CDE Update - Strategic Priorities

Other Licensed Personnel Update
Under S.B. 10-191, the State Council for Educator Effectiveness is responsible for recommending evaluation criteria and ratings for categories of educators other than principals, assistant principals and classroom teachers (referred to as other licensed personnel). Other licensed personnel include school audiologists, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, speech-language pathologists, counselors and teachers on special assignment.

Recently, the State Council for Educator Effectiveness and CDE formed work groups to make recommendations regarding the evaluation of other licensed personnel to ensure the evaluation is meaningful and provides feedback to inform practice.

Each of the eight work groups is charged with identifying how the license categories align to the Quality Standards for teachers, to articulate how they don’t align and to provide thoughtful rationale for any changes that need to be made to the Quality Standards (including draft language).

Here is an updated timeline for the delivery of these recommendations to CDE and the State Board of Education:

• Aug. – Sept. 2012: Work groups and CDE gather national research and state examples for work groups, and develop standards and elements recommendations.
• Oct. 2012 – Jan. 2013: State Council for Educator Effectiveness reviews and refines work group recommendations; presents them to CDE and the state board.
• Jan. – Feb. 2013: CDE creates draft rules to present to the state board; work groups and CDE develop the professional practices and rubric.
• Feb. - May 2013: Rulemaking hearings (State Board of Education rules in May); professional practice and rubric development continues.
• May 2013: Rules go to legislature for vote and approval.
• 2013-2014: Pilot other licensed personnel instruments for roll out in 2014-2015.
• 2014-2015: Statewide roll out of other licensed personnel evaluation process.

Please note that this timeline is not consistent with the timeline identified in statute which calls for implementation in 2013-14, but was supported by the bill sponsors in a March 2012 meeting with State Council for Educator Effectiveness members. Based on feedback from schools and districts, the State Council believes this timeline provides a more manageable sequencing of implementation of the many requirements of S.B. 10-191 while still remaining true to the spirit and intent of the law.

Educator Effectiveness Website Makeover
The Educator Effectiveness website has a new look! The re-vamped site features new navigation and several new resources. Here are some of the new features:

• Updated information on the pilot, teacher system and principal system for the Colorado State Model Evaluation System.
• Opportunity to ask a question or give feedback.
• FAQ section, broken out by categories, with high-level AND specific questions. If you don’t see your question, e-mail Educator_Effectiveness@cde.state.co.us.
• Fact sheets on a variety of educator effectiveness topics.
• A communications toolkit with tools for district leadership and principals to use when training their staff or talking to their community about educator effectiveness.

Work continues with BOCES to create a master schedule of evaluator trainings for all regions of the state. CDE expects to offer approximately 10-15 trainings on the Colorado State Model Evaluation System over the course of the coming year. As mentioned last month, the goal is to have a schedule and registration database on the website by November. Districts will receive guidance on who should come and district administrators will identify the appropriate attendees. Trainings will be a “train-the-trainer” model so district staff can go back to their districts - with a toolkit provided by CDE - and train the rest of their staff on the Colorado State Model Evaluation System. Look for more in next month’s Update.

As a reminder, all districts must provide CDE assurances that specify whether they are implementing the Colorado State Model Evaluation System or another evaluation system that meets or exceeds the State Quality Standards by July 2013. The assurances template will be released by March 2013 or sooner.

Colorado Preschool Program staff have developed support documents to link the new Colorado Academic Standards for preschool with the early childhood best practices that are already present in high quality early childhood care and education settings. These supplementary documents are designed to assist preschool educators with effective implementation of the preschool standards by providing examples of activities for children and illustrating connections to the Colorado’s Discipline Concept Maps.

Regional informational meetings continue regarding district requirements for school readiness (pursuant to S.B. 08-212, CAP4K) and the Colorado READ Act (H.B. 12-1238). An opportunity for input on recommendations for school readiness assessment and rules for implementing the READ Act will be provided. Click for meeting dates and locations.

• Recommendations for school readiness assessments are expected to be presented to the state board in November.
• The notice of the rulemaking process for the remainder of the READ Act is scheduled for the November state board meeting with hearings in both January and February in advance of adoption in March 2013.

For more information about standards, contact Melissa Colsman, executive director of teaching and learning, 303-866-6737.

None at this time.

Item Writing for the New Alternate Assessments
Educators engaged in item writing for the upcoming science and social studies alternate assessments. Through this process, educators played an active role in determining and shaping the content of the Colorado alternate assessments.

