Weekly Blast: September 26, 2024

North Dakota Department of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 09/26/2024 04:00 PM CDT

Weekly Blast

September 26, 2024

Government Shutdown Averted

Each year, Congress appropriates federal dollars to fund the federal government, provide school districts funding, and fund numerous programs and initiatives. The 2024 fiscal year ends on September 30, 2024.

On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, the House and the Senate passed a continuing resolution funding the government through December 20, 2024. This avoided a shutdown while putting off funding decisions until after the November 5 election. The bill was then sent to President Biden for his signature, who is expected to sign it into law.

Elementary/Middle School Growth for Accountability

If you have been on ND Insights before and in the Student Growth (state performance) section, you have probably seen the above graph and wondered why it's always at 49. In a short summary, it is because every student essentially becomes ranked via their difference in scale score from previous year to current year. There is more behind the calculation of course, but the calculation is built around a median. This means, when looking at “All” students, that number will always stay at 49.

Now as you move down aggregations even further (like down to a district, school, and grade level) you will start to see differences and the indicator becomes much more useful. In the end, the further you get away from the state aggregation the better the story Student Growth is telling.

The graph below is a great example of going down to the levels described above to get a look at how female students in a school grew compared to the females in the district/state.

It is important to remember that there are a couple different kinds of “growths” in the ND Accountability System. There is the Student Growth we are talking about in this article and that uses the current year and previous year statewide summative assessment information for its calculation. We also have English Learner Growth and Choice Ready Growth and those two use different calculations and data to determine the result. Choice Ready Growth is only available in High School and Student Growth is only in K-8.

The statewide ESSA committee is creating a workgroup to study additional elements for the elementary/middle school accountability pie chart. If you are interested in participating on the workgroup, please contact Amanada Peterson at (701) 328-3545.

ARP ESSER III Funds Closeout Procedures – Action Required by Monday, September 30

If school districts have remaining ESSER funds they must fully obligate ALL funds on or before September 30, 2024. An obligation includes a completed procurement process and a fully executed contract. School districts must closeout all final claim requests prior to December 30, 2024, unless approved for a liquidation extension.

Liquidation extensions can be requested by school districts that have extenuating circumstances and are in good standing with all federal reporting requirements. Extended liquidation funds can ONLY be used to pay for:

Services provided through contractors that are not a district or state employee.
To receive real or personal property secured through a binding, written commitment prior to September 30, 2024.

Late liquidation requests can be submitted in WebGrants through October 15, 2024. For more information, see the memo and instruction links below:

If you have questions, please contact Anne Butterworth, NDDPI ESSER Program Manager.

Department of Education Updates ed.gov Website

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) updated the ed.gov website this week. As a result, many resources that states and districts rely upon have been moved, and the links are broken. The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) also recognizes that this update resulted in broken links on our website, and we are working to track down new URLs for frequently accessed guidance and documents on the updated ed.gov website. If you are unable to locate guidance or resources on ed.gov, please reach out to NDDPI program staff for help.

Title I 15% Limitation of Funds and Waiver

Under federal regulations, districts are entitled to access Title I funds for a full 15 months (until September 30, 2024) before a limitation on remaining funds applies. Click here to learn more.

ND FIRST: Final Public Comment Invitation

Superintendent Baesler invites North Dakotans to provide public comment on the implementation of Senate Bill 2254, which NDDPI has deemed ND FIRST (Fostering Improved Results for School Transformation). The materials on the website are being shared with all stakeholders in the spirit of transparency. All documents are in draft form and subject to revisions through various internal and external feedback sessions. Please use this anonymous form to provide feedback between September 18, 2024, and October 11, 2024.

If you have any questions or feedback, contact Amanda Peterson.

NDDPI Seeks Input on the North Dakota Computer Science and Cybersecurity Content Standards DRAFT 1

The NDDPI is seeking feedback on the first draft of the revised North Dakota Computer Science and Cybersecurity Content Standards.

Content standards are concise, written descriptions outlining the knowledge and skills students are expected to know and do at a specific stage of their education. They illustrate what students have learned upon completing a grade level or grade span. The academic standards do not describe particular teaching practices, curriculum, or assessment methods.

The North Dakota Computer Science and Cybersecurity Content Standards were last revised in 2019. Over the past couple of months, a committee of North Dakota educators has diligently been working on revising the standards and is seeking feedback. The NDDPI asks that all interested stakeholders provide input on the standards draft through the survey linked below by October 28, 2024.

For more information about the standards review process, contact Davonne Eldredge, Assistant Director of Academic Support.

ND Strategic Thinking and Planning Event

Are you ready to evaluate your plan and create a new plan for the future? This session is for you! We will support participants in analyzing their current school and district improvement plans. This session will take leaders to the next step in strategic thinking and planning and continuous improvement work, focusing on envisioning, and planning for the future.

Join us to learn how to track progress and analyze the effectiveness of your improvement efforts, as well as look ahead to the next steps and create an updated plan.

October 29, 2024
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM CT
Bismarck State College, 1500 Edwards Avenue Bismarck, ND 58506

The Office of School Approval & Opportunity strongly recommends this training for schools that haven’t recently updated their annual plan, new administrators, or schools with a new district strategic plan aiming to align their initiatives with the district. The strategic map, a required component for annual school approval, is due on June 1st each year.

