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Weekly Blast

December 8, 2022 

ESSER 1013 Report  Due December 1, 2022 As of December 7, 2022, all submitted HB1013 reports have been approved or negotiated back for corrections. Please check your WebGrants for negotiation and approval notifications. The following districts have not submitted the ESSER HB1013 report as of December 7, 2022. Please log in to WebGrants and submit this report ASAP.

Districts that have not completed the 2022 HB1013 report will not receive ESSER reimbursements until the report is completed. If the report remains incomplete, all North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) payments may be held in the future until the report is submitted and approved.

Update on Title I Allocations and Use of Census Data

On December 6, a memo was shared announcing that the NDDPI is considering joining the 43+ states using the US Department of Education (USED) method to determine Title I funding for the 2023-2024 school year for all districts. This has been the method used for large districts with over 20,000 total population in North Dakota. The NDDPI has had special permission from USED to use an alternative poverty method for smaller districts.

The USED annually releases census data to states in late December. The census data provides a sample of valid and reliable data using various poverty data sources to determine economic status. Once the census data becomes available, districts are encouraged to thoroughly review the census data release and comparison chart to see how this will impact their district. This census data will determine Title I allocations for the 2023-2024 school year. Districts are welcome to ask questions and provide feedback. For any questions, please contact Stef Two Crow at (701) 328-2287.

New Opportunities for Schools Forthcoming

On November 29, 2022, the Emergency Commission met to hear requests from state agencies needing approval to proceed with spending funds not part of the previously approved budgets. The NDDPI had several requests and would like to highlight two that were approved and will provide new opportunities for schools and educators in the coming months.

Teacher Pathway Programs

The state has used ESSER funding to create three para-to-teacher pathway programs to address the statewide teacher shortage. They have all been extremely successful and have a waiting list of applicants. All three programs to date are at the elementary level. A proposal to fund a fourth para-to-teacher pathway program at the high school level was approved. A survey of school administrators indicated that over 170 North Dakotans working in our schools in some capacities are interested in participating in this program to get licensed to teach at the secondary level.

Stronger Connections Grant

The Stronger Connections Grant is a $4.8 million subgrant to the NDDPI that focus on safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments. The NDDPI must award 95% competitively to high-need school districts to fund activities allowable under Title IV, Part A. Title IV, Part A’s overall purpose is to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing capacity to— (1) provide all students with access to a well-rounded education; (2) improve school conditions for student learning; and (3) improve the use of technology to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students. For more information and an opportunity to comment, see the article below.

NDDPI Seeking Input

The NDDPI Office of Educational Improvement and Support is excited to announce the receipt of new federal funds under the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act (BSCA). These funds will be distributed separately under Title IV, Part A of ESSA to support the Stronger Connections Grant (SCG) program. We are in the initial stages of planning for this grant, and our goal is to have the application open in January 2023.

The SCG funds must be awarded to high-need LEAs through a competitive grant process and must align and fund activities allowable under section 4108 of the ESEA. Based on guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Education, the NDDPI has identified high-need LEA’s using the following three indicators: (1) high percentages of students living in poverty (40 percent or higher), (2) high rates of chronic absenteeism, and (3) high rates of students who are disengaged.

Please contact Robin Lang at (701) 328-2265 before 5:00 p.m. on December 23, 2022, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns about the indicators used to identify high-need LEAs for the purpose of this grant.

DPI Training Series

ND Educational Hub

The ND Educational Hub is a one-stop shop for online professional development for all North Dakota teachers, paraprofessionals, support staff, and other school district personnel. Throughout the 2022-2023 school year more courses will be added for statewide and local REA. Create an account today and check back often! Please contact Brooklyn Schaan, Kevin Leier, or Leah Johnson for more information.

• PowerPoint
• Recording

To submit ideas for future training topics, click here.

2022-2023 Federal Title Program Monitoring

Federal law requires state departments to monitor federal programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The NDDPI will monitor 39 districts administering Title I (targeted assistance and schoolwide), Title II, Title III, and Title IV programs, English Learners, homeless, foster care, private school equitable services, and Title I cooperative agreements. On November 30, 2022, emails were sent to 34 districts that will complete the self-monitoring process. The window to submit documentation is November 30, 2022-January 19, 2023. The remaining districts will be contacted by the monitoring coordinator to schedule site visits. Please note that the monitoring is based on the 2022-2023 school year programming.

