LDOE Bi-Weekly Newsletter 5/31/2012 Superintendent's Message. William B. Lee. In This Issue

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1 William B. Lee From: Sent: To: Subject: Louisiana Department of Education Thursday, May 31, :50 PM William B. Lee Newsletter from Louisiana Department of Education In This Issue Superintendent's Message Common Core and Compass Standards, Assessments and Accountability College and Career Readiness Literacy Finance LDOE Bi-Weekly Newsletter 5/31/2012 Superintendent's Message Dear Colleagues: The foundation of Louisiana Believes is the idea that if you believe in all children can achieve at high levels, you must too believe in the adults closest to them. This means empowering parents, educators, and administrators with flexibility to make choices best for children, rather than relying on rules and bureaucracy. Louisiana's parents have gained greater power to choose in recent months HB 976 Memo. The state has determined to end prescribing daily teaching activities and textbook choices. And 1

2 Programs Information Management LDOE Links LDOE Website Events Calendar Contact Us DOE Contacts John White State Superintendent of Education (toll-free) Debbie Schum College & Career Readiness Kerry Laster Literacy Dr. Guillermo Ferreyra STEM Beth Scioneaux Finance Erin Bendily Departmental Support Scott Norton Assistant Superintendent Standards, Assessments, & Accountability Naressa Cofield Interim Director Innovation principals and superintendents now have legal empowerment to make choices about who is best to serve in our classrooms HB 974 Memo. Today, a key component of the state's plan, Louisiana's Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waiver application, won approval from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). This means that the state will move to one state-developed accountability system rather than maintaining both a federal and a state system. In exchange for rigorous accountability, the Federal government will grant districts and schools unprecedented freedom from cumbersome spending, planning, and reporting rules. The waiver's provisions are effective immediately and are detailed in this Memorandum. The accountability system, to be proposed for adoption by BESE this June, has three objectives: 1. Align Louisiana expectations with Common Core levels of rigor. Points will be awarded for ACT and AP excellence, while points will not be awarded for students below grade level. 2. Reward the gains schools have already achieved. The model proposed is not intended to change the letter grades schools would have achieved at their current level of performance. 3. Reward schools for making progress with students who are below grade level. A value-added measure will be added to the school performance score. Schools and districts will now have flexibility in the following areas: 1. Title I funding, including SES 2. REAP funding 3. 21st Century funding 4. School Improvement Planning (it will be ended) 5. Highly Qualified Teacher Target Improvement Planning (it will be ended) The Memo detailing the waiver contains further information. There will be further followup calls with your staff as well regarding next steps. The deadline for submission of NCLB Program budgets (examples: Title 1, Title II) will be extended. Further details will be in next week's newsletter. But most important, this approved waiver allows Louisiana to chart its own path toward achieving Common Core rigor while removing restrictions that too often distract educators from educating. It empowers the professionals closest to children to reach ambitious outcomes. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do. Thank you for all you do for our children, John John White Louisiana Department of Education Common Core and Compass Compass Training Schedule Coming Soon! 2

