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Superintendent's Message
Dear Colleagues:
As we wind down one year, we prepare for another. Next week look for a newsletter focused on closing out the Compass process for 2012-2013. Also the Louisiana Believes Annual Report released yesterday outlines our state's academic progress and the strides we've taken over the last year. It has been an tremendous effort.
This week the Teacher Leaders gather for the second time in Lafayette to gear up for next year. Sessions will focus on planning lessons and planning units aligned with new expectations for students. We hope teachers will leave equipped with new tools to adjust lessons, units, and instructional materials - ready to re-deliver and closer to ready to start the year. The Teacher Leaders are a tremendous group and deserve a great deal of thanks for all that they have already put into their role and this event.
In conjunction with the Teacher Leaders coming together, the Department continues to stock the Classroom Support Toolbox with tools you and your schools can use to plan and teach. Tomorrow the Department will release the Classroom Video Library that demonstrates classroom practice in all areas of the Compass rubric, at multiple levels of performance. The videos will be used in Compass trainings later this summer and can serve as guides for teachers and administrators alike over the course of the year. The Department will continue to add videos to the video library throughout the year.
Finally, Network teams continue to work with you and your teams on readying academic systems for the year to come. July 16th Networks will join with Superintendents and other district staff in Lafayette for a statewide collaboration event, to focus on goal setting, teacher collaboration, and observation feedback. Network teams are also working with your staff on freeing up Federal dollars too often unnecessarily restricted to limited programs. We hope this is helpful in aligning Federal funds with your district's vision for academic achievement rather than bureaucratic dictates from Washington or Baton Rouge.
Our schools, our teachers, and our students have accomplished so much. But our foot remains firmly on the gas.
As always, thank you for all you do for our children,
John
John White
Louisiana Department of Education
Twitter @LouisianaSupe
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Classroom Support Toolbox Udates
New Instructional Video Library
This week, the Louisiana Department of Education is releasing the instructional video library. The video library includes examples of the Common Core aligned across grade levels and subject areas aligned to varied levels of the rubric. Educators can use the library independently, as a self-study tool; as a resource in collaboration meetings; or as the basis for professional development.
The Department will add videos to the library throughout the year. If you have videos that could be helpful to include, please email compass@la.gov.
The Instructional Video Library can be found in the Teacher Support Toolbox and the Classroom Support Toolbox.
Assessment and Curriculum Guidance
As Louisiana transitions to more rigorous standards for students, the Department is ending prescriptive curricula and rules that have restricted educator decision making. Instead, the Department will provide tools for districts, empower districts to support teachers directly at each school site, and prioritize four focus areas. This guide summarizes the current recommendations from the Department on how to approach decision making around the curriculum and assessment focus areas for this coming school year. All of the tools outlined in this document are available in the Classroom Support Toolbox. Please reach out to your network contact with questions.
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District Support
Louisiana Teacher Leaders' Summit - June 12th and 13th
This week the Louisiana Teacher Leaders will be coming together for their second conference focused on Common Core aligned instruction. During this training participants will practice translating Common Core standards in to effective daily lessons and instructional tasks. All superintendents are welcome to attend the event. Event objectives, logistics, pre-reading and session materials posted on the Louisiana Teacher Leader page here. For all additional questions and concerns email louisianateacherleaders@la.gov.
Teacher Leader Event Reimbursement Information
The Department will cover the cost of hotels for the evenings of June 11-12, 2013, up to the state rate of $85 (plus occupancy and local taxes) per night for those participants making their own hotel reservations as part of the Teacher Leader Summer Training. The Department will allocate funds directly to districts only and will not reimburse participants directly. A paid receipt from the hotel will be necessary for each participant for all reimbursements.
Districts requesting reimbursements for lodging costs for this event should complete and mail the attached coversheet along with the participants' zero balance hotel invoices to the address provided on the coversheet by Friday, July 5, 2013.
Given the proximity to the event the Department will not cover hotel costs for the following districts: Acadia, Iberia, Lafayette, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, Vermillion and West Baton Rouge.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email louisianateacherleaders@la.gov.
Attachment: TL Reimbursement Coversheet Save the Date - Statewide Collaboration
What: Louisiana Statewide Collaboration
When: Tuesday, July 16th, 8:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Where: Cajundome in Lafayette, LA
Who: District Superintendent and two other participants
Breakout sessions will be focused on the following topics:
- School Leader and Teacher Learning Target
- Assessment and Curriculum
- School and Teacher Collaboration
- Compass Observation and Feedback
- Rigor of Student Learning
The Department is seeking out districts to present best practices and facilitate breakout sessions. For more information about potential session outcomes and to access the brief application, please click here. Applications are due no later than June 20th.
If you have any questions, please contact District Support at districtsupport@la.gov.
Jump Start Webinar
High school pathways should connect with concrete steps after graduation. Superintendent White will be touring the state this June to discuss the Louisiana's career pathways and how we might prepare more students for jobs in high-growth, high-wage sectors. The event at Baton Rouge Community College on June 20th at 9:00 a.m. will be live streamed. Click here to view. For those districts looking to get an early start on a better Career Diploma we encourage you to join our upcoming Jump Start webinar.
Jump Start webinar information below:
- Click here to log in.
- Toll-Free Number: (877)336-1831 / Meeting access code: 2416498#
District End-of-Year Survey Information
The Department believes its work needs to meet the needs of our educators. With the school year ending, the Department is now preparing to disseminate an end-of-year customer satisfaction survey to seek input from each district about the effectiveness and quality of our support system, communication and tools. The end-of-year customer satisfaction survey will be sent to district superintendents this week via email. Please complete this survey in collaboration with your staff. The survey, which will remain open for two weeks, will include an open-ended question asking what topics superintendents are interested in collaborating around during the statewide event.
