Announcement
Draft Amendments to the Rules for the Administration of the Protection of Persons from Restraint Act
Attn: Superintendents, Special Ed Directors, Principals
The Rules for the Administration of the Protection of Persons from Restraint Act were originally adopted by the Colorado State Board of Education in December 2000.
In August 2007, a task force convened to review the rules and suggest new language as necessary. The task force was comprised of representatives from school districts, educational advocacy organizations and CDE staff. The group met monthly during 2007-2008. As the task force reviewed the rules, members considered the safety of students and staff when the use of restraint is necessary in an educational setting. The task force drafted language that would more closely align the rules with the Act and clarify the application of the rules in education settings.
The draft language is available at the link below. The task force invites public input on the draft language. Please e-mail comments to Stephanie Lynch at the e-mail address below. Comments will be taken through Monday, November 24, 2008.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Stephanie Lynch
Exceptional Student Leadership Unit
Phone: 303-866-6311
Email: lynch_s@cde.state.co.us
Apply to Bring Great American Art into Your School
Attn: School librarians, prinicipals, art teachers
Libraries and schools may apply for an innovative, free teaching tool called Picturing America, which provides high-quality reproductions of great American art to public libraries and K-12 schools to enhance the study of history, social studies, language arts, literature, and civics.
Public libraries; K-12 public, private, parochial, and charter schools; and home school consortia are eligible. Items include forty large, high-quality color reproductions of the selected masterpieces (24” x 36”), and a comprehensive teacher’s resource book with a wide range of ideas and background information to support educators using the works of art in core subject areas.
Schools have until Friday, November 14, to apply. Delivery is scheduled for spring 2009. Previous recipients are not eligible for a second award.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Eugene Hainer
State Library
Phone: 303-866-6900
Email: hainer_g@cde.state.co.us
Teaching With Primary Sources for School Librarians and Teachers
Attn: Superintendents, Librarians
Explore the treasures of the Library of Congress on Monday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m. at the Denver Public Library. Enable your students to touch history with original documents from the vaults of the world's largest library. Learn how to encourage inquiry and discovery with some of the 13 million digital primary sources, freely available online.
Investigate Colorado classroom treasures, from the Colorado
Humanities & Center for the Book and the collections of the Denver Public
Library.
The educator workshop will be held from 1 to 5:00 p.m. A networking dinner will take place between 5 and 6 p.m. with the National Treasures, Local Treasures Program and Reception beginning at 6 p.m.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Sherrie Galloway
Phone: 202-707-2593
Email: jgav@loc.gov
First School Leadership Academy Board Meeting
Attn: Principals, Superintendents
The first meeting of the School Leadership Academy Board will take place on Monday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Colorado Department of Education in the state board room.
Per House Bill 1386, the School Leadership Academy Board was created earlier this year to advise the Colorado State Board of Education in overseeing the School Leadership Academy Program, including a principal academy to improve the recruitment, training and ongoing professional development of school leaders in Colorado.
The 14-member board is responsible for setting policies and procedures for the program, monitoring progress, defining criteria for the Department to use in selecting participants for the academy, determining curricular components of the program and reporting annually to the Colorado State Board of Education.
For More Information, Contact:
Jeanette Cornier
Office of Teaching & Learning
Phone: 303.866.6788
Email: cornier_j@cde.state.co.us
FYI
District Responses to Charter School Applications
Attn: Superintendents
CDE recently received multiple queries about charter school applications. To assist with district responses to charter school applications, here are a few key points that may be helpful to you:
1. Upon receipt of any charter school application the district should first determine if the application is complete. The statute says a district is responsible to review any complete application it receives. Deeming an application incomplete is not appealable. District staff should review the application for completeness, and thoroughly document deficiencies and provide written notice of the deficiencies to the applicant.
Keys concepts of this step include to not officially accept the application for review and to provide sufficient documentation to back up the decision regarding completeness. If the district board officially accepts the application for review, the board is obligated to go through the process and is subject to an appeal. For districts not familiar with what a complete application looks like, the department has posted, as technical assistance, sample approved charter applications on the CDE Web site at the link below.
2. It may be prudent to check district charter school policies to ensure policies are current. For example, policies should include the step for a quick review of completeness.
