Announcement
Save the Date--Colorado Legacy Foundation Luncheon Tuesday, Feb. 8
Attn: Superintendents, Principals
On Tuesday February 8, 2011, the Colorado Legacy Foundation will hold its annual luncheon.
This event is attended by as many as 700 individuals from across Colorado representing educators, policy makers, foundations, business, and community leaders from across the state. This year’s event will be a celebration of excellence in educator effectiveness practices throughout our state.
This is the first time an event celebrating educator effectiveness has been held, celebrating the successes occurring in our classrooms, schools and districts.
More information will be available soon. Please save this date for now. The event will be held in downtown Denver.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Helayne Jones
Colorado Legacy Foundation
Phone: 303-736-6477, Ext. 1
Email: hjones@colegacy.org
EDX Meeting Thursday December 9th 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Attn: Chief Information Officers, District Technology Leaders, System Architects, Data Experts
CDE is partnering with districts to host an Education Data eXchange Council. Share solutions, discuss best practices and advise the state on strategies to more efficiently and effectively exchange data.
Help guide the vision of a next-generation data exchange system and collaborate with your technology peers across the state. This meeting is open to everyone throughout the state.
Items to be discussed at this meeting are electronic transcripts, ICAP, standards for vendors, and an update on the IEP.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec. 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Jefferson County School District, 1829 Denver West Drive, Building 27, Golden, CO 80401.
If you cannot join us at Jeffco you can dial in to participate. The dial up number to listen and participate is 1-866-764-6750.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Dennis St. Hilaire
IMS
Phone: 303-866-6840
Email: st.hilaire_d@cde.state.co.us
4-Year Graduation Rate Training and Communication Tips
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, End of Year Data Specialists
Training on the new 4 year grad rate calculation is planned for January. Communication tools and tips on how to speak to the media about your district's graduation rate will be avialable. More information to come.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Angela Zimmerman
Dropout Prevention and Student Engagement
Phone: 303-866-6206
Email: zimmerman_a@cde.state.co.us
Colorado School Safety Resource Center -- Teacher Representative Needed
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, Teachers
The Colorado School Safety Resource Center, Colorado Department of Public Safety is soliciting applications for consideration as a “Representative of Classroom Level Teachers” to the Advisory Board of the CSSRC. Interested parties may submit a letter of interest outlining their interest and relevant background and stating their ability to fulfill the commitments of an advisory board member as outlined in the by-laws. The Advisory Board By-Laws can be accessed at http://www.safeschools.state.co.us/board.html . Letters of interest must be submitted to the School Safety Resource Center no later than December 1, 2010 for consideration by Executive Director Kathy Sasak. Email: schoolsafetycenter@cdps.state.co.us.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Linda M. Kanan
Colorado Department of Public Safety
Phone: 303-239-4391
Email: Linda.Kanan@cdps.state.co.us
Colorado's Comprehensive State Literacy Plan, Birth through Grade 12
Attn: Principals, Teachers, District Leaders, Curriculum Specialist
In anticipation of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the US Department of Education published the Blueprint for Reform (March 2010) calling for states to develop comprehensive, evidence-based, preK-grade 12 literacy plans and to align federal, state and local funds to provide high quality literacy instruction.
The Colorado Literacy Framework Document captures the collaborative work of CDE leadership and staff during 2009-2010 to develop a consistent voice around literacy. The Framework guides all literacy initiatives and literacy-related grants administered by the Colorado Department of Education. Going forward, the Framework also establishes the foundation for developing a birth-grade 12 literacy plan to inform high quality literacy instruction in Colorado. CDE has established an internal, cross unit, leadership team that will use the Commissioner’s “Forward Thinking” document and the Colorado Literacy Framework document as foundational pieces for drafting an outline of a comprehensive state literacy plan. This cross unit team will be reaching out to their partners to collect input through the development process. In February 2011, the draft of the state literacy plan will be posted on the CDE website for the people of Colorado to provide feedback.
The Colorado Literacy Plan Leadership Team seeks to involve Colorado educators by soliciting input during the development of the draft.
Please take this opportunity to provide your input regarding the Colorado State Literacy Plan by answering survey questions clicking on this link: http://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/CLP/
Please respond by: December 14, 2010
To view the Colorado Literacy Framework document on the CDE website, please click the following link:
http://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/CLF/
To view the Colorado Department of Education’s “Forward Thinking” document, please click the following link: http://www.cde.state.co.us/Communications/download/PDF/ForwardThinking.pdf
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Gena Feury
Office of Academic Initiatives and Instructional Support
Phone: 303-866-6974
Email: Feury_G@CDE.STATE.CO.US
Special Education High Cost Reimbursement Application Process
Attn: Superintendents, Special Education Directors, Business Managers
The 2009-2010 high cost applications for both in and out of district high cost special education students will be available on the CDE website beginning mid January 2011. Completed applications will be due to CDE by March 1, 2011. The application threshold for in-district high cost special education students is $25,000 for 2009-2010. The application threshold for out-of-district high cost special education students is $40,000 for 2009-2010.