Online Assessment Readiness
As Colorado begins its transition to computer-based assessments, it is important for districts to participate in the online readiness survey that will initially occur in October and will continue to gather information in the future on a periodic basis. Districts were recently asked to identify a district technology coordinator to support this effort. More information will be shared in the coming month.

English Language Proficiency
Districts participated in an optional face-to-face training on the new English Language Proficiency Assessments. The training provided district attendees with an opportunity to clarify information from WIDA’s trainings and resources.

Item Writing for the Science and Social Studies Summative Assessments
In October, Colorado educators can participate in writing items for the upcoming science and social studies assessments. Moving forward, educators will have additional opportunities to ensure that the new summative and alternate assessments are designed to adequately reflect student performance through participation in item review, passage review and bias and sensitivity review.

For more information about assessments, contact Joyce Zurkowski, executive director of assessment at 303-866-6760.

None at this time.

School and District Performance Frameworks
Districts received the 2012 school and district performance framework reports from CDE.

School Accreditation Forms and Request for Reconsideration
Districts must submit an accreditation category for each of their schools by Oct. 15. If the framework or category used differs from the state framework, it must be submitted through the request to reconsider process. Districts also have an opportunity to request that CDE reconsider its district accreditation category or any of the assigned school plan types by submitting additional evidence. Click for policy guidance, which contains detailed guidance on submitting accreditation categories and requests to reconsider.

2012 SchoolView Data Reporting
SchoolView is being updated with 2012 data. The Data Lab, where you can query achievement and growth data for any school or district in the state, with multiple disaggregation options, is now live. Access the Data Lab, and a video tutorial here. Data Center, Growth Summary Reports, and the Colorado Growth Model software are in the process of being updated and validated.

Unified Improvement Planning Templates and Pre-Populated Reports
All pre-populated reports for the UIP -- both school and district level -- have been released. Note that some of the data in the reports are preliminary (e.g., plan type). An email with a unique URL was sent to superintendents and district accountability contacts. The URL links to a zip file containing Word versions of the district and school level UIP reports. These reports are not available in CEDAR. A pre-populated report with final data will be released by December.

The pre-populated reports have the UIP template attached. In some cases, schools and districts will be expected to complete and attach program addenda (e.g., turnaround addendum for turnaround districts and schools). Instructions for when to include the required addenda are included in the customized directions of the pre-populated report (p. 3 for schools; p. 4 for districts). Click for the addenda forms and explanation of requirements.

Fall Unified Improvement Plan Submissions and Technical Assistance
The first submission cycle for submitting UIPs for public posting to SchoolView is Sept. 25 to Oct. 15. Submission is optional and open to all districts to submit any district and/or school plans that have been revised and may replace the currently posted plan on SchoolView. Plans may be submitted again during the winter and spring cycles so long as every district and school plan has been submitted for posting by April 15, 2013. CDE is tracking plan submissions this year to ensure that each plan has been submitted for posting by the required date.

For districts on Priority Improvement or Turnaround, CDE is offering additional support on district level UIPs. Districts may choose to submit the revised data narrative (including root cause analysis) between Sept. 25 and Oct. 15 through Tracker for an early review. The review is to provide support and feedback sooner in the planning process to help strengthen the data narrative as the district makes decisions about action planning. This support is only being offered to districts at this time, and will not take the place of the required winter review.

Click for details regarding the fall UIP submission process. These will also be sent via email to district Tracker Contacts.

Unified Improvement Planning Fall Training Schedule
The Root Cause Analysis training sessions are open for registration! Participants will work through a root-cause analysis process related to at least one of their priority performance challenges and leave equipped with a plan for engaging local planning teams in root cause analysis to complete their data narrative. The training will be held in Pueblo on Oct. 2 and in Loveland on Oct. 4. Register here.

CDE is also hosting Scaffolded Peer Review sessions. The first round will focus on the data narrative, including notable trend statements, prioritized performance challenges and root cause analysis. Participants should bring school and/or district plans – and be ready to review other’s school or district plans. CDE staff will provide basic training and hands-on support. Registration is open in Pueblo on Oct. 15, Glenwood Springs on Oct. 17 and North Metro Denver on Oct. 19.

If multiple districts in a region would like to host a training session, CDE staff can provide additional training on the UIP process, as scheduling allows. If you are interested, contact Erin Loften, loften_e@cde.state.co.us.

Click for a complete listing of upcoming UIP trainings as well as materials used at past trainings.

