The application for the 2020-2021 Early Literacy Implementation (ELI) Grant is now open for submission. This year’s due date is Sept. 15. To apply, login to Iowa Grants and select Funding Opportunities. The application is a short, drop down menu indicating how the 2019-20 ELI grant funds were spent and how the 2020-21 grant funds will be spent. The grant application is linked to last year’s application for ease of submission. Each of Iowa’s public school districts receives half of the legislative funding outright and half of the funding based upon student count from October 2019. Questions? Contact Jen Adams at jen.adams@iowa.gov. Funding amounts will be posted in the ELI Grant Application and on the Early Literacy Implementation webpage when available.

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As the new school year approaches, deadlines have been established for the Consolidated Accountability and Support Application (CASA) requirements.

Due Sept. 15

• Preschool Desk Audit – Session ID Information (public only)
• Assurances (public and nonpublic – superintendent or nonpublic administrator only)
• Consolidated School Improvement Plan (CSIP) (public and nonpublic)
• Title IA, Set Asides and Building Shares (public only – see Consolidated Application information below)

Due Oct.15

• NEW – Test Administration Assurance (public only – building principals and superintendent only)
  • Required of building principals though a building-level collection and of the superintendent through a district-level collection.
• Consolidated Application for Federal Title Programs (public only)

Due Dec. 15

Universal Desk Audits – Required only of agencies with outstanding corrections that carried over from 2019-20. These are designated with an Action Required status.

• K-12 Desk Audit (public and nonpublic)
• Preschool Desk Audit – Evidence of IQPPS Implementation (public only)
• AEA Desk Audit
• Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Report (AEA only)

For more information, contact Meredith MacQuigg at meredith.macquigg@iowa.gov or 515-494-5610.

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Does your district have new staff people working with student reporting this fall? If yes, please log into Spring SRI (2019) and update the district contact information so the correct people receive emails regarding SRI updates, deadlines, documentation, etc. Hint: If you want more than one person listed as a contact, just use a semicolon to separate the email addresses.

Upcoming certification deadlines related to Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI) 2019-2020:

• Aug. 25: Graduate Verification. A webinar will be presented on Aug. 12 at 10 a.m. for anyone new to (or wanting a refresher on) this application.
• Aug. 25: Non-Fall Supplementary Weighting. Guidance on this application can be found in a recorded webinar on the SRI website.

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Iowa Code 279.60 requires the use of the GOLD® online system to assess every resident prekindergarten student or 4-year-old student enrolled in a district-sponsored program. Based on these requirements, districts and community partners should renew their existing agreements.

The existing GOLD® online contracts for programs utilizing the Iowa Department of Education’s Umbrella Agreement require annual renewal. Administrators should have received communication from Teaching Strategies regarding renewal. If a subscribing program has not received communication about renewal, contact Teaching Strategies directly (contact details below). Existing subscribers may also complete the online renewal form.

For information about GOLD® renewal, contact Mary Breyfogle at mary.breyfogle@iowa.gov or Teaching Strategies at renewals@teachingstrategies.com or 1-866-736-5913.

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The Iowa Department of Education is bringing together Career and Technical Education teachers and administrators (middle school, high school and postsecondary) for a new ongoing training series highlighting Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) - The CTSO Advisor Academy.

The 2020-21 Virtual CTSO Advisor Academy will kick off Aug. 6, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. This event will feature an update on the CTSO portion of Iowa’s Perkins V state plan, the advisor’s role and CTSO success stories from across the nation.

The remainder of the CTSO training series is geared toward new and experienced CTSO advisors. This series will feature topics that advisors often ask about such as creating a program of work, the 3 Rs – recruit, retain and recognize, student leadership development, competitive events, conferences, student travel, fundraising, service-learning and holding chapter meetings. The series will meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., September 2020 to May 2021. The training series will also have an option for recertification credit.

Register at Iowa Virtual CTSO Advisor Academy

For more information, contact Cale Hutchings at 515-281-0127 or cale.hutchings@iowa.gov.

We encourage all staff that will be working with Cedar Connect and SRI to log into the following webinars to prepare for fall reporting. Note: these webinars will be recorded and posted to our website as soon as possible after the live session.