3 Jim Wilson Chief Information Officer Information Management Joe Salter Director of Governmental Affairs René Greer Director Public Affairs Dates for the Compass Evaluator Training sessions will be released by Friday, June 1, The trainings will be offered between July 23, 2012 and August 2, 2012, and session availability is based upon parish/region. A complete schedule will be posted on the website, and can be accessed using the following link Registration is required and will be available via Coursewhere Summer Institutes Please forward to District CCSS Specialists immediately. The Louisiana Department of Education is offering one-day summer institutes for teams of three from each school in the state. The institutes are being offered at various sites across the state June 4-7, July 9-12, and July The institutes will provide information on LDOE instructional priorities and the supports that the LDOE will provide. The institutes will include training on the instructional shifts and critical focus areas in the CCSS for ELA and mathematics. School teams will provide support in developing plans to redeliver the content as well as support for incorporating these shifts in instructional practice. Most school teams have registered, but any that have not, we encourage you to register your school teams as soon as possible. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) District Specialists are coordinating the registration in each district. The CCSS Specialists should contact Carolyn Sessions at Carolyn.Sessions@la.gov for more information. Please click on the link below for the training schedule. Attachment: Training Schedule LDOE to Preview Enhanced Human Capital Information System (HCIS) The LDOE will host a webinar to preview the state's new and improved Human Capital Information System (HCIS). This webinar will be held on Thursday, May 31, 2012, at 2:00 p.m., and will be repeated on Friday, June 1, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. The presentation will include an overview of HCIS, a review of HCIS functionality to support Compass implementation, and plans for ongoing support for local implementation. Please click on the following link to access the upcoming HCIS webinars- Registration is not required; however, it is recommended that participants join 10 minutes prior to the start time. An archived recording will be posted on the website the following week. For questions or additional information, please contact us at Compass@la.gov. Compass Observation Tool Update We would like to thank you for the feedback and engagement as we roll out our Compass statewide implementation. We have received a lot of questions on the observation tool for school counselors and librarians and would like to take this opportunity to provide some additional information that we hope you will find helpful. For more information or questions, please check out our FAQs here or contact us at Compass@la.gov. Compass Evaluation for School Counselors 3

4 Professional school counselors will be included in Compass and will be evaluated based upon their scores on the observation tool adopted by their LEA and based upon their success with achieving the goals they've set for their students. The LDOE will publish model student learning targets for school counselors here in June. Note: The LDOE has identified and will make available a rubric for counselors that has been widely used across the state previously in June. LEAs may choose to use this model or propose an alternative tool they feel best measures the effectiveness of their school counselors by submitting a notification form, available here by June 1. The tool must be able to yield or convert to a 4-point rating to be combined with the counselor's student outcomes score. Compass Evaluation for Librarians Librarians who provide instruction to a specified group of students will be included in Compass and will be evaluated based upon their scores on the observation tool adopted by their LEA and based upon their success with achieving the goals they've set for their students. The LDOE will publish model student learning targets for librarians here by the end of June. Note: The LDOE has not provided a separate rubric for observations of librarians. LEAs may choose to use the Compass teacher rubric or another tool they feel best measures the effectiveness of their librarians by submitting a notification form, available here, by June 1. The tool must be able to yield or convert to a 4-point rating to be combined with the librarian's student outcomes score. Race to the Top Last week Education Secretary Duncan announced a new Race to the Top (RTTT) District competition that would allow school districts to compete for RTTT grants. Nearly $400 million in grants will be available to districts that create plans for individualized classroom instruction aimed at closing achievement gaps. Competitive preference will be given to districts that form partnerships with public and private organizations to sustain their work and offer services that help meet students' academic, social, and emotional needs. Previous RTTT funds have been issued to states that have agreed to raise standards, build better data systems, evaluate and support principals and teachers, and turn around lowest-performing schools. A proposal for the 2012 competition will be available for public comment until June 8. The application is expected to be released in July, districts must apply by October, and awards will be announced by the end of the year. For more information, go to Department Communications Survey The department would like to get your feedback on our communications strategy. Please click here if you'd like to share feedback. Link: Standards, Assessments and Accountability 4

