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Contents:
The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is seeking
stakeholder opinions on what Oklahoma’s public school system should become
under ESSA, the new federal education law. Join State Superintendent Joy
Hofmeister in a conversation about the future of education in Oklahoma tonight at 6 p.m. This event, the second in a series of town hall meetings
scheduled around the state, will be held at the Pontotoc Technology Center located at 601 W. 33rd Street in Ada.
Can’t make the Ada event? Find an upcoming town hall near you
and make your voice heard:
November 14 at 6 p.m. – Capitol Hill High School, Oklahoma City
November 15 at 6:30 p.m. – Metropolitan Baptist Church, Tulsa
December 5 at 6 p.m. – Enid High School, Enid
December 6 at 6 p.m. – Yukon High School, Yukon
December 12 at 6 p.m. – MLK Center, Muskogee
We would like to take a moment to welcome all of you OCAS-coded as Executive Assistants and Superintendent Secretaries who are receiving this administrator
newsletter from the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) for the first
time.
We know your superintendents are busy, so if you can help
OSDE ensure that he or she sees and reviews this important, time-sensitive information, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, and once again, welcome!
A number of bills from last session go into effect today, November 1.
Summaries are included below.
HB 2263: Expands the amount of time to file an application for retirement from 30
days before the date of retirement to 60 days and allows TRS to waive the 60-day deadline for good cause. Requires the employer to provide the member’s
last day physically on the job, last day on payroll, any regular compensation
not already reported and final unused sick leave balance to TRS no later than
the 15th day of the month of retirement. If employers fail to do so
or make a mistake, they are required to reemploy the member for the time period
required to reach eligibility, up to two months. Expands the abilities of certain trusts to be named
beneficiaries. The bill also changes the amount related to the payment of
monies without intervention of probate court from $5,000 to $25,000 in the
event of a member who leaves no living beneficiary.
HB 2281: Allows for public bodies to meet the obligation of providing “prompt,
reasonable access to records” by providing them online.
HB 2298: Requires driver education courses to include instruction on the dangers
of texting while driving and the effects of being under the influence of
alcohol or other intoxicating substances.
HB 2404: Directs the State Board of Education to promulgate rules that create
exemptions for the maximum age at which a child may attend half-day or full-day
pre-kindergarten.
HB 2535: “Apprenticeships, Internships and
Mentorships (AIM) Act of 2016.” Allows a school board, beginning in 2017-2018,
to enter into an agreement with public or private organizations to create
apprenticeship, internship and mentorship programs for high school juniors and
seniors, and have those programs count toward elective credit. Directs the OSDE
to promulgate rules to carry out the Act.
HB 2615: Prohibits gifts of money or other things of value to student-athletes or
a member of their immediate family to persuade them to enroll or attend a
certain college or university, or for their participation in an intercollegiate
sporting event, contest or exhibition. Excludes the activities of postsecondary
institutions acting in accordance with policy, grants and scholarships,
immediate family members and gifts under $100. Prohibits any transactions that
could cause student-athletes to lose their
scholarship or ability to participate in intercollegiate athletics. Requires
schools to advise students of these provisions each sports season.
HB 2965: Prohibits a governing body or entity from interfering with an employee’s obligations to report child abuse or neglect, or retaliating or
discriminating against them. Any such governing body will be held liable
for damages, costs and attorney fees. Any child harmed by such action may
file to recover damages, costs and attorney fees.
HB 3025: Expands the list of those who qualify to pursue a standard certificate
through an alternative placement program to include those who have successfully
completed a terminal degree and those who have a bachelor’s degree and
qualified work experience corresponding to an area of
certification. Requires that candidates have either demonstrated
competency or completed a major in a field corresponding to an area of
certification as determined by the State Board or as recommended by CareerTech
for a vocational-technical certificate. Allows the State Board to
determine the number of hours required for the professional education component
for each person making application, with a minimum of 6 semester hours and
maximum of 18 semester hours.
HB 3114: “Empowering Teachers to Lead Act.” Creates a framework of teacher career paths, leadership roles and
compensation requirements and allows districts to apply to SDE for approval to
implement the framework or a comparable system of career paths and compensation
that contains differentiated multiple leadership roles. The framework
defines the responsibilities of a model teacher, mentor teacher and lead
teacher with a corresponding salary supplement. Allows SDE to award
planning grants and implementation grants to districts, subject to availability
of funds.
