Announcement
NCLB I-A, II-D and IDEA ARRA Reimbursement Process
Attn: Superintendents
CDE will be utilizing the Tracker system for the upload of ARRA request for funds and associated ARRA reporting elements. Webinars covering the use of the Tracker system will be announced shortly.
Instructions on the request for funds and ARRA reporting, along with sample documents can be found at the links below. These documents will be sent to grantees as applications are approved and the Tracker system becomes available.
Reporting Instructions: www.cde.state.co.us/cdegen/downloads/FederalStimulus/ReportingInstructions.pdf
Monthly Reporting:
www.cde.state.co.us/cdegen/downloads/FederalStimulus/MonthlyReporting.pdf
NCLB Instructions:
www.cde.state.co.us/cdegen/downloads/FederalStimulus/NCLBInstructions.pdf
Title I-A RFF:
www.cde.state.co.us/cdegen/downloads/FederalStimulus/TitleIARFF.PDF
Title II-D RFF:
www.cde.state.co.us/cdegen/downloads/FederalStimulus/TitleIIDRFF.PDF
IDEA RFF Instructions:
www.cde.state.co.us/cdegen/downloads/FederalStimulus/IDEARFFInstructions.pdf
Preschool RFF:
www.cde.state.co.us/cdegen/downloads/FederalStimulus/PreschoolRFF.PDF
Part B RFF:
www.cde.state.co.us/cdegen/downloads/FederalStimulus/PartBRFF.PDF
For More Information, Contact:
David W. Lyon
Grants Fiscal Management
Phone: 303-866-6836
Email: lyon_d@cde.state.co.us
Public Meeting on Nov. 16 for Final Input to ICAP Rules
Attn: Principals, Superintendents, Counselors, Teachers, Local Leadership
To provide additional opportunity for input regarding the Individual Career and Academic Plans Rules, the ICAP Rulemaking hearing has been moved from Nov. 12 to Thursday, Dec. 10. The hearing will take place during the state board meeting and is scheduled for 2 p.m. at 201 E. Colfax Ave, in the first floor board room in Denver.
CDE will host a public meeting regarding the ICAP rules on Monday, Nov. 16, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the same location to offer a final opportunity prior to the rulemaking hearing for interested parties to provide input.
Please contact Charles Dukes with questions or to provide written comment by Monday, Nov. 16.
For More Information, Contact:
Charles Dukes
Phone: 303-866-6142
Email: dukes_c@cde.state.co.us
Content Specialist Online Office Hours
Attn: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Content Coordinators
In addition to the office hours on Nov. 13, there will be time on Monday, Nov. 16 for district leaders to give their input on CDE's effort to provide service to districts toward implementing the new Colorado Academic Standards. Please join us online at 3:15 p.m.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Barry Cartwright
Academic Initiatives
Phone: 303-866-6187
Email: cartwright_b@cde.state.co.us
Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, Curriculum Directors
Want a great way to honor the best math and science teachers in your district and show them that you recognize their great efforts?
There is no better way to recognize their great efforts than by nominating them for the Presidential Award! It would nice to see the best teachers in Colorado nominated for this prestigious award.
To nominate a special teacher, visit the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Barry Cartwright
Office of Teaching and Learning
Phone: 303-866-6187
Email: cartwright_b@cde.state.co.us
Concurrent Enrollment Advisory Board Will Hold First Meeting Friday, Nov. 13
Attn: Principals, Superintendents, District Finance Office and School Counselors
The Concurrent Enrollment Advisory Board will meet for the first time on Friday, Nov. 13, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the conference center at the Community College System Lowry campus, 1061 Akron Way, Denver.
The 13-member board is charged with overseeing programs that allow students to simultaneously enroll in high school and college.
The board was created by the Colorado State Legislature through House Bill 09-1219 and Senate Bill 09-285.
The resulting Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act is designed 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. The act also created the “5th year” ASCENT program for students retained by the high school for instruction beyond the senior year. Districts should submit data and any questions to Charles Dukes by Monday, Nov. 23.
