CDE Update - Strategic Priorities

In addition to continuing rubric refinements, pilot trainings and student growth development, the Unit is helping lead and develop the CDE summer symposia. The Unit will actively participate in all three symposia, providing participants with up–to-date information on the state model development. In addition, the Unit will hold informational sessions at the Colorado Education Association’s and Colorado Association of School Executives’ summer conferences.

The Unit is developing a statewide roll-out plan for districts that want to use the state model evaluation system. In the first part of the 2012-2013 school year, the focus will be on training the pilots (May-Oct. 2012). The second part of the year (Jan.- June 2013), training, on a regional basis, will begin with the rest of the districts.

In July of 2013 districts will have to report whether they are using the state model evaluation system or whether they choose to use their own model. If they choose their own model, then they will have to provide assurances to us that their model meets the standards set forth in S.B. 191. The assurances template will be sent to districts as soon as approval is granted from EDAC (State Education Data Advisory Committee).

On May 18, CDE brought together vendors, community partners, and instructional service providers for a half-day informational summit about the new Colorado Standards. Participants had the opportunity to learn about the unique attributes of the standards and to consider how the Department’s efforts to support school and district implementation of the new standards alignments with their work.

Throughout the month of June, the Standards and Instructional Support team will be participating in CDE’s Summer Symposia. Designed to assist schools and districts in unifying work around Colorado's reform agenda, the Standards team will deliver two interactive sessions. One session will provide a refresher of the unique aspects of the Colorado Standards. The second session will explore systemic supports and the continuous cycle of improvement necessary for the meaningful translation of standards into instruction. Symposia dates, locations, and sign-up details are located at http://www.cde.state.co.us/summersymposium/index.asp

None at this time.

Interim and summative assessments used for measuring student learning over time for the purpose of educator evaluation have been researched, reviewed, and are being set up for a one year pilot in Cohort I. These “already created” quizzes, pre-post tests, performance events, tasks, tests, or other “term” measures of content standards have been recommended or partially recommended by the Colorado teacher content collaborative members in Dance, Drama & theatre Arts, Music, Reading, Writing & Communicating, Social Studies, and Visual Arts.  While not entirely filled, these small or significantly larger measures for each grade level expectation constitute a substantial start for helping educators to use fair, valid and credible proof points in combination with each other in order to show student learning over time. This list will be ready for voluntary use in fall 2013.

Cohort II Content Collaboratives of Colorado teachers begin July 23-24 in mathematics, science, health, physical education and world language. Recommendations for this voluntary “bank” of measures to be used in a pilot will be selected by November 2012 and the most capable for use in educator evaluations after their piloting will be ready for the field in the fall of 2013.

Cohort I will continue to grow their expertise in assessment and simultaneously carry on with the work of filling their respective content areas of this bank.

None at this time.

Requests for New School Codes.  Requests for new school codes, school closures, name changes and grade changes for the 2012-13 school year are due June 30. This information is crucial for ensuring accurate Title IA funding, NCLB ESEA waiver implementation, on-time and accurate release of the School Performance Frameworks and earlier dissemination of the pre-populated Unified Improvement Plans. Additionally, having a final 2012-13 school list earlier will allow for better reporting in SchoolView and access to grade-specific assessment materials.

Accreditation Contracts.  Districts Accredited with Priority Improvement or Turnaround Plans must renew their accreditation contracts with CDE by June 30. A model accreditation contract for renewal was sent to these specific districts via an e-mail from Associate Commissioner Keith Owen in early April. Accreditation contracts for all other districts will automatically renew without any additional action required by those districts.

Accountability for Alternative Education Campuses. By July 2, if schools wish to be eligible for Alternative Education Campus (AEC) accountability, districts/authorizers must submit (1) the Application and Renewal Form for Designation as an AEC, and (2) the Selection of Accountability Measures Form for AECs. Both forms are required for schools seeking AEC designation for the first time and schools seeking renewal as an AEC. Forms, along with supporting resources, have been updated and can be accessed at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/Accountability/StateAccountabilityAECs.asp.

Unified Improvement Planning: Plans Now Posted. District and school UIPs are posted on SchoolView. The plans may be accessed on the school performance link from SchoolView.org webpage by clicking on the “Improvement Plan” link associated with the district/school selected. As improvement planning is a continuous process and districts and schools continue to work on their plans throughout the year, the plans that are posted reflect a “point-in-time” submission. 

NCLB Flexibility Waiver. The most recent Frequently Asked Questions include information around the 2012 district and school performance framework reports, English language proficiency (CELApro), and Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs). To view the new FAQs, visit http://www.cde.state.co.us/Accountability/NCLBWaiver.asp. For additional questions, e-mail Liz Lenz (lenz_e@cde.state.co.us). CDE staff will use your questions to add to the FAQs.

Safety Accreditation Report:  The Safety Accreditation Report is due June 29 and has been updated to match what is stated in legislation. The report can be found in the Automated Data Exchange collection in the safety and discipline indicator collection section.  For questions, please contact Annette Severson at severson_a@cde.state.co.us or John Condie at condie_j@cde.state.co.us.  

Consolidated Application.  Trainings for the Consolidated application have been completed and training materials are posted on the web at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/FedPrograms/consapp/trainctr.asp. Both the consolidated application and allocations are in the final phases of preparation and should be released within the next couple of weeks.

Enrich. Jamestown-Milliken and Douglas County were added to the Enrich system the week of May 21.

