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Registration is now open for the Social Justice in Education Conference, which will be held August 8-9 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. Attendees will hear about promising practices and strategies that support equitable access and multi-cultural instruction, rigorous and unbiased curriculum, and other accelerated interventions to help all students succeed. There is no registration fee for the event.
Training specifically for equity coordinators and administrators will be conducted by the Office for Civil Rights on August 8. Sessions covering a range of social justice topics, such as multi-generational trauma, achievement gaps, disability rights, and bias, among others, will be covered on August 9. Educators, counselors, administrators and student services staff from K-12 schools, community colleges and four-year public and private institutions, as well as business and industry, are encouraged to attend.
For more information, contact Jeanette Thomas, education program consultant at the Iowa Department of Education, at (515)281-3636, or jeanette.thomas@iowa.gov.
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Students are now exited (reclassified) and move to non-EL status upon testing proficient on the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA21). ELPA21 proficient students may not be kept in EL status. This is new under Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), effective in spring 2019. The ELPA21 addresses personal, social, and academic language use and needs. Note any ongoing literacy needs upon reclassification, as all students who exhibit literacy needs can expect local supports; typically in Iowa this is provided through an Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework regardless of categorization, label, or status.
Each district’s data entry person must ensure that exited (reclassified) students are coded appropriately as a 4 and moved into monitoring status to ensure that unwarranted weighted funding is not given. Collecting funds for non-ELs is not legal.
For more information, see the English Learners webpage and the Re-entry FAQs for English Learners. For information about monitoring, contact your AEA EL consultant.
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The Department of Education offered monthly training webinars throughout this past school year to support school districts in establishing high-quality emergency operations plans (EOP) in school districts and individual schools. Our last webinar was held on June 11. All of the webinars are recorded and posted to the Department’s website.
The May and June webinars covered the topics listed below.
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Session 8 webinar – May 21 - Interview with Karen Gale from the FBI. She provides support through the Family Assistance Center after an incident occurs.
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Session 9 webinar – June 11 - Focuses on the next steps of your EOP once your School Board has approved the plan(s).
For questions about these webinars, resources, and EOP requirements, contact Rob Olsen at (515) 281-4743 or rob.olsen@iowa.gov.
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Iowa Learning Online is now accepting enrollments for the Fall 2019 semester. To better meet individual student needs and diverse schedules of Iowa schools, ILO will offer two separate cohorts during the term offset by two weeks.
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Fall 2019 Cohort A: Aug. 23 to Dec. 19 (early enrollment ends at 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30)
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Fall 2019 Cohort B: Sept. 9 to Jan. 17 (early enrollment ends at 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16)
Each standard enrollment in Cohort A or B includes a three week trial/grace period. After the grace period, the local school will be billed a $285 fee per enrollment. If a school/student situation does not fit within either cohort (such as a late enrollment or other special circumstance), schools may contact ILO to discuss options for a special accommodation.
Visit our website to see the course descriptions, log in or sign up to enroll your students.
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School districts that have not yet completed the Secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) Reporting Application are asked to do so immediately, as the June 15 due date has passed. The enrollment and performance data collected on Iowa students who complete courses in state-approved career and technical instruction is analyzed and reported to the U.S. Department of Education to fulfill career and technical education grant funding requirements (Perkins funds).
Reporting is very simple since this is a transition for states preparing for implementation of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, commonly referred to as Perkins V.
Directions on completing the FY19 Secondary CTE Reporting Applications is available on the Iowa Department of Education website. For questions, contact Pat Thieben at (515) 281-4707 or pat.thieben@iowa.gov.
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School districts with outstanding Perkins claims for the 2018-19 school year need to submit them as soon as possible The Iowa Department of Education must review and approve all outstanding claims for the 2018-19 school year by the end of July.
Any claims submitted by school districts after July 31, 2019, are required to go through a state appeals process with no guarantee of the claim being paid out.
For questions, contact Pat Thieben at (515) 281-4707 or pat.thieben@iowa.gov.
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More than 100 work-based learning projects are now available to students and schools for the 2019-20 school year through a new virtual state clearinghouse.
The Clearinghouse for Work-Based Learning connects K-12 students, schools and employers through shared projects that enable students to learn through professional experiences. The goal is to expand access to work-based learning projects statewide so that students can connect what they’re learning in the classroom to careers.
The clearinghouse is part of the Future Ready Iowa initiative, which is about growing a skilled workforce statewide by connecting Iowans to the education and training needed for rewarding careers. Gov. Reynolds established the clearinghouse through an executive order last year.
The clearinghouse has two key features:
- A project board, in which business partners post projects that can be embedded into K-12 classrooms
- An inventory for teachers to find student internships, apprenticeships and other on-site work-based learning opportunities statewide
To check out projects, read success stories and find out how your school can participate, visit https://clearinghouse.futurereadyiowa.gov/.
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The Iowa Department of Education is partnering with Panorama Education to customize their Student Success product as Iowa’s new Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Data System. In fall 2019, the system will be provided to schools, districts, and Area Education Agencies at no cost to support early literacy for students in grades K-6. Additional features will be added over time to support MTSS and Early Warning System efforts.
During the 2019-20 year, Student Success will provide a central location to analyze screening and progress monitoring data, track interventions, and view Healthy Indicator Reports. It will not replace assessment systems (such as FAST) for assessment administration, but will receive data from those systems on a nightly basis. Information on training for Student Success will be available later this summer and it is anticipated that statewide training will occur in October.
For questions about the system, contact Janell Brandhorst at (515)281-3033, or janell.brandhorst@iowa.gov, or Connor Hood at (515) 326-5284 or connor.hood@iowa.gov.
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October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and Iowa Communications Network (ICN) cybersecurity team will be traveling to various locations across Iowa to facilitate security discussions with our authorized users.
This three-hour awareness event will present information related to best practices and security challenges. This is a free event geared towards ICN's authorized users.
Cedar Falls Roadshow; Sep 26, 1 - 4 p.m.
Ottumwa Roadshow; Oct 3, 1 - 4 p.m.
Pocahontas Roadshow; Oct 10, 1- 4 p.m.
Des Moines Roadshow; Oct 22, 1 - 4 p.m.
Council Bluffs Roadshow; Oct 29, 1 - 4 p.m.
Check the ICN website for updates as the event approaches.
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The three checkpoint dates for the 2019-20 school year will be November 15, 2019, February 21, 2020, and May 22, 2020. Utilizing the three checkpoint periods ensures fidelity in administration of the assessment in a valid and reliable manner. Additionally, data from the three checkpoints is best used both in formative and summative means as teachers and administrators are determining appropriate instructional decisions for students. Districts are encouraged to complete the fall and spring checkpoints to represent the beginning and end of the preschool program year as represented in Iowa Code § 279.60.
Completing fewer than three checkpoints will affect the availability of various reports in the MyTeachingStrategies™ system. Guidance and procedures regarding GOLD® may be found on the Teaching Strategies in Iowa web page and the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program web page under the subheading Assessment.
For information about GOLD® checkpoints, contact Mary Breyfogle at (515) 326-1030 or mary.breyfogle@iowa.gov, or Teaching Strategies Tech Support for Iowa at (866)246-5352.
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