Announcement
Unified Improvement Planning (UIP): Support/Training Sessions
Attn: Superintendents, Accountability Contacts, Tracker Respondents, District Assessment Coordinators, and Federal Programs Contacts
CDE is pleased to announce three UIP support opportunities for district staff. The timeline is tight, but sessions have been organized to best support districts in meeting upcoming state accountability deadlines.
(1) UIP Feedback Sessions (districts on priority improvement or turnaround plans, high priority graduation designation, or identified under NCLB accountability)
March 16 (Metro Denver), March 21 (Pueblo), or March 24 (Glenwood), 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
This optional session is intended for district teams that submitted a district or school UIP for review in January. The session will provide an opportunity to get support for interpreting CDE feedback on previously submitted plans and to identify strategies for revision. The afternoon will include time for teams to work on revisions with CDE staff present to provide technical assistance regarding program expectations (e.g., NCLB accountability). Participants should bring their (1) Unified Improvement Plan and (2) CDE UIP Quality Criteria Feedback Form.
To register: http://www.cde.state.co.us/scripts/UnifiedImpPlan-FeedbackSupport-Reg11/registration.asp
(2) UIP Review for District Level Staff (districts on performance or improvement plans, or districts with schools on performance or improvement plans)
March 28 (Lamar), April 1 (Sterling), or April 6 (San Juan BOCES), 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
This optional session is intended for districts that did not participate in UIP training during the fall-winter of 2010. This will be a session for district staff to focus on reviewing UIPs prior to the April 15 submission deadline, with support provided as teams apply state-developed Quality Criteria to their UIPs. Participants should bring their current version of: (1) the district’s Unified Improvement Plan and (2) the schools’ Unified Improvement Plans.
To register: http://www.cde.state.co.us/scripts/UnifiedImpPlan-OverviewSupport-Reg11/registration.asp
(3) Tracker UIP Submission Process (all districts)
Thursday, April 7, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
CDE will host an optional webinar for UIP Tracker respondents to cover the Tracker submission process in detail. The link to the webinar is: http://connect.cboces.org/r12321117/
To register: Contact Katy Jackson at (303)866-6858, uiphelp@cde.state.co.us.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Erin Loften
Office of School Improvement and Turnaround
Phone: 303-866-6642
Email: loften_e@cde.state.co.us
Unified Improvement Planning: Upcoming Submission Deadlines
Attn: Superintendents, Accountability Contacts, Tracker Respondents, District Assessment Coordinators, and Federal Programs Contacts
January Submissions (Re-Submitters)
CDE has reviewed all of the plans submitted in January 2011 and the feedback is now available in Tracker: http://schoolview.org/documents/ToAccessFeedbackWithinTracker.pdf.
District Plans. By March 30, the following districts will need to submit a revised district plan to CDE:
(1) districts on turnaround plans under state accountability;
(2) districts on high priority graduation designation under state accountability;
(3) districts that did not meet all NCLB accountability requirements.
CDE’s expectation is that districts will consider the UIP Quality Criteria feedback in their revisions, particularly the feedback regarding (1) an explicit selection of one of the turnaround strategies required by S.B. 09-163, (2) corresponding budget amounts or resources, and (3) alignment with federal requirements (as appropriate). CDE staff will re-review these plans for content and completeness prior to public posting on SchoolView.
By April 15, all districts, including those on priority improvement and turnaround plans, will need to submit a final district plan via Tracker in the April “UIP for SchoolView – April.” This is the plan that will be posted publicly on SchoolView.
School Plans. By April 15, districts will need to submit final school plans to CDE. CDE’s expectation is that districts will consider the UIP Quality Criteria feedback in their revisions, particularly the feedback referenced under District Plans (above). The department encourages district staff to re-review these plans for content and completeness prior to public posting on SchoolView. This is the plan that will be posted publicly on SchoolView.
April Submissions (First-time Submitters)
By April 15, all districts, including those on performance and improvement plans, will need to submit final district and school plans to CDE. In 2010-11, the UIP template is required for districts with an initial January deadline and recommended for districts with an initial April deadline. This is the plan that will be posted publicly on SchoolView.
