An Update From the Indiana Department of Education for October 11, 2019

indiana department of education - doctor jennifer mccormick - superintendent of public instruction
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Dr. Mac

 

The Indiana Department of Education, has been charged with surveying Indiana educators regarding how to do the following:

 

1) Eliminate, reduce, or streamline the number of training mandates placed on schools.

2) Streamline fiscal and compliance reporting to the General Assembly on a sustainable and systematic basis.

 

IDOE worked in collaboration with the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, the Indiana Association of School Principals, the Indiana State Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers - Indiana, and the Indiana School Board Association to create this survey. All school employees are encouraged to take the survey. The survey will remain open until midnight, October 13. The survey can be found here.

 

2020 Indiana Teacher of the Year Announced

Swag Fantasy

An exhuberent gym filled with excited students, teachers, administrators, and media greeted Danville Community School Corporation’s Katie Pourcho, a kindergarten through second grade art teacher at North Elementary School. Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) Superintendent Dr. Jennifer McCormick was on hand to make the surpise annoncement. Pourcho will represent Indiana in the National Teacher of the Year Competition. Learn more here.

 

 

 

Update: Holiday Cards for Our Military Challenge Continues

Hunter Rules

Thank you to all of the districts and schools joining IDOE's support of the Holiday Cards for Our Military Challenge. There is still time to join this worthwhile initiative that sends holiday greetings to active troops serving around the world. Students across the state, like the ones pictured from Gibson Southern High School, are working on creating greeting cards in time for the October 31 mailing deadline. Learn more here.

 


IDOE in the News

Gold Star Schools Announced

IDOE has announced recipients of the 2019 Gold Star Schools award. The winning schools are listed here.

 

Office of Assessment

ISPROUT Training Update

Onsite training sessions are complete for data managers and trainers. If your school requires additional training for data managers or teachers, please visit the ISPROUT website for virtual training options.

ILEARN English/Language Arts (ELA) Performance Task (PT) Scoring Resources 

The Office of School Assessment's (OSA) content team developed two presentations in response to educator feedback regarding the extended writing item appearing in the ELA PT. Both resources are posted on the ILEARN Sample Items and Scoring page of IDOE’s website:

  • The first presentation explores condition codes that may result when student responses are not scorable, and discusses how the extended writing item contributes to a student’s overall writing reporting category performance.

  • The second presentation provides an overview for reviewing and understanding the new annotated anchors, released last week, to complement the existing extended writing (essay) items in the Released Items Repository. 

ILEARN 3-8 Lexile® & Quantile® Videos for Educators and Parents 

OSA created brief videos explaining how schools and parents can use the Lexile® and Quantile® measures located on ILEARN Individual Student Reports. These new resources are posted with our other Lexile® and Quantile® resources on the Sample Items and Scoring page of our website. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Accessibility and Accommodations Training Module Now Available

AIR’s Accessibility and Accommodations Training module explains how test coordinators and educators can verify the correct accommodations in TIDE ahead of testing for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Individual Learning Plans (ILPs), and Section 504 Plans participating in the ILEARN, IREAD-3, I AM, and/or ISTEP+ assessments. This training is accessible via the Indiana Assessment Portal.

 

Office of Innovation

Announcing STEM Acceleration Grant

The Indiana Department of Education is pleased to announce the launch of the STEM Acceleration Grant - Cohort 3. The grant will provide funding for programs impacting the 2020-2021 school year. Funds may be used for stipends, professional development/training, and the acquisition of instructional materials necessary to implement selected STEM curriculum. Additionally, funds may be used to increase school/community partnerships to provide early STEM career exposure for students. Click on this link to review the STEM Acceleration Grant Memorandum. Contact Dr. Christy Hilton with questions.

STEM and Computer Science Curriculum Showcase

IDOE is hosting a STEM and Computer Science Curriculum Showcase at Conner Prairie on Monday, October 21, from 9:00 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. EST. Join us to learn from various STEM and computer science curriculum providers about what you can do to provide your students with high-quality STEM and computer science experiences at ALL grade levels. Attendance at this event is required of all schools/districts planning to apply for an IDOE STEM Acceleration Grant, however, the event is open to all interested parties. This opportunity may also help you to plan how your school/district will comply with the requirements of IC 20-30-5-23. Register here. Contact Jake Koressel with questions.

SCRIPT Workshops

The SCRIPT - the Strategic CSforALL Resource and Implementation Planning Tool - is an initiative of the CSforALL Consortium that serves as a framework and platform to guide district staff in the creation of K-12 Computer Science implementation plans that reflect the unique goals and needs of any school district. The following SCRIPT workshops are now available for teams from Indiana schools/districts:

TechPoint Foundation for Youth K-8 STEM Teacher Grants

Since 2013, the IN STEM teacher grant program has been helping to eliminate financial barriers that prevent teachers from bringing their amazing STEM ideas to the classroom. The IN STEM Teacher grants allow K-8 teachers in Indiana to apply for up to $500 to spend on classroom innovation, enhancement of existing curriculum, and implementation of hands-on, inquiry-based STEM classroom activities. The application closes on October 31. More information can be found here

Nominations Open for Inaugural Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award

Beginning in the spring of 2020, the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award will be presented each year to two educators, one elementary and one secondary, who instill in their students the skills, knowledge, and passion for cybersecurity and related subjects. Award recipients will embody the expertise and dedication of educators who are critical to strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity workforce. The nomination period closes on January 31, 2020. For the rules, terms and conditions, and specifics on how to apply, please visit here.

