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?CONGRATULATIONS TO Shawn Bruhl (Sprague Teaching Assistant) on the birth of his daughter, Charlotte Noelle, on December 26, 2015; AND TO Sharon Kahn (Sprague School Nurse) on the birth of grandaughter, Emma Nicole Goggin, on January 9, 2016.   

CONDOLENCES TO the Family of John Glorioso, Custodian at Sprague School, who died on January 10, 2016.

Dear ÎÞ¾¡×ÊÔ´²É¼¯ Public School Educators,
We are contacting you to request your participation in a brief survey that will inform the future direction of the ÎÞ¾¡×ÊÔ´²É¼¯ Education Foundation (WEF). 
As many of you know, WEF is a non-profit, volunteer-run community organization that works to enrich and support the ÎÞ¾¡×ÊÔ´²É¼¯ Public School system. This year, WEF has undertaken a strategic planning process through which we will identify our goals and priorities for the next five years. We are soliciting input from a variety of key stakeholders to ensure that our assessment incorporates the diverse perspectives of the community we serve.
The survey should take you no more than 5¨C15 minutes. Please complete the survey by Tue., Jan. 19th at 6 PM.  If you have any questions about this survey or the strategic planning process, please contact Lisa Hicks (lhicksconsulting@gmail.com), chair of the WEF Strategic Planning Committee.
Please click here to take the survey:  
Your input, as an educator, is of great value to us. We appreciate your participation. Thanks in advance!   WEF Co-Presidents Linda Chow and Carol Morrow

Karen Archambault, Chelsea Bailow, Sandy Bogage, Thom Carter, Linda Corridan, Kathleen Dooley, Tim Eagan, Jany Finkielsztein, John Finneron, Heather Haskell, Judith Malone-Neville, Gayle McCracken, Kate Morton, Joanne Naso, Jonathan Simon, and Julie Verret.
Thank you.

Registration is open for the following winter courses through :
Discovering the Artist Within: Fostering Creativity in the Classroom ¨C 2 spots left!

• Instructors: Lynne Johnson & Diane Redfield
• Participants: PreK-12 Educators, Non-Art Specialists
• Date/Times: 01/30/16 (snow date 02/06), 02/27/16 (snow date 03/05), 03/12/16, 04/09/16, 9:00am ¨C 3:45pm

Special Education for General Educators: A 5-Part Series ¨C 1 spot left!

• Instructors: Astrid Mazariegos & Kristen Stacy
• Participants: K-5 Educators
• Date/Times: 02/01/16, 02/22/16, 03/10/16, 03/24/16, 04/04/16, 3:15pm ¨C 6:15pm

NEW DATES! Online Tools for Formative Assessment and Collaboration

• Instructors: Ranjani Sriram & Amy Jankins
• Participants: PreK-12 Educators
• Date/Times: Online Only, Weeks of 02/22/16 ¨C 03/21/16

Reasoning Algebraically About Operations ¨C 1 spot left!

• Instructors: Jany Finkielsztein & Heather Heon
• Participants: K-5 Teachers, Special Educators, ELL Educators
• Date/Times: 02/24/16, 03/02/16, 03/09/16, 04/06/16, 04/13/16, 3:30pm ¨C 6:30pm; 03/19/16, 8:00am ¨C 3:30pm

Teaching Second Languages to Students with Learning Disabilities

• Instructor: Pedro Carrasquillo
• Participants: K-12 Educators, Special Educators
• Date/Times: 02/24/16, 03/02/16, 03/09/16, 03/16/16, 03/23/16, 03/30/16, 3:15pm ¨C 5:45pm

Advanced iPad

• Instructors: Rosey McQuillan & Ranjani Sriram
• Participants: PreK-12 Educators
• Date/Times: Online Only, 03/07/16 ¨C 04/11/16

Introduction to the WIDA Standards and Differentiated Instruction for ELLs

• Instructors: Jenn Hannon & Jenn Eramo
• Participants: K-12 Educators, Specialists, Special Educators
• Date/Times: 03/12/16, 8:30am ¨C 3:30pm; 03/22/16 & 04/05/16, 3:30pm ¨C 6:30pm

NEW DATES! Google Apps for Education

• Instructor: Pete Ritter
• Participants: PreK-12 Educators
• Date/Times: Online Only, Weeks of 03/21/16 ¨C 04/11/16

ÎÞ¾¡×ÊÔ´²É¼¯PD Instructor Information Session
Are you interested in offering a course to colleagues this summer or next school year? Come to one of three 30-minute information sessions. We’ll discuss the process for becoming an approved graduate level instructor for Framingham State University, the course proposal and approval processes, and the requirements for submitting a course for approval.

• Tuesday, January 26th, 2:45pm ¨C 3:15pm, ÎÞ¾¡×ÊÔ´²É¼¯ Middle School
• Tuesday, February 2nd, 3:30pm ¨C 4:00pm, Bates Elementary School
• Tuesday, February 9th, 2:45pm ¨C 3:15pm, ÎÞ¾¡×ÊÔ´²É¼¯ High School

Please RSVP using the following .
If you have any questions, please contact Chelsea Bailow, Professional Development Coordinator.

Other Opportunities
TEC Online, Self-Paced Courses Free to WPS Educators
WPS has partnered with The Education Cooperative (TEC) to offer two online, self-paced courses free of charge to ÎÞ¾¡×ÊÔ´²É¼¯ educators. Please note that the ELL course is NOT an endorsement course.

• Engaging All Students with Differentiated Instruction    (Click for more details.)

• Strategies to Enhance Instruction for English Language Learners in the Classroom    (Click for more details.)

  To Register: Go to tec.registration.etlo.org and complete the registration page. You’ll receive an email with a URL for the course you’ve selected, as well as instructions on enrolling in the course.

PDPs: Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a certificate of completion. Submit the certificate to Chelsea Bailow, Professional Development Coordinator, in order for the course to appear in your ÎÞ¾¡×ÊÔ´²É¼¯PD records.??