September 2015 H.E.L.P. Blog

What's NEW? (Hold on to your hats!)

A New State Test on the Horizon

Last month, the State Board of Education voted unanimously to begin the rule-making process required for adopting Smarter Balanced Assessment as Iowa's new state test in English/ Language Arts and Mathematics. SBAC will replace replace Iowa Assessment in English and Math for grades 3-11 in the 2016-17 school year.

Why Smarter Balanced? Here are some of the Task Force's reasoning:
1) Tighter alignment to Iowa Core in content and rigor which means a more fair, valid and reliable measure of student learning.
2) A balanced, high-quality assessment system including formative, summative, and interim components.
3) Inclusion of performance tasks and more rigorous constructed response items.
4) A computer adapted assessment system more accurately measures student achievement and growth.
5) Cost will be more but comparable to the Next Generation Iowa Assessments.
6) Time to administer the assessment comparable to Next Generation Iowa Assessments; approximately 2 to 3 ¾ hours, depending on the preparation time for performance task.
7) More accessibility features and accommodations for students.
8) Additional products and services: practice tests, training tests, professional development modules on scoring, reporting, administration, assessment literacy, and understanding the Common Core.
9) Digital Library access to education colleges and collaboration on college and career readiness studies.
With Smarter Balanced, schools will have access to information to make the best instructional and curricular decisions possible and students have access to information to guide their learning.
What about Science?
The Assessment Task Force is reconvening to investigate a statewide Science assessment.
Other Large-Scale Assessment
This school year will also see transition of two assessments for special populations. IELDA & TELPA (for English Language Learners) will transition to ELPA21. The Iowa Alternate Assessment will transition to Dynamic Learning Maps.

What's DUE?

October 1: Count date for Certified Enrollment; VRF production site opens
October 8: Approve student-level data from VRF into Certified Enrollment
October 15: Certified Enrollment Certification deadline
October 16: Submission deadline for Cohort 3 TLC Plans
October 30: Special Education Count Date

August 2015 Helping Educational Leaders Prepare

WELCOME TO THE 2015-16 SCHOOL YEAR

Why follow the H.E.L.P Site and Blog?  It is a 24/7 online resource!

What is it?  Helping Educational Leaders Prepare shares up-to-date information and links to keep you in the loop! 

How do I become part of the H.E.L.P. community?  Join this blog! Add the HELP calendar to yours! Add the H.E.L.P. Site to your Favorites!

WHAT'S NEW?

Support for Schools/ Districts In Need of Assistance

For many years, support for SINA/DINA has been in the form of an Iowa Support Team.  With the adoption of the new Differentiated Accountability system, this support will be changing.  Guidance for SINA/ DINA will be provided primarily through the Department of Education, beginning with a webinar scheduled for August 27.  Administrators and Title I Personnel of Schools In Need of Assistance have received a link to join this informational session. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

Mentoring and Induction for 2015-16 
Q: Will our district be receiving the $1300 per beginning educator this year to support mentoring and induction?
A: Yes. ALL districts will receive $1300 for each first or second year beginning educator, including districts with approved TLC plans. $1,000 of those funds is paid to the mentor and the remaining dollars can be used by the district to pay for related program costs, including FICA or IPERS.

Q: Since my district’s TLC plan was approved, we don’t need to follow our Mentoring and Induction Plan.
A:  False. The Mentoring and Induction legislation is still current. It is an expectation for districts to continue the 2-year support to first and second year beginning educators Each educator in the first or second year of the profession enters into a two-year induction program that addresses personal and professional needs and focuses on Iowa’s eight Teaching Standards.

Q: Does my Mentoring and Induction Plan need to be updated each year?
A: Only if there are changes. If there are changes, a district needs to complete the Request for Plan Revision and send the revision to Marietta.Rives@iowa.gov GHAEA contact: crichardson@ghaea.org

Iowa Core State Science Standards
Members of the State Board of Education adopted new state standards for what Iowa students should know and be able to do in science from kindergarten through 12th grade. The board’s vote was based on a state review team’s recommendation that Iowa adopt the Next Generation Science Standards with some modifications. Follow the link to learn more.

