Conference
Special Savings on NSBA’s T+L Conference, October 28-30, 2009
Attn: District Administrators, Technology, Curriculum, Media Coordinators, Teachers
The Colorado Department of Education is partnering with the National School Boards Association to secure a special Colorado fee for educators to attend NSBA’s 23rd annual T+L Conference for K-12 leadership teams focused on technology and learning.
This conference will be held in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center on October 28-29, 2009. From Frans Johansson’s keynote on innovation to the first TEDxTLN event, creative solutions will anchor conversations around the role of S.T.E.M. in career preparation; how to take the next steps with one-to-one learning; and how to ensure stimulus dollars are wisely invested.
T+L offers a systemic approach to view the role of technology to help transform teaching and learning, reengineering administrative operations, and facilitating community and parental engagement. Don’t miss this opportunity to harness the power of technology for your district! Register today at the link below.
NOTE: Enter the code COL9 to secure the lowest fee of $425 prior to Friday, July 31 or $450 after that date. This represents a savings of more than $200 per person for individuals not affiliated with NSBA.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Dan Morris
Educational Technology and Innovation
Phone: 303-229-8301
Email: morris_d@cde.state.co.us
Event
Professional Development Opportunity - Colorado Growth Model/Data Driven Decision Making
Attn: Superintendents, Curriculum and Instruction Directors, PD Directors, Assessment Directors
CDE is offering a second professional development opportunity for using the Colorado Growth Model as part of Data Driven Decision Making. This two-day intensive hands-on session will provide participants with foundational skills and processes for interpreting data from the Colorado Growth Model and integrating local data sources.
Participants will learn how to facilitate a four-step collaborative inquiry process for making meaning of CSAP growth and achievement data. They will also develop an inventory of other data sources available within the context of their school or district and develop a schedule for engaging in dialogue focused by data throughout the school year.
These sessions are provided free of charge. Two training opportunities are currently planned in the Metro Denver area:
Tuesday, July 21 and Wednesday, July 22, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cherry Creek
Thursday, July 23 and Friday, July 24, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adams 12
Please RSVP for these trainings at the link below.
Please contact Bill Bonk (bonk_w@cde.state.co.us) or Erin Loften for more information about these sessions.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Erin Loften
Office of Teaching and Learning
Phone: 303-866-6642
Email: loften_e@cde.state.co.us
Professional Development Opportunity- An Introduction to the Colorado Growth Model
Attn: Superintendents, Curriculum and Instruction Directors, PD Directors, Assessment Directors
In preparation for the public rollout of Colorado Growth Model data, CDE has developed a professional development package to support district efforts to implement the Colorado Growth Model.
The first professional development opportunity will contain introductory materials, activities and multimedia tools that will help form the core of your school or district-level efforts to share the Colorado Growth Model with teachers or school administrators. You will take away the resources you need to conduct a half-day workshop on the Colorado Growth Model.
This training will be held on:
Friday, July 17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the South Central BOCES in Pueblo
Monday, August 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the East Central BOCES in Limon
Please RSVP for this first training at the link below.
Contact Bill Bonk (bonk_w@cde.state.co.us) or Erin Loften for more information about these sessions.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Erin Loften
Office of Teaching and Learning
Phone: 303-866-6642
Email: loften_e@cde.state.co.us
FYI
Senate Bill 09-163 Information
Attn: All
With the passage of Senate Bill 09-163, Colorado’s landmark legislation to create a single, aligned system of education accountability, CDE anticipates several positive changes for the state’s students and schools. This legislation establishes clear expectations for educators at the state, district and school level that are consistent with both current district accreditation requirements and our vision for a reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act. CDE will examine and publically share information on state, district, and school performance on the same four key performance indicators: academic growth, student achievement levels, extent of achievement gaps and postsecondary and workforce readiness.
Consistent with new legislation, the department will eliminate the weighted index ranking system and replace it with a more transparent “four quadrant” Colorado Growth Model approach that will be easily accessible online.
On August 7, CDE will debut a new online portal called “SchoolView,” a tool required by S.B. 09-163. This event will focus on CSAP results, SchoolView, the Colorado Growth Model findings and begin a new conversation with Coloradoans about the urgency of the improvement needed for all students to reach postsecondary and workforce readiness.
SchoolView’s State, District and School Performance Reports will replace the former SAR (School Accountability Report) for the 2008-2009 reporting year. SAR reports and associated school-level SAR ratings will no longer be produced by CDE. Prior year SAR reports will be moved to an “Archive” section of the CDE Web site.
For more detail on this topic, please refer to the memo from the Commissioner to Superintendents posted at the link below.
Click Here for Additional Information
For More Information, Contact:
Jhon Penn
Accreditation and Regional Services
Phone: 303-866-6632
Email: penn_j@cde.state.co.us
Enhancing Education Through Technology– Power Results RFP Now Available
Attn: Superintendents, District Personnel
The new Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) – Power Results RFP is now available. This RFP is designed to distribute funds to qualified applicants pursuant to Title II-D, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 along with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, to improve student achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools.
Approximately $4.7 million is available to successful grantees to support individual school districts and consortiums of school districts to provide a technology rich classroom environment where interactive learning, higher level thinking skills and student engagement are pervasive and where opportunities to collaborate and connect to the rich and relevant content that would not usually be available to the highest need students. Collaborative planning, investment in core components for technology and intensive professional development – training teachers not only how to use technology but also how to integrate technology into the curriculum and IT support must be addressed.
For more information and to access the RFP, please visit the Web site 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
Update
Colorado Growth Model
Attn: Superintendents, Principals, Distriction Assessment Coordinators
During the first year of producing growth percentiles using the Colorado Growth Model, CDE learned that the model works well and is well received by the education community. As CDE staff continues to study and learn with the model, two issues make it necessary for CDE to ask districts to replace growth data with soon-to-be-available recalculated data for current and past years. This will ensure that fair comparisons can be made and that year-to-year analysis is accurate.
First, a close examination of the Colorado Growth Model output found a few circumstances that will require changes to the underlying calculations. These will maintain the year-to-year integrity of the model and allow for consistent interpretation. The changes have been applied to data from previous years and the recalculated data will be released later this summer. The 2009 growth calculations will be performed using the new methodology.
Second, Senate Bill 09-163 authorized the creation of a single, aligned educational accountability system. This alignment means that CDE needed to discard the previously used SAR rules for the inclusion/exclusion of students in state, district and school-level reporting. The decision was made in order to align the federal and state rules used for inclusions by adopting the federal rules required under Adequate Yearly Progress. The application of these inclusion/exclusion rules may mean further differences in median growth percentiles for schools and districts. The resulting changes will affect some student growth percentiles and medians. CDE will ask districts and schools to purge their data systems and prepare to upload fresh data for both new and previous years’ growth model numbers.
More information will be sent soon to your District Assessment Coordinator.
For More Information, Contact:
Bill Bonk
Phone: 303-866-6763
Email: bonk_w@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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