An Update From the Indiana Department of Education for October 18, 2019

indiana department of education - doctor jennifer mccormick - superintendent of public instruction
dgh

Dr. Mac

UPDATE: HEA 1008 Career Ladders Grant

 

On October 2, the State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted a resolution recommending substantial changes to the Indiana Department of Education’s (IDOE) process and rubric by which Career Ladder grants are determined and distributed. Because of this resolution, IDOE issued a pause on further action regarding HEA 1008. Items have been resolved and the application process will resume with an application deadline of December 2 with no changes from the original process.

Funding for this grant comes from SBOE, while IDOE creates the rubric. HEA 1008 allows corporations and charters to receive a grant to implement: 1) TAP NIET (TAP Program) Webinar, 2) Opportunity Culture teacher performance model Public Impact (Opportunity Culture) Webinar, or 3) a model teacher performance program approved by a national school employee organization.

Please click here to access the grant application.

 

Update: Holiday Cards for Our Military Challenge Continues

October 18 Photo

More than 50 districts and individual schools, including Evansville North Junior High School, have joined IDOE in this initiative sending holiday greeting cards to military deployed around the world. A reminder, the deadline to mail cards to the national collection point is October 31.

It is not too late to contribute. Learn more about the Holiday Cards for Our Military Challenge here.


IDOE Featured Office of the Month: Workforce and Innovation

Each month, an area of IDOE will be highlighted to provide insight into the good work being completed each day on behalf of our students. The Office of Workforce and Innovation provides dynamic, cutting-edge service to educators. Learn more here.

 

Office of Assessment

Stimulus and Response Materials for the I AM Assessment

This memo shows suggested substitutions and alternatives for stimulus and response materials provided by IDOE on I AM. These suggestions are allowable based on the student’s degree of vision, hearing, and/or physical mobility and do not need to be formally documented unless otherwise indicated.

2019-2020 Learner Characteristics Inventory (LCI)

The Learner Characteristics Inventory is updated for the 2019-2020 school year. This update includes homebound as an option for classroom setting and allows for multiple selections when responding to the question about assistive technology used on I AM. The LCI Window will open for TA completion on Monday, March 16, 2020.

Administrators and educators are encouraged to review the training found here to learn about how the LCI can be used to ensure the correct students have been identified to take the alternate assessment. Please email Stephanie Thompson or call her at 317-234-5601 with questions.

Action Requested! Spring 2020 ILEARN Educator Scoring Opportunity

IDOE is working with AIR to request educators from each corporation participate in the upcoming scoring windows for ILEARN.  Please share this flier with educators in your corporation or school who are interested in scoring ILEARN items in Spring 2020. We hope to achieve 800 total educators participating in this effort. As noted on the flier, interested educators may submit applications beginning January 13, 2020. Additional information will be released soon.

ILEARN Reporting FAQ

Our office developed the ILEARN Reporting FAQ to address a variety of questions we have received from corporations, schools, and parents since ILEARN results were released a few weeks ago. Please contact the Office of Assessment with any additional questions not reflected on this document.

Workshop for Data Novices

Are you a teacher who finds data scary? Data comes at you in a variety of ways. How do you know what that data really means? Or even what questions to ask about the data? Join the Office of Assessment to dive deeply into data and think about how data can be used to make educational decisions. Learn more about Overcoming Data for Data Novices by viewing this flier.

 

Office of Title Grants and Support

Title Con 2020 Save the Date

It is time to Save the Date for Title Con 20/20. Our theme for the conference is Creating a Vision for the Future. Title Con 20/20 will be held Monday, April 14 for pre-conference workshops, and Tuesday and Wednesday April 15-16 for the keynotes and breakout sessions at the Embassy Suites in Plainfield, IN. More information can be found on the Title Con 20/20 webpage

High Ability Tuition Reimbursement

IDOE is pleased to announce funding for LEAs seeking tuition reimbursement for individuals desiring to attain Indiana high ability licensure. Funding will be prioritized for those LEAs with few or no teachers with high ability licenses. The High Ability Coordinator for an LEA, wishing for one or more teachers to receive tuition reimbursement for a single course to be completed in spring 2020, must complete the Request to Participate form by November 1.

