Announcement
Free RAFT Memberships for Teachers
Attn: Teachers, Principals
CDE and the Colorado Legacy Foundation are providing free Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT) memberships to teachers in recognition of Teacher Appreciation Month in May.
Beginning May 1, the first 100 front-range teachers to visit RAFT in Denver will receive a free one-year membership. An additional 50 memberships will be reserved for rural teachers on a first come, first serve basis. Any unclaimed memberships will be available to any Colorado teacher after December 1.
Along with a free membership, teachers will also receive 10 percent off any May purchase.
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
Share your Spring Art Show Pieces With the State! CDE's Spring Art Call Out Has Started
Attn: Principals, Art Teachers
CDE's fall art gallery was a tremendous success! A special thank you goes to all the instructors and students who provided the beautiful artwork that will be archived on the CDE online art gallery.
As part of an ongoing commitment to spotlight student artists in Colorado, we are rotating the gallery every six months. We hope to receive artwork from districts and schools who did not participate last fall. Visit the CDE Arts Web page for information about submitting art. We are honored to share the talents of Colorado students. Thank you for your participation!
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Karol Gates
Office of Teaching and Learning
Phone: 303-866-6188
Email: gates_k@cde.state.co.us
USDE Opens Exhibit of Art Works from Nine Colorado Public Schools
Attn: All
The U.S. Department of Education will open “Art at the Apex: An Exhibit of Works by Colorado Students” in the department’s National Library of Education on Tuesday, May 4 at 11 a.m. The 32 works in the exhibit were created by students from nine Colorado public schools in grades one through 12 and reflect the students’ concern for their environments, their exploration into self-discovery and their respect for cultural diversity.
The exhibit will open with a ribbon-cutting at the department and continue throughout the month of May. Cheri Isgreen, a 2008–09 department teaching ambassador fellow from Colorado, will be among the guest speakers. Other speakers are National Art Education Association Executive Director Deborah Reeve, Colorado fourth-grade artist Sarena Payte and the department’s Brad Jupp.
Students from Wakefield High School (Va.) will perform musical selections in honor of the Colorado students in the show. Also featured will be the documentary "Scientist in Residence" about the Polaris arts and science integration program at Ebert Elementary School in Denver, funded by the Colorado Council on the Arts and supported by artists-in-residence, parents, and volunteers.
The U.S. Department of Education's Student Art Exhibit Program, now in its seventh year, features visual art created by students in U.S. and international schools and provides students and teachers an opportunity to display creative work from the classroom and promote art as a tool for education and learning for all.
The Colorado Department of Education would like to thank Cheri Isgreen for all the hard work she's put into this program.
To attend the opening of “Art at the Apex,” visit the exhibit and receive more information about the department’s Student Art Exhibit Program, contact Jackye Zimmermann at 202-401-0762 or at Jacquelyn.zimmermann@ed.gov.
For More Information, Contact:
Karol Gates
Office of Teaching and Learning
Phone: 303-866-6188
Email: gates_k@cde.state.co.us
Conference
Intensive Math Planning Workshop
Attn: Curriculum Directors, Special Education Directors, Math Specialists, Principals
A professional development training opportunity designed for district and school mathematics teams will be held in Greeley, from June 9-11. The Intensive Math Planning Workshop is based on how successful schools/teachers plan, communicate and collaborate on mathematics. Teams that include administrators are encouraged.
Key workshop components include:
• Research on how students learn mathematics
• Understanding Colorado’s revised mathematics standards
• Effective instructional strategies for mathematics teaching to support standards
• Reading and writing to learn mathematics
• Questioning effectively to increase student learning
• Elements of effective mathematics lessons to enhance and further student understanding
• Formative assessment strategies to inform instruction
• Strategies to make mathematics accessible to ALL students
This workshop is conducted by Clare Heidema and Arlene Mitchell of RMC Research and hosted by Centennial BOCES, 2020 Clubhouse Dr., Greeley, CO 80634.
The cost for the three-day workshop is $75 per person, including all workshop materials and lunch. Relicensure credit is available at no additional cost.
Register by May 15. Workshop and registration information can be found at the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Melissa Colsman
Office of Teaching and Learning
Phone: (303) 866-6737
Email: colsman_m@cde.state.co.us
Update
Assessment System Update
Attn: Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Assessment Directors, Curriculum Directors
In 2008, CAP4K established December 2010 at the deadline for the adoption of the new state assessment system based on the revised standards. Spring 2012 was targeted for the first administration of the new assessment system. External factors may impact the assessment timeline, including:
1) the allocation of state budget for developing and administering new tools;
2) the separate Race to the Top assessment competition that will provide funding for development of new tools by consortia of multiple states; and
3) the reauthorization of ESEA.
Until a new assessment system is implemented, CSAP will continue to provide valid and reliable data on reading, writing, math and science achievement.
CDE will work with the testing company and districts to analyze the differences between the content currently assessed on CSAP and the new standards to assist in transitioning to the new standards while CSAP is still in place.
For More Information, Contact:
Jim McIntosh
Standards and Assessment
Phone: (303) 866-6760
Email: mcintosh_j@cde.state.co.us
Standards Implementation Update
Attn: Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, District Curriculum Coordinators
Transitioning to the Revised Standards: Guidance from CDE
CDE is working with stakeholders from across the state to design a comprehensive approach to supporting Colorado in the transition to the revised Colorado Academic Standards (2009). This process includes four broad phases: (1) awareness, (2) transition, (3) implementation, and (4) transformation. Awareness involves communication about the revised standards; transition involves making curriculum changes based on the revised standards; implementation involves adjusting instructional practices to the revised standards; and transformation involves innovation in teaching and learning based on the revised standards.
CDE recommends that districts consider a similar approach to transitioning to the revised standards. Districts can support a thoughtful standards implementation process by building system readiness in 2010-11 focusing on raising awareness of the major components of the revised standards: school and post-secondary workforce readiness, prepared graduate competencies and 21st century skills. To assist districts in the work of building awareness, a series of regional meetings are scheduled to give leaders tools and resources to use in their districts. Dates and locations will be available soon at http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/UAS/StandardsImplementation.html.
Colorado Academic Standards Reference System
In an effort to assist districts in aligning curriculum with standards, CDE has established a system to identify each element of the Colorado Academic Standards. The web link below will direct you to the information about the coding system.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Melissa Colsman
Office of Teaching and Learning
Phone: (303) 866-6737
Email: colsman_m@cde.state.co.us
Concurrent Enrollment Forms and Agreements Available on the Web site
Attn: Principals, Superintendents, School Counselors
The Concurrent Enrollment Advisory Board (CEAB) has created recommendations for a set of guidelines for the new ASCENT program. The board has also created agreement templates and suggested application forms for Concurrent Enrollment and ASCENT programs. These documents are highly recommended for use by counselors, principals and higher education representatives in execution of these programs. The link to these forms--along with background and general information about ASCENT--can be found at the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Charles Dukes
Phone: 303-866-6142
Email: dukes_c@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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