CAS is pleased to announce that the deadline to apply for a Special Education Coach Grant has been extended. The grant program, a joint initiative of CAS and the Connecticut State Department of Education, was established two years ago in response to frequent reports from practitioners indicating that special education administrators would benefit greatly from the support of an executive coach with special education expertise. Districts are invited to apply for a grant that will provide them with a coach at no cost. The new deadline for submission of applications is November 30th.

Are you concerned or confused about the role technology should play in our children’s daily lives and how technology is influencing the civility in our culture? Join us for a morning workshop on February 12th as cognitive psychologist Dr. Alicia Farrell answers two important questions: How does technology affect the early-childhood brain and social-emotional development? How much technology is too much? There is no cost to attend.

Adolescent Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment, a/k/a A-SBIRT, is a comprehensive, evidence-based process for early substance use intervention for adolescents. The SBIRT model identifies, reduces, and prevents problematic substance use in adolescents at risk for or with current substance use disorders. On March 6, Dr. Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin from Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Gregory Carver from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services will be at CAS to acquaint principals, assistant principals and counseling and support staff with the SBIRT model and share effective strategies for implementing it in schools.

Registration is now open for esports Season One featuring three games: Rocket League, SMITE and League of Legends. Schools are able to build as many teams as they’d like, creating a truly inclusive activity. The inaugural season will begin the week of February 25th and end in April, with playoffs taking place in May 2019. The last day for schools to register is February 8th. Sign up now!

Register now for the 20th Annual Elementary Arts Banquet coming in February! This yearly event provides elementary schools the opportunity to recognize students who have demonstrated outstanding artistic ability in performing or visual arts as well as citizenship and cooperative skills. Each elementary school is invited to select two students to be honored.

Nineteen high school athletic programs have been selected as CIAC Michaels Achievement Cup exemplary programs in recognition of the excellence of their overall sports programs for the 2017-18 academic year. The schools were selected by the Michaels Cup Committee for their efforts in launching and implementing the CIAC Class Act Schools sportsmanship program. See which schools came out on top!

Fitch High School in Groton is hosting a school climate conference on December 5th from 9:00-12:30. Sponsored by Jostens Renaissance®, the event is open to administrators, guidance counselors, teachers, and student leaders. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Phillip Campbell, former teacher, athletic director and principal, who will share strategies for revolutionizing school climate and culture in the 21st century. Registration closes on Friday, November 23rd. Click here for more information.

Last spring, Westbrook High School (WHS) was one of seven recipients of a 2018 CAS-CIAC Flanagan Endowment Grant. This popular grant program, made possible thanks to the generosity of our corporate partners, provides funding to support new or existing initiatives that lead to enriched educational experiences and/or improved learning environments for students. The WHS Teen Leadership/School Climate students have been busy using the funds to share strategies for improving school climate and social emotional learning both locally and statewide. The students presented at the recent National Education Association New England Aspiring Educators’ Conference held in October at the Heritage in Southbury, CT.

On January 10, Skills21 at EdAdvance will be holding a professional development program at CAS entitled “Personalized Learning & Capstone in Action.” The workshop will be led by Skills21 staff who are currently completing the third year of a National Science Foundation Capstone development program. In addition, participants will hear directly from recent high school graduates who have completed the Skills21 Academy and/or Capstone program. If your school currently has, or is considering adding, a Capstone initiative, you will benefit from this one day professional development session designed for school-based pairs including a building leader and lead teacher.