A Message from Dr. McCormick 8/18/17

 

Indiana Department of Education
Friday, August 18, 2017

 

Dear Educators:

As more schools continue to head back for the 2017-2018 school year, we want to ensure all superintendents, principals, and teachers are receiving weekly updates from the Department. I ask you to consider forwarding this email to your teachers and invite them to sign up for my weekly message. To view older messages or sign up to be on the list, click here

We also ask you to share the dates of our 2017 Fall Teacher and Community meetings with your community stakeholders, staff, and parents. Please share this link with them and encourage them to sign up. 

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

Dr. Jennifer McCormick

In the News
IDOE Publishes Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act
Superintendent McCormick to Hold Statewide Teacher and Community Meetings to Discuss Educational Initiatives and Provide Updates

Assessment
Each school year, superintendents and nonpublic/charter/choice school principals are asked to designate one person as the main point-of-contact to receive assessment-related information and updates. This staff member is known as the Corporation Test Coordinator (CTC). The CTC is the key to ensuring receipt of accurate, specific, and up-to-date details regarding Indiana assessment programs. CTC designations are due September 30, 2017. Click here for more information. If you are a new corporation test coordinator and need access to the WIDA website and system, send your information to WIDA@doe.in.gov to request access.

ISTEP+ Phase 3 Reports Available
The following OnDemand Reports for schools and corporations are now available in PearsonAccessNext .

  • Disaggregated Summary Report
  • Disaggregation File
  • Proficiency Grouping Report
  • Proficiency Summary Report
  • Academic Standards Summary Report
  • Academic Standards Frequency Distribution
  • Rescore Report
  • Student Data File (with updated rescore data)
  • Applied Skills Frequency Distribution Report

Spring 2017 ISTEP+ results are publicly embargoed until the DOE release in early September.

Legislative Updates
We have provided additional information for SEA 475. For more information on previous pieces of legislation, please visit our webpage.

Fall Regional IDOE Meetings for Superintendents, Principals, Board Members, and Business Officials
Beginning later this month, we invite superintendents, principals, school business officials, and leadership team members to attend the Fall Regional Meetings with Dr. McCormick. Click here to view the full list of meetings and to RSVP. 

Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse will occur on Monday, August 21, 2017. Please visit the DOE website as we have provided a great detail of information regarding the eclipse should any questions arise.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness
The Teacher Loan Forgiveness program is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession. Federal funds are appropriated from Title IV of the Higher Education Act. 
Under this program, individuals who teach full time for five consecutive and complete academic years at certain elementary and secondary schools may be eligible for forgiveness of up to a combined total of $17,500 in principal and interest on their FFEL and/or Direct Loan program loans. Eligible elementary and secondary schools must entail the following: 

  • is in a school district that qualifies for funds under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended;
  • has been selected by the U.S. Department of Education based on determination that more than 30 percent of the school's total enrollment is made up of children who qualify for services provided under Title I; and 
  • is listed in the Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits. If this directory is not available before May 1 of any year, the previous year's directory may be used. 

The U.S. Department of Education maintains a list of eligible schools known as the Teacher Cancellation Low-Income (TCLI) directory. The Office of School Improvement documents Indiana's listing for the TCLI Directory. Questions about the inclusion or omission of the listing of low-income elementary and secondary schools for Indiana can be obtained from the Office. Please contact Richard McKnight with any questions. Additional information and eligibility requirements are listed on the TCLI Webpage

School Safety
Title 511 IAC 6.1-2-2.5 (b) states, "Within sixty (60) days after the beginning date of each school year, the superintendent shall certify to the department that the emergency preparedness plans for the school corporation and each school in the school corporation have been reviewed and revised if necessary." This certification form only takes a few minutes and is available online to be completed here

Per Indiana Code 5-2-10.1-9, every school corporation shall designate an individual to serve as a school safety specialist. Registration is now available for the next Basic Training course for school safety specialist certification. It consists of three days of onsite training in Indianapolis, along with two additional days of online training. Training is provided by the IDOE at no cost and lodging is provided for participants traveling more than 75 miles. Registration forms are available here

Office of Special Education
The Office of Special Education publishes a biweekly newsletter filled with updates and information. Click here for the latest news from OSE.

Last fall, the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) began implementation of the Governor's Work Ethic Certificate program. This program was piloted by Greater Clark County Schools in southern Indiana and is now available statewide. The DWD is currently accepting applications through August 31, 2017 for the implementation in the 2017-2018 school year. Applications can be found here and will be reviewed by the State Workforce Innovation Council's task force. For more information, click here. If your school is interested in participating and/or still has questions, please contact Brianna Morse via email or at 317-376-5083. 

Social Media
Follow IDOE and Dr. McCormick on social media: IDOE TwitterDr. McCormick TwitterFacebook, and Instagram


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

 
 

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