WEBINAR
Date: Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Time: 10 a.m.-noon
Access link: Attend the Webinar for District and Charter Staff 2018 North Star Accountability Release
The Minnesota Department of Education will hold an important webinar on August 15 to provide district and charter school staff with an overview of the upcoming August 30 public release of North Star accountability data. The session will include overviews of:
- How North Star and our equity commitments are important to Minnesotans.
- How North Star connects the state’s plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and World’s Best Workforce requirements to enable MDE to identify schools and districts for support.
- How North Star allows us to recognize schools whose work in supporting students deserves commendations.
We will also outline the timeline of release, and logistics relating to the district embargo on August 27 and media embargo that begins August 28. This webinar is for charter and district leadership and staff, especially superintendents and communications or public relations staff. Questions about the webinar or the upcoming release of data may be directed to Josh Collins, director of communications, at 651-582-8205.
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ACTION ITEMS
Please remember that athletic data submissions for the 2017-18 school year are due on or before October 15, 2018, and must be completed on the Minnesota Department of Education's (MDE) Athletics Data Reporting webpage. Please forward this reminder to your district staff person responsible for submitting athletics data. The log in requires a valid MDE user account before you can log in to the athletics data submission application. If you do not currently have an MDE user account, you will need to create one and then request access to athletic data reporting. If you are not the staff person in your district responsible for submitting athletics data, they must create an account and you, as the superintendent and Identified Official with Authority (IOwA), must pre-authorize that staff member for the specific role of submitting athletics data. If you need assistance in pre-approving roles, contact Melody Pomerenke at 651-582-8500.
If you need assistance entering your data or receiving access to the site, please contact Carolyn Ellstra at 651-582-8366.
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At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August 8, district and school staff with secure reports access will be able to see data – including whether their school or district has been identified for support – for the North Star accountability system. In the Accountability Secure Reports section of secure reports, users will be able to access the North Star Secure Report, which will provide information about school and district identification for support as well as performance on each indicator in the North Star system. Users will also be able to download secure rosters for academic achievement and progress and for progress toward English language proficiency. (Secure rosters for graduation and for consistent attendance have been available since the spring.)
Staff at the Minnesota Department of Education will offer two webinars for users with questions about navigating and interpreting their data. These will be held on:
- Friday, August 10 at 9 a.m.
- Wednesday, August 15 at 1 p.m.
Also on August 8 the accountability appeals window will open. Requests for an appeal can be made through an online survey tool which will become available on August 8. The two grounds for appeal are:
- Unusual circumstances (such as a natural disaster) impacted the data for a school or district such that the data are unreliable.
- An error has been found in the accountability calculations.
The appeals window will close on August 17 at 4 p.m.
Links to the North Star Secure Report, registration for the webinars, and the appeals survey will be sent in next week’s Assessment Update (at the same time that the links become active) and in next week’s Superintendent Update.
Please contact Michael Diedrich at 651-582-8332 with questions.
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ITEMS OF INTEREST
There is still time to register for the MDE Back to School Conference: Minnesota's Commitment to Educational Equity!
Minnesota has worked together with stakeholders to develop a shared definition of the 10 commitments to equity. Educational equity is the condition of justice, fairness and inclusion ensuring that all students have access to the opportunities to learn and develop to their fullest potentials. The keynote speakers and breakout session presenters will explore current practice and research supporting true educational equity in our school systems. Bring a team and benefit from the chance to discuss how what you are learning impacts your own district. The conference will be held August 7-8, 2018, at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest in Brooklyn Park. More information and registration can be found on the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) webpage.
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The Tax Shift Minnesota Funding Report is now available on the Minnesota Department of Education Data Center portal and the tax shift spreadsheet is available on the Levy Certification Process webpage.
For more information, contact Daley Lehmann at 651-582-8817.
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This fall, the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State will hold its biannual statewide mock election for high school students, Students Vote 2018. High school students across the state will cast a mock election ballot for governor, as over 96,000 students at hundreds of Minnesota schools did for president in 2016. Designed to give schools and teachers both flexibility and support, Students Vote 2018 teaches and promotes civic engagement in a unique way.
Students Vote 2018 gives students a hands-on experience with the electoral process and helps young people discover the importance of elections and the power of their votes in our democracy. This experience makes their first vote at 18 more comfortable, and thus for some, more likely. Teachers receive maps and comprehensive data results from all participating schools, leading to great data-analysis discussions in the classroom!
Each school will:
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Sign up for the Statewide High School Mock Election by August 31 and receive free ballots, posters, and "I Voted"-style stickers.
- Decide how election will work (with the help of the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, if they prefer).
- Receive their materials in October.
- Vote by Tuesday, October 23.
- Report results by 5 p.m. on October 24.
- View statewide results on October 30.
If you would like more information or have questions, contact Michael Wall at 651-201-6892.
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