Events
Once again, PCG Poland is the principle sponsor of the 6th International Congress of Education Management to be held on 21-23 September 2011 in Krakow. It is Poland's largest annual education management meeting. Approximately 1000 people participate in the Congress including school principals, members of the local governments, and education officials.
This year the special guests will include: Minister of Education, representatives of the Jagiellonian University, representative of the Ministry of Higher Education, foreign guests presenting on hot education topics in Europe and worldwide, including the former governor of Maine – John Baldacci, a friend of PCG Polska.
PCG will deliver four presentations:
- The American experience in school restructuring – a case study of the state of Maine, USA - John Baldacci
- Using data to improve school and student performance – EU DATAUSE project – Małgorzata Marciniak, Josh Romaneo
- Restructuring the network of schools in Poland – challenges and proposed solutions – Łukasz Nowak, Christen Hunter
- EdPlan – Internet platform for creating individual student records (IPET, Card, PDW) – Marta Chrzanowska, Christen Hunter
In cooperation with its partners from the Netherlands, Lithuania, Germany and UK, PCG organized a Data Coach Workshop. The training, held 26-28 August 2011 in London, was a part of the EU project "DATAUSE – Using data to improve school and student performance" (www.datauseproject.eu). Participants included 26 school leaders from pilot schools in each partner country. Training sessions focused on how to effectively use data to improve the quality of education and provided practical tools and methodologies. The Data Coach training began the project implementation phase of the DATAUSE project, which will continue as each pilot school deploys the Data Use course for their teachers (in Poland those are: Gimnazjum nr 26 im Mikołaja Reja in Łódź and Publiczne Gimnazjum in Wiśniowa Góra). During the course pilot, school leaders that have already been trained in London, will use the methodologies and tools to work with data in order to solve the outstanding problems in their schools.
PCG recognized in Poland for "Innovation in Education", June 2011
PCG received top billing in the category "Partner in Education" during a grand ceremony recognizing innovation in education on June 14th at Poznanski's Palace, Lodz. Lukasz Nowak received the award on behalf of the Polish office; Christen Hunter and Malgorzata Marciniak were also in attendance.
The annual event was organized by the Lodz Center for Teachers' Professional Development and Practical Training in cooperation with many partners. In attendance was a who's who guest list of education leaders from across the Lodz region, as well as the Polish Ministry of Education.
The certificate is awarded for educational achievements and pedagogical innovations introduced to schools and educational institutions in the region. Recognizing PCG Polska is confirmation of our strong position among the most creative businesses and institutions supporting education in the Lodzkie Voievoidship.
PCG Health Presents in Poland, May 2011
PCG Health joined about 100 hospital directors, national and local government officials, university professors, and health care vendors in Ryn, Poland for a 3-day conference about health care challenges with the new Polish health care legislation. Jim Waldinger (PCG Health, Boston) and Marta Chrzanowska (PCG International, Boston) presented to the group about US care management trends in the Medicaid program. The presentation was well received and there were a lot of questions about the use of data (both financial and clinical) and about consumer-directed care. While the American and Polish health care systems are different in many significant ways, it was interesting to hear the concerns and challenges that face Polish hospital directors, as they are quite similar to those of their American counterparts - issues of strategic planning, measurement of outcomes, and expense management were all common themes. PCG published an article about models to manage quality and costs of individuals with multiple chronic conditions. The article and the conference presentation can be found here.
9 February: Are the schools in your area prepared for the September 1 deadline set by the new regulations for supporting students with special needs?
Mainstream schools are required to expand their support of students with special education needs beginning September 1, 2011 in accordance with new regulations signed by the Ministry of Education. March 31, 2011 is the first deadline by when all gymnasiums must have Support Teams in place and to identify, assess, and recommend services for students with special learning needs. It is estimated that 20% of students at your mainstream schools will qualify for special education support and require a formal individual plan.
What’s in the new legislation?
- Schools of all types and levels are obliged to develop, monitor and regularly evaluate Individualized Education Programs for all students possessing the decision about special educational needs (approximately 2-3% of the students’ population)
- Schools of all types and levels are obliged to develop, monitor and regularly evaluate Support Plans and Individual Needs Cards for all students diagnosed as talented, with specific learning difficulties, communication disorders, chronic diseases, or experiencing traumas or facing problem situations, as well as those with educational failures, culturally unadjusted, disadvantaged etc. (approximately 20-25% of the students’ population)
- Schools of all types and levels are obliged to form a Team of Teachers and Specialists for EACH student with special educational needs. The Team will be charged with developing, monitoring and evaluating individual plans for students as well as with identifying the students with special needs
- Schools of all types and levels are entitled to introduce changes to their Policy documents to reflect the organizational and administrative decisions made by the Ministry (new types of therapeutic classes, changed duration of classes, etc.)