For More Information, Contact:
Charles E. Dukes
Learning and Results
Phone: 303-866-6142
Email: dukes_c@cde.state.co.us
Conference
Closing the Achievement Gap Fall Professional Learning Community Conference
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, District Administrators
You are cordially invited to attend the CTAG PLC Conference on Friday, Nov. 20 at the Summit School District Offices from 9 a.m - 4 p.m.
The three main goals of the conference are to:
1) To share research proven strategies that will inform educators who are endeavoring to close the achievement gap,
2) To foster a collegial community of professionals focused on achieving equitable educational opportunities for all students,
3) To consult and exchange feedback on practices aimed at closing the achievement gap.
The day will be structured by facilitating dialogue about the work of Closing the Achievement Gap amongst various districts throughout the state. There are three national guest speakers who will facilitate learning conversations about challenges related to closing the achievement gap. This meeting seeks to unite our growing community of learners who are actively addressing the achievement gap in their communities. For a complete agenda please click on the URL provided. To register for the conference, please contact Vernita Mickens at by Tuesday, Nov. 17.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Vernita Mickens
Office of Turnaround and Intervention
Phone: 3303 866-6675
Email: mickens_v@cde.state.co.us
Exceptional Students
Special Education High Cost Reimbursement Application Process
Attn: Superintendents, Special Education Directors, Business Managers
The 2008-2009 high cost applications for both in-and out-of-district high cost special education students will be available on the CDE Web site beginning mid Jan., 2010. Completed applications will be due to CDE by March 1, 2010. The application threshold for in-district high cost special education students is $25,000 for 2008-2009. The application threshold for out-of-district high cost special education students is $40,000 for 2008-2009.
CDE technical assistance for application completion will be available through webinars throughout January. Links to the applications, webinar dates and registration information will be available through the Scoop at a later date.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Elizabeth Macek
Student Support Services
Phone: 303-866-6736
Email: macek_e@cde.state.co.us
Federal Programs
Title I Comparability System
Attn: Superintendents, HR Directors, Title I Directors, Federal Program Contacts
The Online Comparability System is now open! You can access the system at https://cdeapps.cde.state.co.us/Comp/faces/CompLogin.jspx.
To access the online system, each participating district will need to complete and submit a respondent form to CDE. If you submitted a respondent form and have not been told your username and password for this system or have forgotten it, contact Donna Morganstern (303-866-6209) or Clara Algiene (303-866-6777).
Unfortunately, we are not allowed to e-mail this information to you or leave it on your voice mail. If your district has not yet appointed a comparability respondent, the form is available online at http://www.cde.state.co.us/FedPrograms/NCLB/downloads/tia_comp_respondinfo.pdf. Print out and complete the respondent form and fax it to 303-866-6637 to begin the process for authorizing your district’s respondent.
The comparability system is pre-loaded with 2008-2009 data. When you log in, you will need to update your district's student enrollment and teacher FTE numbers for every school.
In the event that you are not able to demonstrate comparability using the online system, you may access alternative method calculators at http://www.cde.state.co.us/FedPrograms/NCLB/tia_comp.asp. However, you must complete the online system process before using an alternative method.
Thanks for your patience while the system was being finalized.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Donna Morganstern
Office of Federal Program Administration
Phone: 303-866-6209
Email: morganstern_d@cde.state.co.us
Reminder
Charter School Eligibility Requirements for the CDE Capital Construction Assistance FY10-11 BEST Grant Cycle
Attn: Charter School Directors, Superintendents, Business Managers, Grant Writers
According to law, an eligible charter school means a charter school that has been chartered for at least five years on the date its authorizer forwards an application for financial assistance to the board on behalf of the charter school.
Also according to law, a charter school shall notify its authorizer that it intends to apply for financial assistance at least three months prior to the application submission deadline. The charter school shall forward its application for financial assistance to its authorizer, which shall forward the application to the board together with a letter indicating the authorizer's position on the application.
The Division of Capital Construction encourages charter schools to notify their authorizers immediately that they intend to apply for BEST funds even if they aren’t sure at this time. This will avoid not being able to submit an application due to the language in H.B. 08-1335.