5 PASS Newton's Classroom (Math Tutorials) Please forward to District and School Curriculum Staff immediately. With Summer school beginning, teachers are encouraged to use Newton's Classroom (an online math tutorial program) to enhance students' math skills and ability. Newton's Classroom, one component of the Louisiana PASS System ( has 8 math tutorials for grades 1-8. These tutorials present step-by-step instructions to help students learn basic math skills ranging from place value to multiplication of fractions. The program presents a mathematical concept and gives the student an opportunity to practice and become fluent and competent before progressing to the next concept. Following instruction at each topic level, students can take an eight-item quiz which provides feedback for incorrect answers. Audio is available for most of the topics. Newton's Classroom also provides multiplication flash cards that include problems up to 12 x 12. Students can use the flash cards either un-timed (with feedback for incorrect answers), or timed. The PASS System will not be accessible for upgrades Thursday, May 31, from 5:00 p.m. until Friday, June 1, at 5:00 p.m. Once the upgrades are complete, it will be available to all Louisiana students during the summer. College and Career Readiness Correction: Dropout Prevention Action Plans - Grad Support Profile Data Please forward to all District Supervisors and High School Principals: Correction: Schools required to submit a Dropout Prevention Action Plan for should use data from the Graduation Support Profile reports issued in December, 2011 for the class of , rather than the class of , as noted on the application/template. The applications were ed on May 18, 2012, to District Superintendents for all schools required to submit plans. Please be reminded that Dropout Prevention Action Plans must be submitted to doe.dop@la.gov by close of business on Monday, July 2, For further information, please contact Dianna Keller at (225) Literacy Preschool Special Education Service Providers Background Checks Please forward to LEA/ Charter Preschool Special Education Service Providers immediately. LEA/charter service providers who provide IEP services to children with disabilities in child care and Head Start Centers will not have to undergo additional background checks or submit fingerprints to the State Police beginning May 1, Each LEA/charter service provider will need to submit a copy of the attached affidavit to the child care or Head Start center the first year that they provide services to a child/children in that center. Each subsequent year that the providers go to that same center to provide services, they will provide a copy of the attached letter to the child care or Head 5

6 Start Center from the school district/charter. When licensing specialists visit the child care and Head Start centers, they should be able to find a copy of the letter in the administrative files of the licensed facility. Attached you will find the affidavit and the letter to be used by the LEA/charter service provider staff. If you need further information about the process and the changes, please contact Cindy Ramagos at or at Cynthia.ramagos@la.gov. Attachment 1: Background.Affidavit.doc Attachment 2: Background.Letter.doc Finance FY 2012/13 Extended School Year Services Application Request Please forward to ESYS Project Directors/Coordinators immediately. Attached is the allocation schedule and application packet for the FY Extended School Year Services Grant. Please complete the budget application and submit no later than close of business on Friday, June 15, 2012, to DOEStateBudgetsRevisions@la.gov. If you have any questions or need additional budgetary information, please contact Julie Cutrer at (225) For program related questions, please contact Nancy Hicks at (225) Attachment 1: ESYS FY Application Forms.docx Attachment 2: ESYS FY Budget Forms.xls Programs Avatar Project Please forward to educators of Students with Disabilities immediately. Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) and Louisiana State University at Alexandria (LSUA) are stepping into the future of education using the latest technology to help inservice teachers who work with students with disabilities. TeachLivE is a virtual rehearsal classroom system that uses real-time avatar students. This design allows teachers to practice and refine their skills and techniques in a risk-free environment before presenting it in a real life classroom. SLU and LSUA will be partnering with the University of Central Florida (UCF) where human actors, called "interactors," will be operating the avatars. At the SLU and LSUA end, teachers will stand in a classroom environment with a screen projecting the avatar students in front of them. The teachers will teach a lesson, while the student avatars react to the teacher's actions, strategies and overall lesson. This virtual experience provides the teacher with immediate feedback and allows the teacher to "try again"; something that cannot be done in a real classroom setting. TeachLivE will be offered this summer and fall. To schedule a training or for more information contact Dr. Nicki Anzelmo-Skelton, SLU, at (985) or Dr. Katrina Jordan, LSUA, at

7 For more information contact Louisiana Department of Education staff, Donna Broussard at Information Management LEADS Portal Maintenance Please forward to all Data Coordinators immediately. Note that all applications available from the LEADS Portal will be down on Wednesday, June 6, from 3:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., for normal monthly server maintenance. Please adjust your schedules accordingly. We apologize for any inconvenience. Forward This was sent to by Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe Privacy Policy. Louisiana Department of Education 1201 N. Third Street Baton Rouge LA