Announcement
Office of Civil Rights Changes Policy on Athletics
Attn: Superintendents, Principals. Athletic Directors, Legal Offices, Boards of Education
On Tuesday, April 20, 2010, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education issued a "Dear Colleague" letter to ensure that male and female students are provided equal opportunities to participate in intercollegiate and interscholastic athletics programs consistent with Title IX and its implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 106.
The Dear Colleague letter withdraws the following documents issued by OCR in 2005: Additional Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy: Three Part Test – Part Three; User’s Guide to Student Interest Surveys under Title IX, including the prototype survey; and the technical report.
The Dear Colleague letter reaffirms, and provides clarification of, the multiple indicators OCR evaluates to determine whether an institution is in compliance with Part Three of the Three-Part Test.
The Dear Colleague letter also provides technical assistance on the nondiscriminatory design and implementation of a survey as one method to assess student interest under Part Three. We encourage you to share the information in this letter widely with your staff.
For additional information on the Dear Colleague Letter, visit OCR’s website at: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20100420.html.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
William Windler
Exceptional Student Services
Phone: 303 913 6181
Email: windler_w@cde.state.co.us
CEDAR school level report access
Attn: Superintendents, Local Access Managers
At the end of April, CDE will implement an update to the CEDAR reporting system. This update will allow Local Access Managers (LAMs) to provide school personnel access to various CEDAR reports, including their school's data.
District staff with the appropriate authority will continue to be able to view CEDAR data for the entire district.
If you are familiar with security access to Colorado Growth Model data, this is the same process. The only difference is that group names are prefixed with “GM” (for Growth Model) instead of CEDAR. Please note your district number and school numbers for schools.
Your district Local Access Managers (LAMs) will receive an e-mail with more detailed instructions.
For More Information, Contact:
Dennis St Hillaire or Barb Straley
IMS
Phone: (303) 866-6840 or (303) 866-6686
Email: cedar@cde.state.co.us
Webinar about Race to the Top Phase II
Attn: Superintendents, School Board members, Principals
Colorado has begun the process of preparing an application for Phase II of Race to the Top. Join us for a webinar to learn more about the process we are engaged in and how it will impact local school districts. The webinar will be held on Thursday, April 29th from 10:00-11:30 AM MDT.
This webinar will cover the following:
1. The approach and timeline for our phase 2 application.
2. An overview of strategic changes we are making for the phase 2 application.
3. Details regarding how you can support the process.
4. Immediate next steps
5. Q&A
We look forward to your participation.
Web Conference Dial-In Details:
Conference Number(s): 866-764-6750
Participant Code:
To join the meeting:
http://connect.cboces.org/rttt/
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Nina Lopez
Phone: 303-916-5434
Email: Lopez_N@cde.state.co.us
Four-Day School Week Application
Attn: Superintendents
School districts in Colorado that operate on a four-day school week with less than 160 scheduled days per school year are required to submit a request for approval annually.
Colorado statute requires school districts to conduct a minimum of 160 days of school, unless prior approval is obtained from the Commissioner -- C.R.S. 22-32-109 (n) (I).
In order to be considered for approval for the school year 2010-2011, please complete the application now available via the Automated Data Exchange (ADE) document titled Colorado Education and Library Directory by June 30, 2010. Districts requesting approval are not obligated to follow their proposed calendar if their local planning is not finalized.
If there is any way the Colorado Department of Education can assist you in the ADE application process for the four-day school week the appropriate contact information is provided below.
For More Information, Contact:
Dennis St. Hilaire
Information Management Services
Phone: 303-866-6840
Email: st.hilaire_d@cde.state.co.us
Assessment Capacity Survey
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, Teachers, District Personnel
In 2009, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) conducted a survey to determine what aspects of the current assessment system Colorado educators think are important and what potential changes should be considered.
As a next step in preparation for rolling out a new assessment system of balanced and instructionally relevant assessments—a “Next Generation” assessment system—CDE would now like to determine what support you might need to most effectively use assessment data to help you improve student learning. CDE has, therefore, contracted with WestEd to conduct an online survey to gather your input. Your responses will be very useful in helping CDE support you, your students, your school(s), and your district as it develops the Next Generation assessment system for Colorado.
