  • Identify the continuous improvement cycle and the vital role of assessments within the cycle
  • Understand the different purposes of reading assessments
  • Analyze a variety of assessments that can be used to measure reading and guide instruction
  • Evaluate current assessment practices and explore ways to enhance those practices
Day 3
  • Understand how to plan targeted instructional needs in all five Big Ideas of Reading for class-wide, small group or individual interventions
  • Apply data-based decision making to identify the instructional matches for students
  • Evaluate current intervention practices and explore ways to enhance those strategies

Delivery: Site facilitators will guide participants in Devils Lake, Minot, Bismarck, Williston, Dickinson, and Jamestown locations while a remote instructor delivers series content.

Audience: K-5 Classroom Teachers, Title Teachers, Special Education Teachers, Interventionists, Coaches, Administrators, Educators who wish to improve outcomes for all students in the area of reading

Credit: (Optional) 2 credits available through Valley City State University.

Cohorts Available:
Summer
  • Sessions 1-3 - August 1-3, 2022 (8:30 AM - 3:30 PM)
  • The Devils Lake location will be Devils Lake High School.
Fall
  • Session 1 - September 12, 2022 (8:30 AM - 3:30 PM)
  • Session 2 - October 3, 2022 (8:30 AM - 3:30 PM) 
  • Session 3 - November 7, 2022 (8:30 AM - 3:30 PM)
  • The Devils Lake location will be Lake Region State College.
Spring
  • Session 1 - January 9, 2023 (8:30 AM - 3:30 PM) 
  • Session 2 - February 6, 2023 (8:30 AM - 3:30 PM) 
  • Session 3 - March 27, 2023 (8:30 AM - 3:30 PM)
  • The Devils Lake location will be Lake Region State College.

Cost: $50/participant

Go to the ND DPI Science of Reading site to access registration links for the three cohorts: https://www.nd.gov/dpi/education-programs/nd-science-reading

Questions: Erin.Lacina@nescnd.org, 888-701-NESC
Using the Visual Arts to Teach Life Science
All K-12 teachers are welcome to register!

Workshop Description:
The workshop will be fun and fast paced with many hands-on activities educators can use in their classrooms, discussion of classroom and curriculum integration, and identification of local resources. North Dakota resources, environment, and wildlife will be emphasized in this workshop. Field trips will be taken to demonstrate the use of natural areas as classrooms. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to experiment with different media including clay, watermedia, pastel, and colored pencil. No previous art experience is required for this workshop. All materials will be provided.

Objectives/Outcomes:
  • Identify art methods to teach life science concepts.
  • Provide meaningful art experiences by using integrated thematic instruction.
  • Acquire a basis for teaching ecological concepts and environmental stewardship to students through the visual arts.
  • Provide educational experience outside the traditional classroom.
  • Integrate resources and developed lesson plans into the existing curricula.
Dates: June 1-2, 2022

Times: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Location: Devils Lake

Facilitator: Sherry Niesar, ND Game and Fish

Cost: Free

Registration Link:

Registration Deadline:
May 26, 2022
Prioritized Instructional Planning
Two Canvas, Self-paced Courses Available!

  • One for leaders of professional learning teams
  • One for individual educators

Content and format are the same for each course, but the design of the courses is tailored for facilitated team delivery or individual study and application of the content.

Module topics include:
  1. Determining What Students Sill Need to Learn
  2. Effective Planning for Teaching the Most Critical Content (Part 1)
  3. Effective Planning for Teaching the Most Critical Content (Part 2)
  4. Effective Monitoring of Student Learning (Part 1)
  5. Effective Monitoring of Student Learning (Part 2)
  6. Crosswalking Benchmark Assessment Data with the North Dakota Priority Standards

Courses are available through June 22, 2022.
NESC Graduate Credit
The NESC is partnering with Valley City State
University to offer cafeteria graduate credit to member educators for NESC professional learning events.


Graduate Level
Professional Development
Credit Courses
(up to nine credits) for $275!
Purchase an annual subscription to gain access to online Graduate Level Professional Development Credit courses at a significant savings only available to NESC members. You'll be able to take one course each term for a total of three courses per year. 

Courses are offered through a partnership with University of North Dakota and Virtual Education Software (VESi). 
  • Three courses per year (up to nine credits) for $275
  • Learn online at your own pace from the convenience of your home
  • Choose from over 30 online courses for license renewal and salary advancement
 
View the full list of available courses, access course info/FAQs, and purchase the annual subscription at the following link: https://www.virtualeduc.com/nesc.
 
Questions? Call 1-800-313-6744.
NESC Partner & North Dakota Learning Opportunities
Past NESC Workshops - Continued Support
The ND Social-Emotional Learning Network website contains resources from which we can all learn! Go to https://ndselnetwork.com/ to review the ND Social Emotional Learning Goals Curriculum Crosswalk or the ND Social Emotional Learning Goals Content Standards Crosswalk. You can also learn from the various SEL member district profiles shared within the site!
Regional Opportunities
Mission
The NESC supports schools through leadership and collaborative opportunities.

Vision 
The NESC positively impacts schools' capacity to offer high-quality education.