Announcement
District Improvement Grant RFP Now Available
Attn: Superintendents, District Personnel
The District Improvement Grant Request For Proposal (RFP) is now available. This RFP is designed to solicit applications from districts that have been identified for Program Improvement or Corrective Action and are not currently receiving a Targeted District Improvement Partnership (TDIP). Priority will be given as follows to:
• Districts that have not received a CADI grant within the past four years;
• Districts that are on Corrective Action and rated “low”;
• Districts that have a District Performance Framework Plan rating of Turnaround or Priority improvement; and
• Any other eligible districts.
A total of more than $1.2 million over three years will be available for contracts to qualifying schools. Proposals will be due on Tuesday, Nov. 30. For more information and to access the RFP, please visit the Web site below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Precious Broadnax
Teaching and Learning
Phone: 303-866-6788
Email: broadnax_p@cde.state.co.us
School Improvement Grant RFP Now Available
Attn: Superintendents, District Personnel
The School Improvement Grant Request For Proposal (RFP) is now available. This RFP is designed to solicit applications from schools designated as in need of improvement in order to provide intensive and sustained support. Priority will be given as follows to:
• Schools that have not received a School Support Team visit in the last four years;
• Schools that have a School Performance Framework Plan rating of Turnaround or Priority Improvement; and
• Schools that are furthest along in Title I Improvement.
Funding is available for a two year cycle, with up to $50,000 available in Phase I and up to $100,000 in Phase II. Proposals will be due on Monday, Nov. 29, 2010. For more information and to access the RFP, please visit the Web site below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Precious Broadnax
Teaching and Learning
Phone: 303-866-6788
Email: broadnax_p@cde.state.co.us
TELL Survey To Launch in January
Attn: Association members, Principals, Superintendents, Administrators
Building on the success of the 2009 initiative, the Teaching, Empowerment, Leading and Learning (TELL) Colorado survey will launch this January. We are asking for your help in encouraging all school-based educators, administrators and other designated staff members working in Colorado public schools to take the survey. The TELL survey is online, anonymous and collects data about school personnel perception of their school environment.
TELL Colorado is intended to promote discussions in schools and districts about instruction, planning time, professional development, school improvement and related policy issues. The results of this survey are not a part of the state or federal accountability system, accreditation, or making Adequate Yearly Progress.
The survey window will be open for a few weeks at the end of January and beginning of February 2011. In preparation, the state is working with a coalition of partner organizations, including the Colorado Association of School Boards, the Colorado Association of School Executives, the Colorado Education Association, the Colorado League of Charter Schools, the office of the Governor and other partners.
The coalition will provide communications materials (e-mails and posters) to districts, schools and associations to assist in encouraging teachers and administrators to participate in the survey. Each individual survey response is vital so that school planning and policy can move forward with the most constructive and comprehensive information from educators and administrators in the field.
Look for more information over the next couple of months.
For More Information, Contact:
Lisa Medler
Consolidated Federal Programs
Phone: 303/866-6993
Email: medler_l@cde.state.co.us
Poetry Can Take You Places - Maybe Even to Washington D.C.
Attn: High School Instructors, Administrators
Presented by Colorado Creative Industries and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud is a program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition. Schools are invited to participate in classroom and school-wide contests, advancing to a state competition on Feb. 28, 2011. The state champion will advance to the National Finals on April 27-29, 2011 in Washington, D.C.
Special funding is available this year to help with expenses for Colorado students in rural communities. Two free teacher workshops will be offered, one in Denver on Saturday, Nov. 13 and to encourage participation from the Western Slope, a teacher training in Grand Junction has been added on Saturday, November 20.
Poetry Out Loud seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry - recitation and performance. The program builds on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of rap music among youth. Through Poetry Out Loud, students can master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.
The state champion will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. with a chaperone, to compete for the national championship. The state winner‘s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. One runner-up will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. Poetry Out Loud will award a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends at the National Finals, including a $20,000 prize for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Sheila Sears, Arts Education Manager
Colorado Creative Industries
Phone: 303 892 3802
Email: sheila.sears@state.co.us
Vacancies on the Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee
Attn: All
The Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee (CSEAC) is looking for new members. Please help spread the word that CSEAC is looking for dedicated people from around Colorado to advise the Colorado Department of Education assistant commissioner and state director of the Exceptional Student Leadership Unit on the issues of special education.