If you are willing to participate in this survey, please go to the corresponding links using either a school/district or a personal computer:
Teachers: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7SP6BMZ
District Administrators: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CVQMTRG
It should take between 15–20 minutes to complete the survey. In order to provide the greatest level of security, your responses will be completely anonymous. We will not ask for your name, the name of your school, or the name of your district. We will not be able to determine what computer is used to complete the survey or where in the state the computer is located. All responses will be reported in the aggregate.
If you have questions about the objectives of the survey, or the survey itself, please contact Jennae Bulat at jbulat@wested.org. Thank you in advance for your support of this important initiative.
For More Information, Contact:
Andrina Aragon
Office of Standards, Assessments and Research & Evaluation
Phone: 303-866-6664
Email: aragon_a@ cde.state.co.us
Grants available to implement the new Comprehensive Health Education standards
Attn: Principals, Superintendents, Health Coordinators
Districts and BOCES may apply for a grant up to $40,000 to plan and implement the new Comprehensive Health Education state standards. Funding is available through the Colorado Comprehensive Health Education Act of 1990. Applications are due to CDE by June 30th.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Karen Connell
Prevention Initiatives
Phone: 303 866 6903
Email: connell_k@cde.state.co.us
Federal Programs
Committee of Practitioners recruiting members for 2010-2011
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, Federal Program Contacts, Title I Directors, Technology Directors, and Safe and Drug-Free School Directors
The Committee of Practitioners (CoP), an advisory group for the Office of Federal Program Administration, is looking for additional members for the 2010-2011 school year. The current committee has 18 acitive members and can expand to a maximum of 25.
In an effort to continue the diversity of the group, the committee is particularly looking for new members who can respresent the perspective of a local education agency school board or of parents of curently enrolled students. Additionally, the intent of the CoP is to have representation from throughout Colorado. Two areas from which members are needed are the southeastern and the northwestern parts of the state. For the full list of positions that can be represented on the CoP, see the Nomination/Application form available on our website at the link below.
The CoP meets four days throughout the school year. The meeting dates for 2010-2011 are 9/9/10, 11/11/10, 2/10/11, and 4/14/11. The meetings begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m., usually in Denver.
The dealine for application submission is Friday, May 14th.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Kathryn Smukler
Office of Federal Program Administration
Phone: 303-866-6842
Email: smukler_k@cde.state.co.us
Webinar on writing Public School Choice letters
Attn: Title I Directors, Superintendents, AYP Respondents, Principals
The April 30th deadline for districts to submit draft Public School Choice letters through the C-FIRS Tracker system is fast approaching. These letters must be sent to parents of all students in Title I schools on any level of Improvement and follow a protocol established by the U.S. Department of Education. We will be providing a webinar to provide more information about what these letters must include. In addition, the webinar will provide the opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have.
Webinars currently are scheduled for Tuesday, April 27th (9:30-10:30)and Thursday, April 29th (10:00-11:00 and 2:00-3:00). Additional webinars will be scheduled based on need. To register for a webinar, contact Clara Algiene.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Clara Algiene
Office of Federal Program Administration
Phone: 303) 866-6777
Email: algiene_c@cde.state.co.us
Update
Public Comment Encouraged for Revised Parental Notification Rules
Attn: Superintendents
At its next regular board meeting on May 12, the state board of education will consider a revised version of the “Rules on Parental Notification Upon an Arrest Made or Charges Brought Against a School Employee.” The rules require the school district to notify the parents in a school when an arrest has been made or charges brought against an employee of the school (not only licensed educators) when an employee is charged with or arrested for certain crimes. The rule sets forth a list of charges that trigger the rule, including felonies or charges involving children.
The state board held a rulemaking hearing on Wednesday, April 14 and received public testimony at that time, including testimony from CASE, CASB and CEA. The board is encouraging any additional written comments and will consider all comments submitted prior to voting on the rules. Please submit any written comment to: state.board@cde.state.co.us on or before April 28, 2010. The rules are posted at the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Mary Frances Nevans
State Board of Education
Phone: (303) 866-6809
Email: nevans_mf@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.
|
