Announcement
Process for Considering How National Common Core Enriches Colorado Academic Standards is Underway: Public Feedback Requested
Attn: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals, Teachers
The process for considering how the National Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics enrich Colorado’s Academic Standards is underway. By engaging in this review process, the state board of education will determine if Colorado will support adaptations that enhance the Colorado Academic Standards and adopt the Common Core State Standards.
In early June, the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers released the nation’s first Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts (available at www.CoreStandards.org).
Following this release, CDE engaged a third-party reviewer to conduct a line-by-line technical crosswalk analysis and propose ways to enrich the Colorado Academic Standards with content from the Common Core State Standards. Members of the Colorado Academic Standards subcommittees met in July to respond to this analysis and recommend minor modifications to Colorado’s Academic Standards. Now a public survey is ready to collect feedback from the public in this important initiative.
The Colorado Academic Standards Gap Analysis with the Common Core is live and is now ready for public feedback. The feedback window is from July 16-28. The analysis documents and link to provide feedback can be found at the link below.
The remaining timeline for considering enrichment from the Common Core State Standards is as follows:
Wednesday, July 21: SBE discusses third-party recommendations via Web-conference.
Monday, Aug. 2: Commissioner Jones makes a recommendation to the SBE on whether or not Colorado adopts the Common Core.
Monday, Aug. 2: SBE considers adoption of the Common Core.
Wednesday, Aug. 11: Commissioner Jones makes a recommendation to the state board on whether or not to amendments to Colorado Academic Standards based on enrichments provided by the Common Core.
Wednesday, Aug. 11: The state board considers amendments to Colorado Academic Standards based on enrichments provided by the Common Core.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Angela Norlander
Office of Standards and Assessments
Phone: 303-866-6931
Email: norlander_a@cde.state.co.us
Federal Programs
Notice of Public Comment on Wavier for 14-day Public School Choice
Attn: Title I Directors
CDE is in the process of requesting a waiver from the United States Department of Education (USDE) from the 14-day Public School Choice notification (C.F.R. § 200.37(b)(4)(iv)) requirement for the 2010-2011 school year.
Many Colorado school districts have early August start dates. Based on when CDE will receive testing data from the state’s testing vendor, CDE will not be able to have AYP determinations 14 days before all school districts begin the 2010-2011 school year. Accordingly, districts and schools with early start dates that might be identified for Improvement will not be able to provide notice of Public School Choice to families 14 days prior to the start of the school year.
Colorado has worked closely with districts that, regardless of the impending AYP results, will have to offer Public School Choice to provide timely and minimally 14 days notice to families. This waiver will effect only those districts and schools that do not yet know if they will have to offer Public School Choice. CDE is confident that all districts and schools will provide the timeliest notice possible so that families can make informed decisions.
CDE is accepting public comments on this waiver until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28. Send comments to miller_c@cde.state.co.us. Any comments submitted will be provided to the USDE as part of the waiver application process.
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For More Information, Contact:
Cheryl Miller
Phone: (303) 866-6214
Email: miller_c@cde.state.co.us
AYP and Comparability Trainings
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, Federal Program Contacts, Title I Directors, Human Resource Contacts
There are two upcoming Adequate Yearly Progress webinars you can join: Thursday, July 22 at 9:30 a.m. and Friday, July 30 at 10 a.m.
Additional webinars will be scheduled as the need arises. Also, there are two in-person trainings for AYP and Comparability: Tuesday, Aug. 3 at the Adams 12 Conference Center, 1500 E. 128th Avenue, Thornton and Wednesday, Aug. 4 at the Tesla Opportunity Center, 2560 International Circle, Colorado Springs. AYP trainings will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by a break and Comparability training around 10:30 a.m.
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For More Information, Contact:
Donna Morganstern
Phone: 303-866-6209
Email: morganstern_d@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 House Bill 09-1319 and Senate Bill 09-285, 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.
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 other week.
FAQ's for this week:
Q: Are districts required to implement an ASCENT program? What about concurrent enrollment?