The NDDPI has updated the 2022-2023 Federal Programs Monitoring Guide and sample documentation for districts administering Title I (targeted assistance, schoolwide), Title II, Title III, and Title IV programs, English Learners, homeless, foster care, private school equitable services, and districts participating in cooperative agreements. These resources are available on the monitoring website and should be utilized by all districts in preparation for monitoring and general record-keeping purposes.

Contact Lauri Nord with questions regarding the monitoring process.

ASVAB Information for North Dakota Scholarship

Based on feedback NDDPI has received regarding the ASVAB score of 85 for the Military Ready component of the new North Dakota Scholarship, it is likely that a bill will be introduced during the upcoming 68th Legislative Assembly to lower the ASVAB score requirement. The biggest concern we have heard is that the ASVAB score of 85 will eliminate most students who would qualify for the current CTE Scholarship through receiving a passing score on the WorkKeys test.

With that in mind, we ask schools to please submit the following data to NDDPI:

1. The TOTAL number of students from the Class of 2022 in your school who qualified for the state scholarship (Academic, CTE, or the new requirements). Please count each student once, even if they would have met the requirements of more than one scholarship.
2. The TOTAL number of students from the Class of 2022 in your school that would have qualified for the scholarship using the new requirements (keeping in mind they need to meet the requirements of the Essential Skills and 2 of the 3 pathways on the bottom of the chart) if the ASVAB score was:

a. 85

b. 65

c. 50

d. 40

If possible, please send this data by Thursday, December 22. This specific data will give us accurate data to show the impact the ASVAB score requirement of 85 would have on the number of scholarships awarded once the new requirements are the only option starting in 2025. We need this data both to prepare the fiscal note during the legislative session as well as to be able to provide it to any legislators that ask what the impact might be.

Please contact Jim Upgren at (701) 328-2244 with questions regarding the Academic, CTE, or North Dakota Scholarships.

DPI One-Pager

Last spring, as part of the annual budgeting process, Governor Burgum asked all state agencies to complete and submit with their budget request a document outlining key information about the agency, including its mission and goals, key responsibilities, what we are proud of, and budget figures. This one-pager is an excellent resource for new school personnel. Access a copy here.

Holiday Cards for Our Military

The primary goal of the Holiday Card Challenge and #cards2connect Programs is the collection and delivery of personalized, signed greeting cards expressing respect, caring, and gratitude to U.S. troops, veterans, and service families to decrease the airspace between the public and our military letting them know that they are not alone during the holiday season and throughout the year.

Guidelines for completing the cards and writing prompts can be found here.

Assessing to Inform Free Webinar Series: Phase 2 Diagnostics

All ND educators have free access to register for a webinar series through a partnership with NESC, SEEC, CREA, and NDDPI to provide continued support for schools. The next scheduled training is intended for schools that use Renaissance STAR. Register to join the available sessions on February 7, 2023 to dive into the next phase of the assessment journey to learn about the purposes of diagnostic assessments and guide instructional practices to help improve student outcomes.

Paraeducator/Tutor Training Opportunities

SEEC and NESC have partnered with the NDDPI to provide free professional learning opportunities for paraeducators/tutors in schools throughout the 2022-23 school year.

Option 1: The Master Teacher Online Professional Learning Modules

This opportunity consists of a free individual subscription for 150+ Asynchronous/Virtual Modules. These modules would prepare paraeducators for the Master Teacher’s Paraeducator Online Training Assessment (available with this subscription). This assessment is a ND DPI approved option for meeting the assessment requirement for Title I paraprofessional under ESSA.

Option 2: Synchronous, Virtual Connections with ND Paraeducators/Tutors

These free virtual sessions allow paraeducators to debrief The Master Teacher course content with peers and an REA facilitator. Paraeducators have the opportunity to ask questions, provide insight into their work, and practice the learning and skills from the course in a safe and inclusive environment. The sessions in February and April will focus on mathematics and the sessions in March will focus on writing skills.

Persons interested in these training opportunities and future training opportunities for paraeducators may go to this link or contact Danette Brown to register and learn more.