• EverFi Updates - Alyssa Mahramus 

  • • EverFi Toolkit

• Facemasks for all students in PA; Dr. Martin will contact your super to see what you still may need

• Statement of Work from PDE for 20-21; focus on supporting Equity, Safe Schools, School Climate, STEM, ATSI, and PIMS Data

• Future Ready PA Index Review Window was released to superintendents for their review on Tuesday, 9/15

• Act 82 is the same this year - SLOs are still required this current school year!

• Is there a delay to Act 158?   SB1216 is making its way through the legislature; One component of the bill is to delay the graduation requirement to 2022-2023 school year; Another component is state assessments

• Some districts are reading the PDE guidance for online testing as they are able to administer the test at home. Last page of this document https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/K-12/Assessment%20and%20Accountability/Keystone%20Exams/PDE%20Guidance%20Document%20for%20Online%20Testing.pdf  This document was written for the online testing to be held within the school district. At this time, students are not able to take the test from home. PDE is  exploring a test from home option but there are several moving pieces in play and there is no time-line for when, or if, they will institute testing from home.

• In early Sept, Secretary DeVos released a letter stating that there will not be an assessment waiver letter in the future; PDE was one of six states who were planning on being proactive in reaching out to them prior to this letter. It is very likely we will have some type of assessment beginning December with those students enrolled in block scheduled courses.  (if we don’t test, the federal government can withhold title I funding).  There is some thought that there might be some type of accountability waiver (but not an assessment waiver)

• The September window is voluntary, not mandatory; If you decide not to test in the September window, you can refuse shipment if you have not opened the boxes. If you open the boxes, reach out to PDE and they will help you with the return.

  • • • You must offer the exempt students at least one opportunity to take the Keystone assessment.

• Science Standards Update

  • • The State Board of Education unanimously voted (13-0) to adopt proposed updates to Chapter 4 regulations, which included adopting the three proposed sets of draft standards.

    • What this means:

• The proposed draft standards go to the Governor’s Office, the General Assembly, and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission for review.

• There will be a public comment period this fall.

• The Board will revisit these standards after the IRRC completes its part of the process (which could be approximately one year from now), and take a another vote to adopt “final regulations”—which is the real adoption of the revised standards, and enables the 3-year implementation period to begin.

• Still to be determined:

• What the revised standards will be, exactly: the Board stressed that its vote today is not an adoption of the proposed standards as written, but opens the process for further revision.

• Timeline

• CPR and Civics requirements are still in place for this current school year

• SAS Institute - Completely Virtual; December 7-8, 2020; More information coming soon!

• PBS Anti-Racist Learning Resources

• NEW!  PDE EQUITY HUB

• PDE What's New

• PD Fall/Winter Catalog 

• PIMS – The October 1 snapshot is extremely important this year because PDE has not collected data since before March

• Keystone AND PSSA labels are due October 7 and if you don’t submit on time, you will be hand bubbling all testing materials

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• Synchronous Learning and Substitute Teachers

• FID applications due September 1, 2020

• Assessment Waivers – Georgia applied and was denied as USDOE states it is premature; currently hearing that USDOE intends to test even if the accountability is waived

• Act 158 is still in place this year and it impacts this year’s 11th graders; Act 158 toolkit will be posted at the beginning of October and training will occur between mid-October and mid-November

• Under Act 13, teacher evaluation does not change until 2021-2022; PDE recommends starting the current school year with SLO expectations because they are unsure of a waiver

• Roadmap to Instruction on the PDE website will be populated soon 

• ATSI/TSI – No new schools will be designated as TSI; TSI is a 1 year designation; ATSI is a 3-year designation and those schools who were designated ATSI need to move forward with their plans and the IU will support them this year.

• Career Readiness requirements are still begin accounted for this year

• Reporting Attendance

• Re-submission of Health and Safety Plans 

• Two required documents that need submitted to PDE prior to the school year beginning are the Health and Safety Plan and the Emergency Instructional Time Template.

• Virtual Instruction for ELs (English Learners) 

  • • General considerations - Regardless of the format of the educational program, districts must provide ELs with all of the supports necessary to overcome language barriers in order to make the educational experience meaningful. A student or parent may not relieve a district of this responsibility by choosing a particular educational approach or option. In other words, if a student chooses a completely virtual model, in which teachers may only be providing indirect support or none at all, the district must develop and implement supports for ELs that ensure they are able to access the content in meaningful ways and are making academic progress. The same is true for the other approaches.

