BrightWorks - Summer Updates

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Subject: BrightWorks - Summer Updates

BrightWorks has a new registration system!

View our upcoming events.

COMPASS Launches Statewide

Starting July 1, a new BrightWorks team of specialists, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota Service Cooperatives (MSC), will offer support, training, and resources in the areas of MnMTSS; literacy; math; school climate and culture; equitable access to high-quality learning environments; and culturally responsive instructional leadership.

BrightWorks COMPASS team members joined hundreds of Minnesota educators at the COMPASS Summer Institute held on June 25-26 in Bloomington.

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is expanding COMPASS (Collaborative Minnesota Partnerships to Advance Student Success), the state’s support system for schools, to provide continuous improvement guidance, professional learning, and flexible support free of cost to all districts, charter schools, and Tribal schools in Minnesota.

The COMPASS Statewide System of Support, inclusive of the READ Act-funded Regional Literacy Network, establishes a team of specialists at each of the nine Minnesota Service Cooperatives who will work in close collaboration with MDE.

This expands continuous improvement opportunities to all districts, charter schools, and Tribal schools and builds upon the assistance previously offered through the six Regional Centers of Excellence (RCEs). Support for ESSA-targeted (TSI) and comprehensive (CSI) schools will now be offered through all nine Service Cooperatives’ regional COMPASS teams. District and school leaders previously receiving support through the RCEs can expect to receive communication from their regional service cooperative on a transition plan.

BrightWorks COMPASS Director, Chris Streiff Oji, Equitable Access Specialist, Eli Zimmerman, and Regional Math Lead, Kim Baartman, attended the COMPASS Summer Institute with additional members of their new team.

Watch for more information from BrightWorks COMPASS team!

Questions? Contact BrightWorks COMPASS Director, Chris Streiff Oji, at 612-638-1542.

Intermediate Districts Launch First Minnesota Teacher Apprenticeship Program

Intermediate School Districts 287, 288, 916, and 917, in partnership with BrightWorks, the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry, and Minnesota State University Mankato, have collaborated to launch the first Teacher Apprenticeship Program in Minnesota this summer.

Under the ITRAC (Intermediate District Teacher Residency Apprenticeship Collaborative) program, Apprentices (paraprofessionals) engage in job-embedded learning and related instruction at minimal cost to meet the 2023 Standards of Effective Practice, content standards for Emotional-Behavioral Disorders (EBD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) licensure, and Department of Labor & Industry apprenticeship requirements within two years of beginning the program. Apprentices are mentored by JourneyWorkes (Tier 4 licensed educators in ASD and/or EBD) in their district.

The program is designed to:

• Create pathways for professional growth

• Ensure all positions are filled by highly qualified staff

• Reduce waitlists for in-demand programs

• Diversify our educator workforce

• Retain and leverage expertise of current staff

• Align daily student experiences with new Standards of Effective Practice

Contact Gina Boots, BrightWorks Apprenticeship and Teacher Pipeline Program Liaison, for more information.

WorkForce Grant: Incredible Work Accomplished

In the spirit of the WorkForce Grant (WFG), the nursing services team has made contributions that potentially impact all students across Minnesota and beyond. Below are some of the details of the projects completed since February 2022.

From September 2023 to March 2024, 150 participants (majority Licensed School Nurses, or LSNs) have heard one or more of the modules titled:

An Introduction to the Role of the LSN in the Special Education Process
Third-Party Reimbursement (TPR) for Nursing Services on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
TPR for Personal Care Assistant (PCA) Services and the Role of the Qualified Professional

Evaluation comments indicate that participants accessed new information and learned about changes in practices in Special Education, funding potential, and billing. Feedback has been overwhelmingly favorable. The module "TPR for Nursing Services on an IEP" was presented at the statewide DHS/MDE forum for the past two years.

As of February 2024: The vision and hearing screening videos created by the WFG and that are now posted on the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Youtube channel have had over 6,880 views since being posted in September 2023. These are unique resources for schools that may be used nationwide. These five vision and hearing screening videos are being used to train school health staff and classrooms on best practices following MDH guidelines.

Seven comprehensive school health resources were created. Topics include: care planning, nursing procedures, school health laws and statutes, health office supply lists, chronic health conditions, and a school nurse orientation checklist for the school health office. The team also collaborated with MDH on updating their school health website where these resources will be housed.

Leadership and mentorship of the statewide LSN Education Cooperative leads focused on leadership around the specialty practice of school nursing and the importance of those services to students. Regional leads are also now key participants in the School Nurse Organization of MN (Foundations of School Nursing Practice annual conference). Four graduate nursing students completed capstone projects under the WFG.