Differentiated Accountability

Amy Williamson, Chief Bureau of School Improvement recently released this statement: The Iowa Department of Education is piloting a new Differentiated Accountability system during the 2015-2016 school year as part of the work of Collaborating for Iowa’s Kids (C4K), a partnership of the DE, AEAs, and LEAs in the state. Forty-eight districts, nonpublic schools and AEAs have volunteered to pilot continuous improvement processes in Pre-Kindergarten through 6th grade literacy as part of the state’s single continuous improvement system. As the system grows, it will continue to parallel the work of C4K, creating a system of delivery for evidence-based practices across Iowa.

A new Statewide School Improvement Team (SSIT) has been created to support Differentiated Accountability. The SSIT is made up of members from all Iowa AEAs and the DE. SSIT members will meet monthly to analyze healthy indicator data for districts, nonpublic schools, and AEAs; participate in focused site visits to support volunteer districts, nonpublic schools, and AEAs; and provide follow-up support to volunteers.

The first pre-pilot visits for the 2015-2016 school year are in Centerville, October 27-30 and Carroll, November 17-20. The SSIT will conduct the remaining visits during the spring semester of 2016. The SSIT members will work with districts during visits in an environment similar to a professional learning community and will engage in collaborative inquiry with district, nonpublic school, and AEA staff.

WHAT'S DUE?

The following dates have been added to the H.E.L.P. calendar:

• August 28- Graduate Verification Certification deadline
• September 1- Certified Enrollment site opens
• September 15- CAR, SES, Transportation Reports due
• September 27- Certified Enrollment test site closes

You made it through ALL this information?  

Consider yourself "in-the-know!"  

See you back here in September!

Summer 2015

Teacher Leaders - Administrators - GHAEA 

Your team looks to you as a leader.  You strive to be prepared.

There is a timely and readily available resource at your fingertips:

The GHAEA School Improvement H.E.L.P. Site and monthly blog.

Take a video tour and follow today!

May 2015 H elping E ducational L eaders P repare

What's NEW?

The Collaborative for Student Success released an Honesty Gap report in a nationwide press call on Thursday, May 14. The report makes the case for why states have moved toward higher standards and improved assessments. Specifically, it shows what the Collaborative calls the “honesty gap” – the difference between proficiency levels on previous state tests and 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results. This data is not new, and many states have already used it with policymakers or others to make the case for higher standards and new assessments. The Collaborative wants to use its national release to remind the public of this data and why states are moving toward new, more rigorous assessments aligned with higher standards. Follow this link to access the full report.

What's DUE?

June 18:  Spring Student Reporting in Iowa certification deadline. A list for spring reporting: Attendance for all enrolled students (including off-site preschool students);  All students marked as a graduate have received a signed diploma;  All in-school, out-of-school suspensions and expulsions are entered in your student information system;  All section FTEs are entered for all non-fall concurrent enrollment courses;  Status of students in shelter care and/or detention centers have been confirmed/updated.

June 19:  Preliminary AYP Certification deadline (public districts only). Once your test files have been approved onto SRI, you are able to start reviewing the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) application: Test Dates;  Full Academic Year (FAY) Status;  Sub-groups;  AYP versus SRI;  Reason No State Assessment Scores.

Let's hear from YOU!

We would like to improve the H.E.L.P. site and blog to best support your school improvement efforts. Please share your thoughts in this two-question survey.

Find the H.E.L.P. Site here.

April 2015 H elping E ducational L eaders P repare

What's NEW?

"Differentiated Accountability System" (What? No site visits in the future??)