Submission details for all of the above deadlines are outlined here: http://schoolview.org/documents/UIPsubmissionsummary.pdf.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Somoh Supharukchinda
Office of Performance and Policy
Phone: 303-866-6778
Email: supharukchinda_s@cde.state.co.us
Application for 2012 Colorado Teacher of the Year Is Now Available
Attn: Superintendents, District Personnel, Principals, Teachers
The application for the 2012 Colorado Teacher of the Year is now available. Each year, the Colorado Teacher of the Year Program honors an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable and skilled teacher to represent the entire profession in Colorado. The Colorado Teacher of the Year will automatically become Colorado's nominee for the National Teacher of the Year competition.
Applications are due by 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 1. To access the application and additional program information for the 2012 Colorado Teacher of the Year, please visit the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Lynn Bamberry
Competitive Grants and Awards
Phone: 303-866-6813
Email: bamberry_l@cde.state.co.us
Expelled and At-Risk Student Services (EARSS) RFP Now Available
Attn: Superintendents, District/BOCES Personnel, Facility Schools
The Expelled and At-Risk Student Services (EARSS) Grant Program Request for Proposal (RFP) is now available. The EARSS program assists in providing educational and supportive services to expelled students and students at-risk for expulsion. Funded programs will focus on: providing educational services to expelled students; and preventing future suspensions and expulsions through a comprehensive range of strategies that are proven effective to help students who are at risk of suspension or expulsion.
This RFP is being released for a new 4-year grant cycle. Awards are contingent upon funding appropriated to the EARSS program in the FY12 state budget. It is anticipated that grant awards will be based on $1,000 to $4,000 per student served, depending on the intensity and length of services. An application training webinar will be held Monday, April 11, from 1 – 3 p.m. Applications will be due on Wednesday, May 18. For more information on the application webinar and to access the RFP, please visit the Web site below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Janelle Krueger
Dropout Prevention and Student Engagement Unit
Phone: 303-866-6750
Email: krueger_j@cde.state.co.us
CDE’s Human Capital Funding Matrix Helps Districts Identify Funding Sources
Attn: District Leadership, Accountability Contacts, Human Resource Directors, and Grant Writers
Improving and supporting educator effectiveness is a Colorado priority. Acting on this priority requires focused attention to all of the elements of a district’s human capital system from recruitment, hiring, and placement to evaluation, professional development, and retention.
In order to assist districts in maximizing and aligning funds to support their human capital activities, the Educator Effectiveness Office at CDE has developed the Human Capital Funding Matrix which identifies potential sources of state and federal funding that may be used for various activities related to recruiting, training, evaluating, and retaining effective teachers and leaders.
The funding matrix is designed as an initial tool to begin conversations about the creative use of available funds. It is intended to help districts match areas of need related to human capital management with available funding sources. The matrix and an accompanying guidance document can be accessed on CDE’s Educator Effectiveness Resource Bank at the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Kady Dodds
Office of Performance and Policy
Phone: 303-866-6274
Email: Dodds_K@cde.state.co.us
Tom Elliott and Toby King to Lead CDE’s Educator Effectiveness Work
Attn: All District and School Personnel
Colorado Department of Education Commissioner Robert Hammond announced the hiring of Tom Elliott and Toby King to lead the state’s educator effectiveness work. Tom Elliott, CDE’s new Executive Director of Educator Effectiveness, will lead CDE’s efforts to recruit, prepare, evaluate, support and retain highly effective educators. Toby King, Senior Consultant for Educator Evaluation and Support, will provide technical assistance and training to districts in implementing performance evaluation systems that adhere to the requirements of S.B. 10-191, the state’s educator evaluation law. Both positions are funded through S.B. 10-191 state appropriation. To learn more about Tom and Toby, click on the link.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Toby King
Educator Effectiveness
Phone: 303-866-6964
Email: King_T@cde.state.co.us
CDE Launches New Educator Effectiveness Web site
Attn: All District and School Personnel
The Educator Effectiveness Unit at CDE has launched a new Web site devoted to the state’s efforts to attract, prepare, and support effective educators. Tthe new site provides information and resources designed to support educators throughout their career continuum.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Toby King
Educator Effectiveness
Phone: 3038666964
Email: King_T@cde.state.co.us
Event
Workshop: Specialized Instruction for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in the Area of Basic Reading Skills
Attn: Special Education Directors, Administrators, Service Providers
This workshop will focus on basic reading skills: phonemic awareness and word-level decoding/phonics. Improvement in these skills positively impacts reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling.
