Read to Achieve Update - 07/29/2022

Please read and share the latest RtA update with your staff. 

Read-to-Achieve Update - 07/29/2022

Expanded MFA Options in NCEdCloud for 2022-23

The NCEdCloud IAM Service Team at NCDPI, MCNC, and Identity Automation is excited to announce the availability of expanded multi-factor authentication options available to PSUs in NCEdCloud. NCEdCloud Administrators can now specify additional employees for whom MFA is required by uploading a list of UIDs. Alternatively, NCEdCloud Administrators can opt-in to require MFA for ALL employees in a PSU.

More information was provided directly to NCEdCloud Administrators and PSU Technology Directors this morning. It can also be found on the NCEdCloud website. We hope these new options will further enhance the security of the NCEdCloud IAM Service for PSUs.

Transcend

We want to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Transcend Assessment System. Thank you for opting in to Pearson Transcend! 

As you may have seen in one of the Transcend demos hosted by John Mairs, the Transcend assessment sits within the Home Base Schoolnet platform. We would like to assist your schools with the implementation process and provide opportunities for training and support.

PSU training opportunities will consist of two parts: test set-up and administration and reporting. The initial training for Transcend will consist of 2 live sessions (that will be recorded) focusing on the initial assessment set-up. Participants will walk through selecting standards using the intelligent test blueprint (ITB) based on their district's scope and sequence. The training will also focus on test session management.​ This session is designed for PSU assessment managers. Part two of the training opportunities will include 2 live sessions (that will be recorded) on the navigation and interpretation of the Transcend reports. ​

We ask that you register for these sessions here.

District support ​will be available before, during and after the assessment administration​s. Consistent with NCDPI support, ServiceNow cases​ should be submitted to request troubleshooting, questions, and support.

To assist us with your implementation of Transcend, we are asking each PSU to complete a brief questionnaire:   https://forms.gle/xkt2yTxS7zZU8FTf7.

Thank you for opting in to the Transcend Assessment system. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Reminder:  Legal Names in PowerSchool

It has been brought to the NCDPI Home Base Team’s attention that some PSUs are entering the suffix of a student’s legal name (e.g., Jr., III, etc.) in the last name field of PowerSchool.  This causes errors in third party systems that pull this information from PowerSchool (e.g., ECATS, etc.). 

To avoid downstream errors, please use the appropriate fields when entering a student's name in PowerSchool.  For more information on how to enter legal names and preferred names, visit the quick reference document, PS Guidance: About Legal and Preferred Name.

Reminder:  ECATS Beginning-of-Year (BOY)

ECATS has begun its Beginning-of-Year (BOY) process. Data for the 2022-2023 school year is being loaded including new students and updated PowerSchool data. Files will return to their normal load schedules once the initial loads take place. 

The process to update graduation data in ECATS will occur after the August deadline for entry of graduation data into PowerSchool. Once this file is processed, students who have graduated will be exited in ECATS. After that point, districts will be able to select the Modified Exit Reason in ECATS for the 2021-2022 Exit Count and these students will no longer appear active in ECATS.

Reminder:  Advance Math Course (AMC) Legislation

To support the effective implementation of the June 2019 Advanced Courses in Mathematics legislation, the NCDPI team is providing the attached updated information and guidance around the impact of the legislation and the mechanism for reporting the information to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee (JLEOC).  

The Advanced Math Course (AMC) legislation strengthens NC’s focus on broadening access and opportunities by ensuring that all impacted students receive rigorous, academically appropriate instruction in mathematics and that students are not overlooked for advanced learning opportunities in mathematics.  

For additional guidance and resources, visit the Advanced Mathematics Course (AMC) Enrollment Legislation | NC DPI website.  On August 15, a pre-recorded webinar will be available to overview the attached guidance, and ‘live’ Office Hours will be available in September. 

For other questions, please contact Stephanie Cyrus at stephanie.cyrus@dpi.nc.gov with the Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education at NCDPI.

• AMC Collection Course Codes - 2022-2023
• AMC Updated Guidance - 07/11/2022

Reminder:  Cross PSU Enrollment Pilot Participation

The Home Base SIS team is seeking PSUs willing to participate in a PowerSchool Cross PSU Pilot. The Cross PSU function will involve enrolling students from one PSU into courses at another PSU within PowerSchool and will not include NCVPS.  The projected target date for the pilot is the first semester of the 2022-2023 school year.

