The end of the 2021 MS ACTE Summer Conference is the sign that the dog days of August are fast upon us and we are about to begin the start of another school year.
As with the start of any new year, there is always change. For our team over this summer, we bid farewell to Brian Dorsey. Brian was an integral part of our national certification processes as well as helping the team develop item banks for our statewide assessments. His knowledge of online learning grew during his time at the RCU, which will serve him well at the MSU Center for Distance Education.
Last month, we hired Mandy Scarpulla. Mandy brings a wealth of knowledge to our team from an administrative, teaching and workforce perspective. She most recently worked as a principal and assistant principal in high schools across the state, but her career started as a forensic chemist in New York City. When you see Mandy online or in person, please welcome her to the CTE world.
For our educational technology focus of the month, I wanted to draw your attention to a few resources that may help your students improve their information literacy. This skill is necessary for preparing students for both
college and
careers!
Search Like a Pro: It has been my experience that even at the university level, my students do not know how to search properly to find the best information for things they need personally or professionally. Cindy Otis created a great one-page infographic to help your students hone this skill.
Literacy: With the passage of Perkins V, there is an increased emphasis on CTE educators playing a more active role in helping improve students' academic proficiency in Reading/Language Arts (Secondary Core Indicator 2S1). There are several Google Chrome extensions you can integrate into your CTE classroom for students (or advise them to use in their other classes) to help improve this proficiency.
As a reminder, the 2021-2022 testing dates and assessment events calendar have been released on our website. Make sure you log in to download that file and other assessment resources on the
RCU website. A few things to note are the change in dates for test coordinator training and the removal of congressional district windows during spring 2022 testing. The assessment team will discuss the fall and spring testing processes in detail at test coordinator training events.
Have a great start of the school year!
Sean Owen, PhD
Assessment Director