CSEAC is a state level committee mandated by federal and state law. Members are interested in the quality of education received by children/youth with disabilities. The committee includes parents of and individuals with disabilities, educational service providers, administrators and representatives from a variety of related agencies. Participation is statewide and representative of diverse disabilities.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Katherine Keck
Exceptional Student Leadership
Phone: (303) 866-6943
Email: keck_k@cde.state.co.us
Event
Concurrent Enrollment Advisory Board Will Hold Tenth Meeting Thursday, Nov. 11
Attn: District Officials, School Counselors, Teachers, Principals
The Concurrent Enrollment Advisory Board will meet for the tenth time on Thursday, Nov. 11 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The public meeting will be held in the conference center at the Community College System Lowry campus, 1061 Akron Way, Bldg. 697 in Denver.
The Nov. 11 combined work session and formal meeting agenda includes:
Work Session
• Introduction
• Changes to Colorado Department of Higher Education Policy
• Consideration of a Waiver Process
• ASCENT Guidelines & Recommendations for Improvement
• Online Service Area Clearance
Formal Meeting
• Welcome, roll call, approval of agenda, approval of minutes
• Public input
• Approval of action items from work session
• Action plan and next steps
The 13-member board is charged with overseeing programs that allow students to simultaneously enroll in high school and college.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Charles E. Dukes
Phone: 303-866-6142
Email: dukes_c@cde.state.co.us
Federal Programs
NCLB Budget Revisions
Attn: Consolidated Application Coordinators, Fiscal Managers
Reminder: CDE is collecting Annual Financial Reports for both the regular NCLB and ARRA FY09-10 budget year. If your district has already received program approval please wait to submit your budget revision reflecting actual carryover and final allocations until the Post Award Revision site is available. The Post Award site will be available in January.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Barbara Vassis
vassis_b@cde.state.co.us
Phone: Grants Fiscal Management Unit
Email: 303-866-6389
Supplemental Educational Service Providers RFP Now Available
Attn: Superintendents, District Personnel, Education Providers
The Supplemental Educational Services Providers Request For Proposal (RFP) is now available. The purpose of this RFP is to identify quality providers of Supplemental Educational Services to be included on the 2011-2012 Approved Supplemental Services Provider List. The main purpose of the Supplemental Educational Services Program is to:
• Increase the academic achievement in reading/ language arts or mathematics of eligible students as measured by the state’s assessment system; and
• Enable these students to attain proficiency in meeting state academic standards in reading/ language arts or mathematics.
This is not a competitive grant in that as many providers can be included on the approved provider list as meet the specified criteria. Proposals will be due on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. For more information and to access the RFP, please visit the Web site below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Nazanin Mohajeri-Nelson
Office of Federal Program Administration
Phone: 303-866-6205
Email: mohajeri-nelson_n@cde.state.co.us
FYI
Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act Frequently Asked Questions
Attn: Principals, Superintendents, District Finance Office and School Counselors
In May 2009, the Colorado State Legislature passed the Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act. The collective intent is to broaden access to and improve the quality of concurrent enrollment programs, improve coordination between institutions of secondary education and institutions of higher education and ensure financial transparency and accountability.
In order to help clarify the Concurrent Enrollment and ASCENT programs, CDE will release responses to frequently asked questions in The Scoop. A new set of questions and answers will be included in The Scoop every week.
FAQs for this week:
Q: Can districts send students to either a two-year or four-year institution?
A: Yes, a cooperative agreement can be signed between a local education provider and a two-year or a four-year institution of higher education. Local education providers may enter into multiple cooperative agreements.
Q: Is a school district limited to enter into an agreement with only one college or community college for enrollment of students?
A: No, it is permissible for school districts to have multiple agreements. However, colleges that are part of the Colorado Community College System are not allowed to serve districts outside of the college’s defined service area unless there is a Service Area Clearance Agreement in place.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Charles E. Dukes
Phone: 303-866-6678
Email: dukes_c@cde.state.co.us
Reminder
Statewide Financial Assistance Priority Assessment
Attn: Superintendents, Business Managers, Facility Directors
Facility assessment reports are still open for review. If you have asked that others in your district be given access rights, please forward them this e-mail so they may review the reports. To get additional reviewers added to your review teams please contact Dustin Guerin at the e-mail address below.