Parent Notification
For a school required to implement an Improvement, Priority Improvement, or Turnaround plan, districts must notify parents of the students enrolled in the school of the type of plan that is required and of the performance results that led to that plan assignment. This notice must be given within 30 days after the district has received the initial plan assignment or, if the district appeals the initial plan assignment, within 30 days after the district receives the state board’s final determination. The notice must include the timeline for developing and adopting the required plan and the date, time and location of a public hearing held by the school principal or the local board of education, whichever is responsible for adopting the plan, to review the plan prior to adoption. The date for the public hearing must be at least 30 days after the date on which the district provides the written notice. For more information, please access the District Accountability Handbook (PDF).

• Mid-Oct. - Release preliminary 2012 AEC School Performance Frameworks.
• Oct. 15 - Deadline for districts to submit School Accreditation Form and Requests to Reconsider district accreditation ratings and school plan type assignments.
• Oct. 15 – (Optional) Deadline for priority improvement and turnaround districts to submit UIPs through Tracker for a fall UIP (Data Narrative) review from CDE.
• Oct. 15 – (Optional) Deadline for districts and schools to submit 2012-13 UIPs through Tracker for the fall public posting on SchoolView.

The Division is accepting applications for the director of health and wellness. Click to view the job description (PDF). The job closes Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m.

The Request for Proposal for the Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant Program (PDF) was released in September. This grant money will help distribute funds to seed, document, and replicate innovative practices, programs, services and approaches in line with Colorado’s vision for expanded learning opportunities. CDE and the Colorado Legacy Foundation will hold informational webinars about the RFP on Wednesday, Oct. 10. For more information, contact Laura Noonan at Noonan_l@cde.state.co.us. 

In September a coalition of Colorado libraries, with assistance from the Colorado State Library, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other partners, held a conference on library innovations. The two-day risk and reward sessions provided nearly 400 attendees with opportunities to explore creativity, curiosity, and transformation of library services as part of the larger question of what the library of the future, and the customer experience will look like.

The State Library received an Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant to initiate activities in youth services libraries around the state that work toward advancing the goals of the Campaign for Grade Level Reading on activities to support school readiness and combating summer learning loss.

The State Publications Library is partnering with the University of Colorado Denver at Auraria Library, the Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists, and State Historical Society on a grant to train professionals to better assess institutional preservation needs, increase institutional capacity collections preservation, and strengthen relationships with emergency managers and first responders.

An open house will be held Oct. 16 at Mile High United Way in Denver to launch the new foster care education program. This program will strengthen the collaboration between child welfare liaisons at the district and agency level. For details contact Sheree Conyers, coordinator for foster care at conyers_s@cde.state.co.us.

Applications are due Oct. 17 by 4 p.m. for tier 1 round of the Colorado charter schools program start-up grant. The grant application review will take place Nov.1 and letters notifying the applicants will be sent out by Nov. 6. For more information, please reference the 2012-2013 Request for Proposal (PDF). For questions, contact Gina Schlieman at Schlieman_g@cde.state.co.us.

CDE staff will attend the National Association of Charter School Authorizers conference the week of Oct. 22. The purpose of the conference is to gather those responsible for charter oversight to engage in high-level discussions and best practice-oriented education.

Amy Anderson and Amanda Heiney from CDE’s Online & Blended Learning Office will give a presentation at the iNACOL Virtual School Symposium in New Orleans on October 22.

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

None at this time.

Data Pipeline
Monthly webinars share project status and timelines for piloting and implementation. CDE finalized the file layout for student and staff profile and received EDAC approval to proceed with piloting the new file layouts. Two vendors, Infinite Campus and Power School have agreed to make the file layout changes at no cost to the districts.

Teacher Student Data Link
Twelve school districts started participating in pilot programs for TSDL.

Data Pipeline
CDE will pilot the directory collection with training for CDE staff and the six pilot districts. A Student October pilot will take place in November. Pilot districts for that collection will be contacted and given instructions on what to expect. If your district is interested in participating contact Lisa Bradley at Bradley_l@cde.state.co.us or 303-866-4902.

Teacher Student Data Link
CDE is gathering input from teachers, principals and superintendents. Information on how TSDL benefits educators and students is coming.

Data Pipeline
Sept. – Pilot the directory collection
Oct. – Pilot RITS/EDIS
Nov. - Pilot student October

Teacher Student Data Link
Sept. & Oct. - CDE conducts engagement sessions.
Nov. - Jan. 2013 - CDE pilots the Battelle for Kids Roster verification system.