Category: News

DESE COVID-19 Information & Resources

As many schools are choosing to close for the next week or longer, we want to share more information from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has shared more information about the 180 School Day Requirement.

Message from DESE – Read full message here.

In light of concerns about possible school closings for public health reasons, I have updated DESE’s guidance about the requirement for 180 days of school to provide relief to districts. (Note: The Department will continue to revisit this guidance if the situation warrants it.):

  1. All days lost to health, weather, or safety emergencies between the first day of the school year and March 15 must be made up by rescheduling full school days to ensure a 180-day school year.
  2. All days lost to health, weather, or safety emergencies between March 16 and June 1 must be made up to ensure a 180-day school year or until the district has reached its previously-scheduled 185th day, whichever comes first. If all five snow days have been used prior to this point, the district is not required to scheduled additional school days.
  3. Districts will not be expected to make up any days lost to health, weather, or safety emergencies that occur after June 1.

This change means that if you have already canceled school for five days before March 15, you do not need to schedule additional make-up days for any days that school is closed after March 15. The longest that any school district will be required to go is its scheduled 185th day. No schools will be required to be in session after June 30. This policy applies to the current (2019-20) school year only. Anyone who feels that they have special circumstances should contact Associate Commissioner Helene Bettencourt at Helene.H.Bettencourt@mass.gov  or 781-338-3120.

 

March 13, 2020 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Welcome and Thank You!

The MAEA Board of Directors is excited to welcome our new board members and a number of returning board members. Thank you to everyone for your commitment to MAEA. View the entire Board of Directors .
Newly Elected Board Members
Jacob Ginga – President-Elect
Newly Appointed Board Members
Rebecca Kostich – Secondary Division Director
Alyssa Taranto – Media Arts Representative
Margaurita Spear – Early Childhood Representative and PD Committee Chair
Continuing Board Members
Melissa Mastrolia – President
Laura Marotta – Past President
Jaimee Taborda – Secretary
Helen Downey – Treasurer
Billy Claire – Independent Schools Representative
Heidi Hurley – National Art Honor Society Representative
Lydia Gruner – Special Needs Representative
Laura Evonne Steinman – Community Arts Representative
Katie McEwan – Elementary Division Director
Kay Furst – Higher Education Division Director
Patty Klibansky – Supervision/Administration Division Director
Rebecca Bourgault – Preservice Division Director
Diana Adams Woodruff – Student Recognitions Committee Chair
Shannon Carey – Conference Committee Chair
Eleena Rioux – Youth Art Month Committee Chair
Alice Gentili – Advocacy Liaison
Jane McKeag – Publications Editor
Brittany Martinez – Webmaster
Special thanks to Tobey Eugenio and Sheila Tetler who are stepping down from their roles as Middle Level Division Director/PD Committee Chair and Retired Representative. We wish them well and know they will continue their work supporting the mission of MAEA!
February 4, 2020 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Arlene Black Mollo – Obituary

It is with a heavy heart we share that Arlene Black Mollo, of Falmouth formerly of Norwood and Wellesley has passed away. Arlene was a visual artist, educator, and professional watercolorist. She was a former art education professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and MAEA/NAEA member.
 
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Timothy Church, 650 Nichols Street, Norwood on Wednesday November 27 at 10:30 am. Interment will follow in Highland Cemetery, Norwood. In lieu of flowers donations in memory of Arlene may be made to the Emmanuel Fund at Emmanuel College 400 The Fenway Boston, MA 02115.
November 26, 2019 Melissa Mastrolia 0

DESE Arts Ambassadors Teams Announced

We are excited to share that many of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Arts Education Ambassadors are Visual Arts Educators and MAEA Members! Congratulations to Visual Art Educators Louis Martinez, Peter Curran, Alice Gentili, Andrew Dexter, Timmary Leary, and Steve Aldeus. Congratulations are also in order to these dedicated Arts Educators who are also on the Ambassador Teams – Lisa Leach, Natalie Sowell, Christy Whittlesey, Linda Rae Krov, Natalie Bruno, Blake Siskavich, and Kim Taylor Knight.

Thank you for your dedication to this work!

October 29, 2019 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Approved Arts Massachusetts Curriculum Framework

At the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting on June 25, 2019, Associate Commissioner Ron Noble, lead writer of the revised framework Craig Waterman, and Arts Content Support Lead Dawn Benski presented a summary of the revised framework, which resulted in approval.

Currently a copy editor is finalizing the official document, which will be posted on the DOE website when complete.  In the meantime, you can review the revised framework as submitted to the Board in late June for your planning purposes. MAEA has taken the proposed framework with tracked changes, and accepted them, creating this Word document. You will also find a PDF here.

If you have questions about the revised framework, please contact Dawn Benski, Arts Content Support Lead, Center for Instructional Support
Phone: 781-338-3235

August 13, 2019 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Arts Framework Review

Thank you to everyone who submitted feedback for the revised Arts Framework. Dawn Benski, who was recently hired by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in the role of Arts Content Lead, has been working to review every comment from the survey, which included feedback from over 300 participants!

The Arts Framework are set to be approved by the The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education at the June 25 board meeting.

In the meantime, if you missed the Arts Framework Roadshow, you can learn more about the structure of the Arts Framework by viewing the presentation and Q&A session recorded at Wilmington High on April 10, 2019.

Questions? Contact Dawn Benski at dawn.benski@doe.mass.edu.

May 6, 2019 Melissa Mastrolia 0

Arts Frameworks Roadshow – Review of Draft 2019 Arts Curriculum Frameworks

Don’t miss out on your chance to learn about the draft of the Massachusetts Arts Framework. The department will present an overview of the Framework, including key points of emphasis. There will also be an opportunity for participants to ask questions and provide feedback on the proposed revisions. If you can’t make one of the three upcoming events in person, attend the livestream on April 10. 

On February 12, 2019 the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved the release of the draft 2019 Arts Curriculum Framework for public comment. It has been almost 20 years since the state’s arts standards were last revised in 1999, and the new draft makes several important changes. Specifically, it:

  • Recognizes media arts as a discipline alongside dance, music, theatre, and visual arts;
  • Utilizes a new organizational structure that
    • Is consistent across disciplines, supporting integration,
    • Integrates content from the 1999 framework’s Connections strand into the discipline-specific standards,
    • Includes standards for artistic practice aligned to the National Core Arts Standards;Provides more detailed learning expectations, with two-year instead of four-year grade spans.
  • Provides more detailed learning expectations, with two-year instead of four-year grade spans.
  • Adds guiding principles focused on engaging students and ensuring exposure to wider range of cultures and styles.

The Department wants to hear from you! Please review the draft and provide comments using this survey.

Email Craig Waterman with any questions.

April 8, 2019 Melissa Mastrolia 0