Our office hopes that through the month of July, you have been able to have spaciousness to reflect on the past school year and take much needed time off, before turning your attention to planning for the coming school year. In this month’s message, updates include: 

1. EII Offerings at COSA Summer Conference 
2. 2023-24 Estimated Allocation Update 
3. Reminder: A Survey Requesting your Feedback on the Integrated Guidance Application and Review Process

Additionally, here’s a snapshot of where we are on IG Review as of  7am on July 27:

• 295 Applicants have submitted materials to ODE for review
• 291 (99%) Applications have been processed and sent to reviewer teams
• 271 (92%) Applications have been moved into co-development of Longitudinal Performance Growth Targets (LPGTs) and/or Local Optional Metrics
• 198 (67%) Applications have been through LPGT co-development or are not required to set targets and are opting to not set Local Optional Metrics

Thank you for the considerable effort that has gone into developing your IG plans and to respond our questions and needs to support meeting application requirements.

EII Offerings at COSA Summer Conference 

The Office of Education Innovation and Improvement (EII) will be attending the COSA Summer Conference next week! We’ll be collaborating with our partners at WestEd, on a pre-conference session as well as offering a few breakout sessions with WestEd and ODE staff. Details about the sessions can be found below: 

• WestEd Pre-Conference Workshop: The Engaging Equity: An Introductory Workshop for District Leadership will be made available twice (morning and afternoon) on Wednesday, August 2. This will provide an opportunity for leaders to learn more about the Equitable Mindsets, Systems, and Practices modules, which are offered to support and deepen district staff equity learning. ODE will cover pre-conference registration costs for participants for these sessions, though limited slots are available. 
• WestEd Navigating Equity Work in Education: A Peer-to-Peer Coaching Session: This back-to-back double session is designed with District Equity Leaders and Directors in mind. In this session, participants will meet with the WestEd team behind the Engaging Equity course and participate in peer-to-peer conversations to share questions and lessons learned from equity leaders around the state. Participants will consult on their own problems of practice and challenges with a diverse group of equity leaders. 
• WestEd Engaging Equity 101: An Introduction to ODE’s Free Professional Learning Modules: Join us as we share about the scope and sequence of ODE’s free 18-module Engaging Equity professional learning series for educators. We’ll preview core learning from the course, including how our identities and implicit biases affect how we collect, interpret and act on data. Participants will consider options for asynchronous and synchronous course participation. 
• WestEd Navigating Charged Conversations when Equity Efforts are Politicized: Join us as we share on how to respond when equity efforts are politicized. We’ll consider how to develop proactive messaging about equity in education. In this session, participants will hear from leaders in policy, instructional practice and strategic communication about how being rooted in your “why” and leveraging the power of story can help in potentially polarizing conversations. 
• Living Into Integrated Planning: So you wrote a plan - now what? Join us for a discussion centered on shepherding the integrated plans and sharing success stories and challenges from leaders across the state. We’ll frame the conversation around reflections and lessons learned from development, ways to attend to current capacity, ongoing community engagement and routines to monitor progress and when and how to support the need to adjust plans.
• Working from Strengths: Preparing a District Equity Committee: This session is intended for Equity Directors and Superintendents of districts ranging from large to small that have either begun implementation or are preparing to implement a District Equity Committee (DEC) to support their boards under SB 732 by September 15th, 2025. After a quick overview of SB 732, we'll share some resources available for districts from ODE, including the District Equity Committee Supplemental Guidance, which offers approaches to finding the appropriate timeline for your district. We'll hear multiple perspectives on how this work is carried out in districts across the state from leaders in the field. In this session, expect resources to share and teach back with your districts to make this work come alive as you adapt to the needs of your district. 
• Serving You Better: Grant Consolidation and Small District Support: You’re Invited! Come to this session to share your ideas on how ODE can improve its processes to better serve our districts and students. In this session, we will also introduce a new tool, the district submission calendar; our plan to organize ODE email messages; and support small schools in the upcoming school year, including a new offering – the Small Schools Superintendent Collaborative. 
• Consultation for Small School - Serving You Better: Grant Consolidation and Small District Support. This additional session offers a drop in space to work with our team for small schools consultation. 

2023-24 Estimated Allocation Update 

EII is excited to share 2023-2024 estimated allocations for the SIA, HSS, and EIIS programs to support this year’s Integrated Application implementation. The 2023-2024 Estimated Allocations for SIA, HSS and EIIS were released in a special message on Monday evening. A small correction was made to address poverty weights for the SIA estimated allocations. All allocations have been updated and are available via the link provided.