Fall SRI Updates – New elements, deleted elements, changed elements for the upcoming school year: Aug. 6, 1:30 p.m.

Cedar Connect – Taking snapshots, correcting validation errors, submitting data to SRI: Sept. 1, 1 p.m.

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The Department of Education and Heartland AEA just completed and published the new AEA PD Online Module for the Multi-Tiered System of Support for Advanced Learners.

The professional learning module is designed for classroom teachers, instructional coaches and teachers of gifted programs.

The Multi-Tiered System of Support for Advanced Learner document is designed to guide classroom instructional decisions that are based on implementing the Iowa Core standards while considering the academic complexity and pace of advanced student learning. For questions concerning AEA PD Online, contact Rob Brookhart at rbrookhart@aealearningonline.org. For questions concerning MTSS for Advanced Learner content, contact Rosanne Malek at rosanne.malek@iowa.gov or 515-281-3199.

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There are a couple training opportunities for school nutrition professionals.

School Nutrition News to Know Summer Series: to assist school nutrition program operators in preparing for next school year a series of News to Know webinars have been held in collaboration with the School Nutrition Advisory Committee. View webinar recordings, presentation slides, professional standards documentation, and resources from the sessions. Information is included by topic in sub-folders.

• Back to School 2020
• HACCP Plans and Standard Operating Procedures
• School Nutrition Staff
• Procurement Guidance
• Documentation Tips During Challenging Times

Virtual School Nutrition Training Week: The Bureau of School Nutrition and Health Services has transitioned their summer in-person training opportunities for school nutrition professionals to an online format the first week of August. USDA School Nutrition Professional Standards training hours will be provided. View schedule and register.

For more information, contact Carrie Scheidel at carrie.scheidel@iowa.gov.

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Resources for all teachers of English learners are now available on the Iowa Core website.

If you are an EL teacher or a content teacher with ELs in your classroom, you will find what you need on the topics of instruction, assessment and professional learning. Check out the list of professional books, blogs, links to standards, ELPA21 resources and much more. Please let your colleagues know of this valuable resource.

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Gifted Education Resources are available on the Iowa Core website.

The resources include Instructional, Assessment, and Professional Learning opportunities for classroom teachers, instructional coaches, curriculum directors and gifted consultants. The Gifted Resources can be found on the Educator Resource page by Learner Characteristics.

If you need assistance, contact Rosanne Malek at rosanne.malek@iowa.gov or 515-281-3199.

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The Iowa Department of Education will provide all Iowa public school districts, nonpublic schools and homeschool students with access to a platform that will enable teachers and students the capability of participating in high-quality digital teaching and learning environments.

For schools that want to participate, there will be no cost for the upcoming school year. The platform, provided by Canvas Learning Management System, is intended for classrooms kindergarten through 12th grade.

Read more

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School food service programs ramped up to ensure students and families had access to healthy meals during unanticipated school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• During unanticipated school closures during the month of April, 59.5 percent of the meals typically served at school (compared to February 2020 data) were served to Iowa children under the Summer Food Service Program.
• More than 70 percent of the Summer Food Service Program sponsors are continuing to serve meals into the summer months.

“A very special thank you to the school nutrition directors, school administrators, school staff and volunteers who have worked to serve an unprecedented number of meals to help keep our children fed during this time when schools are closed,” said Kala Shipley, bureau chief of the Iowa Department of Education’s Nutrition and Health Services. "Ensuring access to healthy school meals is critical to planning for learning models next school year."

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For more information, contact Stephanie Dross at stephanie.dross@iowa.gov.

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The Iowa Department of Education and Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) are announcing the launch of a new early intervention and special education guidance system, known as Iowa IDEA Information (i3). It was developed collaboratively with local districts and with input from parents and partner agencies from across Iowa.
The launch of i3 means the phasing out of the current Iowa IDEA Info site, including AEA Special Education Procedures. The i3 system will bring with it enhancements that will prove to be invaluable to users, such as:Click to edit this placeholder text.

• A one-stop shop for IFSP and IEP procedures and resources
• User-friendly formatting for easy site navigation
• Increased options for searching content and resources
• Ability to allow for real-time updates with built-in options to clearly communicate updates to users
• Translation options

Read more

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