 |
|
IN THIS EDITION |
 |
|
PRESS RELEASE |
Today, Governor Mark Dayton held a press conference to announce that if you live in Minnesota and are interested in taking the General Educational Development (GED) Test, it is now free to anyone living in the state through June 30, 2016. You can either register online at the GED website or contact your local school district to connect with their Adult Basic Education program. Staff at each program will be able to walk you through the registration process and also provide resources and classes to prepare for taking the test. Read Governor's Office April 7 press release.
Back to top
 |
|
ACTION ITEMS |
All school districts using state staff development revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 126C.10, subdivision 2, and section 122A.61, are required to report staff development activities for both district and school sites annually by October 15. School districts must use the state-designated online staff development reporting site to submit the annual staff development report. All districts, including those not reserving funds, must complete a program report and submit a Statement of Assurances. Access the Staff Development Report site to begin completing the district and school sites report. There you will find an Online Staff Development Report FAQ. If you need further assistance, you may direct your questions to Michael Foster at michael.foster@state.mn.us.
Back to top
In the coming days, the department will be opening access for 2016 data and plan submissions within the online Read Well by Third Grade (RWBTG) submission application. This submission tool utilizes secure access through the MDE user account system (MIDMS). To be ready to begin your annual submissions, you should:
- Assign your district designee in MIDMS for access to the Read Well data and plan submission site today. To do so, request the “district user” role for RWBTG be assigned to your designee (this is the only role available for RWBTG; there is no alternative paper form, so you must use the External User Access Recertification system to preauthorize users).
- Access instructions for assigning roles to staff using the External User Access Recertification system in MIDMS. (http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/SchSup/DataSubLogin/ExtUserAccess/index.htm)
All Minnesota districts and charter schools that enroll K-2 students are required by statute to submit this data by July 1 each year (Minn. Stat. § 120B.12). The application collects the same information as last year, so schools can begin gathering assessment and performance data for this process using last year’s submissions, if they choose. Submissions and uploads can begin once the submission application is launched.
More information about the opening of access for 2016, including new features, requirements, and links to all of the resources to support this work, will be provided in future notices and posted soon on the Reading Well by Third Grade page (http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/EdExc/ReadWell/index.html).
Questions about the MIDMS designation process can be directed to Terry Alvarado, administrative support, terry.alvarado@state.mn.us.
Once launched, content questions can be directed to Cory Stai, reading specialist, cory.stai@state.mn.us.
Back to top
The 2015 Omnibus Education bill included requirements for travel abroad providers working with school districts and charter schools to register with the Minnesota Secretary of State and to report certain data to districts and charter schools. School districts and charter schools must also report to the Minnesota Department of Education data on certain incidents relating to the health and safety of students participating in travel programs. Specifically:
Minnesota Statutes, section 5A.03, requires that:
1) Travel abroad providers must register annually with the Office of Minnesota Secretary of State. This applies to all organizations that provide exchange, study, or travel programs to Minnesota high school students. To register, organizations must complete the Application for Registration/Renewal of a Minnesota Study Abroad Organization.
2) Travel abroad providers must report annually, by August 1, the following information to the districts and charter schools with enrolled students participating in the provider's program:
- The number of Minnesota student deaths and hospitalizations due to accident or illness that occurred while participating in the foreign exchange, study or other travel abroad program and that resulted from Minnesota students participating in the program.
- The name and type of the foreign exchange, study or other travel abroad program and the city or region where the reported death, hospitalization due to accident, or the illness occurred.
3) Districts and charter schools must submit reported incidents to the department by November 1 annually.
4) School districts and charter schools must ask, but not require, eligible students and the parents or guardians of other enrolled students who complete a foreign exchange or study or other travel abroad program to disclose the information regarding incidents.
The department has created a data collection system to capture travel incidents called the Student Support Data Collection (SSDC) system. Each district and charter school will use the SSDC to report student travel incidents to the department. Each superintendent or charter school director must assign and approve an SSDC coordinator to annually identify student travel incidents via the SSDC system. The assigned SSDC coordinator will also be able to access the SLIFE Count and the Immigrant Count site. To access the SSDC system or find more information about registering for an account, districts and charters can visit the Student Support Data Collection page.
A webinar on using the SSDC system for Reporting Minnesota Travel Abroad Incidents will be held on May 12, 2016, 3 – 4 p.m. Please have your SSDC coordinator and staff involved with collecting Travel Incident information register for the May 12 webinar.
