A Message from Dr. McCormick 5/26/17

Indiana Department of Education
Friday, May 26, 2017

 

Dear Educators:

We released the 2nd round of Four-Star School Honorees for the 2015-16 school year today. Schools in this round were identified using the same criteria as Four Star School honorees from the 2014-15 school year. The list of honorees is available here. Congratulations to all of our 2015-16 Four Star Schools!

Thank you for your commitment to our students, our teachers, and our schools

Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer McCormick
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Indiana Department of Education

Dr. Jennifer McCormick

In the News
The Indiana Department of Education Announces Family Friendly Schools
The Indiana Department of Education Announces 2016-2017 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program School of the Year

Legislative Updates
As mentioned, we have released information regarding the legislation recently passed by the Indiana General Assembly. For details on HEA 1003, HEA 1384, HEA 1507, and SEA 108, visit this link. For details on SEA 198 regarding Career and Technical Education as well as the Indiana Career Explorer Pilot Program, please click here. We will continuously update our website with important information on bills which impact K-12 education. 

Elementary Reading Plan Submission
The 2017 window to submit an Elementary Reading Plan is open until June 30, 2017. The online submission can be found online here. For more information on the Elementary Reading Plan submission, please see this memo.

Assessment
The Indiana State Board of Education approved flexibility for the mathematics accountability assessment for grade 9 students enrolled in Algebra I for the 2017-18 school year. A list of Frequently Asked Questions captured this week is now available to further address these changes. A revised chart (noting the change in red) is also available.   

Office of School Finance
The Office of School Finance will be sponsoring a Budget Workshop on June 28, 2017. Click here to learn more about attending and viewing options. 

The Indiana Department of Education will collect an average daily membership (ADM) of students in the fall and in the spring. The fall count date is September 15, 2017 and this is the only ADM count that will be used for basic and complexity grant funding for the 2017-18 school year. For more information, see this memo

Dual Language Immersion Pilot Program Grant Application Released
The Dual Language Immersion Pilot Program grant applications are now available. These grants are available to school corporations and charter schools intending to begin a dual language immersion program in either kindergarten or first grade. Schools can apply for up to $50,000 per year for up to two years as a participant in the two-year pilot program. For more information and to download the application, please visit the website here. Applications are due on Friday, June 16, 2017.

2017 Tech Plan Data
As you consider your technology decision for next year, don't forget that you have access to a wealth of data from around the state. Data from the 2017 Tech Plan is now available online here. New this year is a trends report in addition to numerous maps and infographics. 

High Ability Update
All High Ability Grant amendments and cash requests must be completed by June 15 in order to be processed for payout on June 30. All approved expenses may be reimbursed back to July 1, 2016. High Ability Grant funds are state funds and must be spent or encumbered by June 30, 2017. Encumbered funds must be paid out by September 30, 2017. Submit all cash request forms to highability@doe.in.gov. Any cash requests or amendments submitted after June 15 will not receive payment. 

The IDOE has a significant system maintenance and upgrade window scheduled for Thursday, June 15th through June 19th. Beginning at 5:30 PM on June 5th, users accessing IDOE systems will likely experience intermittent and sustained periods of unavailability. As a consequence of this upgrade, the High Ability system will be replaced with a new system and will no longer be available after June 15. DOE Online access will be required for the new system. To create a DOE Online username and password and prepare for the new system, click here

The window for the 2016 High Ability Final Report will open in the new system in August. We will notify you when the new system is available for use. 

Save The Date: 2017 New/Newer CTE Teacher Workshop
The Department will host the 2017 New/Newer CTE Teacher Workshop on September 21, 2017 at the Marriott East Hotel in Indianapolis.The workshop will cover many basics new/newer CTE teachers need to be successful. A tentative agenda is available.

Summer of eLearning
The Summer of eLearning Conference registration is available. To learn more, click here.
 

Special Education
The Office of Special Education publishes a biweekly newsletter filled with updates and information about special education. Take a look at this link for the latest news from OSE. 

Indiana Teacher of the Year 
The 2018 Indiana Teacher of the Year (INTOY) application is now available. Applications are due July 1, 2017. New for 2018: the IDOE is excited to announce that districts are invited to submit both an elementary and secondary candidate! To learn more about the chance to recognize two district candidates and many other exciting changes, click here

Social Media
We invite you to follow us on social media! Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram


Weekly Updates
Miss an update? View previous weekly updates here.

 
 

A message from Dr. McCormick will be sent every Friday.