The primary purpose of this workshop is to increase the skills of special educators so that they may more effectively correct the most common literacy-based errors/deficits occurring among students identified as having Specific Learning Disabilities.
For more information on dates and times, a workshop flyer and registration information is available under “Professional Development Opportunities” on the Specific Learning Disability Web page.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Melissa Chaffin
Exceptional Student Leadership Unit
Phone: 303-866-6819
Email: chaffin_m@cde.state.co.us
Federal Programs
2009-2010 NCLB State Report Card Is Now Available
Attn: Federal Program Contacts
The 2009-2010 NCLB State Report Card is now available on the CDE Web site at the link below.
The report includes:
- Assessment data‐ the results of the reading and math state content assessments (CSAP, CSAPA and Spanish Lectura)
- Accountability data‐ the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results for the state
- Improvement status of Title I districts and schools in the state
- Graduation rate data
- Information about teacher qualifications and percentages of classes taught by Highly Qualified teachers
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Mariah Aldinger
Office of Federal Program Administration
Phone: 303-866-6250
Email: aldinger_m@cde.state.co.us
ESEA Reauthorization and 2011 Funding Allocations
Attn: Federal Program Contacts, Superintendents & Title I, II, and III Directors
CDE has received numerous questions over the last several weeks regarding funding for ESEA programs for next year. At this point, we are all waiting for decisions to be made by Congress and the Federal government. The temporary funding measure that was passed last week continued the current rate of federal spending until March 18, 2011. Unfortunately, it also terminated the Striving Readers Program and Even Start. Those programs will not be funded for the 2011-2012 school year. At this time, we do not know what the allocations will be for 2011-2012 or what, if any, additional programs will be eliminated. We will continue to provide updates as we receive more information.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Mariah Aldinger
Office of Federal Program Administration
Phone: 303-866-6250
Email: aldinger_m@cde.state.co.us
Consolidated Application Post Award Revision System
Attn: Superintendents, Federal Program Contacts
The second and final opportunity for local education agencies to submit a post award revision request for the 2010-2011 Consolidated Application will begin next week. The post award revision system will be available from Tuesday, March 15 to Thursday, March 31.
LEAs may only submit one revision request during the window. Accordingly, revisions for every applicable Title Program must be included in the request -- separate requests cannot be submitted for individual Title Programs.
Resources are available on our Web site to assist with the submission process. A PowerPoint presentation with audio explains the purpose of the post award revision request system, how to submit a request and a step-by-step instruction list (http://connect.cboces.org/p22155435/).
Program consultants will not review requests until the submission window closes. The Post Award Revision Request System is available at the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Cheryl Miller
Office of Federal Program Administration
Phone: 303-866-6214
Email: miller_c@cde.state.co.us
FYI
Medicaid School Health Program
Attn: Superintendents, Special Ed Directors
Federal reimbursement for Medicaid has remained consistent even though fewer districts have been participating in the program. Under the new reimbursement methodology, a total of $9,542,048 was brought into participating districts for 2008-2009. Medicaid Administrative Claiming (MAC) which was allowable starting in 2009-2010 brought 34 districts a total of $1,100,830.
For More Information, Contact:
Kathleen Patrick
Health and Wellness Unit
Phone: 303-866-6779
Email: patrick_k@cde.state.co.us
Reminder
Unified Improvement Planning: Additional Resources
Attn: Superintendents, Accountability Contacts, Tracker Respondents, District Assessment Coordinators, and Federal Programs Contacts
Pre-Populated Section I of UIP
You may access your pre-populated Section I of the UIP by logging into CEDAR: https://cedar2.cde.state.co.us/. Click Cognos Content > District and School Performance Framework > School Unified Planning Report. Click on the icon of the stack of papers on the right-hand side to access all of your schools (clicking on the link only pulls up some schools).
