Course Choice Seeking Professional School Counselors 

The Louisiana Department of Education Course Choice Program is seeking five contractors with Louisiana professional school counselor credentials to serve as part of the Louisiana Course Choice Counseling Assistance Center.  Course Choice is an innovative new program designed to offer Louisiana students an unprecedented collection of high-quality course offerings provided by universities, technical and community colleges, online course providers, business and industry, and educational entrepreneurs.  The Program will enable students to enroll in academic, career and technical training courses that will help them obtain post-secondary degrees and secure high-paying 21^st Century jobs. 

Contractors will be responsible for helping professional school counselors and students successfully participate in the Course Choice Program.  A contractor will serve as Course Choice program expert which includes a) developing in-depth knowledge of all courses offerings and course providers; b), providing teacher and counselor training and support for implementation of the Course Choice Registration System; c) individual student planning and support; and d) Course Choice program reporting. A description of services is attached.

For more information contact Dr. Ernise S. Singleton at Ernise.Singleton@la.gov or 225.219.0451.

Spotlight on Component 3b: Questioning and Discussion Techniques

As Compass observations are beginning to take place across the state, the LDOE newsletters will include a regular feature on the components within the Compass Teacher Rubric, along with videos of exemplar performance, to help educators and evaluators become more familiar with the content of the rubric. This week, we'll continue our focus on Component 3b: Questioning and Discussion Techniques with a look at a high school English language arts class.

Effective questioning is instrumental to student success. Oral or written, questions help teachers know the extent to which students are reaching the level of rigor required by the lesson's objective. When questions reveal student misunderstanding, the teacher must adjust instruction such that more students are achieving the objective.

Click here to view another video of Highly Effective teacher performance related to this component.

Click here to view an explanation of the evidence and rationale for the Highly Effective rating in this video.

Compass Frequently Asked Questions Answered

Through Network Teams, the Compass inbox, and school visits, the LDOE has gathered questions, concerns, and feedback from educators across the state about Compass. This information is extremely helpful in our effort to identify potential refinements to make to the system over time and develop resources that will be helpful to the field now, including tools, like the exemplar video library, or information, like answers to common questions. In response to recent feedback from the field, we've developed this Compass

Fact Sheet, intended to address the most frequently asked questions and most commonly heard myths about Compass. 

Please review and share this document, and continue to contact us at compass@la.gov with any questions, concerns, or feedback you have about the system.

HCIS Updates and Enhancements

Over the past two weeks, several enhancements have been made to HCIS.  These include:

1) Printer-friendly reports for SLTs, observations, and PGPs.

2) Increased character limits for SLTs and observations.

3) The ability for evaluators at one school to evaluate teachers, leaders, librarians, and counselors across multiple schools.

4) A user-friendly log-in process that will significantly reduce the number of de-activated accounts.

Please contact your network data specialist or visit the HCIS online help desk (http://tinyurl.com/8tp5ccq) for any additional support you need.

HCIS Help Desk Updates

Beginning December 3, the online HCIS Help Desk will be re-launched to better serve your teachers and leaders.  The Help Desk will be updated with a broader solution bank to assist users with completing transactions before sending a request for assistance.  If the issue is not resolved via the solution bank, the Help Desk will automatically route tickets from your teachers and leaders to your central office.  HCIS Super Users, copied on this email, are responsible for responding to and resolving Help Desk tickets.

Steps to prepare for December 3 Help Desk launch:

1)  Last month, your LDOE network team confirmed one or more people from your district that will support teachers and leaders with HCIS. 

2)  When the Help Desk is unable to find the appropriate resource to resolve an issue, the Help Desk will generate an email to the designated Super User.  This email will include a description of the issue along with the person's contact information. 

3)  Your district Super User will then be responsible for following up with that teacher or leader to resolve that issue.  The LDOE will still be able to receive Help Desk tickets from LEA administrators and you will still receive support from your LDOE network.

We thank you for your ongoing partnership as we continue to improve the way we support you, your teachers, and your leaders.  Please click here  for a one pager with a more complete overview of the upcoming online HCIS Help Desk.