• Beginning with implementation of a pilot in 2015-2016 and full implementation in 2016-2017, the Iowa Department of Education is leading the state to a new system of differentiated accountability and support. Iowa’s new system is founded on seven basic concepts: 1. Tiered support 2. Healthy Indicators 3. Earned autonomy 4. Collaborative Inquiry Questions 5. A single continuous improvement process 6. Streamlined reporting 7. Emphasis on results for Iowa learners
• Iowa’s Differentiated Accountability model will include levels or tiers of support. The basis for a tiered model of support is the idea that not all districts, schools, preschool programs or AEAs need the same level of support in all areas. This is similar to the idea of a multi-tiered system of supports in education as applied to classrooms and students.
• 
  Healthy indicator data will serve as the basis for the tier determinations.  The supports provided will vary as will the required elements of action plans, desk audits, and site visits.   
• The new accountability system will focus on a set of Collaborative Inquiry Questions (CIQs).  The CIQs are based on two bodies of research: systems-change and MTSS. These evidence- based questions are the foundation of system change and continuous improvement in Iowa.
• As a result, districts will not report on Iowa Core Implementation Data for the 2015-16,  Schools/ Districts In Need of Assistance will not engage in traditional Iowa Support Process, and  IEP/IFSP Reviews for students aged 0-13 will not be required.

What's DUE? 

May 13: Spring Student Reporting in Iowa test site closes  

May 15: Spring Student Reporting in Iowa site opens 

June 18: Spring Student Reporting in Iowa certification deadline  

H elping E ducational L eaders P repare, March 2015

What's NEW??

TLC AGORA: Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation Community  This online community is designed to bring together teacher leaders and administrators from across the state to collaborate around the TLC effort.

The community features:
  *Calendar of professional learning events across the state
  *On-demand learning opportunities
  *Toolbox of resources provided by districts
  *Online discussion forums
  *Information on grant requirements from the DE
  *Connection to local district websites and social media supporting the TLC work

       You may enter the site as a guest and navigate throughout to see the resources. To participate in the community, be sure to click the button in the community to join. This will allow you to add your own district resources, participate in forums, and receive the announcements via email.

#educoach Instructional Coaching Chat, 9 - 10 p.m. Wednesday evenings is open everyone in the world!

 Join the Chat on your device! The #educoach chat is held each Wednesday night. Experts and practitioners are sharing resources, asking/answering questions and supporting each other. Also check out the EduCoach wiki to peruse archives and MORE!

School start date may be resolved for 2015-16!!

Follow the 2015 Legislative Updates

GHAEA H.E.L.P. Blog- February 2015

Have you visited the new Attendance Center Ranking application?

Last month's blog introduced the Iowa Attendance Center Ranking system. As required by HF 215, it is designed to group schools into one of six categories: exceptional, high performing, commendable, acceptable, needs improvement, and priority. Categories will be based on each school’s performance on nine required measures listed in legislation: 

1. Proficiency rates in math & reading
2. Academic growth 
3. Attendance rates
4. Parent involvement
5. Employee turnover
6. Community activities and involvement
7. Closing achievement gaps score
8. Graduation rate
9. College readiness

The Department is releasing this first phase to demonstrate to the Legislature progress in meeting the requirement. No school rankings are part of this initial release of information. A more complete Attendance Center Rankings system is expected this fall.

Are you familiar with the 2015 AEA Legislative Priorities?

Here’s a brief overview. More in-depth information is found here: AEA 2015 Legislative Priorities

Early Literacy/Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

Supports a state commitment of $8 million for the AEA system to reach the goal of every Iowa child reading at or above grade level by the end of third grade.

Restore Funding for Children with Special Needs

$70 million of state funding has been reduced from the AEA system over the past 4 years. 

Teacher Leadership and Compensation Training

Supports a state commitment of $2 million to provide training and technical support for implementation of the Teacher Leadership and Compensation system 

School-based Mental Health Services
Supports a state commitment of $2.5 million to provide pilot projects in each AEA for school based mental health services.

Personalized Learning
Supports a state commitment of $2 million to continue the development and delivery of a robust system of personalized learning for all Iowa students. 

For more information, contact AEA Executive Director Brent Siegrist at bsiegrist@gwaea.org