For the past two years, BrightWorks has collected Region 11 school health survey updates for MDH. Data from most public school districts and many charter schools has been collected. Before this effort, this data had never been collected. It incorporates school health staffing with rates of free and reduced lunch and special education data and demonstrates significant inequities in health services available to students. This data collection is a cooperative effort with MDH to create a comprehensive health services staffing report.

The module titled "Trauma Responsive Resilience Focused School Health Rooms" focuses on Universal Level 1 strategies for all health room staff. It was presented statewide in May.

Lastly, the LSN team represented BrightWorks and presented "Stronger Together: Relationships and Rapport that Lead to Reimbursement for School Nursing Services" in Chicago at the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) Conference in June. The focus of the presentation was the work that was done with DHS and MDE to revise the TPR IEP Manual. This revision allows school districts to maximize funding for nursing and PCA services.

The WFG ended on June 30, 2024. It’s been a great professional opportunity to support the needs of students through building the resources that support school nurses and other health office staff across MN. Thank you!

-Mary Heiman, Dawn Willson, and Becky Hudlow

Metro Area Equity Leaders wrap up a year of collaboration!

Metro Area Equity Leaders are wrapping up a year of meaningful collaboration, learning, and networking! Equity Leaders from districts across the Twin Cities Metro have been meeting monthly in host districts throughout the year. Host Districts have included: Prior Lake/Savage Area Schools; White Bear Lake Area Schools; Lakeville Area Schools; Osseo Area Schools; Spring Lake Park Schools; the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE); and Jordan Public Schools.

Interested in joining the Metro Area Equity Leaders in 2024-25? Contact Brittany Stepan for more information.

Metro Area Equity Leaders met at BrightWorks on May 23. Dr. Stephanie Burrage, Minnesota's Chief Equity Officer, spoke with the group.

Minnesota Education Policy Fellowship - Apply for the 2024-2025 metro cohort

The Minnesota Education Policy Fellowship is a joint venture of the Center for Policy Design, BrightWorks, and Lakes Country Service Cooperative. BrightWorks leads the metro cohort and Lakes Country Service Cooperative leads the rural cohort. Over 600 participants have completed this Fellowship since it began in 1976. MNEPF alumni include superintendents, charter school directors, principals, K-12 teachers, high education leaders, and legislators.

The Fellowship has as a primary focus on state and federal public policy development and the leadership that is necessary to influence public policy development. It is designed to expand and update your working knowledge of state and federal public policy, analysis, design, and implementation. Features of the Fellowship are monthly seminars, guest speakers, and experiences at the Minnesota capitol and in Washington, DC.

Learn more and apply

Pyramid Model supports social, emotional, and behavioral skills of children at the Pearson Early Learning Center

The Region 11 Minnesota Centers of Excellence for Young Children with Disabilities (MNCoE) initiative supports a high-quality, comprehensive, coordinated system of professional development for assigned local early childhood program leaders and practitioners. We are excited to celebrate the work of a local early childhood program that is being showcased nationally by NCPMI (National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations). The Pyramid Model is a multi-tiered framework for promoting social-emotional competence and preventing challenging behavior in young children, particularly those with or at risk for delays or disabilities. The framework emphasizes building positive relationships with children and families, creating supportive environments, intentionally teaching social-emotional skills, and individualizing interventions to provide effective behavior support for children who need more assistance.

The Pearson Early Learning Center in Shakopee has been implementing the Pyramid Model practices for 8 years to support the social, emotional, and behavioral skills of all children in their program. Their IMPACT Story has been submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and will also be listed on their website. In addition, it is important to highlight that this IMPACT story not only describes the benefits the Pyramid Model has on the lives of students but also the benefits staff have witnessed through program-wide implementation.

"We are all using the school-wide expectations in the classroom, building, gym, and hallway. Everyone is using the same words and phrases. It has really brought us together building-wide and we are such a close-knit building because of it.” -Pearson Preschool Teacher

Learn more

SparkPath: Accelerate Discovery, Ignite Creativity, Insipre Confidence

During the 2023-2024 school year, SparkPath’s student programs impacted 13,839 Twin Cities students!

Twin Cities Regional Spelling Bee

The top 50 Twin Cities spellers competed at the Twin Cities Regional Spelling Bee in March. After seven rounds and correctly spelling “eudiometer”, Kai Riedner from Minnetonka Middle School West was named Regional Champion. Kai joined eight other MN Regional Champions at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland in May.