Act 1 - Compensation Workshops - Registration

The LDOE is hosting another workshop on educator compensation. This workshop will include sessions on:

• Sustainability testing
• Communication, including how to discuss the new system with teachers

You can choose to register for a communications session or a sustainability session or you can register for both sessions. Registration links are below.

The workshop will also include office hours with staff who are able to discuss or answer questions about your model or the sample models released in October.

Dates and locations:

Bossier, LA - Wednesday, December 5

Workshops: 12:30 PM - 4:00PM

Office Hours: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Registration Link: https://www.solutionwhere.com/ldoe/cw/showconference.asp?3782

Baton Rouge, LA - Thursday, December 6

Workshops: 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Office Hours: 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Registration Link:https://www.solutionwhere.com/ldoe/cw/showconference.asp?3783

Due to space constraints, we will only be able to accommodate people who pre-register for these sessions.

If your district needs ongoing support or individual consultation, please contact act1@la.gov or contact Gary Jones at gary.jones@la.gov.

Act 1 - Compensation - Panel Discussion

The December 6^th sessions will be followed by a Superintendents' Panel Discussion on Act 1 compensation reforms.  This discussion will take place from 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM. This discussion will include significant time for Q&A.  Panelists will include:

Patrice Pujol - Ascension Parish

Lonnie Luce - St. James Parish

Karla Tollett - Caldwell Parish

Hollis Milton - West Feliciana Parish

To register, please click here: http://www.solutionwhere.com/ldoe/cw/showcourse.asp?3784

Act 1 - Compensation - District Spotlight

As districts around the state begin revising their compensation systems, Terrebonne Parish Public Schools are leading the way. Terrebonne launched a performance-based compensation system approximately four years ago, ahead of Act 1, to reward teachers for excellent performance and to encourage their best teachers to teach in some of the district's hardest-to-staff school and subject areas.

Teachers are receptive to the compensation system.

Philip Martin, Superintendent of Terrebonne Public Schools, says, "it has been our experience that teacher buy-in to performance pay reform will be significant when done with clarity and with definable student achievement targets." He explains that the new compensation system has been a positive change for his district.

Mr. Martin has been able to implement a performance-based compensation system despite significant challenges. Terrebonne Parish falls last in tax revenue in the state. Their performance-based compensation system survived a reduction-in-force. Despite these challenges, their system remains sustainable and continues to have strong buy-in.

Cecil J. Picard LA4 Early Childhood Program

Please forward to City/Parish Schools LA4 Coordinators; City/Parish Schools Business Managers; Selected Charter Organization Adminstrators.

Please see the attached memo with information regarding the approval and allowable cost activities of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding for the Cecil J. Picard LA4 Early Childhood Program. 

Approved Grant Award Notifications for this funding can be viewed via the Grant Award Program (GAP) System.

If you have additional questions regarding this approval, please contact Vondrica Alexander at (225) 342-1871 or via email at Vondrica.alexander@la.gov.

December 2012 EOC Tests Administration

Please forward to District Test Coordinators and District Technology Coordinators.

The December 2012 EOC Tests Administration is scheduled for December 4-13, 2012. Districts and schools should be preparing for the online test administration by registering students and preparing computers for testing. School Test Coordinators should assign accommodations via the EOC Tests system. The Test Coordinators Manual and Test Administration Manual are two resources that should be read by all Test Coordinators and Test Administrators. The manuals are available from the EOC Tests homepage, www.louisianaeoc.org, under the Test Coordinator Materials tab. Technology Coordinators should ensure that all computers are prepared for online testing by following the technology requirements in the EOC Tests Technology Guidelines. The guidelines are also available from the EOC Tests homepage.

ACT Testing Accommodations

Please forward to all Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, District Test Coordinators.

Deadline.  The deadline for ACT to receive the Application for ACT-Approved Accommodations for students with disabilities who need to test with accommodations is December 14, 2012.  