Back to top
This fall a research study will be conducted to compare student performance on full-size tablets (those that are about 10”) with student performance on “mini” tablets (those that are about 7”–8”).
The Minnesota Tablet Size Comparability Study will look at the impact of tablet size on student test scores to inform a future decision about allowing testing on mini tablets. A total of 1,000 students in grades six and 11 (500 students at each grade level) will respond to a set of questions in reading, math, and science. The study will be conducted in a three-week window from September 26 through October 19, 2016. Student participation time for each student will be approximately 90 minutes.
Pearson will work with participating schools to determine logistics for scheduling testing sessions at your schools across one or more days. Participating schools should be those where tablets (of any size) are currently used for academic work, either through a 1:1 or bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiative or through classroom sets/carts. It is not necessary for the school to currently use mini tablets to participate. Within each participating school, students will be randomly assigned to take the questions on either a full-size or a mini-size tablet. Pearson will provide tablets for the study or will work with the school to determine the feasibility of using school-owned tablets.
For further details or to sign up for the study, please contact Kathy Shannon (kathy.shannon@pearson.com).
Back to top
|
|
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES |
The Discipline Scenarios 1 webinar will be held Wednesday, April 27, 2016 (11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) Panelists include presenters from the department's Divisions of Compliance and Assistance, Special Education, and the Student Safety Technical Assistance Center.
This free session provides administrators, teachers, and other district staff with additional perspectives and tools to use in addressing challenging situations that are traditionally thought of as discipline issues. Presenters will share stories based on compliance calls received from parents and school districts. We will brainstorm new ideas and solutions to the most relevant discipline challenges faced by our schools; touch on broader compliance issues like alternatives to suspension, closing the achievement gap, diversity and equity, and restorative justice; and we will discover how all of these issues intersect. Register for Discipline Scenarios 1. Registration deadline is April 25, 2016. If you have any questions, contact Sarah Knoph (sarah.knoph@state.mn.us), 651-582-8359.
Back to top
How can arts teachers, principals and instructional coaches work together in their local teacher development and evaluation (TDE) process to improve instruction and student outcomes? The Perpich Center for Arts Education, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education, will be offering a series of workshops to answer these questions and more this summer. Join expert facilitators in the field over one of three dates in Greater Minnesota to explore these topics and come away with useful strategies and renewed focus on instructional effectiveness in the Arts. The workshops are free to attend but registration is required. Please register by May 1, 2016.
Back to top
The School Support Division is offering a variety of teacher development and evaluation workshop opportunities beginning in June 2016. Session topics include:
- Introduction to Peer Review: A Roadmap for Success for New Peer Reviewer
- Intermediate Peer Review: A Review for Refinement of Practice
- Student Learning Goals: Designing and Improving Systems for Student Success
- Student Engagement: Measuring Teacher Impact for Success
- Planning, Preparing, and Conducting Summative Evaluations
- Pressing the Restart Button on Professional Learning Teams
- Improving the Design and Implementation of Local Teacher Development and Evaluation Models
These workshops are also appropriate for schools and districts implementing Q Comp programs.
For more information and to register, read the “2016 Workshops – Teacher Development and Evaluation” announcement on the Professional Development page.
Back to top
|
|
ITEMS OF INTEREST |
Calling all middle and high school students to the "Minnesota on the Map" ArcGIS Online Map Contest! Contest is open to all public, private or home-schooled students. The challenge is to create an original Minnesota-based map on a topic of interest or concern to you. Five student winners will receive $100 each for both middle (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) divisions. Every student competition submission, including their teacher, will receive a FREE Minnesota GIS competition t-shirt. Competition closes on May 27, 2016.
If you have any questions, contact Scott Freburg, 651-582-8789.
Back to top
ED Review provides a biweekly update on U.S. Department of Education initiatives and activities. See the latest ED Review posting on the U.S. Department of Education website.
Back to top
The Minnesota Board of Teaching has taken the following licensure actions:
-
Schiltgen, Patricia (FF# 315015) Ms. Schiltgen’s license was reinstated on April 6, 2016.
-
Aronson, Amy (FF# 405267) Ms. Aronson’s license was suspended on April 7, 2016, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 214.101, subdivision 1(b), until she meets requirements of the Board of Teaching.
Back to top
|