The deadline for submitting your letter of intent for the BEST FY10-11 Grant Cycle is Friday, Jan. 8, 2010. Please get your letter submitted as soon as possible to avoid missing the three month deadline.
The notice of intent can be a one sentence letter or e-mail which states that “[Insert name of charter school] intends to apply for BEST funds when the application becomes available.”
Please provide the Division of Capital Construction Assistance at CDE a copy of the notification.
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
To Do
Charter School Capital Construction FY2009-10 Grant Eligibility Questionnaire
Attn: Superintendents, Business Managers, Charter School Directors, Charter School Institute
The certification of charter school eligibility for Charter School FY2009-10 Capital Construction Funding is now open.
All Colorado school districts and the Charter Schools Institute are required to complete the request for all charter schools. Please complete Form CSCC-02 and return it to CDE by Friday, Dec. 18. Original signatures are required from the school district or Charter School Institute and the charter school. Once all the forms are received and the pupil count audits are completed, the Charter School Capital Construction Funding will continue to be distributed monthly but an adjustment will occur to reflect the charter schools correct pupil count.
These forms can be accessed on our Charter Schools Capital Construction Web page.
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
Assessment Revision Update: Now Accepting Subcommittee Applications
Attn: Colorado Educators, Administrators, Parents, District Assessment Coordinators
On Monday, Nov. 9, 30 members of the Assessment Stakeholder Committee reconvened in Boulder for the second of six meetings. Stakeholders heard from a national expert on assessment (Dr. Lorrie Shepard) about the shortcomings of nearly all state systems of assessment. Stakeholders then identified steps that can be taken to ensure that the next generation of state assessment systems can be designed to overcome these challenges. Stakeholders developed a set of general principles that can form the foundation for a redesigned system. They then used these principles to formulate design features. Stakeholders agreed to form subcommittees around five topics:
1. School Readiness and Early Childhood Assessment Subcommittee
2. Postsecondary Readiness Assessment Subcommittee
3. Summative Assessment Subcommittee (NCLB requirements)
4. Growth Subcommittee - including formative Subcommittee (Interim/Benchmark)
5. Assessment for Special Populations Subcommittee
The five subcommittees will provide feedback on the work of the Assessment Stakeholder Committee and will make suggestions regarding additional features or considerations that would improve the specifications being developed for the redesign of Colorado’s revised Assessment System.
If you are interested in applying to serve on one of these subcommittees, please click below to link to the online application. It is also possible to find this link if you go to the assessment page of the CDE Web site. The subcommittee application deadline is Tuesday, Dec. 1. Subcommittee members will be notified of their selection no later than Monday, Dec. 14. The subcommittees will meet twice in January and twice in February.
The next Assessment Stakeholder Committee meeting will take place on Friday, Dec. 11 in Denver (hotel location to be determined).
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Emmy Glancy
Phone: 303-866-6678
Email: glancy_e@cde.state.co.us
Language Arts Content Specialist Online Office Hour for Nov. Date Change
Attn: Principals, Superintendents, Teachers, Curriculum Directors
As part of CDE's continued efforts to provide service and support to the field, the CDE content specialists host regular online "office hours" using chat tools and Adobe Connect Pro. The purpose of office hours is to provide the field with up-to-date information on teaching and learning research and best practices. Each session has a specific focus and provides opportunities for educators to engage in collegial dialogue with educators across Colorado.
To help you plan to participate in the upcoming language arts office hour, you’ll find the topic and new date of the November session:
Friday, Nov. 13, 3:15-3:45 p.m.
Literacy standards update
Hosted by Gena Feury, Language Arts Content Specialist
Click to join the meeting: http://cecc.na4.acrobat.com/literacyupdate/
In addition to these live, online sessions, each week the content specialists will host content specific blog discussions on topics of interest. An initial blog will be posted on Mondays by each content specialist. This posting will include times that the discussion will be monitored live allowing for back and forth chatting with the content specialist and the Colorado education community.
We welcome your participation in this outreach effort!
For More Information, Contact:
Gena Feury
Literacy Grants and Initiatives
Phone: 303-866-6974
Email: Feury_g@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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