  
The procedures and forms to request ACT-Approved Accommodations were sent to you as part of your establishment materials. The procedures and forms may also be found at:  http://www.act.org/aap/louisiana/act.html 

 All accommodations forms must be signed by the Test Accommodations Coordinator, as well as by the student's parent or legal guardian (or their verbal approval) and must be accompanied by all required documentation.  Please do not fax any information to ACT.  Instead use a carrier with tracking services and ship directly to ACT at: ACT State Test Accommodations/61, 301 ACT Drive, Iowa City, Iowa 52243 Telephone:  800/553-6244, ext. 1788 

ACT-Approved Accommodations applications for extended time, alternate formats, and multiple-day testing must be reviewed and approved by ACT.    

SRCL Project Directors: Fiscal Year 11-12 Striving Readers Carryover Budget

Please forward to SRCL Project Directors and SRCL Fiscal Managers.

Once reimbursements for expenditures through 9/30/2012 are received, submit a Decrease Budget Revision, Carryover Budget, and a Project Completion Report to DOEFederalBudgetsRevisions@la.gov in order to request reimbursement for expenditures beginning 10/01/2012. 

The funding period for the Carryover Budget is 10/01/2012 - 09/30/2013.  Please submit your forms for approval by December 14, 2012. If you have any questions please call Julie Cutrer at (225) 342-0181.

Approval of FY2012-13 General Fund Budgets

Please forward to City/Parish School District Superintendents and Business Managers.

Louisiana R.S. 17:88 requires that district school boards adopt, no later than September 15, a budget of expected revenues and probable expenditures for the year and that copies of the budget be submitted to the State Superintendent of Public Education for review and approval. Budgets are due to the Department no later than September 30 each year.

The attached document includes a listing of the city/parish school districts whose budgets have been approved by the State Superintendent of Education.  Districts included on this list adopted a budget that was balanced with the revenues available, adopted the budget by September 15, and submitted the budget to the Department by September 30.  If your school district is not included in the attached list you should have received an email from Zalinsky Matthew regarding the status of your budget.

If you have any questions or need additional information you may contact Zalinsky Matthew at Zalinsky.matthew@la.gov.

FYE 2012 AFR Reminder

DUE DATE REMINDER FOR A GOOD RATING - FY 2011-2012 Annual Financial Report

Please forward to Business Managers and Financial Officials of Public School Districts, Charter Schools, Lab Schools, and State Agencies defined as an LEA for these purposes

Timely submission of the AFR is a factor in the Financial Risk Assessment, and the final AFR must be submitted no later than November 30th to receive a "good" rating for this factor.  Please see the attached memo for specific instructions and guidance.

For further information or questions regarding reporting or coding, contact Keya Williams (Keya.Williams@la.gov) at 225-342-8848.  For questions regarding the filebuild tools, the electronic submission process, or if you need technical assistance, contact David Kibbe (David.Kibbe@la.gov) at 225-342-3619.

CATE Data Collection and Reporting Extension

Please forward to all CTE Supervisors, High School Principals and Counselors.

Due to extenuating circumstances resulting from Hurricane Isaac, the USDOE has granted an extension for collecting and reporting CTE data for the 2011-12 school year. Therefore, the CATE data system has been re-opened for data collection and will remain open until close of business Friday, December 14, 2012.

District and/or school personnel responsible for data entry must have access rights assigned through their District's IT Security Coordinator. Security Coordinators can contact Paul Theriot at paul.theriot@la.gov or 225-219-0489 for further information on establishing access rights. All LEA's receiving Perkins funds may review and update their data as needed during this time.

SRCL and LDC Project Directors and Teachers

Please fowrad to SRCL and LDC Project Directors and Teachers.

Please bring the items listed to the November LDC training sessions:

1. A completed module (if you are project lead, LIS, network coach, site-based coach, etc., a module you have worked on with a teacher  writing and/or implementing); and
2. A laptop with informational/explanatory and argumentation templates downloaded from R-GroupSpace (your project director can also send these to you electronically); and
3. Your binder with a copy of the Common Core State Standards (also available at: http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards).

In addition, teachers are to bring:

1. Student samples (3 copies of each: a student whose writing is on grade level, below grade level and above grade level); and
2. Content and materials for writing a 2nd module.