Amplify ELAT Newsletter, August 11, 2020

August Newsletter

ELAT Program Contacts and Administrators

Back to School Guidance

We hosted two office hours this summer providing back-to-school guidance, including on remote assessment. If you missed it and would like to hear the recording or would like a copy of the PowerPoint, please visit the ELAT Microsite - Important Updates or see below.

Remote/Hybrid resources for assessment and instruction

Recording

Also, please see below for things to consider.

Assessments

ELAT Interim Assessments - Per the READ Act, schools are required to assess using Acadience Reading within the first 30/60 instructional school days for students. Statute requires that READ plans are created for students upon determination of a significant reading deficiency (SRD). As you develop these plans, please keep in mind your body of evidence for this student and all that you know about this student.

We recognize the critical need to have current, reliable, and valid data to drive your instruction, especially after your students may have missed instruction due to missed in-class time. We have worked with the authors of the assessments, thought leaders from across the nation, and school districts of all sizes to develop specific guidelines to assist you as you plan for 2020-2021.

Decision	Options	Considerations
1. Timing of window (within CDE windows)	Shortly after returning	Diagnose gaps quickly.
1. Timing of window (within CDE windows)	Wait a bit	Allow students to re-acclimate to school routines and new teachers; begin to catch up on prior year’s work. Then, assess to diagnose and close remaining gaps.

2. Length of window (within CDE windows)	Short	Try to capture all data quickly, in case school moves to remote.
2. Length of window (within CDE windows)	Longer than usual	Too much may be happening at once. (No longer than the required 30/60 day window.)

3. Who should assess?	Classroom teacher	Students may be most comfortable with their own teacher.
3. Who should assess?	Assessment team	Assess a class quickly without loss of instruction. If using remote 1:1, the team will be well-practiced.

4. Hybrid models: When?	Assess on in-person days	Collect gold-standard data (in-person/shoulder to shoulder).
4. Hybrid models: When?	Assess on remote days	Use in-person days for instruction, and have an assessment team gather data when students are remote.

For guidance on how to conduct assessments remotely, please visit our ELAT Microsite - Important Updates. You will find step by step directions and short video clips to see examples of best practices in action. Also included are caregiver letters and videos that will help teachers explain to parents/caregivers the process and how to help with the setup.

In addition, Amplify is offering additional online assessments that can help you gather additional data for some or all of your students. These assessments include mCLASS Spelling, mCLASS Vocabulary, Decoding Online, and Text Reading Online. For more information, please visit our mCLASS Online Assessment Site.

It will be important to plan for the intervention needed to move students off of READ plans at the middle of the year (MOY) or at the end of the year (EOY). A higher number of intervention blocks may be needed within the master schedule this year. Also, Amplify is providing guidance on How to Deliver mCLASS Small Group Instruction Remotely. Please pass on this resource to any of your teachers that will be teaching remotely.

Instructional Tools:

Tools you have access to that are great for planning and providing instruction (remote or in-person):

Boost practice app: Provides early literacy skill practice at school or at home!
mCLASS Instruction tab: Easy reference to student skill gaps, groups, and activities.
mCLASS Home Connect parent website (English and Spanish activities available)
Live Colorado Start Strong kindergarten skills map
Live Colorado Start Strong 1st grade skills map

2020-21 ELAT Professional Development

Through ELAT, we will be offering a variety of professional development sessions throughout the year. Through October 2nd, we will host all professional development remotely. We are excited to be able to connect with educators to provide the sessions needed to use your data to plan for instruction.

Please visit and bookmark our professional development site.

For the beginning of the year, we are are offering the following sessions for schools in their second year in ELAT and beyond:

mCLASS: Acadience Reading Administration and Scoring Refresher

This session is intended for educators who have been previously trained in administration and need to refresh their scoring and practice the measures. (Late July - Mid-August)

mCLASS: Acadience Reading Administration

This session is an initial training meant for those whose schools are returning to ELAT and have teachers who need to be trained in Acadience Reading. (ELAT has never previously offered this session so we are excited to support schools with this! - Late July - Mid-August)

IDEL Administration and Data Interpretation
This session is intended for educators who are using the IDEL assessment for foundational literacy skills in Spanish. (Late July - Mid-August)

Starting mid-September, we will offer the following sessions for use with beginning of year (BOY) data:

Beginning of Year (BOY) Data Analysis for Leaders
Beginning of Year (BOY) Instructional Planning Across the Tiers for Leaders
Beginning of Year (BOY) Data Analysis for Teachers
Beginning of Year (BOY) Instructional Planning Across the Tiers for Teachers

Register here for any sessions you would like to attend. You will need to complete one registration for each session per registrant.

Action Needed: Please set your 2020-21 benchmark windows (program contacts only).

Please use this form to set your benchmark windows within the mCLASS system so that teachers will be able to assess within your designated window at back-to-school. Please fill out this form by August 14, 2020 so that your windows are set correctly. If you need to change your window after you have filled out the form, please email Genna Faulkenberry at gfaulkenberry@amplify.com.

Please share the information below with your staff - THANK you for your assistance!

ELAT Updates for Coaches and Teachers

REMINDER:

Through ELAT, you have access to the Boost App where foundational skills can be practiced by students in grade K-1 and students that may be struggling with literacy skills in grade 2. For information on how to get started, see below.

Boost practice app: Provides early literacy skill practice at school or at home!

Acadience Reading Diagnostic (formally named Deep) Training - If you are needing support around using the Acadience Reading Diagnostic, please watch this hour-long webinar that will walk you through how to use this great tool.

How to Administer the Acadience Reading Diagnostic with mCLASS

REMINDER: Visit our ELAT Microsite for resources available to you. Below are instructional tools that will support you and your students in an in-person or remote setting.

Boost practice app: Provides early literacy skill practice at school or at home!
mCLASS Instruction tab: Easy reference to student skill gaps, groups, and activities.
mCLASS Home Connect parent website (English and Spanish Activities Available)
Live Colorado Start Strong kindergarten skills map
Live Colorado Start Strong 1st grade skills map