A Message from Dr. McCormick 05/11/2018

 

Indiana Department of Education
Friday, May 11, 2018

 

 

 

 

Dr McCormick Updated headshot

Dear Educators,

Thank you to everyone who helped us have a successful Teacher Appreciation Week. We look forward to seeing many of you at the Indianapolis Indians baseball game for Teacher Appreciation Night.

Next week we will welcome more than 1,100 participants to our annual School Safety Advanced Training Conference. More than 30 state education leaders from 15 states will attend to discuss safety efforts and best practices. This two-day event comes at a crucial time as we evaluate and look to develop the most comprehensive strategies to keep our students and schools safe.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer McCormick 

   
 

Education Innovation and Research Grant Opportunity

Competitive Funding Opportunity Available From the U.S. Department of Education

The Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant provides funding for recipients to create or scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to improve achievement and attainment of high-need K-12 students. 

If your district has more than 350 students in Average Daily Attendance and would like more information about the EIR grant, please see the attached information sheet and visit the EIR 2018 Competition Page  All EIR applications are due by June 5, 2018. 


Office of Assessment

Spring ISTEP+ Part 2 – IDOE Satisfaction Survey Open Through Friday, May 18 

Please complete this survey and share your thoughts on the ISTEP+ Part 2 window and what improvements can be made prior to the ISTEP+ Summer Retest.

Save the Date! ILEARN Resource Bundle Available May 15

New resources that promote assessment literacy and transparency will be available on the Assessment website beginning May15! These resources include (but are not limited to):

  • Draft ILEARN Blueprints: Define the content that will be assessed
  • Item Specifications: Describe how each standard will be measured (This is NEW for Indiana) from Indiana-developed and licensed item pools
  • Released Items Repository: Sample items aligned to Indiana standards highlighting content expectations and accessibility features of the new assessment
  • Accessibility and Accommodations Guidance
  • Technology Resources

In addition to these resources, several webinars are available to support an understanding of the new assessment. Please use this flyer to view webinar descriptions and register. Note that each webinar will also be recorded and posted to the Assessment website.

Register for FREE Summer Professional Development!

The Office of Assessment invites you to attend a free Assessment Literacy Professional Development day offered June 5 and repeated June 22. Sessions include strategies to create a balanced system of assessments, share-outs from Indiana school corporations, and updates from the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). Anyone may register to participate at this time, but seats are limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Please read this flyer to learn more about the offered sessions and to register.

ISTAR Part 2 Window Closes May 18

The ISTAR Part 2 Window closes Friday, May 18 to complete all student assessments. If you have any questions, please email the ISTAR Helpdesk or call 877-424-0322.  


Office of Workforce and STEM Alliances

Important Information Concerning the Addition or Removal of Courses

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Course Inventory Changes approval process and form have been recently updated. Please click this link for more information.

DWD Grant Memo and Disbursement Information

Please see the following memo and disbursement allocation summary related to Career and Technical Education performance grants. 

Locally Created Pathway and Concentrator Approval Process - SBOE

The following guidance provides important information relating to the approval process for new Career and Technical Education concentrator pathways.

Expansion of Workforce Ready Grants

Part of the Next Level Jobs Initiative, Workforce Ready Grants provide free job training for eligible Hoosiers. Read more here.


Office of Educator Effectiveness

May 14 is the Launch Date for the IDOE Teacher Survey: Your Voice Matters

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) is excited to launch the IDOE Teacher Survey: Your Voice Matters on Monday, May 14. Classroom teachers across Indiana will receive an email with a link to the survey. Information collected will provide comprehensive data to drive legislative priorities related to teacher compensation and employment factors. In addition, the information will help craft professional development opportunities at the local and state levels. In the spirit of transparency, data will be shared at a state aggregate level and local disaggregate level. The survey can be taken between May 14 and June 15. Look for an email on Monday morning, May 14, from the Indiana Department of Education, support+idoe@panoramaed.com. The subject line will be: "IDOE Teacher Survey: Your Voice Matters!" IDOE is asking for all teachers to complete the survey. 

District Survey Coordinators: The recorded webinar from Wednesday, May 9, is posted here for your review.

2019 Indiana Teacher of the Year (INTOY)

The 2019 INTOY application is available. For general inquiries, please contact Chris Kates, Office of Educator Effectiveness Specialist.  


