ISEA Journey to Excellence Training Opportunity

Contact Colleen Heinz @ Colleen.Heinz@isea.org for more information

Formally Designated SINA or DINA Funds Update

Within the next couple of weeks, districts that have been previously identified as being a School in Need of Assistance will be receiving notification of allocated Section 1003/Title 1 SINA funds.   Once these determinations have been made,  a Section 1003/SINA tab will appear on your Title 1 Application page.  You will need to complete this section as it aligns to your 2015-2016 SINA plan to be approved.  All funds must be used by June 30th.  These allocations can not be carried over. 


Guidance
For the 2017-2018 school year, the Department will continue to use the list of schools that would have been on the SINA list generated from the 2015-2016 Iowa Assessment data had the SINA designation continued. The sole purpose of this list is to determine the distribution of funds from ESSA Sec. 1003 (formerly SINA).

Schools that would have been designated as SINA will receive these funds, but no list will be published.Per U.S. Department of Education guidance, the Department has chosen not to collect new plans from districts or schools formerly designated as SINA or DINA. Schools that receive funds under ESSA Sec. 1003 will be required to submit a budget and a brief description in their Title I application of how the school improvement funds will be used to improve reading and math achievement.
 
NOTE:  The above guidance went to districts via email from Amy Williamson on 9/7/17

Sign Up for Differentiated Accountability Sessions NOW

Just a quick reminder to sign up for our upcoming Differentiated Accountability (DA) sessions.  Do you need to attend all 3 sessions?  District decision.  Here's a couple of things to think about:

1.  The FASTBridge session will not only cover use & interpretation of FAST data for fall screening,  but you'll also learn about report features, setting up interventions & progress monitoring.

2.  The Universal Instruction 2 day sessions are a repeat of last year's materials.  IF your DA data for % at Benchmark falls in the Intensive (0-59%) range, then we would strongly suggest you attend this 2 day training.

3.  IF you attended last year's Universal Instruction sessions and your data falls into the Supplemental (60-79%) or Universal (80-100%) then we would strongly recommend that:

• your team is meeting on a regular basis to start working the Differentiated Accountability action plan.  
• all PK-6 students are completing the Universal Screening assessment (i.e., FAST) 3 x per year.
• classwide interventions are being used with classrooms that struggle to meet benchmarks
• students that are not meeting benchmark are provided with a research-based interventions that will remediate the identified skill deficit
• weekly progress monitoring occurs and is recorded properly
• you CELEBRATE the successes you see. 

​4.  Make plans to attend the Intervention System training.  This session will focus on content learning, skill development, and action planning to further develop an effective Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to benefit all learners.  Determining and monitoring intervention effectiveness and alignment of interventions to student need will also be addressed. 

5.  Who should attend?  District/school team (3-5 members) is recommended because successful implementation of the work requires collaboration.  Consider including staff who make decisions about instruction, assessment and data use.  -

Mentoring and Induction for CASA

Here are a few important pieces of information I picked up yesterday when I tuned into the Mentoring and Induction webinar that I thought I'd share.

1.  Click here  for resouces that will help you with this work.  A recording of the webinar will be made available @ https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/educator-quality/mentoring-induction-beginning-educators

2.  The bottom line was this.  If districts choose to continue with the Mentoring and Induction Program as stated in the plan that was put on the required template last year, they will upload that.

3.  If schools choose to use their TLC Part 4 structures for Mentoring and Induction, they would upload nothing.  Rather, they would review Part 4 of their TLC plan to make sure it addresses their support of beginning teachers accurately.  If their current Part 4 is accurate, they are good to go and continue the work. If their Part 4 needs to be adjusted, they will need to submit a Plan of Change for Part 4 of their TLC plan.

4.  Below you will find a few of the pertinent slides that were shared and serve as great reminders.  Again, you can find the link to the entire ppt when you click for resources in #1.

 

Updated CASA Information

I'm sure many of you had the chance to "tune into" today's CASA webinar.  Here is a link to the ppt that was shared and a couple of important things to remember.  As always, we're here to help.  If we can be of any assistance, just let us know.

1.  Due Sept. 15

• Assurance (public and nonpublic).  Click here for additional information
• CSIP (public and nonpublic). Click here for additional information
• Mentoring & Induction Plans
• Talented & Gifted (TAG) Plans
• Career Planning (New this Year).  Click here for additional information
• Preschool Desk Audit (New in CASA this year)

 2.  Due Dec. 15 (NOT AVAILABLE UNTIL AFTER SEPT. 15)

• K12 Desk Audit (New in CASA this year)
• AEA Desk Audit (New in CASA this year)

3.  Additional Items to Note

• Title III and Lau Plan Reporting are in the works, information will be provided as soon as possible
• Applications for Waivers and Exemptions are up and running in the CASA system.  These submissions are available only to superintendents and nonpublic administrators. 

4.  Resources for this work.  All content and deadlines are posted to the Iowa Department of Education website.

• Access and 2017 Submission Requirements
  
  
  2017 Applications and Waivers
  
  
        Desk Audit Webinar - Friday, September 15, 2017, 10:00-11:00
  
  
  Upcoming and Recorded Webinars
   

TUNE IN for Mentoring & Induction Updates

Please make plans to tune into the August 16 webinar hosted by the Iowa Department of Education on the topic of supporting beginning teachers and state reporting requirements.  Programming expectations as well as reporting requirements will be addressed. 

August 16         1 p.m.    https://IDOE.zoom.us/j/673620952

ALSO, the following document was shared to clarify options to meet implementation and reporting expectations: 

 Click here to access this document

2017-2018 Universal Screening Window

It will be here before we know it.  Below you will find information and a link to the 2017-2018 Universal Screening Window information.  As always, we're here to help.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to give us a call.

Click here for the direct link:  https://www.educateiowa.gov/documents/literacy/2017/02/2017-2018-universal-screening-windows-regular-school-year