ACTION ITEMS
On Thursday, December 13, at noon, the Minnesota Report Card will be taken offline while we make updates and improvements to the site. The report card will be back online at 8 a.m., Friday, December 14.
Updates include:
- Reorienting the site’s navigation around questions a parent might ask about a school. For example, data about test results will be found by selecting the question, “Are students mastering standards?” School staffing data are found by selecting, “Who works here?”
- A new “My School” report features a message to families from the school, providing information about a school that might not be evident by simply looking at data. This report will also include a selection of the most commonly looked up school data, such as academic indicators, graduation rates and school climate information.
Very soon, more information than ever before on the report card will be available in Spanish, Hmong and Somali, in addition to English. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and state statutes require certain information to be available on our state’s report card. Reports related to student discipline will become available in the Minnesota Report Card this coming spring, and school financial data will be available in spring 2020.
If you have any questions about the Minnesota Report Card, contact us.
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We are pleased to provide districts with a streamlined reporting process for the World’s Best Workforce (WBWF) summary, the Achievement and Integration (A&I) progress report, as well as requirements for districts serving schools prioritized for support in the state’s North Star system. We hope this will help districts build connections between the work and simplify reporting with one combined report.
All districts and charters should use the 2017-18 Combined WBWF Summary and A&I Progress Report template. The completed report should be submitted between October 15, 2018, and December 15, 2018. A review rubric has also been developed. MDE will use this rubric to review the WBWF portion of the summaries and provide feedback to districts.
We created the FY17-18 Combined WBWF and A&I Reporting Excel file to clarify which sections of the summary report each district/charter must complete. Please find your district/charter in the file and ensure you complete the applicable sections.
Please also keep in mind that the Minnesota Report Card will be taken offline on Thursday, Dec. 13, at noon, until Friday, Dec. 14, at 8 a.m., while we make updates and improvements to the site.
Contact mde.worldsbestworkforce@state.mn.us if there are questions about the WBWF portion of the summary, and contact mde.integration@state.mn.us if there are questions regarding the A&I section.
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Under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.25, subdivision 4, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) submits an annual report on best practices in schools to the Legislature. We are using the Best Practices in Recognized Schools Survey-2018 to collect information from school leaders about the work they are doing in the areas we currently recognize for success. On Tuesday, November 27, a link to this survey was sent to the leaders of schools recognized in August under the North Star system. The link was sent using the most recent available school contact information in MDE-ORG. If you would like a reminder about the area and group for which one or more schools in your district are recognized, review the recognition tab of the 2018 North Star file.
If you have questions about school recognition or the survey that was sent on Tuesday, November 27, please contact mde.essa@state.mn.us.
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ITEMS OF INTEREST
As the school year gets underway, we would like to remind you of a critical element in the effort to promote a healthy school environment. In 2014, USDA identified new requirements, called “Smart Snacks,” for all foods sold in school to students outside of the meal programs. The smart snacks requirements affect any group or organization who sell food items to students at school during the school day. This could mean the organization in charge of the school store, vending machines and special fundraisers. We want your help to make the healthy choice the easy choice for students and ensure your district is in compliance. Read Fundraisers and Smart Snacks in Schools for more information.
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At times, a household has not applied for School Nutrition Program/Educational benefits, but they are known to be eligible for benefits. USDA does offer an opportunity for district officials to complete an application for educational benefits on behalf of students. This option is intended for very limited use in individual situations and must not be used to make eligibility determinations for categories or groups of students or for general “hardship" circumstances. There are no instances when a school official can approve an application for free or reduced-price meals without direct knowledge of either household size and income or categorical eligibility based on another source known to the official. Read more about steps to take when completing a meal benefit application for students.
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Please read the General Education Revenue Disparity Report Memorandum containing the general education revenue disparity report. This report is based on actual data for Fiscal Years (FY) 2003 through 2017, and estimates for FY 2018 through 2020. The revenue disparity report spreadsheet, available on the Minnesota Department of Education website, shows the data for each district in computing the statewide summary statistics for FY 2018 through 2020.
For assistance with this report, contact Michael Schwartz, Division of School Finance, 651-582-8399; or Tom Melcher, School Finance director, 651-582-8828.
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If your district has not submitted the 0-4 census count for fall 2018, the data is due to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) by December 1, 2018. The 0-4 Census Online Data Submission System will not accept data after the December 1 due date. Public school districts are required to submit their 0-4 census annually.
To access the 0-4 census online system, go to the MDE website to submit data. Click on districts, schools and educators > business and finance > data submissions > 0-4 census data reporting.
Please forward this information to your district census administrator. If you have any questions regarding the submission of 0-4 census data, please contact Greg Sogaard (651-582-8858).
Note: this does not apply to charter schools.
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