These estimated allocations are different from the initial preliminary allocations that were released to support your Integrated Application and are based on the results of the recent Legislative session. While we don’t anticipate significant changes in these numbers, please note they are still technically estimates that can change. 

If you have any questions on your estimated allocations, please reach out to our office at ode.eii@ode.oregon.gov. 

Reminder: A Survey Requesting your Feedback on the Integrated Guidance Application and Review Process

The Integrated Guidance was the first time that six programs were integrated through a combined application and review process. ODE is now seeking feedback on the entire process - from preparation, to application, to review, along with Longitudinal Performance Growth Targets (LPGTs) Co-development. Our team aspires to have these processes be as clear, accessible, and goal-aligned as possible. While we are aware of many bumps in the road along the way that we will work to improve for the future, we know there are also likely to be both challenges and appreciations that we are not aware of. We have developed this simple survey* for feedback that should take around 5-10 minutes to submit to understand the process from your lens. We acknowledge that the full review process is not yet fully complete (and folks are at different places in the process). Still, we wanted to get some feedback while it is still fresh in your and our minds and experience. Thank you for being a partner in improving this process for the future. This is the last call for feedback. The survey will close at the end of the day on August 4. 

* You may also copy and paste the link directly into your browser - https://tinyurl.com/yc3zvxcd 

Important Dates and Action Items

Career and Technical Education - Perkins V

• August 2, 2023: COSA Pre Conference Workshop for Administrators - CTE and Career Connected Learning, Building Together: Successful Engagement Strategies for Students and Communities. 

• August 14, 2023: Secondary Career Pathways (2021-2023) Claims Due.
• September 15, 2023: 2023-2024 Perkins Improvement Plans & 2022-2023 Close Out Reports Due.
• September 29, 2023: 2023-2024 Updated CTE Consortia Handbooks Due.
• November 29 - December 2, 2023: ACTE’s CareerTech Vision 2023 Conference.

Early Indicator and Intervention Systems

• August 15, 2023: All 22-23 EIIS claims must be submitted. Claims can be applied to expenses made between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

ESSA Partnerships (CSI/TSI)

• August 15, 2023: Final date to submit responses to the Update Survey.
• September 30, 2023: Final date to spend ESSA Partnership 21-22 funds.
• November 14, 2023: Final date to claim ESSA Partnership 21-22 funds.

High School Success

• August 31, 2023: Final date to spend HSS funds for the 2021-23 biennium.
• October 15, 2023: All HSS claims must be submitted  for July 1, 2021 - August 31, 2023. 

Student Investment Account

• September 30, 2023: Final date to spend 22-23 SIA funds.

Program Specific Updates

Career and Technical Education - Perkins V

CTE and Career Connected Learning, Building Together: Successful Engagement Strategies for Students and Communities - COSA Pre Conference Session

Come hear directly from high school students, industry/workforce partners, and a panel of school administrators and their CTE Regional Coordinators from across the state around engaging projects and the impact of successful career connected learning partnerships. Career Connected Learning and CTE can transform the experiences of our students and communities. You will hear about resources available and how administrators, CTE leaders, and industry partners are using those resources to impact change. 

Oregon Career Information System (Oregon CIS) - Free to all students and families in Oregon!

The Oregon Career Information System (Oregon CIS) provides a system of occupational and educational information to help Oregonians learn about the world of work and plan their education and training to achieve their goals. Oregon CIS is FREE for all students and families in Oregon along with free access for educators to administrative tools! The platform has been available for many years and used by schools across the state. The interface has been recently updated to create a more satisfying user experience.  The wealth of resources included in this Oregon created career planning tool are amazing and include a section for students to develop their Personal Education Plan and Profile (PEPP). Oregon CIS offers great training opportunities, scheduled throughout the year, to get you started and refine your skills and strategies to take it to the next level! For more information and to set up an administrative profile visit the Oregon CIS Contact Page.

What is a Career Connected Learning System Navigator and what can they do for me? 

Oregon’s network of Career Connected Learning System Navigators (CCLSN) began last school year and for the 2023-2024 school year there is a navigator at each community college ready to serve your school district. The work of the CCLSN is to help connect the multiple Career Connected Learning (CCL) systems already in place in your region. 

• They focus on building relationships and connections for elementary, middle and high schools with employers, colleges, CTE Programs of Study, CTE Regional Coordinators, local workforce development boards, and STEM Hubs. 
• Their work will help build systems to support equitable, high quality CCL opportunities for elementary, middle and high school students regardless of the size or location of their school. 
• They also have the most up to date information to share regarding tools and resources available to support Career Connected Learning including: Oregon Employability Skills Curriculum, the Career Journeys video series and learning activities, YouScience, eDynamic curriculum, Money Vehicle, Career Journey Maps to help students plan for their futures, and our Career Connected Learning Resource Hub.