    • Role of the ESL teacher - ESL teachers must play an active role in planning the educational program/program options for ELs to ensure that they are provided with the necessary support. ESL teachers should also consult with content teachers to the greatest extent possible when planning remote learning or delivering remote instruction. 

    • Direct ELD instruction - If a district is providing core academic instruction for all students in any virtual format (virtual education/remote learning), then ELs who were previously receiving direct ELD instruction (e.g. ESL pullout or ESL classes) must continue to receive the equivalent ELD instruction in whatever format is feasible. This is not optional.

    •  Third party platforms/programs - If a student is enrolled in your district but is participating in a virtual program administered by a third party, the district of enrollment must ensure that the student is provided with the necessary supports. In cases such as these, the district can append the third-party program by directly providing the instruction/support, or the district can ensure that the vendor does. Either way, the responsibility for ensuring that ELs receive adequate ELD instruction and support lies with the district of enrollment.

    • Please feel free to contact any member of the EL program area if you have questions or concerns.

      • Bob Measel – romeasel@pa.gov

      • Julia Hutton – juhutton@pa.gov

      • Andrea Kolb – akolb@csc.csiu.org  

• We’ve been watching closely as LEAs determine how best to serve their students and educators safely. Many schools will be delivering instruction in a hybrid environment when school opens. With that in mind, the Department and DRC are lengthening the fall Keystone testing window by two weeks, providing three full school weeks for those LEAs that have chosen to administer the assessments.  The updated testing window is September 28 – October 16. This update applies to both paper and online versions of the assessments and to all LEAs. No action need be taken by LEAs for this update. Simply adjust your local testing schedule as you see fit.

• Aug 18th - Presenter:  Kierra King @ Curriculum Chat Meeting

  • • www.blmwash.com 

• Face Covering Guidance from PDE

• Guidance for Closing Schools Due to COVID cases

• PDE Recommendations for Pre-K-12 for determining instructional models (face to face, hybrid, virtual).

• Remake Learning - Remake Tomorrow  - Remake Learning and KnowledgeWorks have collaborated on a new report examining pre-pandemic learning innovation ideas in light of COVID-19. It offers key takeaways to help regional stakeholders shape a future of learning that is just, equitable, and learner-centered.

•  "An aide can supervise, but not provide instruction or tutoring in any way, similar to supervision in a study hall, at recess, or in the cafeteria. Monitoring a group of on-line learners being instructed by a certified teacher is a similar situation. Your assessment is accurate. It is permissible, but not necessarily advisable."  Brian W. Campbell | Director, Bureau of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction

• Attendance Guidance from PDE

• LiveStreaming Survey Results

• PSEA Livestream FAQ

• congregate.live - beta version (similar to virtual cafeteria or conference)

• Kindergarten Readiness Chart  from PBS

• Updated Health and Safety Guidance from PDE

• Chapter 49 - updates to certification and induction

• Emergency Instructional Time Template for remote instruction to meet 180/900/990 requirements; must be board approved and emailed to PDE; LEAs should submit temporary instructional time provisions to PDE using the Emergency Instructional Time Template. Completed templates or addendum to Health and Safety Plans should be submitted to: RA-EDContinuityofED@pa.gov.

• Also, PDE has developed Creating Equitable School Systems:A Roadmap for Education Leaders with resources to assist LEAs in planning for the 2020-21 school year and beyond. The Roadmap identifies six key processes essential for ensuring systems and policies are flexible and responsive to the needs of students and school communities, particularly in the rapidly changing environment of the pandemic. Download infographic.  More resources coming soon! 

• OPTIONAL - School Instructional Reopening Plan Template - found in the Future Ready Comprehensive Planning Portal (FRCPP) - in depth optional instructional planning tool

• Future updates from PDE will be posted on the PDE Reopening Schools Plan webpages. Also, keep up-to-date on other PDE COVID-19 issues via their FAQs page.

• IU1 Summer Institute Quality Online Learning - We filled 572 seats in over 25 virtual sessions!