Formatting UIPs for Submission
To merge the pre-populated Section I PDF document with your completed Word document, you can:
1) Transfer the data from your pre-populated PDF document into your Word document cell-by-cell. This may be time-consuming, but several districts find this to be the easiest solution.
2) If you have Adobe Acrobat Professional: Complete your plan in the Word document, using the PDF document side-by-side. When the Word document is completed, convert it to a PDF file. Then, insert the pre-populated Section I PDF document into your completed document.
3) Complete your plan as a Word document, using the PDF document side-by-side. When the Word document is completed, submit it via Tracker as a Word document or PDF file. CDE has access to your pre-populated Section I and will work to merge it with your completed plan.
Quality Criteria for UIPs
The Quality Criteria for Schools and Districts is a resource that should be useful to any school or district using the UIP template. The Criteria provides guidance on the elements that would be expected in a quality plan, as well as meet all state and federal requirements.
The Criteria, as well as training materials, may be found at the link below.
Technical Assistance
We invite you to contact the CDE District Lead for your district if you have questions or would like technical assistance. For questions about Tracker, contact Katy Jackson at 303-866-6778, uiphelp@cde.state.co.us. For other questions, contact Jhon Penn at 303-866-6632, penn_j@cde.state.co.us or Somoh Supharukchinda at 303-866-6778, supharukchinda_s@cde.state.co.us.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Somoh Supharukchinda
Office of Performance and Policy
Phone: 303-866-6778
Email: supharukchinda_s@cde.state.co.us
CSAP Security Procedures
Attn: District Assessment Coordinators, State Assessment Administrators, etc.
We are currently in the early window of CSAP testing. Next week, the regular window opens. Please remember to maintain all test materials securely. This includes before, during and after testing.
Test security procedures prohibit the sharing of test booklets or test items with any outside entity, including the media. In addition, under no conditions should reporters, photographers or videographers be allowed in the classrooms during testing.
Lastly, we appreciate some of the truly creative ways schools and districts motivate their students for testing; however, please be sure that these efforts do not involve compromising the security of test booklets and/or test items. Test booklets and/or items should never be photographed or used as props in teacher or student created productions. We appreciate your ongoing commitment in ensuring that test materials are not compromised.
For More Information, Contact:
Joyce K. Zurkowski, Director of Student Assessments
Office of Standards and Assessments
Phone: 303-866-6760
Email: zurkowski_j@cde.state.co.us
Update
TELL Colorado Survey a Success!
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, District Administrators, Teachers
The 2011 TELL Colorado Survey closed last week with close to 30,000 educators (47 percent) participating in the event. Congratulations to the 847 schools and 73 districts that will be able to access their own data.
When will data be available? The data is currently being prepared for release by the New Teacher Center (survey vendor). Superintendents and principals in districts and schools that hit the participation thresholds will receive an email by March 25 with a password to view results online. The password protection will remain for a couple of weeks, and then be lifted by April 15 for public release. Note that the decision has been made that districts that got 40 percent participation (and an n-size of 20 or more) will be able to access their data, as well. The threshold for schools and small districts will remain at 50 percent participation(an an n-size of 5 or more) to ensure confidentiality of participants.
Is there assistance available on how to use the survey results? A new toolkit on how to unpack the TELL Colorado data will be available by the beginning of April. CDE and the New Teacher Center will also be offering a webinar on April 7 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. that provides an overview on how to read, interpret and use the data. Please join us by registering now (contact Tina Tamayo at tamayo_t@cde.state.co.us).
How will the state be using the results? CDE will release an interim report in May that provides statewide trends of the survey results. A more extensive report will be published at the end of the year that examines the relationships between the survey results and other data sets (e.g., student growth, teacher retention). The reports will be used to guide state level policy making and technical assistance efforts.
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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