Dear Colleagues:

First, I want to offer congratulations as the year closes. I know most of you have packed nightly schedules with graduation ceremonies and award banquets. As stressful as it can be, it's also a very gratifying time. Please enjoy it. 

In the next two weeks, the Department will release LEAP, iLEAP, and ACT outcomes. Please be on the lookout for emails from me that provide you advance notice of the information.

Please also make sure to review timelines for Compass submission and outcomes. As a result of your feedback, we will be pushing back the deadline for final submission of ratings in the Compass Information System by two weeks to July 29. 

The work at hand over the summer could not be more critical. Our network teams are preparing to establish priorities in our four instructional focus areas, focusing on feedback on classroom practice and collaboration starting with student work. Your principals and Teacher Leaders are using the Classroom Support Toolbox to plan curriculum and assessment for next school year, in accordance with new standards for student learning. Teachers are pursuing summer professional development opportunities such as Literacy by Design, Laying the Foundation, Advanced Placement and the second Teacher Leader summit, to equip themselves with Common Core skills. 

These preparations ensure that we are ready for August, not just to start school, but to start learning on a level playing field with every state, school, and classroom in America. 

As always, thanks for all you do for our children,

John  

John White

Louisiana Department of Education

Twitter @LouisianaSupe

Please contact compass@la.gov with any questions.

Final Evaluation Resources

Summer 2013 Compass Evaluator Trainings for new evaluators of teachers and new evaluators of leaders have been scheduled. While participants are encouraged to attend sessions with participants from their own LEA, this is not required. Trainings will be held around the state. 

Participants must register on Coursewhere. Click here for Teacher Evaluators and here for Leader Evaluators. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your Network Leader.

Reminder: Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Symposium and Celebration

• Luncheon hosted by Dream Teachers featuring Ron Clark, New York Times bestselling author and founder of the Ron Clark Academies.
• Common Core-centered professional development workshops led by Louisiana Teacher Leaders.  
• Awards ceremony and dinner to honor the state's top educators and announce the 2014 Teacher and Principal of the Year. Click here for more information or contact excellenteducators@la.gov.

Please refer questions to Jennifer Baird at jennifer.baird@la.gov. 

In order to assist teachers in preparing students for college and careers with the latest College Board program developments, tools and resources, the College Board will offer a series of 2013 fall counselor workshops. These free workshops offer an opportunity to network with colleagues, share best practices and more. To register go click here.

For additional information, please e-mail tristen.guillory@la.gov, or call at 225-219-0454.

Guidance for Raising Student Academic Achievement

As districts plan for the coming school year, the Department is focused on supporting districts to flexibly align federal funds to the needs of students. As such, the Department is providing a set of resources to support districts in building the plan for student support and realizing additional flexibilties. 

1. Programmatic Support Structure: One point of contact per district for IDEA and NCLB planning
2. Unified Application: Consolidation of 23 grant application into one system
3. Fiscal Flexibility: Allows districts to use federal and state funds to support your district's plan to increase student achievement
4. Coordinated Monitoring: Aligns all monitoring activities to one monitoring cycle per district per year 

Empowering Educators: Planning for Success

This webinar will serve as an overview of all four components of our support system.

• Wednesday, May 15th 10-11 am

Unified Application: Creating the Plan 

This webinar will focus on the specifics of the unified application. 

• Thursday, May 16th 1-2 pm

Webinar login information below:

• Click here to log in.
• Toll-Free Number: 888-204-5984 / Meeting Access Code: 1154970#

Students who entered 9th grade for the first time in the 2010-11 school year or later are subject to the EOC, not the GEE requirements. This change in STS will not be in place until next year; however, this will not be in time for early graduates. Therefore, it is crucial that until edits are made in STS, schools enter these students as having passed the GEE (Passed GEE Flag). The official transcript and extracts for BOR will reflect that all necessary requirements have been met for these early graduates.

USDA Notification Regarding Summer Expansion Promotion to Schools    

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) operates summer meal programs to help ensure children do not go hungry in your community this summer. The USDA and the U.S. Department of Education would like to notify LEAs of the summer expansion promotion to schools.

Families Helping Families IEP Participation

The Department has received questions about the participation of Families Helping Families representatives in IEP meetings. These representatives can participate in IEP meetings upon parent request. LDOE recognizes that some parents may need additional support to navigate the IEP process, and FHF centers are available to assist those parents throughout the process.  

If you have any questions, contact Corrie Manieri by email at corrie.manieri@la.gov.