Announcement
Webinar on Future Colorado High School Mathematics Assessment
Attn: DACs and High School Mathematics Educators and Coordinators
The Colorado State Board of Education adopted the attributes for the new Colorado Assessment System in December 2010. Additional decisions regarding the mathematics assessments at the high school level were needed. CDE has been researching multiple options that will appropriately assess the Colorado Academic Standards.
This week CDE held a number of face-to-face meetings to get feedback on the choices about which mathematics standards to assess at each high school grade level. CDE will conduct a webinar for those who could not attend one of the in-person sessions on Wednesday, April 27 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To join the April 27 meeting:
Step 1: Access the meeting room online: http://connect.cboces.org/mathassessment/ Please enter your first and last name.
Step 2: On entering the meeting room, you will see a pop-up form that asks you for your telephone number. Enter your number and you will be called by the system. This step will integrate your phone line and the meeting room.
Note: if your phone line has an extension, or you experience any trouble with the call-out system, you will need to call in to the meeting at 866-783-5479. Please be sure to log in early, so we can manually integrate you into the conference in these cases.
For Technical assistance related to the webinar, please contact Christine Deines. Inquiries related to the assessment options should be directed to Joyce Zurkowski, director of student assessments.
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For More Information, Contact:
Joyce Zurkowski, Director of Student Assessments
Unit of Student Assessments
Phone: 303-866-6760
Email: zurkowski_j@cde.state.co.us
End of Year Revenue and Federal Application Training - Online Registration OPEN!
Attn: special education director, federal application contact and business manager
The Grants Fiscal and Exceptional Student Leadership Offices will host a joint training to provide information to the field on special education revenue and expenditure requirements and reporting procedures. For a complete list of topics, visit the link below. Administrative units and BOCES are encouraged to bring teams including the special education director, federal application contact and business manager.
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For More Information, Contact:
Elizabeth Macek
Exceptional Student Leadership Unit
Phone: (303) 866-6736
Email: macek_e@cde.state.co.us
Conference
Autism Level 2 Training: Preschool
Attn: School Psychologists, Direct Service Providers, Special Education Teachers or SLPs.
The purpose of this training is to increase the outcomes for young children with autism spectrum disorders by providing a network of educators and service providers with advanced strategies and practical approaches. Topics to be covered in the training include classroom setup, communication strategies, curricula, scheduling, and use of peers, as well as an examination of evidence-based program models and their components. The training will be held on Thursday, May 5 in Montrose. For more information, visit the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Tara Rolfe
Exceptional Student Leadership Unit
Phone: 303.866.6969
Email: rolfe_t@cde.state.co.us
Event
Online Course: Family, School & Community Partnering: Multi-Tier System of Supports
Attn: All stakeholders in Colorado PreK-12 education, including administrators, family members, teachers, related service providers, school board members, advocates, higher education faculty, and future educators
The goal of this course is to provide Colorado PreK-12 education stakeholders with the shared knowledge and resources to effectively implement multi-tiered family, school, and community partnering in supporting school success for all students – both in individual roles and as team members, consultants, or organizations. A primary focus is the shift from traditional parent involvement at school to active family partnering in coordinating learning between home and school. The research and legal rationales for this shift are highlighted, while continually applying the findings in a practical way to school, home, and community settings.
The course will be held Monday, May 9 – Sunday, June 5. The course may be taken for either Adams State graduate or undergraduate credit for a fee, or CDE professional development hours at no cost.
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For More Information, Contact:
Carolyn Horstman
Response to Intervention/Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
Phone: 303-866-6622
Email: horstman_c@cde.state.co.us
Temple Grandin Presentation, May 2, in Telluride
Attn: Special education teachers, general education teachers, speech and language therapists, paraeducators, building and district administrators, parents and other team members working with students with autism.
Temple Grandin will address the importance of social skill and other topics specific to autism at a presentation on Monday, May 2 to the West Central Colorado Model Autism and Significant Support Needs Programs.
This free presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be held at the Michael D. Palm Theatre, 721 W. Colorado Ave., Telluride.
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For More Information, Contact:
Tara Rolfe
Exceptional Student Leadership Unit
Phone: 303.866.6969
Email: rolfe_t@cde.state.co.us
Federal Programs
2010-11 Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives 1 and 2 Notification
Attn: Title III Contacts, ELA Coordinators
CDE will release preliminary 2010-2011 determinations for AMAOs 1 and 2 in early May. Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) are the Title III accountability measures under NCLB. E-mails will be sent to Title III recipients at the beginning of May, with the local education agency/grantee’s preliminary AMAO 1 and 2 results. Also, at this time, student-level data should also be available in CEDAR.
Training webinars that will cover how AMAOs 1 and 2 were determined and the appeal process will be held on Monday, May 2 at 3 p.m., Tuesday, May 3 at 10 a.m., and Thursday, May 12 at 1 p.m. Any requests to review AMAO 1 or AMAO 2 determinations are due to CDE by Friday, May 20. To register for a webinar, contact Donna Morganstern (morganstern_d@cde.state.co.us).
AMAO 3, which is based on AYP determinations for English Language Learners will not be available until other AYP preliminary determinations are disseminated in early August. Any appeals of AMAO 3 must be made as part of the AYP appeal process. Final AMAO 3 and district-level Title III Improvement Status will not be available until October.
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For More Information, Contact:
Alyssa Pearson
Office of Federal Programs Administration
Phone: 303-866-6855
Email: pearson_a@cde.state.co.us
Clarification on BOCES role in NCLB monitoring
Attn: BOCES, BOCES members, Federal Program Contacts
CDE, in collaboration with the Colorado BOCES Association, has released guidance clarifying the role of BOCES in federal NCLB Monitoring. This document is available at the link below.