You have until Monday, Feb. 7, 2011 to review the reports for your district and provide comments, corrections or clarifications to CDE. CDE staff will address your comments and post a revised report, which will become static until next year. Once the static reports are posted, comments can be entered again but the reports will not be updated until the next cycle for annual data updates.
It is important the information in the reports accurately reflects actual building conditions. Your comments and review will help assist CDE with capital construction grant awards in the future.
To login, visit http://comet.3di.com/comet4comments
Database name: Colorado DOE
Once you've logged in, you can start reviewing your reports and adding comments.
For further help, please find the "Help" manual and "FAQ" hyperlinks on the comments list view screen in the upper right corner of the toolbar.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Dustin Guerin
Division of Capital Construction
Phone: 303-866-6263
Email: guerin_d@cde.state.co.us
To Do
Race/Ethnicity Exemption for the EEOC/OCR Elementary-Secondary Staff Information Report
Attn: Superintendents, Human Resources Directors, Persons Responsible for the EEO-5 Report
The 2010 Elementary-Secondary Staff Information Report is a joint requirement of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Education. It is conducted biennially, in the even numbered years, and covers all public elementary and secondary school districts with 100 or more employees in the United States. The EEO-5 will be collected from ALL local education agencies. Responses to the survey are due Tuesday, Nov. 30.
The survey is currently set up to report the race/ethnicity of staff members in the prior five category system (American Indian, Asian, Black, Hispanic and White). EEOC will accept the new race/ethnicity codes (seven categories-American Indian, Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Two or More Races) but ONLY by request. School districts will be granted an exemption from EEO-5 race/ethnicity reporting requirements because they do not have the race and ethnicity data in the prior five categories. To do this the school districts MUST request an exemption from the current EEOC format. To be granted an exemption from reporting the EEO-5 data with EEOC’s format, the school district need only to inform EEOC that they prefer to submit the data in accordance with Department of Education's requirements. To request an exemption, please contact Lucius Brown, (202) 663-4947 or lucius.brown@eeoc.gov.
School districts granted this exemption would need to submit the alternative report that meets the EEOC’s EEO-5 requirements for data regarding EEO-5 job groups and in the race and ethnicity categories that meet Department of Education’s requirements. EEOC will provide an alternative report format to these school districts. EEOC will provide a reasonable filing extension for school districts granted this exemption.
Information on all of the EEOC forms is provided at:
http://eeoc.gov/employers/reporting.cfm
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Lucius Brown
Phone: (202) 663-4947
Email: lucius.brown@eeoc.gov
Charter School Eligibility Questionnaire for Charter School FY2010-11 Capital Construction Grant Funding
Attn: Superintendents, Business Managers, Charter School Directors
All Colorado school districts, charter schools and the Charter Schools Institute are required to complete the CSCC-02, Eligibility Questionnaire, for all charter schools in Colorado. Please complete Form CSCC-02 and return it to the Colorado Department of Education by Friday, Dec.17. Original signatures are required from the school district or Charter Schools Institute and the charter school. Once all the forms are received and the pupil count audits are completed the remaining Charter School Capital Construction Funding will be distributed.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Scott Newell
Division of Public School Capital Construction Assistance
Phone: 303.866.6717
Email: newell_s@cde.state.co.us
Update
District Resources for Unified Improvement Planning
Attn: Superintendents, District Accountability Contacts, NCLB Contacts for Titles IA, IIA and III
CDE is making several new resources available to support Unified Improvement Plans (UIP) at the district level. Here is a list of those resources:
• The pre-populated reports for the district UIP template (pp. 1-4) are now available on CEDAR.
• Other resources that are being posted on SchoolView in the Learning Center include:
o District Level Quality Criteria
o Checklists for specific programs (e.g., Titles IA, IIA and III).
o A district level example is coming soon.
o Information on the improvement plan submission process. Each district is being asked to complete a respondent form to designate a submitter.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Lisa Medler
Phone: 303-866-6993
Email: medler_l@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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