For more information or technical assistance on high cost application completion Contact:
Judy Brown, Principal Consultant
Student Support Services
Phone: (303) 378-2296
Email: brown_j@cde.state.co.us
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Elizabeth Macek, Program Assistant
Student Support Services
Phone: (303) 866-6736
Email: macek_e@cde.state.co.us
Event
Parents Encouraging Parents (PEP) Academy
Attn: Special Education Administrators and Parents Encouraging Parents (PEP) Facilitators
The parent keynote presentations at the PEP conferences have become one of the hallmarks for participants. These personal stories of families with children with disabilities are shared as journeys through the grief cycle. Come meet Dr. Gil Foley who developed the theory that has become the thread woven throughout the PEP conference parent keynote. Let this day provide an opportunity to inspire Family-School Partnerships across the state.
For more information about the Parents Encouraging Parents (PEP) Academy contact:
CDE-ESLU-PEP
1560 Broadway, Suite 1175
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: PEP Hotline (303) 866-6846 or outside Metro Denver 1-877-834-0588
Fax: (303) 866-6767
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Cindy Dascher
Exceptional Student Leadership
Phone: 303-866-6876
Email: dascher_c@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. Beyond coordinating and clarifying the existing concurrent enrollment programs, the bill also creates the “5th year” ASCENT program for students retained by the high school for instruction beyond the senior year.
In order to help clarify the Concurrent Enrollment and ASCENT programs, we will be releasing responses to frequently asked questions here in the weekly Scoop newsletter. A new set of questions and answers will be included in The Scoop every week.
FAQ Questions for this week:
Q: Are students considered high school graduates after they have met graduation requirements, even if they continue into the 5th year with the ASCENT program?
A: No, a student who is designated as an ASCENT program participant shall not be considered a high school graduate until he or she has completed his or her participation in the ASCENT program and any remaining graduation requirements specified by his or her high school administration.
Q: Can districts choose to only allow juniors and seniors to participate in the Concurrent Enrollment Program?
A: The district has flexibility in implementing the Concurrent Enrollment Program to best meet the needs of students in their district.
Q: What will be the impact of graduation for AYP and other district accountability requirements?
A: The Colorado Department of Education will work with the Concurrent Enrollment Advisory Board to ensure, to the extent practicable, that districts are not adversely affected when reporting for the ASCENT students. CDE will work with the districts that have ASCENT students on how to code these students so that they will not be adversely affected.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Charles E. Dukes
Phone: 303-866-6142
Email: dukes_c@cde.state.co.us
Reminder
December Quarterly ARRA Report
Attn: ARRA grantees
As another quarter draws to a close, the mandatory ARRA quarterly report is due from ARRA subgrantees. The report must be uploaded through Tracker to your individual LEA or Admin unit access portal by Friday, December 10.
The December quarterly report should include an estimate of FTE funded by ARRA from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011, in accordance with the definite term calculation method. Follow the link at the end of this announcement for more information on calculating FTE, as well as other ARRA requirements.
Please note:
*Grantees who have expended and received all of their ARRA funds and submitted an ARRA report marked as final in line 5 of the monthly reporting template for a particular grant are not required to submit a December quarterly report for that grant.
*All subrecipients of ARRA funds, except those that meet the criteria in the previous bullet, must submit ARRA reports regardless of the award amount. This guidance modifies any prior guidance that may have implied that only subrecipients awarded $25,000 or more must submit an ARRA report.
*Please also be aware that, in order to maintain consistency in FTE reporting, CDE requires all grantees of ARRA funds to use the “definite term” methodology to calculate ARRA funded FTE. Guidance on this methodology can be found on pages 20-21 of the OMB guidance at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-08.pdf and in the PowerPoint on ARRA subrecipient reporting posted on CDE’s ARRA webpage.
Please also note that a new definite term began on July 1, 2010, for the FY10-11 fiscal year and only FTE that was or will be funded by ARRA from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 should be included in the quarterly report.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Andy Lake
Grants Fiscal Management Unit
Phone: 303.866.6829
Email: lake_a@cde.state.co.us
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
Grants Fiscal Management Unit
Phone: 303-866-6389
Email: vassis_b@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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