New Year, New Beginnings, Same Commitment - January 1st, 2013

David Chavez, Executive Director
Cooperative Educational Services

A new year is often viewed as a time of renewal. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm often lessens soon after the resolutions are made and we quickly revert back into our old habits. At CES we are looking at 2013 as a new year, with new beginnings, but the same commitment that has made us the cooperative of choice in New Mexico.

Cooperative Educational Services Commitment to our Customers

With the start of a new year, we are reflecting on the vision, mission and core values of CES. We are in our second year of implementing strategies in our current strategic plan. We are proud of our excellent cooperative purchasing program and the other programs we offer as a service through CES. However, a lot has changed over the years and we want to effectively meet the procurement, ancillary, professional services and other needs that our members have requested we develop and sustain on their behalf. As we annually revisit our strategic plan it will require careful analysis of what is required, what we do to meet the requirements, what we should do in the same manner, what we should do differently, and what we should start doing. Program planning, development, and implementation will follow the analysis. This will be a comprehensive review of our current initiatives using staff, member and vendor input.

Same Commitment

Some things at CES will not change. CES built its programs upon a vision, a mission and core values. As we plan for the future, our efforts will be consistent with the vision and mission aligned with the following guiding principles:

1. Responsiveness to customers’ needs.
2. Providing greater value and convenience.
3. Providing exceptional personnel, products and service.
4. Personalized attention
5. Adherence to high ethical standards

CES will continue to be responsive to changes in our members’ needs and in the public procurement environment. We will continue to maintain good working relationships with vendors (procurement partners) and members being fair to all. CES will continue to develop and administer effective contracts that are fair to members, vendors and CES.
It’s a tall order, but we are ready for it. We hope you will join us on the journey. So, Happy New Year! Go ahead and make those New Year Resolutions. And remember, if you break them, there is always next year.

Common Core State Standards Implementation Plan - July 26th, 2012

Pecos Valley Education Alliance (PVEA) has developed a Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Implementation Plan that may be of interest to districts that desire to address the CCSS as consortia. The PVEA is a collaborative among five public school districts, Carlsbad, Dexter, Hagerman, Lake Arthur and Loving with support provided by the Pecos Valley Regional Education Cooperative and CES.

This partnership has provided the participating school districts with an opportunity to address CCSS in a collaborative manner. They have developed a comprehensive implementation plan that is aligned to national and state level efforts. The implementation plan is organized in the same manner as the state implementation: Communication, Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction and Professional Development. PVEA member districts have agreed to partner on strategies that they have collectively identified and included them in the comprehensive plan. Each district is able to incorporate additional strategies unique to each individual district. SEDL is providing guidance to PVEA on the leadership design for the implementation plan and NMSU’s Mathematically Connected Communities (MC2), Sheryl White, PD 360 and the Southern Regional Education Board/High Schools That Work are providing guidance on the content component of the implementation plan.

As a partner, CES is able to support this initiative by having select members of its Professional Services Consultants participate in the same SEDL training as the PVEA district staff. This will provide ongoing capacity and sustainability for the training associated with the Professional Teaching and Learning Cycle and Working Systemically in Action. CES has also acquired professional services through a Request for Proposal (RFP) to allow districts to contract with SEDL, the Dana Center and other providers for CCSS training and support. Additionally, CES is available to assist district and REC personnel with the development of a comprehensive implementation plan to address Common Core State Standards.
Please contact David Chavez, at CES, if you would like additional information about the Common Core State Standards Implementation Plan. David may be contacted by calling 505-344-5470.

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McCREL Classroom Instruction That Works - June 7th, 2012

On April 10th—April 13th CES hosted a four day training delivered by McCREL on “Classroom Instruction That Works”. The training was provided by Elizabeth Hubbell with 27 participants representing school districts and REC’s from throughout the state.

The training was a described by some of the participants as a helpful mix of theory and practice with excellent examples. The training was well presented, easy to digest, easy to make the transition from theory to practice with a lot of time provided to practice. The attendees found the Planning Guide to be well written with many research-based instructional strategies and with new insights from the most recent, rigorous research, offering a refined framework to essential 21st century skills.

The training focused on nine instructional categories that strongly affect student achievement:

• Identifying similarities and differences
• Summarizing and note taking
• Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
• Homework and practice
• Nonlinguistic representations
• Cooperative learning
• Setting goals and providing feedback
• Generating and testing hypotheses
• Activating prior knowledge

Twenty Five of the twenty seven participants attended the fourth day of training that was the required training to become a certified trainer. CES had two Professional Services employees that attended the training and are now able to provide the training. Please contact David Chavez, at CES, if you would like additional information about the Professional Services employees that are now available to contract with you to provide the Classroom Instruction That Works training. David may be contacted by calling 505-344-5470.