Team Registration Open for BioBuilder Club

The BioBuilder Educational Foundation supports the BioBuilder Club, which is an opportunity for high school inventors to combine engineering and life science to design, build, and test their own ideas. The kickoff virtual meeting will take place on October 15. Teams will receive the BioBuilder textbook, a laboratory kit, and are paired with scientist mentors. Click this link to register.

Fifth-Annual Indiana STEM Education Conference 

Registration is OPEN for the Fifth-Annual Indiana STEM Education Conference. It will be held at Purdue University in West Lafayette on Wednesday, January 15, 2020. The conference will have new features addressing the STEM education needs of K-12 teachers and schools. This year’s theme will focus on Indiana’s STEM Education Strategic Plan. An afternoon professional development workshop to help educators earn workforce-related hours will be offered. The cost for registration is $95 if you register by Friday, December 20, and $110 if you register after December 20. The conference is an opportunity for STEM teachers and STEM schools to present effective lessons, policies, partnerships, assessments, and STEM education strategies. Presenter proposals are due by October 30. You can register for the conference here. Presenter proposals can be submitted here.

 

Office of School Accountability and Accreditation

Attention High School Principals: Last Chance for Corrections to the 2019 Graduation Rate

The graduation rate audit window is open until November 1. This represents the last chance to make corrections to the 2019 graduation rate. Information about the 2019 Graduation Rate Audit can be found in the School Accountability and Accreditation Community here (The enrollment key is “AccountabilityCommunity”). All questions should be directed here.

 

Office of School Improvement

Analytical Algebra II Collaboration Meetings Set

Register for the Analytical Algebra II fall learning and collaboration meeting in Indianapolis or Warsaw by clicking on the location. Participants will participate in model lessons, analyze assessments, discuss resources/strategies, and continue to build community. Contact Robin Conti with questions.

Additional Support for Math Educators Coming

The Office of School Improvement is organizing another mathematics professional development series supporting a vision for ambitious instruction in the K-12 math classroom! Click here for additional information and registration links. 

School Improvement Newsletter

The Office of School Improvement has released the #INspirEDleaders October newsletter. Access the latest newsletter here.

 

Office of Title Grants and Support

Indiana Individual Learning Plan (ILP) System Training Opportunities

IDOE has partnered with Public Consulting Group (PCG) to offer all Indiana schools access to a statewide system for ILPs for English learners. The system is free for Indiana districts and schools. IDOE is offering regional in-person training sessions on October 23 in Lafayette and on November 7 in Jasper. Please register at the links provided. For additional questions regarding system access, please contact the system Help Desk. Various training materials and resources are also available on IDOE's EL Policy and Guidance webpage.

 

Office of School Finance

Fall Submission of Membership (ME) Deadline is TODAY

All school corporation and charter school students who were enrolled and expected in attendance on September 13 must be reported in membership. The submission period for this data collection ended on September 25. The counts will be used to determine Basic Grant distributions for qualifying school corporations and charter schools. Please read the Membership (DOE-ME) layout which can be found in Data Layouts. For questions regarding membership, please email Melissa Ambre. The cleanup deadline is TODAY, October 11.

Fall Submission of Membership (MA) Adult Learners Deadline is TODAY

All Adult Learner charter students who were enrolled and expected in attendance on September 13 must be reported in membership. The submission period for this data collection ended on September 25. The counts will be used to determine Adult Learner distributions to qualifying charter schools. Please read the Membership (DOE-MA) layout which can be found in Data Layouts. For questions regarding the FTE count, please email Melissa Ambre. The cleanup deadline is TODAY, October 11.

Updates to Form 9 Financial Data Submission 

As part of the July to December, 2019 Form 9 financial data submission process, IDOE will implement additional steps in order to comply with federal reporting and documentation requirements as well as transparency reporting in association with state transparency requirements. Click on this memo to read more about steps five to eight of the reporting process. Please email all questions here. The deadline is January 31, 2020.

Curricular Material Reimbursement 2019 - 2020

Public school corporations and charter schools may apply for curricular material reimbursement for the 2019-2020 school year by submitting both student-level and claim data between October 1 and October 31. Prior to submitting data, officials should review the curricular material data layout (DOE-TB). Reimbursement Claim Form Instructions are located on Moodle in the Public School Finance Community. Please email questions regarding curricular material reimbursement here. The submission deadline is October 31.

 

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