If you have any questions, please contact District Support at districtsupport@la.gov.
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Compass
Final Evaluation Resources
Throughout the last month, the Department has released a number of resources to help guide districts through the end-of-year Compass process. The table below recaps the key actions districts will take in the coming weeks to ensure all teachers and leaders receive actionable and accurate final evaluations. Resources are available in the District and Teacher Support Toolboxes.
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Upcoming Compass Milestones
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Dates
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Value-added data available
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Available: Week of June 24
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Submit final evaluation data in CIS (evaluators)
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Deadline: July 29
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Facilitate end-of-year conversations (evaluators)
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Start/End: Districts and schools develop timeline
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Compass Final Report released
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Released: September
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In next week's newsletter the Department will share additional information on value-added results and well as share information and updates on 2013-2014 processes. These updates include:
- Value-added results will be released the week of June 24th. The Department will schedule time to discuss results before they are live in the Compass Information System. More information will follow.
- Several updates have been made to the Compass Leader Rubric. Please look for an updated draft in next week's newsletter.
- Last year, districts were able to request flexibility with respect to the Compass observation rubric. Next week, the Department will release additional information about this and other flexibility available in 2013-2014.
Please contact compass@la.gov with any questions.
Compass Information System Evaluation Data Upload Process
All districts are now uploading Compass data into the Compass Information System (CIS) until July 29th. If any districts used a system other than CIS this year, please use the guidance below to upload your data.
The upload process has been updated to reflect improvements made to Compass in January and will enable districts to manage all data entry for end-of-year evaluations. Districts will be able to begin uploading files starting on June 18th.
If you have questions, please contact compass@la.gov.
Register Now - Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Symposium and Celebration
Please share with all district educators. Registration is open for the 7th Annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Symposium through July 5, 2013. Join us as we honor the 2014 Louisiana Teacher and Principal of the Year finalists. The event includes:
- 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.
Please contact excellenteducators@la.gov with any questions.
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School and Course Choice
District Charter Application Process
By August 5th, each local district is required by law to start their district charter school application process. Districts must use the common district charter school application found on the Department's district charter webpage. The Department has created a manual and a walkthrough PowerPoint that will guide district leaders through the steps required to set up a district charter application process. These resources will be posted to the Department's website on June 12th.
Districts with questions regarding the district charter application process should contact rfa@la.gov.
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Finance
Preliminary FY 2013-14 MFP Budget Letter
Attached is the preliminary FY 2013-14 budget letter. The official FY 2013-14 MFP budget letter will be provided by the June 30th deadline. The FY 2013-14 MFP budget letter is based on the FY 2011-12 MFP Resolution.
If you have any questions, or need additional information, you may contact Charlotte Stevens at 225-342-4989, or via email at charlotte.stevens@la.gov. You may also contact Paula Matherne at 225-342-3590, or via email at paula.matherne@la.gov.
Attachment:
FY 2013-14 Supplemental MFP Funding
The MFP is being funded in FY 2013-14 at $3.5 billion including increased funding for student growth, classroom teacher pay raises and other expenses.
- An additional $69 million in state funds is provided for:
- $34.5 Million for pay raise for classroom teacher pay raises, and
- $34.5 Million for other expenses
- The pay raises will be allocated according to established compensation plan.
- The $69 million increase for FY 2013-14 was calculated by using $3,961 as the MFP base per pupil amount in the FY 2011-12 MFP Formula
- More details on the FY 2013-14 MFP allocations will be forthcoming in the future newsletters from the Department.
If you have any questions, or need additional information, please contact Charlotte Stevens at 225-342-4989, or via email at charlotte.stevens@la.gov.
Grant Claim Submission Deadline - July 15th
Final claim submission deadlines for awards ending June 30th each year are listed below. These include claims submitted through eGMS. All requests for funds must include goods and services received by June 30th.
Deadlines:
- 8 (g) claims due: July 5th
- TANF claims due: July 5th
- Perkins claims due: July 5th
- Federal claims due: July 15th
- State claims due: July 15th
All claims for reimbursement with supporting documentation must be emailed to ldoe.federalclaims@la.gov or ldoe.stateclaims@la.gov. (Please do NOT mail or fax claims.)
Unified Application Submission Deadline Extension
The Unified Application is the consolidation of 23 grant applications into one system. This efficient grant management process provides a transparent, one-stop-shop for all grant management functions. The Unified Application submission deadline has been extended to June 23, 2013 for NCLB and IDEA programs. The due date for other programs within the Unified Application is June 30, 2013.
If you have any questions, contact your NCLB or IDEA network team point of contact.
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Data
Coordinated Early Intervening Services
Please forward to special education supervisors. The Louisiana Department of Education is required under IDEA, to collect data on Coordinated Early Intervention Services (CEIS) provided at the LEA. CEIS apply to students who have not been identified as a student with a disability under IDEA, but need additional academic and behavioral supports in their general education classroom. Please take a moment to complete the attached table by Monday, August 12, 2013 and submit to Cindy Hilton, at cindy.hilton@la.gov. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Cindy Hilton.
Attachment:
CEIS 2012-2013 Table
2012-2013 Title III Survey
Please forward to all Title III administrators, NCLB coordinators or designated staff. The Title III survey is intended to capture data related to English language acquisition requirements and activities for limited English proficient (LEP) students. Completion of the survey is an obligation required for all LEAs that received a Title III or Title III immigrant influx allocation for SY 2012-2013. The survey can be found on the LEADS Portal website and can be found here. Please complete the survey by close of business on July 15, 2013.
For more information, contact shelia.campbell@la.gov. |
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