Dear Colleagues:

 

On January 16th, the Department announced a plan to provide increased, intensive support for you and educators in your district in planning for the 2015 school year. As part of that effort, this week the Department will be releasing two support tools to guide those plans, both of which will be discussed on this week's District Planning Team call.

 

The first, is a package of sample 2015 assessment questions. These questions are precise replicas of the questions students will be answering on next year's test, provided 15 months in advance. Using these samples, school leaders, teachers, and parents, can explore not only the intellectual challenges of the new tests, but also the technology that enables students to demonstrate their thinking in ways never before possible. In the months to come, the Department will use the 2015 assessment questions in training 4,000 Louisiana Teacher Leaders. Later this month, the Department will also provide you and your districts with the 2015 assessment guidance, detailing the specific policies and practices associated with next year's 3-8 assessments. 

 

The second tool, to be released publicly later this week - but available at this link for your review is the January 2014 Louisiana Technology Footprint. This the fourth edition of this report, updating you and your communities on the progress you've made in providing students a technology-equipped school. The report provides a building-by-building and district-by-district look at devices, network capacity, and broadband strength, establishing in each case the school's status against basic and advanced standards. It can serve as a guide in targeting the investments districts and charter schools plan to make, so as to ensure a digital-ready school for every child.

 

In this time of change, our educators, parents, and students have the time they need to learn new expectations. It is equally important that you as district and school leaders have the intensive support you need to plan. Concrete examples of 2015 test questions and up-to-date information on technology in every school provide a view into the future badly needed for the good planning our children deserve.

 

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

 

In This Issue:

You are invited to participate in the Superintendents' Conference Call hosted by State Superintendent John White on Wednesday, February 12, at 10:30 am.  You may begin dialing into the call 15 minutes in advance.  Please follow the instructions below:

 

To join the Superintendents' February 12, 2014 Meeting:

 

1. Click here to log in.
2. Select: Participant Application
3. When prompted, enter the Meeting Access Code: 9725937#
4. Dial into the Phone Bridge: (866) 814-1914 (Use this phone bridge only; do not use the AT&T phone bridge listed on the link above.)
5. When prompted, please give the Meeting ID #: 1631691
6. You will need to identify yourself in order to be placed into the meeting.

District Planning Calls

 

The Department is continuing a set of District Planning calls that will address topics related to curriculum, assessment, technology readiness, and fiscal planning. This week's call will take place on Wednesday, February 5th at 10 am. In addition, tomorrow's call will reference the District Planning Guide.

 

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.

 

Spring 2014 Field Test

 

Using Pearson Access

 

Pearson Access is the portal used to manage all aspects of test administration. District test coordinators of participating districts have been provided account information for Pearson Access. DTCs should ensure accounts are set up for all other relevant staff.  For information on setting up user accounts, click here. See also supporting information on setting up user roles and uploading user files. 

 

To ensure users receive emails, IT staff should add @pearson.com and @support.pearson.com to the district's whitelist.

 

***Additional training for both District Test Coordinators and District Technology Coordinators is available in February. See below for more details.

 

Technology Preparation

 

• When: Wednesday, February 12 from 9:00 am-12:00 pm.  Department staff will be available from 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm.
• Who: District Technology Coordinators
• Where: Iberville Building, Baton Rouge
• Click here to register. 

 

Test Administration 

• When: Tuesday, February 18 from 10:00 am-11:00 am
• Who: District Test Coordinators
• Click here to log in / Meeting Key: 4762356#
• To connect by phone, dial 877-336-1831

In addition, the Department will be hosting in person sessions for school test coordinators in late February. These sessions will be similar to the sessions the Department holds for EOC preparations. The dates and locations of these will be available in next week's newsletter. Training resources will be available here.

 

Reminder: Computer-Based Field Test Class Selection

 

Classroom selection file submissions are due to the Data Management FTP site by Wednesday, February 5, 2014. The Department will match this file with your Spring Roster File to complete the Student Data Upload into Pearson Access for schools participating in the Spring 2014 Field Test.

• Click here for instructions.
• Download the two Excel spreadsheets needed here and here.

 

Please forward to district technology coordinators. As learning and testing evolves to include new devices and technologies, districts must keep abreast of the latest management, configuration and support techniques. The Department and Apple will be hosting three trainings to provide schools and districts with the latest guidance and technical information around iOS devices for both classroom and testing use.

 

Dates, Locations and Registration Information:

 

• Vermillion Parish: Friday, February 21 2014 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
• Vermillion Parish School Board Central Office Technology Center at 220 S. Jefferson St, Abbeville, LA
• Register here 

 

• Caddo Parish: Tuesday, February 18 2014 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
• Wanda L. Gunn Professional Development Center Professional Development Auditorium at 3908 Joplin St. Shreveport, LA 71108
• Register here 

 

• East Baton Rouge: Thursday, February 20 2014 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Central
• Iberville Building at 627 N. Fourth St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802
• Register here

 

For questions concerning these trainings, please email EdTech@la.gov. 