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For More Information, Contact:
Patrick Chapman
Federal Program Administration
Phone: 303-866-6780
Email: chapman_p@cde.state.co.us
News
Graduation Rate Targets in AYP Determinations
Attn: Superintendents, Federal Program Contacts, Title I Directors, AYP Respondents
On April 7, the U.S. Department of Education approved CDE’s amendment request to enable the use of five-year and six-year graduation rates, in addition to the four-year on-time rate for the 2010-11 AYP determinations. Specifically, CDE is approved to use the following targets for AYP calculations:
1. Districts, schools and disaggregated groups will be accountable for meeting the four-year on-time target of 63 percent or increasing their graduation rate by 2 percentage points from the prior year's four-year on-time rate. The four-year on-time goal (to be met by 2013-14) for Colorado is 80 percent.
2. Any districts, schools or disaggregated groups not able to meet the above target can meet the five-year target of 65 percent, in order to make AYP.
3. If districts, schools or disaggregated groups are not able to meet the four-year or five-year targets, they will need to meet the six-year target of 67 percent in order to make AYP.
AYP determinations will be available to district AYP contacts approximately August 2.
To read the full amendment request and approval letter, please go to the link below.
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For More Information, Contact:
Alyssa Pearson
Office of Federal Programs Administration
Phone: 303-866-6855
Email: pearson_a@cde.state.co.us
Reminder
School Improvement – Prevention Integration RFP Now Available
Attn: Superintendents, District Personnel, BOCES
The new School Improvement – Prevention Integration Grant Request For Proposal (RFP) is now available. This RFP is designed to encourage and promote activities that create and maintain a safe and civil learning environment as an effective improvement strategy within a school’s or district’s unified planning efforts. A total of $1 million is available for distribution to LEAs.
Proposals will be due on Wednesday, April 27. For more information and to access the RFP, please visit the Web site below.
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For More Information, Contact:
Joyce Washington
Office of Federal Program Administration
Phone: 303-866-6708
Email: washington_j@cde.state.co.us
Fire Maintenance Inspections
Attn: Principals, Superintendants
DFS inspectors need to review school districts annual inspection reports for fire suppression system inspections if a sprinkler system is present.
Some of the inspection frequencies and the associated components to be inspected in a sprinkler system are:
• Annually – Buildings (prior to freezing weather), hangers/seismic bracing, pipe and fittings, sprinklers, spare sprinklers.
• Quarterly – Water flow devices, valve supervisory devices, supervisory signal devices, fire department connections.
• Monthly – Gauges (wet pipe systems)
• Weekly/Monthly - Gauges (dry, preaction, and deluge systems), control valves
Certain components of a sprinkler system must also be tested. Some components and their testing frequency are:
• Annually – Main drain, antifreeze solution.
• Semi annually – Valves supervisory devices.
• Quarterly/semiannually – Water flow devices
• 5 years – Gauges, sprinklers/extra high temperature.
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For More Information, Contact:
Joseph Montoya
Phone: 303-239-5862
Email: joseph.montoya@cdps.state.co.us
Update
Update on NCLB Allocations and the Consolidated Application
Attn: Superintendents, Federal Programs Contacts
Due to delays in determining the federal budget by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of Education has not yet released state allocations for NCLB funds. This has the unfortunate effect of delaying Colorado’s ability to open the 2011-12 Consolidated Application to districts and BOCES. CDE will send out weekly updates to keep district and BOCES leadership abreast of any developments.
Timeline
Currently, it is unclear when NCLB allocations will be ready. However, once CDE receives preliminary allocations from the USDE, CDE’s Grants Fiscal office will run the calculations to determine allocations for each NCLB program in every eligible school district. This process typically takes from two to four weeks. The application will be opened when that work has been completed.
CDE is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that subgrantees will be able to obligate funds by July 1, 2011. If by mid-May CDE has not received necessary allocation information, an alternative application method will be presented to districts and BOCES in order to provide a smooth transition for the release of 2011-12 funds. More details will be shared if an alternate process is needed.
Recommendations for District and BOCES Activities
The 2011-12 online application is very similar to that of last year. Therefore, CDE encourages districts and BOCES to complete as much work as possible in anticipation of the release of the application. This includes collecting necessary data and conducting preliminary meetings with stakeholders to plan activities. Grantees are also encouraged to generate a draft narrative for all programs. A checklist of recommended activities to prepare for the Consolidated Application is available at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/FedPrograms/consapp/index.asp. CDE will also be releasing pre-recorded webinars for each program.
Thanks for your patience and contact us with any questions.
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For More Information, Contact:
Cheryl Miller
Office of Federal Programs Administration
Phone: 303-866-6247
Email: miller_c@cde.state.co.us
Statewide Standard Course Code Mapping Project – Pilot Participants Needed
Attn: Superintendent, Technology Directors, Data Contacts, Technical Staff, Registrars
In the next few weeks, CDE will select up to 20 districts to participate in a statewide standard course code mapping pilot.
These districts will be the first to upload and map their local course codes to a set of statewide standard courses, which is a critical component in Phase III of the Educator Identifier Project. Also, these districts will be instrumental in assisting CDE in developing the training, processes and systems. Finally, these districts will have a head start on this requirement prior to the 2012-2013 school year.
The pilot will begin in July, with data mapping taking place between September and November. Additional information will be posted soon on the CDE Web site. For more information, or if your district is interested in participating in the pilot, please contact Steve Trujillo.
For More Information, Contact:
Steve Trujillo
IMS
Phone: 303-866-6988
Email: trujillo_s@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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