A: There are no statutory requirements to implement an ASCENT program, a concurrent enrollment program, or sign a cooperative agreement. Districts are only required to follow the ASCENT guidelines if they choose to participate in a 5th year Concurrent Enrollment program after 2012. Should districts choose to participate in ASCENT, names of interested and eligible students must be provided to CDE by Sept. 1 of each year for students to be considered for the following academic year.
Q: When are districts able to fully implement the ASCENT program?
A: The first group will be eligible to participate in fall 2010.
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For More Information, Contact:
Charles E. Dukes
Phone: 303-866-6142
Email: dukes_c@cde.state.co.us
Update
Webinar on Local Flexibility in School Accreditation and S.B. 09-163 Updates
Attn: Superintendents, District Staff
This morning, CDE's Office of Performance and Policy hosted a webinar on local flexibility in school accreditation and status updates on S.B.09-163 implementation. A recording of the webinar is now available for online viewing at http://connect.cboces.org/p98131237/.
The PowerPoint presentation will soon be posted to http://www.schoolview.org/StateAndFederalAccountability.asp.
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For More Information, Contact:
Somoh Supharukchinda
Office of Performance and Policy
Phone: 303-866-6778
Email: supharukchinda_s@cde.state.co.us
Updated Policy Guidance for Alternative Education Campuses
Attn: Superintendents, Principals
The department has updated the policy guidance on the state’s accountability system for Alternative Education Campuses, available at the URL below.
As detailed in the guidance, by Wednesday, Sept. 1, all AECs must submit a selection of the measures to be used for evaluating school performance and evidence of agreement by the school’s authorizer to the selected measures. The Appendix of the Policy Guidance has been updated to include a draft of the “Selection of Accountability Measures” form to be submitted so that AECs can begin planning for this deadline. CDE will send a final version of this form following EDAC approval.
By Friday, Oct. 15, all districts will need to submit to CDE the results of the AEC measures they selected on Sept. 1, and the corresponding accreditation and plan assignments for their AECs. The Appendix of the Policy Guidance now also includes the AEC reporting template and additional guidance on this process will be shared in the coming weeks.
The Policy Guidance Appendix has also been updated with a timeline that summarizes upcoming actions and deadlines for AECs related to S.B. 09-163.
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
Standards Implementation Update
Attn: Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals
This update marks the return of bi-weekly updates from the CDE Standards Implementation Team.
Crosswalk Tutorials
Content specific crosswalk tutorials are now available on the CDE Standards Implementation Web site. Narrated PowerPoint tutorials are linked to the content crosswalk Web pages for Dance, Drama and Theatre Arts, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Studies and Visual Arts. Other tutorials will be posted as they are made available. Find the crosswalks and tutorials at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/UAS/Crosswalk/CAS_Crosswalk.html.
New Standards Implementation Interview
An interview with Director of Academic Initiatives Melissa Colsman on standards implementation is now posted on the CDE Website. The interview addresses a number of common questions, such as:
Why is it important for Coloradans to know about the standards development process?
What were the overarching goals and were they accomplished?
What is the CDE strategy for assisting districts and schools with the implementation of and transition to the standards?
What is the timeline for the standards implementation?
What are the tools and resources available and how should they be accessed?
The interview can be accessed at the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Melissa Colsman
Office of Academic Initiatives
Phone: 303-866-6737
Email: colsman_m@cde.state.co.us
Summer Food Service Program
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, Food Service Directors
The Summer Food Service Program is growing like a bean stalk! CDE has joined the Governor’s campaign to end childhood hunger with stellar results. This summer there are more than 300 sites sponsored by 62 organizations. The Summer Food Service Program has been growing steadily with an increase in sponsors and sites in 2009. This resulted in an 116,310 meal increase from 2008 to 2009. Last summer's sponsors served more than 760,000 meals and we expect this summer to grow even more.
CDE's Nutrition Unit would like to thank the sponsors for their hard work and dedication to make this year’s Summer Program a success.
For More Information, Contact:
Connie Harlow
Nutrition
Phone: 303-866-6650
Email: harlow_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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