  

E-Rate Assistance

                                                                                                                      

Please forward to district E-Rate coordinators. The Department will be expanded its support and training to schools and districts that utilize the federal E-Rate program to purchase telecommunication hardware, software and services. The Department will be hosting a series of webinars, application support days, and one-on-one support calls for every step within the E-Rate process. More information about these resources can be found here.

 

Upcoming webinars

 

The Application Process: Correct Filing and Creation of Forms 470, 471, Item 21, contracts and backup documentation

• When: February 10 from 9am - 10am
• Click here to log in. 
• Toll-free number: 888-808-6929 / Access Code: 9571670 

 

Upcoming E-Rate In-Person Applicant Assistance Days 

 

These sessions are intended to provide schools and districts with one-on-one support in filing and/or reviewing their 2014-15 E-Rate application and forms.  Schools and districts should email ERate@la.gov to register for these events.

 

Date: February 11

Time: 9 am - 3 pm

Location: Claiborne Building, Baton Rouge

 

For questions regarding E-Rate Support, please email ERate@la.gov.

 

Spring 2014 Test Administration Webinars

 

District test coordinators are invited to attend the Spring 2014 Test Administration webinars for Accountability Coding, EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT,  and the GEE retest. Topics include student participation, assessment content, design, accommodations, scoring, and reporting. Archived webinars and resources will be available here. 

 

Accountability Codes

• Tuesday, February 11 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am 
• Click here to log in / Meeting Key: 4762356#
• To connect by phone, dial 877-336-1831 

EXPLORE/PLAN/ACT

• Thursday, February 13 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am 
• Click here to log in / Meeting Key: 4762356#
• To connect by phone, dial 877-336-1831 

GEE retest

• Friday, February 14 from 10:00 am - 10:30 am
• Click here to log in / Meeting Key: 4762356#
• To connect by phone, dial 877-336-1831 

ACT & LDOE School Site Code Crosswalk

 

To properly distribute materials by site-code for the ACT assessments, districts and schools should refer to the ACT & LDOE School Site Code Crosswalk file. 

 

Text-to-Speech Accommodation Form

 

Text-to-speech accommodated forms of select statewide assessments are available upon request by the local school district for students with a documented instructional and assessment accommodation of assistive technology on the IEP or 504 IAP. Click here for instructions.

 

Spring 2014 Test Security 

 

Spring 2014 test security resources are available in the assessment library at www.louisianabelieves.com. 

• Monitoring and observation forms for Phase I, Phase II, and EOC testing, 
• Permission to test in an environment other than the usual classroom
• Sample test irregularity reporting form

 

Upcoming Task Force and Commission Meetings 

 

 

 

 

MFP and Child CountData Collection - Due February 21st

 

IDEA and MFP funding count date is January 31st.  File uploading should begin this week to ensure error free files are submitted by February 21st.  We will check the quality of data submissions and communicate possible count errors the week of February 24th to allow time for correction and ensure accurate funding.  Please be aware that all state systems will be down on February 22nd for a mandatory update by DOA, and the SNAP file (indicating students eligible for free or reduced lunches) will be available for download this week.

 

E-mail Sherry.Randall@la.gov if you have any questions regarding SIS records and Jennifer.Edgar@la.gov for questions regarding SER records

 

Reminder:  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 February 5th  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.

 

LEADS Portal, INSIGHT Portal and eGMS Scheduled Maintenance 

 

To facilitate proper maintenance of applications and corresponding databases, all applications available from the LEADS Portal and INSIGHT Portal, as well as eGMS, will be down on Wednesday, February 5th, from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm for normal monthly production server maintenance. Additionally, SER IEP changes will be deployed during this time.

 

State Systems and Email Down February 22nd

 

All state systems, email, and web mail will be down February 22nd for a mandatory update by DOA.  Systems will shut down 5 p.m. Friday, February 21st and should be back online Monday morning.

 

National Youth Science Camp

 

Each year the governor of West Virginia issues and invitation to our governor to select two outstanding graduating seniors as delegates to the National Science Youth Camp. The two students will spend a month in the Monongahela National Forest and participate in an intense STEM experience. All expenses are covered for the students who spend June 27th - July 20th in West Virginia. Applicants should be candidates for graduation in May who intend on pursuing a science, technology, engineering or mathematics based career. Applications must be submitted here. Deadline for completing the application is Friday March 1, 2014.

 

If there are any questions, please contact jean.may-brett@la.gov.

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

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