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Action Bulletin Archive
| Past issues of the Action Bulletin are available on the PLTW Web site.
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Welcome to the latest edition of the Action Bulletin.
For this issue, there are some important reminders of recent information regarding your programs.
- Summer Core Training offerings are posted and districts, schools and teachers should start to prepare for teacher training.
- The 2012-13 Purchasing Manual is available and this is a good time for schools, districts and teachers to begin planning their purchases.
- Spring Assessment student enrollment is now open.
We would like your feedback on the Action Bulletin. Are you receiving the information you need in a timely fashion? What are the topics you would like us to cover? Send your comments to Trevor Sparks.
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Preparing for Teacher Training
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Teachers may start taking Pre-Assessments beginning February 15, 2012, which is the first step in becoming trained to instruct PLTW courses. Schools and districts, as well as teachers, play an important role in preparing for a successful training period.
A few of the important steps are outlined below. It is strongly suggested that schools, teachers and districts, start planning now to help ensure a smooth training process. Additional details may be found on the Teacher Training page on the PLTW website.
- If you haven't done so already, schools should begin identifying teachers to instruct the courses.
- Districts need to submit their PLTW STEM Agreements and School District Delegates must add teachers to the appropriate school on PLTW Extranet.
- Teachers should make sure they're prepared to take the Pre-Assessment(s) and review Summer Core Training Options.
Schools
- It is recommended that teachers instructing PLTW courses have, as a minimum, a Bachelor's Degree, and be in compliance with applicable state teacher licensure or certification requirements.
- For the Biomedical Sciences program teachers should have successfully completed at least two semesters of college-level biology, and have experience in the techniques and methods of modern biology, molecular biology, or physiology.
Teachers
- To take the Pre-Assessment, teachers will need to login to the Virtual Academy using the username and password provided by their School District Delegate.
- Teachers must score a 75% or better on a Pre-Assessment for each course they plan to teach in the upcoming school year.
- More information on taking Pre-Assessments is available by downloading Core Training Pre-Assessment Procedures.
- Teachers who have successfully completed the required Pre-Assessments will be able to register for Summer Core Training sessions beginning March 15.
Districts
- For a teacher to register for Core Training, the teacher's School District must have a completed and submitted a signed PLTW STEM Agreement.
- The teacher's School District Delegate must also register that teacher on the PLTW Extranet before the teacher can sign up for Core Training.
If you have questions about any aspect of Teacher Training, email our School Support Team.
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Spring Assessment Student Enrollment Opens
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The student enrollment process for the Spring Assessment period, which begins April 23, 2012, is now open.
- All student population import files for this assessment period will need to be submitted by February 17, 2012.
- Please review New Student Enrollment Process for Assessments for details on the new bulk upload process available to all schools.
For general assessment questions, contact assessment@pltw.org. For all questions regarding the assessment system, including technical support, contact assessment_techsupport@pltw.org.
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Plan Your Budget; Purchasing Manual Available
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The 2012-13 Purchasing Manual is now available online to help you start planning your budget for your PLTW program(s) in the upcoming school year.
Ordering
When ordering, please review the manual carefully, as we have introduced some items that are more cost effective and eliminated a few items from the Biomedical Sciences (BMS) curriculum.
Freight Estimates
To address concerns regarding freight estimates on purchase orders, pricing for most items ordered directly through PLTW (with the exception of equipment where the shipping cost varies significantly depending on volume) now includes shipping. We hope this change will allow for a more streamlined ordering process.
Questions?
To better serve our network, we've changed our email address to productsupport@pltw.org for product orders and questions. Please use this email address when you have questions or issues regarding the ordering of products.
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Assessment Reminders
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Accommodation Request Form Reminder
- The PLTW IEP/504 Accommodation Request form can be found on the PLTW Extranet in the Materials section.
- These forms need to be sent four weeks in advance in order to make the adjustments in the system.
Access to End of Course Assessments
- In order to maintain item security and to ensure fair testing for all students, teachers are not allowed access to PLTW's End of Course online assessments per the testing guidelines posted on the PLTW Extranet.
- It is our responsibility to notify school district personnel in the event that teachers have accessed the online assessments, and will ask that any users of the data (state departments of education, colleges and universities, etc.) be notified by the district.
- In the event that incorrect items are included on operational assessment forms, we will be able to detect the issues when the full item analysis takes place at the end of the testing cycle. Official student scores will be corrected at that time and teachers will be notified of the correction by email and through the Virtual Academy course forums.
Questions? Need more information?
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