 

Office of Special Education

Indiana Individual Education Plan (IEP) Updates Available

Please click here for a list of recent updates made to Indiana's IEP Accommodations page. An updated accommodations crosswalk is also available here. If you have any questions, please email Reva Weiss, Complaint Investigator and Indiana IEP Specialist, or call her at (317) 232-0575.

 

Office of Innovation

Individual Growth Measure (IGM) Ratings Available

The Individual Growth Measure (IGM) ratings based on growth model data have been released and are now available through the online licensing system. This information is for math and language arts teachers in grades four through eight. Learn more here.

Updated Educator Preparation Standards for Four Content Areas

The Indiana State Board of Education recently adopted updated Educator Standards for Computer Science, Middle School Mathematics, Middle School English Language Arts, and Middle School Science. Educator preparation programs approved to offer licensure in these areas should begin aligning coursework to the updated standards. Redevelopment of the respective CORE tests will continue with a goal of summer 2020 for operational tests. Updated standards and a summary of the revisions have been posted here. Test blueprints are in development and will be provided upon completion. Please contact Scott Bogan or Risa Regnier if you have questions or concerns.

2020-2021 Proposed Teacher Shortage Areas

IDOE is preparing the annual list of proposed Indiana teacher shortage areas. Before submitting this document to the US Department of Education, IDOE is asking for input on areas of need that have not been identified. Please read this memo for additional information.

All Dean’s Meeting and IACTE Summit

IDOE is working in collaboration with the Indiana Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (IACTE) to present our Second Annual Dean’s Meeting at Butler University South Campus, Common Room on Friday, November 8, from 7:30-8:45 a.m. The Dean’s Meeting will end before the start of the second day of the IACTE 2019 Summit: Innovation in Teacher Education.  

For more details regarding the November 7-8 Summit, please click here. Registration information can be found here. There is no fee for the Dean’s Meeting. For additional information, please contact IDOE's Scott Bogan or IACTE's Dr. Deb Lecklider.

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. 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. The list of evidence-based STEM and computer science curriculum is available here. 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 that are interested. 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.

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 here to review the STEM Acceleration Grant Memorandum. The list of evidence-based STEM and computer science curriculum is available here. Contact Dr. Christy Hilton with questions.

Phishing: The Top Cyber Threat

Learn more about how to protect yourself and your district against the growing threat of fraudulent emails in the first installment of the Cyber Blog. This new resource is an initiative of Indiana’s Educational Cybersecurity Task Force, a partnership between the Indiana CTO Council and IDOE.

eLearning Day Implementation Resources

Is your district ready to implement eLearning Days? Check out these newly created resources and assurances to help in determining the readiness of your district to employ eLearning days with fidelity. Contact Jennifer Watson, Senior Digital Learning Specialist, with questions or for additional assistance.

2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program

Do you have students that are interested in becoming U.S. Presidential Scholars? The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. The memo and application process can be found here. Please contact Ben Carter with questions. 

Career Awareness and Career Development Requirement

By November 1 each school is required to complete the appropriate grade level form linked below. Additional information can be found in this memo.  

 

Office of School Improvement

Indiana Educating the Whole Child Summit Registration Now Open

IDOE is pleased to announce that registration for the Second Annual Indiana’s Educating the Whole Child Summit can be found here. Each summit participant must register individually. 

Seeking K-12 Science Educators

IDOE, in collaboration with the Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, Inc., is beginning work on Phase II of the Science Framework. Phase II will focus on the identification of cross-cutting concepts and the implementation of the science and engineering process standards. IDOE is looking for science educators to share their expertise in this process.

Interested K-12 educators should complete this form. For questions regarding the Science Framework or participation, please contact Dr. Jennifer Jensen.

Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Wellness October Newsletter Now Available

SEBW Monthly covers information on SEL, Project Aware, School Social Work, School Nurses, Chronic Absenteeism and more. To access the newsletter click here.

 

Office of School Finance

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.

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 and 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 use this email to share any questions. The deadline is January 31, 2020.

 

facebookinstagramtwitteryoutuber s s feedflickr

Weekly Updates

View previous weekly updates from Dr. McCormick here.  

Stay Informed

Did you miss a message? View previous weekly emails here. Want daily updates? Be sure to follow the Department on Twitter and Facebook.

An Update from the Indiana Department of Education is created by the Office of Communications, and  is distributed every Friday.