Episode 57: Grading for Equity!
On this episode of Under the Hat, Steve sits down with AJ Melanson to discuss his experiences as an educator and insight on how we grade with equity in mind. AJ takes pride in his work with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) work. He has most recently presented on Grading for Equity at MassCUE, RTM Boston, and Medfield’s Design Your Learning Day.
AJ Melanson
Director of Educational Technology
AJ has been the Director of Educational Technology, Career Tech Department Chair for Milton High School, and the Technology Department Chair for K-8 for Milton Public Schools since 2017. Before that he was a Business and Technology teacher at Milton High School, and held the position of Career Tech Department Chair and Business and Technology teacher for ten years at Marietta High School in Marietta, GA.
In his current role, AJ is responsible for a wide-range of responsibilities including but not limited to formally evaluating K-12 teachers throughout the district, leading the Personalized Learning and Technology Task Force teams, using data to make informed decisions with applications, helping staff (teachers and leaders) to understand how to effectively use a data cycle to close achievement gaps, and working with staff to use technology to make new learning opportunities possible, provide real-time meaningful feedback to students, collect and analyze data, and overall work more effectively and efficiently.
AJ takes pride in his work with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) work. He has most recently presented on Grading for Equity at MassCUE and Medfield’s Design Your Learning Day. In addition, he starts every department and PLC meeting he facilitates with a DEIB activity.
Most recently, AJ has been creating artificial intelligence guidelines for Milton Public Schools, created language for teachers to use on their syllabi, modified school based academic honor codes to address the challenges AI presents, and has been colla… Read More