Public Consulting Group (PCG) can help your schools prepare to comply with the new legislation.
To help school s meet the requirements of the new Special Education legislation, PCG offers consulting and technology services:
- Analysis and training on new legislation for special needs students
- Development of procedures, identification criteria, and sample documents to manage the education of students with special educational needs
- Action Planning work shop to establish Support Teams
- A web-based system to develop Individualized Education Programs and Support Plans and manage special educational processes and information.
To learn more about how PCG can help your schools to comply with new Special Education regulations or for a demonstration of our solutions, contact Lukasz Nowak directly at lnowak@pcgeu.com or +48 42 2908 221.
In addition, PCG can provide support services to help schools prepare to meet the new requirements of School Supervision:
- Preparation for external evaluation
- Planning of internal evaluation inside the institution
- Evaluation of school activity and curriculum
- Analysis of the evaluation data and improvement program planning
- Training in effective result analysis of external examinations
- Teambuilding and organization of group work at schools
- Workshops to prepare teachers for non-didactic positions
- Training and coaching for headmasters to prepare them for the external and internal evaluation
17 November: On November 17th, 2010 the Minister of National Education signed six out of eight regulations from the package on teaching students with special educational needs and organization and psychological-pedagogic help.
Public Consulting Group’s consultants have done a throughout analysis of the new regulations and identified the most crucial changes that educational and psychological-therapeutic institutions have to face in comparison with the hitherto legal status. These include the following:
- Wider range of recipients of the psychological-pedagogical support in preschool, school and other institutions. All students who require additional help because of identified individual developmental and educational needs are now eligible for support.
- Requirement to keep new or more comprehensive documentation, including Individual Education Plans for students with disabilities or Support Plans and Special Services and Needs Cards for special education students, as one of the target groups.
- Requirement to create a Team of teachers, counselors, and specialists that plans and coordinates the ways of psychological and educational support for students in preschools, schools and other institutions, as well as evaluates the effectiveness of these activities.
Education of students with disabilities, behavioral issues or in danger of being socially excluded will be organized according to the new regulations starting
- September 1st, 2011 – in case of preschools, middle schools and special institutions
- September 1st, 2012 – in case of elementary and high schools.
These dates apply to the start of psychological and pedagogical help.
With our long experience in the field of education, PCG is a perfect resource of knowledge and expertise to help you understand the new legislation, analyze current solutions and processes, as well as prepare your Institution to perform the new obligations resulting from the legal changes.
We offer new technological solutions supporting managing data and Individual Education Plans for students with special needs. Thanks to our software you will be able to easily manage the gathered data, prepare required documentation, report on time, and coordinate activities of the Teachers and Specialists team.
We are open to discuss your specific needs and priorities within the above-mentioned areas. You are welcome to contact us at any time.
You can find more information on this topic on the Ministry’s web site.
22-24 September: PCG sponsored the V Congress of Management in Education and served as a subject-matter expert. Organized by the National Association of Management Staff in Education, this event took place in Warsaw, Poland. The Congress is the largest education event in Poland, attracting more than 1,000 educators from Poland and across the European Union each year. During the Congress, PCG representatives including President and CEO William Mosakowski, International Program Manager Colleen Burns, Manager David Ronka, Senior Advisor Dr. Julie Meltzer, Senior Consultant Christen Hunter, Senior Associate Malgorzata Marciniak and Consultant Łukasz Nowak delivered lectures on special education management, data analysis, and teacher training.
14-15 June: Public Consulting Group representatives took part in the I National Scientific Conference in the areas of Education, Leadership and Management entitled: “Educational Leaders”. The conference took place in Łódź. Dr Julie Meltzer run a workshop entitled: "Developing teachers into teacher leaders". She discussed a model of instructional leadership based on work done in the US that describes the areas and actions leaders take that are associated with improved academic outcomes for students. Małgorzata Marciniak run a workshop entitled: “Roles of school leaders in setting up a culture of data driven continuous improvement”. She presented the advantages of incorporating data into educators’ decision-making processes from the central office to the classroom. Reports from the conference as well as workshop materials are available at the conference website: www.liderzywedukacji.pl
- Psychological and Pedagogical Assistance
PCG is a leading provider of consulting and technology solutions to support the organization of psychological and pedagogical assistance at schools. We gained our expertise through nearly 25 years of cooperation with schools and local governments in the U.S.
- Health Services
Public Consulting Group (PCG) helps providers, governments, public health agencies, and healthcare providers enhance quality of care, improve financial management performance, and redesign systems of care.
PCG Office
Address: Fabryczna 17, Suite 11,
90-344 Łódź
Telephone: +48 42 2908 221
FAX: + 48 42 2908 225
E-mail: info@pcgeu.com