July 23rd SGS Newsletter

Texas Education Agency sent this bulletin at 07/23/2020 01:14 PM CDT

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System of Great Schools Newsletter

July 23, 2020
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From the Support Team

Returning SGS Districts: As a reminder, Roadmaps are due Friday, August 14. If you have questions about your district's planning for the next four years of SGS implementation, please do not hesitate to email or call the SGS team.

New SGS Districts: Applications to join the SGS Network are due Friday, August 14. Download the Word application or watch the July 1 webinar recording to learn more. Please feel free to share this information with interested district leaders. Contact Christopher.Dewitt@tea.texas.gov with questions.
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 Updates & Opportunities

CIO Bootcamp #4: We look forward to seeing you at our final CIO Bootcamp of the 2019-20 school year. Convening 4 will take place Mon., July 27th and Tues., July 28th from 1 - 4 p.m. Calendar invites were sent last week and pre-work is due tomorrow, Friday, July 24. Please email Margo Roen with any questions.

Texas Partnerships: The timeline for the 2020-21 school year (SY) was released in a July 16 TAA. Dates to note include:

  • Friday, August 28 at 10 am: The first of four optional informational webinars hosted by the TEA's Texas Partnership team. Register here.
  • October, January, February: Mandatory training for districts and school operators are scheduled for these months.
  • October 30: Non-binding Letter of Intent due.
  • March 31, 2021: The deadline to submit a Partnerships Benefits application for the 2021-22 SY.

Please email Lindsay Denman with follow-up questions.

2020 NACSA Leadership Conference: This year’s NACSA Leadership Conference will run from Oct. 12 to Oct. 30, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 12 pm to 5 pm CT. The conference will help attendees advance their skills as an authorizing leader and is a good opportunity to synthesize their real-world experience with knowledge and resources created specifically for authorizers.

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 Grants & Resources

Authorizing Training: To implement SGS sub-lever 2.1, district leaders build their capacity to implement high-quality authorizing practices. One way to do this is to complete NACSA's online authorizing courses. To learn more, please click here. To enroll, fill out this form and NACSA staff will reply to provide you support.

Training for School Operators: SchoolWorks has launched a Charter Application Bootcamp online course for new school founders to provide a comprehensive overview of the school start-up process. The training also serves as a step-by-step guide to support quality application development.
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Network News

Aldine ISD's remote asynchronous instruction plan was named a state exemplar.

Beaumont ISD will begin the school year with 3 weeks of remote instruction.

Ft. Worth ISD: the LAN named a new principal for Como ES; FWISD will begin in-person and remote instruction Aug. 17.

Longview ISD: A parent survey shows that LISD families prefer remote instruction.

Midland ISD: YWLA & XTO Energy partnered to provide at-home STEM lessons; MISD's 20-21 models are explained in a Fall Re-Entry page.

San Antonio ISD will begin the school year with remote instruction and start on-campus instruction after Labor Day.
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Dates & Deadlines

July 24: Prework for CIO Bootcamp #4 is due.

July 27-28: CIO Bootcamp #4 will meet from 1 - 4 p.m.

August 14: Application to join SGS Network is due.

August 14: SGS Network Roadmaps are due.

August 28: Optional webinar 1 for Texas Partnerships.

September 9: SAF Cycle 4 grant funding will be available.

October 12 - 30: NACSA 2020 Leadership Conference

October 30: Mandatory LOI for Texas partnerships due.
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 Coronavirus Updates

TEA Commissioner Mike Morath is providing weekly updates to Texas Superintendents. Summary Debriefs from these calls are linked at the bottom of the TEA's Coronavirus webpage. Please see the updates on that page for notes from last week's updated Public Health Guidance and Attendance & Enrollment Guidance. In addition, a summary of the Tuesday, July 21 call is provided below:

1. The Attendance & Enrollment FAQ has been updated to provide additional information on the hold-harmless (page 5). Next, the exceptions under which a district may offer only remote instruction are reiterated (page 4). For sample hybrid school models, please see Strong Start Resources.

2. Operation Connectivity: Results from a statewide survey showed that just over 1,000 school districts are interested in purchasing 900,000 devices and 400,000 hotspots. The TEA is negotiating pricing and delivery schedules to provide access to remote instruction, especially for low-income students facing a digital divide.

3. Asynchronous Instruction Exemplar Plans from four Texas school districts have been published, including the plan by SGS Network member Aldine ISD! These provide helpful examples as districts work to draft their plans. To pursue remote asynchronous instruction, please submit the letter of intent to trigger funding eligibility and then submit your district's plan. Final plans are due Thursday, October 1.

Please visit the TEA's Coronavirus webpage for timely and comprehensive information.