A Message from Dr. McCormick 08/3/2018

 

Indiana Department of Education
Friday, August 3, 2018

 

 

 

 

McCormick July Update

Dear Educators,

Many Indiana schools are off to a great start, while others are gearing up for students to return in the weeks to come. Thank you to our educators for their tireless efforts in preparing for a successful 2018-2019 school year. Your commitment to working together for student success is appreciated!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer McCormick

   
 
 

School Safety Information and Guidance

Unplanned Fire Alarm Activation

House Enrolled Act 1230 requires the State Fire Marshal of Indiana to send written guidance to each school that has one or more employees. This guidance includes how a school may apply current fire safety requirements for an unplanned fire alarm activation in order to provide security to students and staff in the event of a potential manmade disaster situation. This written guidance is available online here.  


Graduation Pathways Update and Guidance

Exploring Pathways Through the Swiss Model of Apprenticeships – Webex Opportunity

The Indiana Department of Education, in partnership with the Swiss Economic Institute, will be conducting a Webex on August 9 from 9:00-10:30 a.m. The Swiss model of apprenticeships has received a great deal of attention in recent months from the Indiana General Assembly and the U.S. Secretary of Education. This Webex explores the Swiss model of Career & Technical Education and how Indiana can adopt best practices in implementing Graduation Pathways. 

Please register using this link. Materials will be emailed to participants prior to the Webex.


Office of School Assessment

WIDA Screener and Home Language Survey

A Home Language Survey (HLS) must be administered to identify the native language(s) of all first-time Indiana enrollees. Students transferring from an Indiana school should utilize the previous school records in regards to the original HLS. The English Learner Guidebook includes a sample HLS and checklist for proper identification. 

WIDA Screener is the Indiana English language proficiency screener used to determine whether a student enrolling in Indiana schools for the first time is an English Learner. If a student took WIDA during the 2017-2018 school year, that score may be used for placement purposes instead of testing the student with the WIDA Screener.

The WIDA Screener:

  • Assesses students who list a language other than English on their HLS
  • Must be administered within 30 days of the first day of school 
  • Must be administered within two weeks of enrollment if not at the start of the school year 

(Note: W-APT is administered for kindergarten or first semester grade 1 students)

Creating Strong Classroom Assessment: Professional Development

Join the offices of Assessment and School Improvement for free professional development targeting strong practices in classroom assessment. View this flyer for more information.

ISTEP+ Grade 10 Assessment Memo

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has released this guidance to clarify with corporations ISTEP+ Grade 10 Assessment windows and levels of responsibility for subsequent remediation.


Office of School Accountability

Training for School Corporation Data Personnel

The Office of School Accountability has created a three-video Moodle training course regarding cohorts. The videos describe cohorts, the mandatory graduation rate audit, and changes in expectations for students exiting after the 2017-2018 school year. The course can be found here under keyword “accountability2018." An account is necessary to access the Moodle training. Please send all questions here.


Office of Educator Effectiveness

2018-2019 Staff Performance Evaluation Plans

Please find guidance regarding submission of the 2018-2019 Staff Performance Evaluation Plans (due in DOE-Online by September 14).

2018-2019 Teacher Appreciation Grant

Please find guidance here regarding submission of the School Year 2018-2019 Teacher Appreciation Grant Policy. The submission must be made by September 14.

IDOE Online Job Bank to Close: Transition Underway to Indiana Teachers-Teachers Site

On September 1, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) will fully transition to utilizing Indiana Teachers-Teachers as the primary recruitment platform for Indiana school personnel. The IDOE Online Job Bank will be shut down at the close of business Friday, August 31. To prepare for this transition, all Indiana school districts, charter schools, and private schools should ensure they have registered for a free account with Indiana Teachers-Teachers. Job postings will not automatically transfer from the IDOE Online Job Bank to the Indiana Teachers-Teachers recruitment platform. It is the employer's responsibility to manually post any current openings prior to the September 1 transition date. Additional information about Indiana Teachers-Teachers is available here. Please contact IDOE Director of Educator Effectiveness, Shari Switzer, with any questions.


Office of Workforce and STEM Alliances

CSforALL Consortium

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has joined the CSforALL Consortium, a nationwide community of districts, nonprofits, governments, and corporations sharing the common goal of providing rigorous, inclusive, and sustainable computer science instruction to all students. This partnership demonstrates IDOE’s commitment to providing quality computer science education to all students, and to support schools in their efforts to meet the requirements of IC 20-30-5-23. To view a full list of consortium members, click here.

Computer Science Education

Please click here to view guidance related to the requirements of IC 20-30-5-23. Direct any questions to Jake Koressel, Computer Science Specialist.


Office of Finance

2018 Summer School Final Costs Report

The window to begin submitting the Final Instructional Costs Report for Summer School 2018 opened Monday, July 30. In order to be eligible to receive a summer school payment, the report must be submitted before the submission deadline, Friday, September 14. The link to access the report is posted on our website. Information on the Summer School program can be found in the Finance Community of the Learning Connection under Files and Bookmarks.

September 14 Membership Count Date

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) will collect an average daily membership (ADM) count of students on September 14 per I.C. 20-43-4-2. This is the only ADM count that will be used for Basic and Complexity Grant funding for the 2018-2019 school year. Additionally, IDOE will take a second count of eligible pupils enrolled in each school corporation and charter school on February 1, 2019. The February count is for information purposes only. Please read the Membership (DOE-ME) layout which provides the reporting phases for each count. IDOE will post the DOE-ME layout in the Data Collection and Reporting Community of the Learning Connection in the near future. If you have any questions concerning the count dates, please contact Amy Pattison or Melissa Ambre


Office of Title Grants and Support

Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency Announcement

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) form for schools opting to participate in the 2018-2019 Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency (CoMP) is now available. The CoMP is a recognition program and validation of student achievement in language proficiency both in English and another language. This is a celebration for both world language students and English Learners. Please consult the resources available here, and contact English Learner and Dual Language Immersion specialist, Nicole Leach, with any questions.

FY 18 Rural Low Income Schools (RLIS) Grant Allocations Available

Eligible school districts have been notified of their FY18 RLIS allocation amounts.  Applications are due August 31. LEA allocations, 2018 application, and submission portal are available on the IDOE RLIS website. Please email Cole Dietrich with any questions or for additional information.


Office of Student Services

Positive Discipline and Bullying Survey Seeks Superintendent Feedback

Time is running out for school corporations to make their voices heard on positive discipline and bullying issues. In the 2018 legislative session, the General Assembly passed two laws requiring the Indiana Department of Education to survey school corporations on the extent to which they are implementing positive discipline policies and to gather opinions on the bullying report submitted to IDOE. The survey closes August 10. Please see the attached memo for more information on the survey. You may also directly access the survey with this link.


Office of School Improvement

School Improvement Summit Set for August 9

IDOE is hosting a School Improvement Summit on August 9. Please register here. School and district leaders already have access to profiles of the Technical Assistance Partners who will be attending. Click on this link to access profiles.


Office of Higher Education and Educator Preparation

Required Principal Survey Reminder

Under Indiana Code, principals in each school corporation, including charter and virtual schools, must complete an annual survey for any teacher employed in their building, initially licensed in Indiana, during the last two years. Please find additional information here.


Weekly Bulletin Updates

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Previous weekly updates from Dr. McCormick are available here 


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