• 2020-2021 IU1 Professional Development Pricing

  • • F2F Workshops @ IU1 Central Office - $15 per person

    • F2F Workshops Personalized, Onsite @ Districts - $250 Half Day; $400 Full Day

    • Virtual Workshops for ALL districts advertised through IU1 - $15 per person

    • Virtual Workshops Personalized for a specific District - $100 per hour

    • Package options are avaliable - 10 or more hours/days = 10% discount

    • Asynchronous Learning Options Coming Soon!!

    • Continuing Professional Education (CPE) courses

      • • 1 credit = $140

        • 2 credit = $240

        • 3 credit = $340

10/9/2020 

Social Studies Teacher Regional Network Session -  8:30-11:30  https://iu1-org.zoom.us/j/3151202348 

10/7/2020

School Climate Resource Links:

• Staff and Student Wellness Guide (PDE)

• Equitable Practices Hub (PDE)

• PA Statewide Suicide Prevention Plan   (PA DHS)

• PA School Climate Surveys (PDE)

• PA Career Ready Skills (PDE)

• School Climate Improvement Resource Package (US Ed)

Toolkit Sections For Career Ready Skills:

• Purpose  Toolkit Purpose

• Implementation PA CRS Implementation

• PA Career Ready Skills (Rationale)

• A Career Ready Graduate PA CRS Graduate

• Skills Continuum Continuum of Skills

• Skills in the Classroom  20th vs 21st skills

• Appendix A: Family Engagement

• Appendix B:  “ Student " I Can: statements

Guidelines for Re-entry from Covid 19

• Includes a 5 Stage Process for Re-entry - p. 11

• Administrative Discussion

10/7/2020  

Released in August:  PDE released the Equitable Practices Hub this week - https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/equityandinclusion/EPH/Pages/default.aspx.  

Of particular interest and relevance to schools working through a continuous cycle of improvement is the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC) – Criteria for an Equitable School Tool - 

https://maec.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Criteria-for-an-Equitable-School-2020-accessible.pdf 

Along with a companion Action Planning Guide:

companion action planning guide 

10/7/2020:  

3 Different Grants to apply for, all in eGrants, all separate applications (Due Nov 2)*:

• Compensatory Education Covid Mitigation - SE

• Continuity of Education -July - selected based on schools with highest % of students who couldn’t participate - GEERS but separate

• A-TSI GEERS Funding

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9/22/2020 - Just released:  PDE released the Equitable Practices Hub this week - https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/equityandinclusion/EPH/Pages/default.aspx.  

Of particular interest and relevance to schools working through a continuous cycle of improvement is the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC) – Criteria for an Equitable School Tool - https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/equityandinclusion/EPH/Pages/default.aspx. 

9/17/2020  Assessment Update

• • Assessment Update:

    • September: Sec. Devos wrote a letter stating there will not be an assessment waiver in the future. 6 States were reaching out to ask for a waiver but the letter was received before it was asked to USDE.

    • Side effect of not testing is the removal of title money.

  • Test at Home options:  Working on options but do not have a solution yet. However, this option was not peer reviewed so not approved by USDE.

  • Assume that there will be face-to-face testing.

  • The September window is voluntary, not mandatory.

  • If you decide not to test in the September window, you can refuse shipment if you have not opened the boxes. If you open the boxes, reach out to PDE and they will help you with the return.

  • You must offer the exempt students at least one opportunity to take the Keystone assessment.

9/17/2020  PVAAS Updates - click for access.  Includes PIMS enrollment dates, updated child success summary report information and upcoming professional development opportunities

9/17/2020 Comprehensive Planning - click for access to the September PAIUCC updates, including Phase info, the Resource Website and more.  Michelle Buck is the new PDE contact.

8/21/2020:  Graduation/Act 158 

Is in place for current 11th grade students; the toolkit is finished and will be posted prior to PDEs training - sometime in October.

Best advice: Pass your Keystones and the Keystone trigger courses. 2 / 3 of students would meet requirements this way; of the remaining 1 / 3, when you remove IEP students and superintendent waivers, there is only 15% left who would use the other pathways.

For the broad based assessments (Work Keys, ACT, SAT, PSAT, ASVAB) if students hit the cut off score they meet the assessment requirement. (Similar to the composite score) 

Email address for Grad questions:  

RA-EDGRADREQUIREMENT@pa.gov

Flyer on Graduation Requirements and 5 Pathways, including the cut scores for SAT, ACT, ASVAB, IB, AP and PSAT - click on link

8/21/2020:  Assessments

• • • The September testing window has been extended for the Keystones.  