SB 1164: Directs the State Dept. of Health (SDH) to create a concussion
management section on their website to include guidelines for schools and youth
sports organizations to develop their own policies and procedures pertaining to
information sheets for game officials, team officials, athletes and
parents/guardians on recognizing a concussion, “Return to Learn” guidelines, “Graduated Stepwise Return to Athletic Participation” guidelines and links on free training. Directs each
school district and youth sports organization to develop such policies and
procedures. Eliminates the requirement for a form to be completed and
returned by each athlete and parent, instead requiring acknowledgement and
understanding of the information by the parent/guardian prior to student
participation.
Requires game and team officials
to undergo training. Requires them to remove an athlete from practice or
competition if they exhibit signs of a concussion or head injury. If an
athlete is removed, he or she may not return the same day unless deemed eligible by a
health care provider, defined as an individual licensed by the state to provide
medical or psychological treatment and trained in the evaluation and care of
concussions. Exempts the health care provider, game and team official from
civil liability, excluding acts of gross negligence.
Governing boards are required to
establish minimum penalties for violation, which are to include additional
training for a first violation and suspension for a second
violation. Requires SDH to promulgate rules for implementation.
SB 1269: Requires the State Board, in
collaboration with the State Regents and CareerTech, to develop college and
career endorsements to direct students toward clear career pathways. Specifies
endorsement categories for STEM, business and industry, public services, arts
and humanities, multidisciplinary studies and any other areas determined by the
Board. The Board, State Regents, CareerTech and business representatives will
specify the curriculum requirements. The State Board must develop and implement
a mechanism to recognize the endorsements.
Register
now for the Reading Sufficiency Act (RSA) videoconference on Wednesday,
November 9, from 1:30-3 p.m. This videoconference will focus on the
implementation of Tier
II instruction and is the second videoconference in a series focused on
RSA. To view the first videoconference, visit the RSA Professional
Development webpage.
Please
note: The RSA Videoconference is not a webinar. After registering, you may
attend the videoconference at one of these statewide videoconference
locations.
For more
information, contact Dionne Jordan-Mock at dionne.jordan-mock@sde.ok.gov
or (405) 521-4096.
November 10, 3-4 p.m.
The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) will host a
Math Ready webinar for educators in Oklahoma on Thursday, November 10, at 3 p.m.
 What is Math Ready?
Math Ready is a free course designed for high school seniors
who have completed Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II but still need a
transition course to get them ready for college-level coursework. Why should
students pay for a remediation math course in college if they can satisfy their
remediation requirement during their senior year in high school? This Math
Ready course will help students avoid remediation (along with college tuition fees) when
entering college, thereby saving Oklahoma students and families thousands of
dollars each year.
The course emphasizes understanding of mathematics concepts
rather than memorizing procedures. By engaging students in real-world
applications, Math Ready develops critical thinking skills students will
use in college and their careers. Math Ready has been implemented in hundreds
of high schools across the nation and has a proven track record of increasing
student readiness. For more information about Math Ready, visit sreb.org/math-ready.
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Summer Trainings
SREB will provide free trainings in Oklahoma during June 2017 for schools wishing to implement Math Ready in the 2017-2018 school year. This webinar will equip teachers and school administrators with information about the course and give them an opportunity to ask questions prior to the summer trainings.
Registration
Register
for the webinar here.
If you have questions about the course or the webinar,
contact ready@sreb.org.
Please share this webinar information with math educators
and other interested parties by downloading
the Oklahoma Math Ready Webinar handout (page 2).
OSDE provides a wide variety of data and records for public
consumption. Visit the OSDE Public Records webpage for current, historical and educator workforce data
including but not limited to:
- Test scores
- Graduation Rates
- Dropout Counts
- Incident Counts
- Enrollment Counts
- ACT Scores
- Homeless Counts
- Free and Reduced Lunch Counts
- Grant Recipients
- Education Finance
- First-Year Superintendents
- Teacher Assignments
- Certified and Support Staff Salary
- Certified and Support Counts by District, FTE and Degree Type
- Certified and Support Staff Email Addresses
For more information about these records, contact Kalee Isenhour, Records Coordinator, at kalee.isenhour@sde.ok.gov or (405) 521-4906.
Applications Due: November 11
OSDE is currently accepting applications for Superintendent Hofmeister’s
Student Advisory Council. Please print off the application linked below and let your students know that this opportunity is available.
