PA Grant Reports
by Carly Guiterman, Middle School CSE Coordinator
When I became the CSE Coordinator at the middle school in the fall of 2021, I was fortunate to inherit the procedures and protocols that the previous CSE Coordinators had worked hard to develop. However, it became clear very quickly that those procedures required adjusting due to the changing nature of CSE meetings.
We know that the COVID pandemic and the new NYC administration added pressure to the Department of Education. In the 2022-2023 school year, the middle school had 121 CSE meetings, more than it has had in any of the last ten years. The increase in the number of meetings made it apparent that the transfer of information between myself and teachers needed to be more efficient. In order to do the best job working with the DOE and supporting our families, my goal last summer was to develop a more streamlined process and create forms that provided me with the most pertinent information. Based on questions asked by the CSE team in meetings, I needed to tailor our information to our students’ social-emotional learning; how progress was being met in the classroom; and qualitative information that showed who our students were and what support they needed in order to be successful.
Another goal of mine was to create consistency when evaluating our students. Part of the CSE process is sharing information about our students’ skills and functioning grade level. Using information from the NYS Education Department ELA Learning Standards and combining it with Judy Hochman’s writing skills, I was able to create a Writing Rubric as a resource for our teachers. Having a set rubric that clearly outlines which skills are accomplished around a particular grade allows our teachers to ensure that they are measuring progress in a standardized way.
I believe that the work I accomplished last summer has already been implemented successfully in the middle school. Starting with the October CSE meetings, I have been able to use the new forms that I developed over the summer. The feedback I am receiving from teachers about our students allows me to paint a picture of the whole child and truly advocate for what they need during a meeting. Teachers have also reported that having the Writing Rubric has been helpful for them when determining a student’s writing grade level.
I feel so honored to work at MMFS and in a role that is supported by my colleagues and families. CSE meetings have been and continue to be an important piece of ensuring that our students can continue their educational career at MMFS. This role would be impossible if it were not for all the amazing feedback and information I receive from teachers and families. Thank you again to the Parent Association for all of your support.
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