A functional demonstration of the product will occur before volunteers for the program make their final commitment.  The PSUs who choose to continue will be expected to:

• Actively participate in the pilot program
• Submit support tickets to report issues
• Participate in product training
• Attend 30 minutes to 1-hour online monitoring sessions of the pilot program weekly to discuss the positive and or negative aspects of the product and its usage.

Note: The frequency of the meetings will be expected to decrease as those piloting the product become more adept with their use of the product.

Please reach out to Russell Dixon via email if you are interested in being part of the PowerSchool Cross PSU Pilot.

Reminder:  BOY Features Survey

Good afternoon, NC Schoolnet Users!

This year's BOY Features Survey has been developed for PSUs to select their preferences for a few features this school year:

1. Whether released EOGs, EOCs, and NCFEs will be recommended just to the district (default) or directly to teachers.
2. Whether NCDPI Math Sets and Certica Testlets will be recommended just to the district (default) or directly to teachers.
3. Whether PSUs would like to take advantage of the new Renaissance STAR Assessment Data Sync option.
4. Whether Schoolnet should utilize the term end dates from PowerSchool (default) or custom extended dates.

This form was sent only to the identified Schoolnet lead and backup for each PSU. Form links are generated individually for each PSU to ensure form security and validity.

The form must be submitted by August 30, 2022, if your PSU wishes to utilize these options. PSUs who do not submit the form will use the default options specified above. If your PSU did not receive the form or has any questions regarding these options, please reach out to me at rebecca.stokes@dpi.nc.gov.

Thank you for your tireless work educating the students of North Carolina Public Schools! Have a great 2022-2023 school year.

Reminder:  2022–23 Plan Updates

As Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Section 504 Plans, and English Learner (EL) Plans are reviewed and updated annually, the following updates should be considered for the 2022–23 school year and beyond.

Updates to test names

The test names listed in the chart will be updated in the Every Child Accountability and Tracking System (ECATS) and PowerSchool for the 2022–23 school year.

As schools complete Review of Accommodations Used During Testing (ROA) forms for students, the previous test name will be accepted until a new IEP, Section 504, or EL Plan is developed to reflect the current test name. For example, if a student’s ROA form lists W-APT/WIDA Screener – Listening, those accommodations will be provided for the WIDA Screener for Kindergarten/WIDA Screener – Listening.

Accommodation Name Change

The accommodation name change listed below will be updated in ECATS and PowerSchool for the 2022–23 school year.

Accommodation Changes to the NCEXTEND1 Alternate Assessments

The following accommodations will be made available in ECATS for the 2022–23 school year.

All accommodations needed to complete the NCEXTEND1 alternate assessment should be selected regardless of the test design. Each student should have a Review of Accommodation Used During Testing form generated and completed for each NCEXTEND1 alternate assessment administered. It is important that appropriate documentation of accommodations offered and provided are correctly documented for each student administered all NCEXTEND1 assessments.

Public school units using third party vendors to process Section 504 or EL plans are encouraged to implement these updates in those systems to ensure proper delivery of accommodation information for testing purposes.

Attendance Reminders

The NCDPI Home Base Team is looking forward to a brand new year, and with that, please remember that taking accurate daily attendance for students is essential.  Attendance guidelines can be found in the NC SASA Manual. 

As policies change and new codes are added to meet those changes, it is imperative to review attendance data on a regular basis to ensure proper attendance coding.  Financial Service and Business states that to be considered in attendance, a student (except for hospital/homebound or staggered kindergarten) must be present in the school for the school day or at a place other than the school with the approval of the appropriate school official for the purpose of attending an authorized school activity. Such activities may include field trips, athletic contests, student conventions, musical festivals, or any similar approved activity.

Except as noted above, a student must be present at least one-half of the school's instructional day in order to be recorded present for that day.

NC General Statute 115C-378 states in part that no person shall encourage, entice, or counsel any child of compulsory school age to be unlawfully absent from school.

If a student is exempted from an exam and is not present in the school for the school day or not at a place other than the school with the approval of the appropriate school official for the purpose of attending an authorized school activity, the student is absent.

For more information, questions or concerns, please contact Student Accounting at studentaccounting@dpi.nc.gov.