For more information or to register for this event, click here.

2025 Cognia IMPACT Conference Registration Open

Cognia invites you to the IMPACT conference, where you will invest in your own growth as leaders and teachers and continue your investment in the growth of your students. During the time you spend with us, you’ll enrich your own learning, explore how you exemplify characteristics of high-quality schools, and gain clarity and focus on the meaningful work you do every day. Learn from experts and come away with strategies that can make a difference in your own work and in the experiences of your students. You’ll make new connections and build upon existing relationships with peers across North Dakota. Learn how Cognia can help you address your unique challenges in your journey of continuous improvement.

Sessions will be offered around the following themes:

Culture of learning
Leadership for learning
Engagement of learning
Growth in learning

For early bird pricing, click here to register. The conference will be held at the Bismarck Event Center on April 16, 2025 - April 17, 2025.

2024–25 Learning Opportunities

The NDDPI and schools from across the state invite you to join us to explore personalized learning, collaborate with colleagues, and share your ideas and experiences.

Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, a variety of site visits, learning cycles, & resources will be available. All North Dakota leaders and educators are encouraged to engage.

To learn more, click here to visit the ND Network for Personalized Learning website and consider signing up for our monthly newsletter.

LEARN and GROW With WIDA

Please join WIDA and DRC on Tuesday, October 1 at 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CT to learn about the topic ACCESS Software Updates and Tech Readiness Checklist.

To learn more and register, click here (login required). The recordings for Assessment Webinars are posted to the WIDA Secure Portal on the Webinars page within a week of the presentation.

Seeking Kindergarten ACCESS Field Test Participants

We are still looking for participants to join the Kindergarten ACCESS Field Test 2025. Field test participation is voluntary. We need 2,000 English Learners in Kindergarten and 2,000 first grade students to participate. Scan the QR code below for more info.

Field test recruitment: opened July 23, 2024
- Apply to participate on the project webpage
- Talk to your district administration before applying
Field test window: January 21 – March 28, 2025
- Most districts will administer the field test after the annual Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs
Field test participants: It’s voluntary.
- 2,000 multilingual learners in kindergarten
- 2,000 multilingual learners in first grade (first graders help WIDA better understand student growth)

Scan this QR code for additional information

NDCA Arts in Education Opportunities

The North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) Artist in Residence program provides noncompetitive reimbursement grants up to $2,500. This initiative connects North Dakota Pre-K-12 students and teachers with professional artists, both in traditional and after-school programs, enriching learning experiences through the power of creativity.

NDCA is excited to announce the 2024-25 ND Poetry Out Loud (POL) program is now open and accepting applications! Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, POL is a national recitation program where educational institutions incorporate memorization and performance in the classroom. POL sets the stage for students to deepen their understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and the nuances within word meanings. NDCA also offers funding up to $2,000 to support poet visits to schools registered in the POL Program. These funds will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Furthermore, our partnership with the ND Afterschool Network expands art engagement opportunities for K-12 students throughout the 2024-2025 school year. Funding ranging from $500 to $2,000 supports afterschool and out-of-school-time programs, ensuring that students have diverse avenues to explore their artistic passions.

PowerSchool Workshops

Tuesday, Oct 1

Personalized Learning PT Pro in Bismarck, 9:00 AM CST, Personalized Learning

Wednesday, Oct 2

eTranscript Training and Help Day in Bismarck, 1:00 PM CST, eTranscript

Thursday, Oct 3

End of Term via Teams, 10:00 AM CST, End of Term

Friday, Oct 4

PSCB Custom Reports via Teams, 9:00 AM CST, PSCB Custom Reports

NDSoR Hotline

Looking for a Space to Discuss NDSoR?

The new ND Science of Reading (SoR) Hotline is an open forum series facilitated by the South East Education Cooperative (SEEC) over Zoom. This series offers time and virtual space to connect and collaborate for 90 minutes, once a month while providing ND SoR updates.

Click here to register and learn more. If you have any questions, contact Kerri Whipple.

Addressing Challenging Behaviors in Early Childhood

This live, interactive training series for early childhood professionals and community members is being offered one Thursday evening a month for the 2024-2025 school year. Join us for one or multiple sessions. To learn more, click here.

Schoolhouse Program Registration Open for All ND Students

Schoolhouse’s next round of SAT Bootcamp and College Admissions Workshop is now available. These virtual programs are completely free and start on October 4, 2024.

Below are resources to make it easy to share with students so they can sign up right away:

Schoolhouse Toolkit - includes program links, PDF flyers, graphics, and blurbs
Calendar - includes all Fall program dates

If you have any questions, please contact the program manager, Cassy McKee.

New Sustainable Source of Reimbursement for School Districts Through The North Dakota Medicaid Administrative Claiming (Mac) Program

The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (NDDHHS) is working with Public Consulting Group (PCG) to implement a new program that will allow North Dakota school districts to receive additional Medicaid reimbursement for activities that your staff are ALREADY performing regularly. Click here to learn more about this program.

North Dakota Education Portal Training Status Review Reminder

Please review and complete your yearly training by October 1, 2024. To access the Education Portal, click here.

600 East Boulevard Ave Dept 201, Bismarck, ND 58505-0440
(701) 328-2260
www.nd.gov/dpi

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