Dear Colleagues:

 

First, I hope that you will be able to join me next week or the following week for a fourth and final round of discussions statewide on career education. At the meeting we'll be talking through the details of  a final proposal for Jump Start, the state's program for school districts, industry, and higher education to collaborate in providing students opportunity for continued education and a high wage career. You can find times, dates, and locations for this meeting here.

 

This Wednesday also marks the kick-off of the Department's increased and intensive support as districts prepare for the 2014-2015 school year. The year to come will be one of important change, and we want to be sure that you, your administrators, and your teachers are supported in making decisions regarding curriculum, assessment, technology, and spending. Please join us for an initial conference call for District Planning Teams on Wednesday, January 15th at 1pm. See below for participation instructions.

   

The state will use three support structures over the course of the next six months:

 

• Teacher Leaders will be trained in using school-level and classroom-level tools and resources.

You can expect early and frequent releases of curriculum guidance, assessment guides, technology reports, and spending templates, according to a calendar we will provide during tomorrow's call. Every two to three weeks, Department staff will communicate a new batch of tools and guidance to the District Planning Teams, to be followed by support for your district from Network Teams. This process will continue for the duration of the spring semester.

 

We are doing the right thing for our kids. Staying on the same page won't be easy, but with a plan in place, we can not only stay ahead the change but also shape it, making sure we have a plan for improvement in every school and district in the state.

 

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

 

In This Issue:

District Planning Calls

 

The Department will be hosting a set of District Planning calls that will address topics related to curriculum, assessment, technology readiness, and fiscal planning. A scope and sequence of what will be covered on these calls will be available during the first call on January 15th.

 

This week's call will be focused on:

1. District support for 2014-15 planning
2. Assessment calendar 2014-15
3. Instructional curriculum reviews
4. Spring field test 

Call Dates: January 15, January 29, February 19, March 12, April 2, May 7, June 11 

Time:  All calls will be held from 1 pm - 2 pm

Login information 

• Click here to join by computer
• If you will be participating in both the webinar and audio portions of this event please use your computer's audio for listening versus dialing in by phone. If you do not have speakers or need to join by telephone only, please do so by calling 877-336-1829. Enter this Access Code when you are prompted: 9725937# 

***Note: This call is limited in capacity to 250 participants. While we do not anticipate exceeding this capacity, please listen in with your colleagues to the extent possible to keep as many lines open as possible.  Also these calls will be recorded and posted.

 

2014-2015 Assessment Calendar Released

 

Please forward to appropriate district and school staff. The 2014-2015 Assessment Calendar can be accessed here. Additional information will follow in upcoming District Planning Calls and assessment webinars .

 

For any questions, please contact Susan.Kahn@la.gov.

 

Field Test Info Sessions

 

The Department will be holding three information sessions around the state to prepare for the spring field test. These sessions are targeted towards the District Test Coordinators and the District Technology Coordinators. The sessions will be recorded and posted for those who miss them.  Materials for these calls will only be available online.  If you'd like to print the  materials, please do so on your own.  A link with materials will be emailed to all registrants by Friday of this week.

 

To see an agenda for the day, click here.

 

Date	Location	Address
January 21, 2014	Cox Communication	2121 Airline Dr, Metairie, LA 70001
January 22, 2014	Claiborne Building	1201 N. Third St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802
January 24, 2014	Bossier Instructional Ctr.	2719 Airline Dr., Bossier City, LA 71111

 

 

PARCC Field Test Administration User Information  

  

Please forward to district test coordinators. District test coordinators with districts participating in the upcoming PARCC field test will receive an email this week from Pearson with account and login information to PearsonAccess. PearsonAccess is the portal through which field test users and test administration will be managed.  It will also contain the documents needed for field test administration. Training on using PearsonAccess will be provided at the regional trainings on January 21, 22 and 24. 

 

For questions regarding the user accounts, please contact Susan.Yuan@la.gov.

 

AP^® and Higher Education Webinar

 

The College Board will be hosting an "AP and Higher Education" webinar on January 22 at 2:30pm.  In this session they will examine how AP fits into the admission and enrollment process, how AP exams are developed and scored, and  how colleges develop and review credit granting policies. Click here to register for the webinar. Space is limited.  Reserve your spot today.

 

For additional information, please contact tristen.guillory@la.gov.

 

Reminder: Webinar on LAA 1 and ELDA Test Administration 

 

District test coordinators are invited to attend the Spring test administration webinar for the LEAP Alternate Assessment Level 1 (LAA1) on January 15, 2013 from 10:00-11:00 am and the English Language Development Assessment (ELDA) on  January 16, 2013 from 10:00-11:00 am. Topics include student participation, assessment content, design, accommodations, scoring, and reporting.

 

 ***Note: This call is limited in capacity to 200 participants. District Test Coordinators should plan to attend the live webinar and redeliver training to School Test Coordinators at a later time. For optimal results, click here to install the AT&T Connect application prior to the scheduled event. 

 

Webinar information below:

• When: Wednesday, January 15 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am and Thursday, January 16 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am
• Click here to log in / Meeting Key (if prompted): 4762356#
• To connect by phone, dial 877-336-1831

 

EOC Score Reports and Course Grade Waiver for ELA and Math December 2013

 

Student score reports for EOC ELA and mathematics will be available in the EOC test system January 22, 2014. The deadline to receive the EOC Course Grade Waiver for ELA and/or Math, if applicable, is January 22, 2014.  

 

Accommodation Materials for EXPLORE and PLAN

 

District test coordinators should place orders for students that need Audio CD's (one per student with accommodation: Test Read Aloud) or Reader's Script (one per student with accommodation: Communication Assistance) to properly test ACT Explore or ACT Plan according to the accommodations prescribed on the student's IEP, Section 504 IAP, or LEP Accommodation Plan. An EXPLORE district form and a PLAN district form should be filled out separately for each program. Please include all district schools on the program form. The deadline to submit this order to ACT is February 3rd.

 

For more information, refer to the Test Supervisors Manuals posted at the EXPLORE and PLAN links for Louisiana.

 

Upcoming Task Force and Commission Meetings 

  

 

 

 

Data Coordinator's Webinar

 

To stay informed of the latest changes, due dates, and relevant information on the core data systems, please join us for the next data coordinator's webinar on January 15th at 2:00pm. Please see the INSIGHT Coordinator Portal for participation instructions and agenda. 

 

Please e-mail Rebecca.Lamury@la.gov if you have questions.

 

Save the Date -  International Reading Association Conference

 

The 49th conference of the International Reading Association (IRA) will be held in New Orleans May 9-12, 2014.  Educators throughout the world will attend this literacy conference, and IRA offers a special registration value to Louisiana teachers and administrators.  When registering in groups of 5 or more, registrants receive full conference registration and an IRA membership. The registration form can be found here.

 

For more information, visit www.reading.org or contact Local Arrangements Chair Debbie Rickards at darickards@caddo.k12.la.us or 318-869-2335.

John White
State Superintendent of Education
(toll-free) 877.453.2721 
Twitter @LouisianaSupe

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