District and School Performance Frameworks. Based on feedback and components required by the ESEA waiver, the Department has drafted the 2012 District and School Performance Framework (DPF/SPF) reports. The 2012 DPFs and SPFs will include the addition of two new measures: (1) growth in English language proficiency (CELApro) and (2) disaggregated graduation rates. A preview of the report templates, along with a summary of the changes, can be found at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/Accountability/PerformanceFrameworks.asp. Districts will have an opportunity to see the simulated results (2011 DPF data using the 2012 modifications) this summer.

Unified Improvement Planning: Updated Template. Based upon feedback from the field (e.g., UIP Needs Assessment) and CDE’s review of plans, the Department has drafted the UIP template for the 2012-13 school year. The changes in the template have been kept to a minimum and include: (1) updates due to the ESEA waiver (e.g., deleting references to AYP), (2) updates that reflect changes in the SPF/DPF, (3) shifts in the formatting of the data narrative to ensure that requirements are being met, and (4) added more required addenda to meet specific program requirements. The 2012-13 school UIP template is available in the templates section of the UIP website: http://www.cde.state.co.us/uip/UIP_Templates.asp.  The district template will be released soon.

Unified Improvement Planning: Updated Resources. Updated resources, including drafts of the UIP Handbook, Quality Criteria, and UIP Examples, have been developed for the 2012-13 school year and have been added to the UIP website. Additional resources will be added to the site as they become available. Last year’s resources are still available but have been archived. To view the current resources, visit: http://www.cde.state.co.us/uip/UIP_TrainingAndSupport_Resources.asp. The new/updated materials that were introduced at the May UIP Trainings are available within the training section of the UIP website.  Districts are encouraged to use the trainings for internal trainings.

Enrich. Continue to train, present, and work towards adding other districts and AUs to join the Enrich system. In addition to the work with Enrich, the Exceptional Student Services Unit is in conversation with districts and AUs to collaborate and create a clearer and more informative picture of the data for students with disabilities. The information gleaned from the data collaborations will assist in determining the technical assistance that ESSU will provide to the field to help increase student achievement.

• June 13:  Tiered Intervention Grants Due

• June 22:  Colorado Comprehensive Health Education Grant Due

• June 29:  Deadline for Safety Accreditation Report

• June 30: Deadline for districts to submit requests to CDE for new school codes, school closures, name changes, and grade changes for the 2012-13 school year.

• June 30: Deadline for districts Accredited with Priority Improvement or Turnaround Plans to renew their accreditation contracts with CDE.

• June 30:  Deadline for districts to submit Consolidated Applications for NLCB funding.

• July 2: Deadline for districts to submit (1) the Application and Renewal Form for AEC Status Designation, and (2) the Selection of Accountability Measures for AECs Form.

• August 15: Release of preliminary 2012 District and School Performance Framework reports.

• The Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) vision and strategic plan was released in May. This plan will help guide the work being done around ELO in Colorado for the next five years. ELO is an innovative teaching and learning platform designed to ignite the unique potential of every student through the creation and delivery of dramatically personalized learning experiences. In addition to running the Schools of Choice unit at CDE, Gretchen Morgan will be working closely with Amy Anderson to implement the ELO plan under her new title as executive director of choice & innovation.
• Eugene Hainer was elected as the 2012-13 Vice-President/President elect of the Western Council of State Libraries. WCSL provides a forum related to library information management policy.
• One Book 4 Colorado, an initiative involving a partnership with the State Library, Denver Public Library, Lt. Governor’s office, and others was successfully completed this spring. The project goal was to provide a book to every four-year old in the state. The State Library played a key leadership role in distributing copies of the book, “Maybe a Bear Ate It,” by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Michael Emberley, to public libraries and Reach Out and Read sites.
• Beginning in May, individuals that need to access Colorado GED records will do so through DiplomaSender, an outside vendor charged with providing direct client access to GED records online. Previously, the GED Office at CDE processed all Colorado GED records. This process is part of long-term national restructuring of GED testing to accommodate computer-based testing by 2014.

• The Office of Schools of Choice is updating and revising the grant management process and RFP for the Charter School Program Start-Up and Implementation Grant.  The RFP for the Fall Tier 1 charter start-up application will be released at the Boot Camp training on June 6.
•  The Office of Schools of Choice will release a full calendar of grant deadlines and technical assistance training for the 12-13 school year in mid-June. 

The deadline to submit Single-District Online Program applications is June 30. If you have questions, please contact Amanda Heiney at Heiney_a@cde.state.co.us

CDE has finalized the new data collection approach that will take us from 19 data collections to 6 interchanges and 2 periodic collections.  The interchanges are focused on a student profile, staff profile, organization profile, special education, and discipline.  These interchanges are intended to be transactional in nature therefore allowing LEA’s to submit data regularly to CDE and clean the data as they go. 

CDE has identified 30 pilot districts to assist in various pilots throughout this project.

Over the summer CDE will be developing the interchanges for Student and Organization in preparation for piloting them in the Fall 2012. 

In fall 2012, we will be implementing a pilot program where we solicit input and feedback from a few districts prior to finalizing the new system.  If your district is interested in participating in the pilot program, please contact Lisa Bradley at Bradley_l@cde.state.co.us or 303-866-4902.   Lisa can also provide additional information on Data Pipeline and help answer questions.  We will also continue to keep you updated in the SCOOP.

• June 2012 – To-be process completed
• July 2012 – Framework phase complete
• August 2012 – Training on Student/Organization pilot
• September 2012 – RITS/EDIS pilot begins