Legislative Updates and Guidance

Guidance on Student Use of Sunscreen at School

The following memo provides guidance on student use of sunscreen during school time and school events. If you have any questions, please email Indiana Department of Education Director of Legislative Affairs Michael Brown.


Office of School Finance

Annual School Budget Workshop

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) Office of School Finance will sponsor a budget workshop on Wednesday, June 27. The workshop will be held at the Pike Performing Arts Center, 6701 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis. The program will begin at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) and conclude around 3:00 p.m. The program will contain numerous areas of interest to school corporations' personnel. Presentations will include IDOE finance-related topics, data collection, an update from the State Board of Accounts, the Department of Local Government Finance, and the Indiana Employment and Education Relations Board. Program materials will be posted in the Finance Community of the Learning Connection at a later date. We will provide more details as information becomes available. 


Office of Educator Licensing

Department of Child Services Annouces Changes to ECPI Process

The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) is changing its ECPI check request paper process. Beginning June 4, 2018, DCS will accept ECPI check requests through an online portal. Please read the latest information from DCS on the implementation of the new process.


Office of Title Grants and Support

Updates to Title I Application for the 2018-2019 School Year (FY 19)

In order to comply with Indiana’s approved ESSA plan, and to streamline the application for usability purposes, next year’s Title I Application for FY 19 has been updated. A summary of the updates can be found here. The allocations for next school year should be to LEAs by the end of May 2018. LEAs may wish to use the current Hold Harmless percentages of the current year’s revised final allocation to plan for next year’s programming and conduct timely and meaningful consultation with nonpublic schools.


Office of School Improvement

Formative Assessment Grant Application Information

If your school corporation does not have an assessment in place for reading as required by the State Reading Plan, please apply for the Formative Assessment Grant here. The application deadline is May 21. Contact Amy Heath if you need assistance. 

Content Connector Update

Public Consulting Group’s Project SUCCESS, in partnership with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), is leading the review, revision, and development of Indiana’s Content Connectors (alternate academic standards) for students with significant disabilities during the 2018-2019 school year. A diverse group of stakeholders from across the state has supported this work through a series of stakeholder meetings. General and special educators, related services staff, administrators, and content experts collaborated to review all grade levels and content areas, making revisions and additions as needed. This process was important to ensure all students, including those with significant disabilities, have access to grade level standards aligned to the Indiana Academic Standards. The draft Content Connectors will be available May 14-18 for public review and feedback. Educators, parents, and others are encouraged to review and comment. Links to the drafts will be posted on Learning Connection and the IDOE website. After public comments are received, final revisions will be completed and the Content Connectors will be presented for approval at the June State Board of Education meeting.

Graduation Waiver Remediation Plans

The Indiana State Board of Education, in collaboration with the Indiana Department of Education, will send out official notices to secondary schools that exceed the percentage of graduation waivers based on the criteria established by the Board. These notices will be sent out to superintendents and principals of identified schools via email on Friday, May 18.

A secondary school is identified for this purpose if they meet the following criteria for three consecutive years:

  1. The school has at least 10 graduates for the given school year; AND
  2. If less than 30 students in the graduating cohort, a graduation waiver is issued to more than 50 percent of graduates; OR
  3. If 30 or more students in the graduating cohort, a graduation waiver is issued to 10 percent or more of graduates.

Identified schools will have until November 2, 2018, to submit the required remediation plan targeted at reducing the number of graduates receiving a waiver in the 2019 graduating cohort. We hope this process only enhances ongoing efforts to improve student outcomes to ensure more students can graduate without receiving a waiver.

For questions please contact the Office of School Improvement. Find additional information concerning this legislation here


Important Information on Bullying

Bullying data for each school must be reported by July 1 of each year and subsequently posted online by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) (per IC 20-34-6-1). New legislation (HEA 1356) allows IDOE to conduct an audit of a school corporation to make certain all bullying incidents are being accurately reported. In an effort to ensure accurate data collection, please review this data prior to submission. In order to streamline data submission for schools, submission of this data must be completed on the DOE-ES report (discipline report). This is accessible via the STN application center data transfer function. Questions related to the process for submission of this data should be directed to the STN site administrator for your school corporation. 


IDOE in the News

Indiana Schools Recognized for Being Family Friendly

O'Bannon Elementary Recognized for Outstanding Fruits and Vegetables Program


Weekly Updates

View previous weekly updates from Dr. McCormick here 


Stay Informed

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