PEBT Attendance Code Reminder

As shared on 11/20/21, P-EBT continued in the 2021-2022 school year.  The benefits will be provided only to students enrolled in schools that are approved to participate in the National School Lunch Program. P-EBT eligible students are those students that qualify for free or reduced-price meal benefits or attend a CEP school. Students will be reimbursed based on the individual attendance records with the attendance codes of 1D Quarantine and 1R Present Off-site.

Homebound/Hospital Attendance Code

A new H/H Attendance Code is now live in PowerSchool as of July 1, 2022. The attached technical assistance guide is intended to illustrate appropriate use cases for this code, provide responses to the FAQs submitted since announcing the upcoming release of the code, and an explanation of the documentation necessary to support a homebound/hospital placement through medical necessity or IEP Team decisions. Please be aware that this information is also being shared concurrently with other appropriate district personnel.

For detailed information, please visit the Homebount/Hospital Attendance Code Technical Assistance Guide. 

Reading Camp Attendance

Please see and share the instructions below on how to take attendance during Reading Camp.

In PowerSchool:

Start Page > Student Selection > Special Programs

NC-Summer School - RTA

1. Enter in the beginning date of Reading Camp and enter in the ending date of Reading Camp.  2. Enter in the total number of days students attended in the days present field. 
   
   

Here is the QRD for enrolling students into a Special Program.  Please work with your PS Data Manager/Coordinator in your PSU for assistance or complete a work ticket with PowerSchool.

New Home Base Admin Course 

Feedback from PSUs identified a need for resource hubs for the Home Base products. The product managers have created Admin Resource Courses for each area. These resource courses are located in the NCDPI Canvas instance.

Please visit these courses.  Below are the steps to enroll:

How to access these resources:

• Sign in to the Blue Canvas icon within NCEdCloud
• Using the Global Navigation (on the left), click the Home Base Resources button
• On the menu that opens, select the course(s) you would like to enroll into
• After enrolling, the course will appear on your Canvas Dashboard

Other Information:

• Feel free to provide feedback on these courses. They all contain a feedback button on their homepage.
• We will continue to update these courses as more product information becomes available

Access to NCDPI Canvas for Home Base Resource Hubs

Any PSU PowerSchool SIS admin who does not have access to the NCDPI “Blue” Canvas located in the NCEdCloud portal and would like to have access or grant access to data managers within their PSU, please complete the form below.  In this form, you can enter up to 5 accounts manually or upload a CSV/Excel file if you have more than 5 account requests.

 If you have any questions, please get in touch with Corey McNeill.  

Link to Form

New Canvas Admin Training

If you are a new Canvas admin or would like an admin refresher, please attend our New Canvas Admin Training on Monday, August 8 at 10 AM. In this meeting, we will go over: global features, settings, permissions, and much more! The meeting will be recorded for those who are unable to attend, but please still register!

Registration Link

Learning.com Summer PD 2022

Educators,

Dive into Learning.com’s 30 minute videos to help plan for your 2022-2023 school year!  Topics include:

• Lesson Planning Using the EasyTech Learning Cycle
• Redesign Your PD Approach with Online Training Center
• Implementation Models:  Finding Your Fit
• What’s New and What’s Coming - Learn All the Secrets

Click on the Summer PD 2022 link for more details and registration.

NC PSU Staff Self-Paced PD Courses 

For any NC PSU Staff who need CEU credits, DTL now has a database of all current asynchronous NCEES PD opportunities for staff. Find the PD that you need: NC PSU Staff Self-Paced PD Courses.

The listing includes free DPI courses published in NCEES and a resource for retired or on-leave staff currently not active in NCEES.
 

Looking for DLCs? Courses are also sorted by credit type.

Note: The acquiring of CEUs and contact hours is subject to LEA/Charter approval. Staff should follow local guidelines on pre-approvals, completed course approvals or requests to apply for approval of a different credit type on completed PD.

Math Teacher Guides for 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Now on GoOpenNC

New Resource Alert! Math Teacher Guides for 6th, 7th and 8th grade are now live on GoOpenNC. These guides support the use of Rethink Education's courses available on Canvas Commons or GoOpenNC with tips and curricular resources to meet the needs of all students.

View the new middle school grades' math guides and more resources #GoOpen Rethink Ed - Blended Learning Hub.

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These messages will include upcoming changes, tips, and even hidden treasures within each product to make your job easier.  If you are not following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, click on the links below and begin today!  Make sure you share this information with other staff within your school.

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