Hybrid Conference – School Attendance Summit: New Challenges and Opportunities – Oct. 3, 2023

October 3, 2023 @ 8:15 am – 2:30 pm

Registration is closed.

Registration: 8:15 – 8:45 am
Conference: 8:45 am – 2:30 pm

Attend In Person or Via Zoom

Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
565 Maple Street
Danvers, MA 01932

To receive PDPs, participants must attend this conference and the conference, Cultivating Supportive School and Classroom Environments, on October 24, 2023. Members can participate in-person, virtually or by viewing the recording. Participants who qualify for CEUs, will receive an email with a link to the application form. If you do not qualify for PDPs and/or CEUs, you may request a Certificate of Attendance.

Speakers

Description

MPY’s annual School Attendance Summit will focus on current issues impacting school attendance, including chronic absenteeism/tardiness and mental health.  Keynote speaker, Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, will address organizational and policy practices impacting school attendance and exclusion.

Conference speakers will examine data related to school attendance and truancy rates and trends, how to enhance inclusive supports in schools to curtail suspension and expulsions as well as  ways to address the  challenges facing schools as mental/behavioral health concerns accelerate. 

About the Speakers

Patrick Tutwiler, Ph.D., is the Secretary of the Executive Office of Education, and the first Black person to ever hold that role in Massachusetts’ history. As Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Tutwiler directs the Executive Office of Education, which oversees early education, K-12, and higher education. Secretary Tutwiler sits on each of the boards governing the Commonwealth’s education agencies, as well as the University of Massachusetts system. He is Governor Maura Healey’s top advisor on education and helps shape the Commonwealth’s education agenda.

Before being sworn in as Secretary, Dr. Tutwiler served as the senior program officer at the Boston-based Barr Foundation, a grantmaking organization focused on arts, climate and education, where he specialized in developing new high school models that will have a positive impact across the entire school system. He has more than twenty years’ experience in public education as a high school history teacher, as a high school principal and as the superintendent of the Lynn Public Schools. As Lynn Superintendent, Secretary Tutwiler led a collaborative, equity-centered effort that resulted in increased graduation rates, decreased push out rates, a more racially diverse faculty and staff, and the establishment of Massachusetts’ second largest early college program. He earned a BA in history from The College of the Holy Cross, a master’s in education from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and a PhD in curriculum and instruction from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. He lives in Andover with his family.

In 2018, Jeffrey C. Riley was appointed by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education as the state’s 24th commissioner of elementary and secondary education.

A Massachusetts native, Mr. Riley’s experience spans urban and suburban districts and includes teaching in Baltimore, Md., being principal of Tyngsboro Middle School, and being principal of Boston’s Edwards Middle School. In January 2012, Commissioner Riley was appointed superintendent/receiver of the Lawrence Public Schools. During his more than six years there, he led a team that brought major improvements by shifting more resources and autonomy to the school level, expanding the school day, increasing enrichment opportunities, and ensuring all schools had great leaders and teachers.

Commissioner Riley lives in Boston and holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Pomona College in California, a master’s degree in counseling from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and a master’s degree in school administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University.

Rachelle Engler Bennett is an Associate Commissioner of Student and Family Support at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and Co-Chair of the state’s Safe and Supportive Schools Commission. She works with teams on a number of initiatives designed to support student success, including but not limited to social and emotional learning, student access to behavioral and mental health supports, rethinking discipline, additional learning time for students, educational stability, early learning, safe and healthy learning environments, and family engagement. Prior to DESE, she held a number of positions in the fields of education, youth leadership, and community development.

Nyal Fuentes is a college and career readiness coordinator at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and works in many different college and career readiness initiatives at the Department including dropout prevention, the Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) and a number of initiatives to improve postsecondary outcomes for Massachusetts public high school students. Nyal has worked at the Department for over 21 years and formerly worked with accountability and targeted assistance and the Office for English Language Acquisition. Nyal strongly believes in the power of quantitative and qualitative data to inform programming to improve student outcome and promote educational equity.

Michael Moriarty, Esq., is a lifelong resident of Holyoke, Massachusetts where he served for 13 years on the school committee. He was instrumental in the formation of the Holyoke Early Literacy Initiative, a community wide collaborative focused on increasing the number of students that are proficient in reading by the end of third grade. He has also been a vocal advocate for arts education. In 2013, Attorney Moriarty was named the executive director of a non-profit agency based in Holyoke. OneHolyoke Community Development Corporation is a mission driven non-profit that believes every resident of Holyoke should live in a dignified home and a safe, attractive neighborhood. Michael has presented on educational topics such as early literacy, chronic absenteeism policy, and ESSA in venues from Houston to Cape Cod. He has served on the Massachusetts Board of Elementary & Secondary Education since 2015.

Mia Riccio, M.S., C.A.G.S., is Director of MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) for Salem Public Schools. She furthered her academic pursuits by obtaining a Master’s in School Counseling from Mercer University in 2016, equipping her with the tools to make a difference in students’ lives. From 2017 to 2022, Mia served as a City Connects Coordinator, making an impactful difference first at the Nathaniel Bowditch K-8 School and subsequently at Collins Middle School. Her role was instrumental in ensuring comprehensive student support, effectively applying her expertise to enhance student success. In 2022, Mia achieved a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (C.A.G.S) in Educational Leadership from Salem State University. An active contributor to the education community, Mia is a member of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and the Massachusetts School Counselors Association (MASCA). Notably, she serves as a new member on the MASCA Model Committee, contributing her expertise to shape and advance the future of school counseling models in Massachusetts.

Stephen Zrike, Jr., Ed.D., as the proud superintendent of the Salem Public Schools, is committed to building a culture of excellence focused on providing students with cognitively demanding and engaging lessons, creating strong systems for social and emotional support in all schools and above all, dismantling districtwide structures that perpetuate inequities. Previously, Steve served five years as the Receiver of Schools in Holyoke where they increased the graduation rate by more than 20%, decreased the dropout rate by more than 50%, more than doubled prekindergarten enrollment and oversaw a fourfold increase in early college/dual enrollment participation for students. Additionally, Steve was the superintendent of schools in Wakefield, MA, a regional superintendent in the Chicago Public Schools and a principal in the Boston Public Schools.

Membership Information

Most MPY webinars are available ONLY to current staff from member districts and organizations. Public school memberships include police and fire personnel. Former and retired employees and members of committees, including but not limited to, PTO/PTA, PAC, School Improvement Councils, Health Councils, Drug/Alcohol Councils, and school volunteers, are not considered MPY members.

PDPs and CEUs

MPY is an approved Professional Development Provider through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (Provider No. F20180079). Professional Development Points (PDPs) are offered for most MPY professional development webinars. PDPs are issued in 10 hour increments, per DESE requirements.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for clinical staff through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc. (MaMHCA). The NASW and the MaMHCA approve each event individually. CEUs may be given in hourly increments.

To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must pass the quiz. The PDP quiz will be made available only to participants who have registered for and attended both conferences.

Event Cancellation Policy

If you are unable to attend a MPY webinar you must cancel, through Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org, one business day before the webinar.

For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Please email Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org with any questions regarding registration.