You can find the navigator in your region on the ODE Career Connected Learning webpage. 

Early Indicator and Intervention Systems

EIIS grant recipients can now complete the EIIS Reporting Form for EIIS allowable expenses from the 2022-2023 school year. Claims can be applied to expenses made between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. All EGMS claims and reporting forms must be submitted by August 14, 2023. 

The Registration Form for the Early Indicator and Intervention Systems Professional Learning: A Lever for Student Success and School Improvement cohorts is open! Please see the Highlighted Resources section below for more information.

ESSA Partnerships (CSI/TSI)

Districts that receive ESSA Partnership sub-grants to support identified CSI/TSI schools are responsible for monitoring school-level progress and adjusting improvement strategies and activities accordingly. This Update Survey* prompts districts to reflect upon and share about the implementation of improvement strategies at identified CSI and TSI schools. Responses provided here will help inform ODE as to Oregon’s models of support for current and future CSI and TSI schools. Here is a worksheet to develop responses offline before submitting. Responses are due by August 15.

If you have any questions pertaining to ESSA Partnerships or identified CSI / TSI schools, please reach out to your Regional Support, District Grant Manager, or email ODE.EII@ode.oregon.gov.

* You may also copy and paste the link directly into your browser - https://tinyurl.com/3u3zaenr

ESSA Partnership Claim Request Form

Please keep in mind that all ESSA Partnership 21-22 dollars must be spent by September 30, 2023, and claimed by November 14, 2023. You must submit documentation before your claim can be approved. Please use the ESSA Partnership Claim Request Form* to submit your documentation.

* You can also copy and paste the link directly into your browser - https://tinyurl.com/ye8pw3x8

High School Success

New Data Brief on Student Sense of Belonging Published

We are excited to announce the release of a new data brief, Student Sense of Belonging in Schools: Predictive Factors! This brief leverages SEED Survey data to examine how demographic, grade level, and disciplinary factors are associated with a student’s sense of belonging, welcome, and being cared for within their school community, and offers a number of resources and best practices for increasing sense of belonging for all students and for specific focal populations. This work is part of a series of data briefs; readers may also find a related brief, examining student constructed responses to SEED, to be valuable. For questions, comments, or other feedback, please contact Isabella Jacoby.

Highlighted Resources for the Month

Early Indicator and Intervention Systems Professional Learning: A Lever for Student Success and School Improvement

Two different learning series will be offered during the 2023-24 school year - EIIS: Foundations for Student Success and EIIS at Middle and High School. Each of these learning series will be offered at no cost to Oregon public schools and districts. Designed and facilitated by Education NW and FHI360, these learning series will provide participants with resources and skills to expand and deepen EIIS best practices. Both series include synchronous and asynchronous sessions, as well as optional consultation with Facilitators. All sessions are virtual. Districts and schools are encouraged to have four to six person teams of educators and leaders participate. 

Both learning series will be repeated several times during the 2023-24 school year and there may be more than one learning series group per session depending on the number of participants who register.

Please view this flyer for more information about the schedule for each learning series and registration links. To register your team for the learning series for the 2023-24 school year please complete the Registration Form.

About the ACTE's Quality CTE Program of Study Framework

ACTE's Quality CTE Program of Study Framework provides critical knowledge and information intended to equip administrators, CTE leaders, and teachers with the best tools to build capacity and promote equity in CTE.

About the article: Leveraging Career Development Services to Expand Student Engagement in Career Technical Education 

This whitepaper highlights innovative practices aligned to The ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework that CTE educators nationwide (including an example from Oregon) are using to improve middle and high school student’s career knowledge and promote access and equity in CTE.  The whitepaper addresses three root causes of inequity connected to career development:

1. Youth and families’ misunderstanding of the benefits of CTE
2. Systemic barriers to student participation and persistence; and 
3. A lack of career knowledge and planning information to motivate student engagement.

September 2023: Attendance Awareness Month

Join Attendance Works, the Institute for Educational Leadership and campaign partners in the third of four webinars for the 2023 Attendance Awareness Campaign series with the theme Showing Up Together! 

A Welcoming and Healthy Return to School: Ensuring Showing Up

• Date: Wednesday, August 9, 2023
• Time: 12:00pm-1:30pm Pacific / 3:00pm-4:30pm Eastern

This webinar will focus on creating a supportive and welcoming environment that encourages a sense of connection and community as students and families return to school. Register now. Previous recordings are also available.