CDE Update - Strategic Priorities

CDE's Educator effectiveness Unit is preparing for testimony and updates to several legislative bodies including the Joint Budget Committee and the House and Senate Education committees. The next set of trainings and activities for the pilot districts are being scheduled. These will include the review of the teacher rubric, a work group on the creation of the decision matrix (where you bring the 50 percent professional practice and 50 percent student growth components of the evaluation together), and a pilot to share lessons across the districts implementing the state model system.

A toolkit is in development for districts to assess their implementation readiness. The toolkit includes a step by step process for preparing to implement all the tenants of the law. The toolkit will be available in March. CDE is also working in partnership with CASE, CASB, and CEA to host a workshop on March 5. CDE will launch the draft toolkit at the workshop and districts will work through the various aspects of the transition plan (from their current evaluation system to the new one as described in S.B. 10-191). 

The general assembly will vote on the current set of Great Teachers and Leaders rules on or before Feb. 15.

• Registration for the Colorado Standards Implementation Summit: Transforming Standards Based Learning for Colorado opened on Jan. 26.  The event will be held on Tuesday, March 6 at the Westin Hotel in Westminster.  Superintendents are encouraged to select a diverse team of district, school and teacher leaders to attend. District teams that travel more than 120 miles to the event site will be reimbursed for mileage; details are provided on the event website at http://www.cde.state.co.us/otl/standardsimplementationsummit.htm. Registration is limited to the first 400 participants that register. 

• CDE will lead two sessions related to the Colorado Academic Standards during the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) Winter Leadership Conference this month. One session introduces the newest tool from CDE, a district standards transition planning guide. The second breakout focuses on the Literacy Design Collaborative project, a framework for supporting disciplinary literacy in middle and high school content areas. 

This month, CDE will add the newest resource to the CDE standards implementation toolkit, a comprehensive Transition Action Planning Guide. The guide will help districts develop or expand transition plans to include: (a) systems change, (b) curriculum and instruction, (c) professional development, and (d) stakeholder involvement and communication.  Check out the Standards Implementation Toolkit at http://www.cde.state.co.us/sitoolkit/ .

• There are no upcoming deadlines at this time.

 

• January-May 2012: Launch Cohort 1 Content Collaboratives in order to establish measures of student academic growth in Social Studies; Reading/Writing/Communicating; Music; Dance, Drama and Theatre Arts; and Visual Arts
• Summer 2012: Launch Cohort 2 Content Collaboratives in order establish measures of student academic growth in World Languages; Science; Mathematics; Physical Education; and Comprehensive Health
• Fall 2012: Launch pilot of Cohort 1 products in districts participating in CDE’s Educator Effectiveness pilot
• January 2013: Launch pilot of Cohort 2 products in districts participating in CDE’s Educator Effectiveness pilot
• Bank of example measures identified will begin to populate after the first pilot has concluded (Summer 2013)

 

 

UIP Submissions and Review Process.  CDE staff are reviewing the approximately 350 Unified Improvement Plans for districts and schools that submitted plans on Jan. 17. Plans that were due to CDE by this first deadline were:

Under State Accountability:

• Schools: Turnaround Plans or Priority Improvement Plans
• Districts: Turnaround Plans or Priority Improvement Plans; High Priority or Priority Graduation designation.

Under NCLB Accountability

• Schools: None (districts review their schools’ Title I improvement plans)
• Districts: Title I Program Improvement or Corrective Action; 2141c Identification under Title IIA; Title III Program Improvement (missed AMAOs).

The State Review Panel is also reviewing the plans of schools and districts assigned to Turnaround Plans.

The Department will upload feedback from the UIP reviews in the Tracker system as it becomes available over the next six weeks. Feedback will include recommendations and specifications for required changes (if there are any). Remind school and district personnel to continue implementing strategies articulated in the plans. They should not wait for “approval” from the state.

All districts and schools will need to submit their UIPs on April 16, 2012 to be posted publicly on SchoolView.org.

UIP Resources.  CDE has added new UIP resources to the CDE Accountability and Improvement website. The website includes resources specific to the UIP process, including accessing and organizing data, trends/performance challenges, root causes, target setting, and action planning. Updates include an online UIP 101 tutorial and a preview of UIP case stories. Access the website at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/uip/index.asp.

ESEA Waiver.  CDE is awaiting approval of its waiver application from the U.S. Department of Education and anticipates an announcement early this month. Colorado’s proposal, as well as those of the 10 other states that submitted in November, can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility.

• March 30: Deadline for districts to submit revised district UIPs to CDE for plans submitted in January via Tracker System.
• April 16: Deadline for districts to submit/re-submit alldistrict and school UIPs to CDE via Tracker System.
• Summer 2012: CDE publishes final district and school UIPs on SchoolView.org.

Gretchen Morgan in now on board at CDE as its director of the schools of choice unit. Gretchen oversees charter school work at the Department including managing the Charter School Program grants for new charter school start-ups. She can be reached at: morgan_g@cde.state.co.us.

CDE is partnering in two research projects focused on online learning in Colorado. The first project, in partnership with the University of Colorado Denver's School of Public Affairs, will examine the characteristics of students seeking and attending online schools and the resulting impact of these schools on students' learning and success. The second project will focus on strategies for utilizing blended and online learning in Colorado to expand access and educational opportunities for students in rural schools and districts. This paper will be completed by Evergreen Education Group, based in Durango. We expect to complete both of these projects by June.

The Division of Innovation and Choice is developing a strategic plan for expanding learning opportunities for students. This effort, in partnership with The Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF), takes the recommendations stemming from the Expanded Learning Opportunity Commission's work in 2011 and turns them into action. CDE and CLF are working with The Parthenon Group, a strategy and management consulting firm, to develop the strategic plan which will focus on how to use time, technology, community partnerships, and other strategies to implement Colorado's current reforms and to ultimately customize the learning experience for every student.  

For more information on innovation and choice, contact Amy Anderson, assistant commissioner of innovation and choice, 303-866-6938.

 

CDE is working with LEAs to secure their participation in the grant. All Title IA eligible LEAs are eligible to participate in the grant.  To participate in the Race to the Top program, LEAs must complete a two-step application process. 

Step 1:  Submit a signed Memorandum of Understanding by Feb. 24. Please note that all LEAs must complete Step 1 to indicate if they are accepting or declining the Race to the Top Funds. Based on the LEAs that submit MOUs indicating acceptance of the funds, CDE will notify LEAs of their final award amounts.

Step 2: Submit a complete Scope of Work by March 14.

To access the Memorandum of Understanding, Scope of Work, and more detailed instructions, visit:  http://www.cde.state.co.us/index_educator_RTTT3.asp.

LEAs must turn in their Memorandum of Understanding by February 24.

• February 24 - Signed district Memoranda of Understanding due to the state to confirm participation in the grant (the state will then calculate award amounts for all participating districts)
• February 29 - Award amounts released to participating LEAs so that LEAs can complete their scopes of work and budgets.
• March 14 - LEA scopes of work and budgets due
• April - U.S. Department of Education review of state and local scopes of work
• May - Anticipated awarding of funds