MDE Weekly Superintendent Mail - 8-8-19

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Weekly Briefing for Superintendents and School Leaders

August 8, 2019

In this edition

ACTION ITEMS

Important Elementary and Secondary Elementary Act Programs Funding Action Items

It is important for superintendents and charter directors to ensure the following action items related to title programs are completed to receive Title I, II, III and IV Part A funding. Failure to complete these items may result in loss or delay of funds. Contact the Elementary and Secondary Elementary Act (ESEA) program support at 651-582-8579 or mde.esea@state.mn.us with questions.

  • Complete the closeout of the 2018-19 ESEA program grants by September 30, 2019. Prior to balancing forward any unspent funds from 2018-19 into 2019-20, revise the 2018-19 budget to reflect the budget in Uniform Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards (UFARS) and to match the draw amount. Revise Federal Title Program Budget to Actual Amounts and Federal Title Program Balance Forward and Carryover are provided as resource documents.  
  • The 2019-20 preliminary allocations for Title I, Part A (FIN 401), Title I Part D (FIN 406), Title II (FIN 414), Title III (FIN 417), and Title IV (FIN 433) have been loaded into State Educational Record Review and Submission System (SERVS) Financial. Allocations must be accepted or declined by the superintendent of schools or the charter school director. For information regarding the accept/decline process, see the document Accept or Decline Funds. Accept funds in August 2019, prior to submitting an application by September 1, 2019.
  • 2019-20 applications for all ESEA programs are available in SERVS Financial. All applications are due on September 1, 2019.

Title IV Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant Special Note - Many districts and charter schools balanced forward FY18 or FY19 Title IV Part A funds into FY20. FY18 federal funds will expire and must be obligated by September 30, 2019, to avoid being returned as expired funds.

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New Education Identity and Access Management Security System-Create a New Account by September 6

Coming in fall 2019, the Education Identity and Access Management (EDIAM) security system will manage user accounts and authorization to secure website systems for the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, and Minnesota P-20 Education Partnership (Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System (SLEDS), and Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS). EDIAM security will replace the current MIDMS security system, which manages user access to over 50 secure web applications and over 200 secure reports.

MDE secure website systems will be converted from MDE Identity Management System (MIDMS) security to EDIAM security in a series of releases in fall 2019. The four release dates are September 6, September 20, October 18, and November 15. We highly recommend that districts create an EDIAM account before September 6. Once conversion is completed for all secure website systems from MIDMS security to EDIAM security, the MIDMS security system will be shut down.

Find more information on MDE’s Data Submission website.

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ITEMS OF INTEREST

UPDATED Accountability Release Timeline

Results from the North Star accountability system will be released in August. The major dates for release are:

  • Wednesday, August 7 – secure data released to districts with district-and school-specific data
  • Monday, August 26 – embargoed release of the public North Star file to districts
  • Wednesday, August 28 – embargoed release of the public North Star file to the press
  • Thursday, August 29 – public release, including updated data on the Minnesota Report Card, and general availability of the public North Star file

At noon on Wednesday, August 7, district and school staff with secure reports access were be able to see data for the North Star accountability system. In the Accountability Secure Reports section of secure reports, users will be able to access the North Star Report, located in the Minnesota Department of Education Data Center >Secure Reports>Accountability Secure Reports Section. This report provided information about school and district performance on each indicator in the North Star system. Users will also be able to download secure rosters for: academic achievement and progress; progress toward English language proficiency; and consistent attendance (secure rosters for graduation have been available since the spring).

Staff at the Minnesota Department of Education will offer four webinars for users with questions about navigating and interpreting their data, as well as some discussion of communicating the data to community members and the press. These webinars will be held on:

Yesterday, on August 7, the accountability appeals window opened. A link to the appeals survey is available in this week’s assessment update. Requests for an appeal can be made through an online survey tool, which will become available on August 7.
The appeals window will close on August 21 at 4 p.m.

Please contact Michael Diedrich at 651-582-8332 with questions.

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Tax Shift Spreadsheet and Minnesota Funding Report Available

Please read the 2018-19 Property Tax Shift Memo for instructions on reviewing your tax shift data. The tax shift Minnesota funding report is now available on the Data Center webpage, and the tax shift spreadsheet is available on the Levy Certification Process webpage.

For more information, contact Melissa Johnson at 651-582-8510.

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Grow Your Own Competitive Grant Opportunity-Pathway 1 and Pathway 2-FY20

The documentation for the Grow Your Own (GYO) competitive grant opportunity is now available. This includes the instructions, application and budget documentation for both pathways, along with a list of the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board approved nonconventional teacher training residency programs. You will find all of these documents on the Minnesota Department of Education’s new competitive Grant Opportunity website.

This funding is available for grants to support programs that will increase and diversify the teacher workforce in Minnesota. The grant is divided into two different pathways as follows:

GYO Pathway 1 - Paraprofessional Pathways to Teacher Licensure

GYO Pathway 2 - Expanded Grow Your Own Programs for Secondary Students

Eligible organizations may apply for one or both of the pathways. Please see the grant instructions for the specific, allowable outcomes for each pathway for this grant. We will require a separate and complete application for each pathway, if you apply for both.
Please contact Tyler Livingston for further information.

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TRAINING

Minnesota Indian Teacher Training Program Grant Opportunity

The documentation for the Minnesota Indian Teacher Training Program (MITTP) grant opportunity, including the instructions, application and budget documentation, is available on the Minnesota Department of Education Competitive Grant Opportunities website. Completed MITTP application deadline for submissions is August 30, 2019.

This will be a joint grant for Minnesota postsecondary institutions and school districts to assist with recruiting American Indians students who are or will be working toward licensure as an American Indian teacher or other prekindergarten through grade 12 education careers. Please see the grant instructions for the specific, allowable outcomes for this grant program.

Please contact the Office of Indian Education, Guthrie Capossela 651-582-8682 for further information. 

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