85% of Spelling Bee students believe participating in the Bee strengthened their public speaking skills.

Learn more about the Twin Cities Regional Spelling Bee.

Twin Cities Regional Spelling Bee top finishers. Pictured from left to right:
First Place: Kai Riedner, Minnetonka Middle School West, Minnetonka
First Runner-Up: Nithya Kunduru, Aspen Academy, Savage
Second Runner-Up: Lenora Gold, Black Hawk Middle School, Eagan

Knowledge Bowl

During the 2023-2024 Knowledge Bowl season, 201 middle and high school teams competed in a total of 22 meets across the Twin Cities. Using teamwork, deductive reasoning, and communication skills, students triumphed over 4,115 written and verbal questions including history, literature, mathematics, science, current events, and everything in between.

81% of Middle Grades KB students said they plan to participate again next year.

97% of Senior High KB students agreed that they strengthened their teamwork skills this season.

Learn more about Knowledge Bowl.

"My favorite Knowledge Bowl memory was knowing the answers to a question and getting it right with confidence." -2024 KB Student

Creativity Festival

Over two days, 699 students attended unique breakout sessions led by STEM and arts professionals driven by the goals of strengthening creativity and problem-solving skills. Sessions this year included metal casting, human-beat boxing, Native Pride dance and storytelling, exploring the science of scent, wet weather-keeping bridges safe, and so much more.

95% of students said they learned that creativity and problem-solving are important skills for everyone.

2025 Dates:

Creativity Festival - January 7th and 8th

CreativeCon - January 9th

Learn more about the Creativity Festival and CreativeCon.

"I learned that being creative is your choice and you can express it in many ways.” -2024 Creativity Festival Student

Future City Competition (FCC)

Creativity, engineering, and city planning came together for 1,432 Minnesota 6^th through 8^th grade students during the Future City Competition season. In January, 24 teams competed at the Regionals competition with their city models focusing on electrifying their future. Team Acacia Ridge from Justice Page Middle School took first place, competed at the Future City Competition Nationals in Washington DC in February, and brought home the #AQOLFA Award: Advancing Quality of Life for All!

97% of FCC students would recommend Future City to a friend next year.

Learn more about FCC.

"We got to take what we learned through our research and literally build on that to make a hypothetically functioning city." -2024 FCC Student

STEMLink

Partnering with Hennepin Technical College and Century College, 774 Twin Cities students explored STEM careers through hands-on sessions. Focusing on real-world examples, and how studying science and math can lead to exciting careers, sessions included biology detectives, engineering a chain reaction contraption, how airports work, stormwater management, and software animation.

95% of STEMLink students said they learned about STEM careers in a hands-on way.

Learn more about STEMLink.

“Great experience for the students. Thank you to all who made this happen.”

-2024 STEMLink Chaperone

Young Authors Conference (YAC)

Across four conference dates in March and May, 2,465 students in 4th-8th grades learned new writing strategies, gained confidence in expressing themselves, and were encouraged to use their voice. Over 30 professional Minnesota authors led breakout sessions focusing on poetry, journalism, short stories, character development, nature writing, dialogue, and more.

97% of students who attended YAC said that the conference gave them new strategies, ideas, and skills to become a better writer.

2025 Dates:

March 14 and May 27-29, 2025

Learn more about YAC.

“Thank you so much for providing a top-notch event for so many young minds. We’re lucky to have the Young Authors Conference as an option for our students.” - 2024 YAC Chaperone

“It made me a way better writer. PLEASE SEND ME BACK NEXT YEAR!”

-2024 YAC Student

Future City 2024-2025 Challenge: Design a Floating City!

Next year's Future City Competition theme is Above the Current. Minnesota middle school students will design floating cities and provide two innovative examples of how their floating cities work and how citizens living there stay healthy and safe. Future City students will research new cutting-edge technology and clean energy to house people comfortably and provide everything they need in a city on the water.

Register today!

The Future City Competition (FCC) is a project-based learning experience where students in grades 6-8 imagine, research, design, and build cities at least 100 years in the future. Schools or recognized youth organizations can form teams and have the option to compete in the state competition. Students spend approximately five months (September-January) completing the following deliverables: a 1,500-word city essay; a scale model of their city built from recycled materials; a four-part project plan; a 7-minute team presentation; and a Q&A session with judges (professional engineers who volunteer their time). The Future City Competition aligns with Minnesota Academic Standards in Science, Math, Social Studies, and English Language Arts.

BrightWorks wishes you a summer full of adventure and rejuvenation!

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Subject: BrightWorks - Summer Updates