3. Regarding questions concerning what constitutes a multi-district online program application, the state does not review this aspect until a local district contingently approves the charter by resolution. Therefore, what districts do with an application as outlined in points one and two above is critical.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Denise Mund
Schools of Choice
Phone: 303-866-6740
Email: mund_d@cde.state.co.us
Enhancing Education Through Technology - Power Results Grant Program Funding Opportunity
Attn: Superintendents, District Personnel
An exciting opportunity is available to high need literacy educational agencies for the 2009 - 2010 school year. Approximately $1.2 million is available to successful grantees to improve student achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools.
The Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) - Power Results program supports school districts and/or consortia of school districts to improve curriculum, teaching or the learning community through the substantial, innovative integration of educational technology and information literacy into their practices.
The Power Results competition for 2009-2010 has one targeted focus area: Staff Development
CDE will award:
• Individual grants up to $75,000; and
• Grants up to $150,000 for 3 or more districts or consortium of districts.
The Power Results Grant Program is intended to support direct connections to district ET-IL plans as well as to provide professional development for educators.
Grant applications will be due Wednesday, February 11, 2009. The Power Results Request for Proposal (RFP) can be found at the link below. In addition, grant writing trainings will be offered in early Nov. regarding nuts and bolts of writing the Power Results Grant. There will also be time for discussion and Q&A.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Lynn Bamberry
Competitive Grants & Awards
Phone: 303-866-6813
Email: bamberry_l@cde.state.co.us
Important Due Date
Colorado Distinguished Title I Teacher and Principal Awards
Attn: Superintendents, Title I Directors, Title I Principals
Nominations for the Colorado Distinguished Title I Teacher must be received at CDE no later than Monday, Nov. 3.
Nominations for Colorado Distinguished Title I Principal must be received no later than Monday, Nov. 10.
The Colorado Distinguished Title I Teacher and Distinguished Title I Principal awards annually recognize educators from Title I schools who demonstrate outstanding commitment and excellence in increasing student achievement. In addition to recognition as the Distinguished Title I Teachers and Principal, the award recipients will receive $5,000 each to honor their achievement. Nomination forms and directions for their completion can be found at the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Judy Huddleston
Office of Federal Program Administration
Phone: 720-939-8848
Email: huddleston_j@cde.state.co.us
URGENT Online Enrollments for CELApro and CSAPA
Attn: DACs, Superintendents
As of the Oct. 17 deadline, 91 districts did not complete the online enrollment process for the CELApro assessment. This assessment is required by state and federal law. Shipment of the CELApro tests begins in November. If you did not order CELApro materials, please contact the CTB Help Desk immediately at 1-800-994-8557.
The online enrollment process for 2008-09 CSAPA assessment available through CTB’s Navigator Web site closes Friday, Oct. 24.
For online enrollment, submit an estimate of the projected enrollment of students who will take the 2008-09 CSAPA assessment in grades three through 10. The projected enrollment figures will provide CTB a baseline estimate for the quantity of tests that must be printed and sent to all districts. Failure to order the adequate number of CSAPA books for your district through the online enrollment process may result in students not being able to test. Short/Adds are only for small numbers of materials based on new enrollees.
For instructions on how to submit enrollment counts, please refer to the CSAPA Online Enrollment User Guide at the link below and select Enrollments or contact the CTB Help Desk.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Jim McIntosh
Unit of Student Assessment
Phone: 303.866.6979
Email: mcintosh_j@cde.state.co.us
To Do
Survey Responses - Postsecondary Workforce Readiness
Attn: Superintendents, DACs
Last week, every district received the High School Postsecondary Workforce Readiness Assessment Pilot Survey as required by Colorado Revised Statute 22-7-1007 (1)(d). This survey needs to be completed and returned to CDE by Friday, October 24.
The purpose of the survey is to gather information on assessments currently or previously used in the district for postsecondary/workforce planning, preparation and readiness.
We are also asking your district to provide us with additional documentation about how your district evaluated the effectiveness of its postsecondary workforce readiness assessments. This is an important piece of information for us, so please email this documentation to baker_h@cde.state.co.us after you have submitted the survey.
The survey is available at the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Ken Turner
Phone: 303-866-6679
Email: turner_k@cde.state.co.us
Colorado Department of Education
201 East Colfax Avenue
Denver, Colorado
80203-1799
Phone: 303-866-6822 or 303-866-2334
Do you know somebody in your school district who needs to read The Scoop each week? Send an e-mail to: CDE_Communications_Office@cde.state.co.us with "Sign Me Up For The Scoop" in the subject line. If you are having trouble signing up, please call the communications office at the telephone numbers above.
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