Superintendents are responsible for recommending
students within their district to serve on this year’s council. Applications without this recommendation will not be considered. OSDE will
select a total of 25 students from across Oklahoma to participate.
Download the application here. Please note that in addition to the district
superintendent’s recommendation, two additional references with contact information for each student applicant are
required.
Submit completed applications to Martha Eaves, Events
Coordinator, at martha.eaves@sde.ok.gov.
 The
Student Advisory Council will meet twice during the spring semester 2017.
Students will need to provide their own transportation to council meetings,
which will be held at the Oklahoma State Department of Education, State Board
Room, 2500 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City.
If you have questions, contact Heather Griswold, Chief of Public Affairs, at heather.griswold@sde.ok.gov or (405) 522-8758.
The Presidential
Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is the highest honor bestowed by
the United States government specifically for K-12 mathematics and science
teaching.
 Nominate a deserving secondary mathematics or
science teacher within your district and they could win $10,000.
Anyone including principals, teachers, parents,
students, business leaders or members of the general public may nominate
exceptional mathematics or science teachers who are currently teaching grades
7-12 for the 2016-2017 award year.
Teachers may also apply directly on the PAEMST Website.
Nomination Deadline: April 1, 2017
Application Deadline: May 1, 2017
View a list of past winners from Oklahoma here.
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Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence founder and chairman David
Boren joins Academic All-Staters on stage for the foundation’s 2016 Academic
Awards Banquet.
The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is seeking nominations
for its prestigious Academic All-State awards honoring 100 top public high
school seniors and Medal of Excellence Awards honoring five outstanding educators.
Scholarships and educator awards totaling $125,000 will be presented at the
foundation’s annual banquet in May.
Each Academic All-State scholar will receive a $1,000
scholarship. The Medal of Excellence includes a $5,000 cash award and honors
five public school educators, one each at the elementary, secondary, community
college/regional university and research university levels. An
elementary/secondary administrator also is honored.
Educator nominations are due November 29. Student nominations
are due December 2. For more information, click here.
The
Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP)
grant application is now open. TCLP is fully funded by the Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and helps U.S.
K-12 schools launch new or expand existing Arabic and Chinese language
programs.
TCLP
makes it easy for U.S. schools to grow their critical language programs by
placing fully-funded teachers from Egypt, Morocco or China in classrooms to
teach Arabic or Chinese as a foreign language for an academic year. By sharing
their languages and cultures, the teachers bring global competencies to their
host schools and communities. Host a teacher in 2017 by filling out an application.
The application deadline for TCLP host
schools is Monday, January 23, 2017, at 10:59 p.m.
Please note: If you are interested in hosting language
teachers from out-of-country, please contact Desa Dawson, Director of World
Languages at OSDE, at desa.dawson@sde.ok.gov or (405) 521-3035 before filling out an application.
Since
2006, TCLP has sponsored 212 highly trained teachers who have worked in 148
schools across 37 states and impacted over 74,000 students. TCLP teachers have
also collectively conducted over 14,200 hours of cultural outreach to bring
international experiences to their host schools and communities.
Learn
more about hosting a teacher at your school and speak with host school alumni
about their experiences with TCLP by attending a live
informational webchat on November 9, November 16, December 8 or January 4
at 3 p.m.
Please take the time to fully review the data-related sections below.
The information SDE receives through these reports may affect your programs and
allocation amounts.
Deadline: November 18
The USDE
requires an annual Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR) that provides
accurate information on (1) the location and number of children who live in
local institutions for neglected or delinquent (N or D) children or who are in
local adult correctional facilities; and (2) the number of children enrolled in
a regular program of instruction in eligible state-operated institutions for N
or D children, adult correctional institutions and community day programs for N
or D children.
Please complete both applications in Single Sign-On by November 18.
If you have questions, contact the Office of Federal
Programs at (405) 521-2846.
Deadline: November 18
The USDE
requires an Annual October Count for Title I Neglected and Delinquent Children
to determine 2017-18 allocations for Title I, Part A Neglected and Title I,
Part D funding.
If your
district does not have a neglected or delinquent site, please complete and
return the form indicating a total caseload of zero.
Download
and complete the Annual Neglected & Delinquent form and email it to
Anthony Kibble, Program Specialist in the Office of Federal Programs, at anthony.kibble@sde.ok.gov by November 18.
If you have
questions, contact the Office of Federal Programs at (405) 521-2846.
To view past EngageOK Administrators & Data newsletters, visit our online archives.
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