    • It is now a full three weeks.

    • This is a voluntary window.

    • This same group of students will be able to use the Winter and Spring window as well.

    • An exempted student that does not want to take the Keystone in a retesting window, does not have to take the test.

    • What will happen if schools are virtual the rest of the school year? What will happen to the testing? There is not a test at home or a remote option available. PDE is exploring it at this time.

    • Georgia asked for a federal waiver regarding testing and it was denied.

    • PIMS: Two things

      • October 1 snapshot is the official enrollment for testing snapshot. Keep this as a priority.

      • Keystone/PSSA labels:  Both are going to be due in October. If you miss this, it would be a possibility that you will have to hand bubble all your booklets. (October 7 is the due date.)

8/21/2020: Other Items

• • Teacher Evaluation

    • Teacher Evaluation is back on at the moment. Will be using the SPP model. Folks will need to draft their SLOs.

    • Next year will be the new teacher evaluation process.

• A-TSI, TSI and CSI: No new schools will be identified. New identifications will be in July of 2021.

• Career Readiness Requirements:  Yes, they are still in effect. Students will still need the required number pieces of evidence for the reporting years.

8/18-27/2020:  Google Slides on Curriculum/PDE Updates

8/13/2020:  Guidelines for Re-Entry into the School Setting During the Pandemic (including Covid-19 Inventory and MTSS guide).

8/13/2020:  Staff and Student Wellness Guide

7/16/2020:  Latest Updates from PDE can be found at the PDE website's home page

7/16/2020:  Details for IU 1 District Induction will be sent out soon - moving to all online courses.

7/16/2020:  IU 1 Curriculum Specialists working to build online courses for grades K-12 through Fusion and Fusion-Flex

7/16/2020:  IU 1 Summer Institute - added online workshops with an administrator and teacher tracks on standards for online learning                       including standards for teachers, programs and courses.  

7/13/2020:  July PVAAS Update - click on link to view PowerPoint from PAIUCC meeting

7/13/2020:  Act 158 - Training sessions and information to be released closer to the beginning of the school year.  PDE is focused on   guidance for reopening as that is the priority. 

7/13/2020:  Re-opening Information from PAIUCC

Re-Opening PreK-12 Schools

Preliminary Guidance 

Research Report (REL - Mathematica)

2020-2021 Instructional Days/Hours

Universal Face Coverings

Creating Equitable School Systems

Re-Opening Instructional Plans

A planning template, located within the Future Ready Comprehensive Planning Portal (FRCPP), has been made available for local education agencies (LEAs) and schools to develop a plan of action to achieve local goals for improved student outcomes in the 2020-21 school year and beyond. This is a voluntary resource available for all LEAs and can serve as a companion tool to the Health and Safety Planning Template.

Directions For Access or Direct Link

Click here to listen to Alyssa's Recording about this section: https://www.loom.com/share/baa7fe341e6148b1bffae2d1c6507f29

Science Standards Update!

State Board of Education unanimously voted to move forward the: 

• Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Environment, Ecology, Technology and Engineering (K – 5) 

• Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Environment, Ecology and Engineering (6 -12)  

• Pennsylvania Technology and Engineering Standards (6 -12). 

 Check out the press release from the Governor’s Office. The actual recommendation reports are visible on the Science Standards landing page.  

Major Shift:

The standards are multi dimensional with core ideas, concepts that cut across those core ideas, and practices all being part of a students learning experience and driving the development of the performance expectations. 

Next Steps:

●The proposed draft standards go to the Governor’s Office, the General Assembly, and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission for review.

●There will be a public comment period this fall **

●The Board will revisit these standards after the IRRC completes its part of the process (which could be approximately one year from now), and take a another vote to adopt “final regulations”—which is the real adoption of the revised standards, and enables the 3-year implementation period to begin.

We still have some unknowns:

●We do not know what the final standards will look like. This vote is NOT an adoption of the proposed standards as written, but opens the process for further revision

●The exact timeline is still unknown

●Legislative approval-  There is a window of a couple months for the General Assembly to consider these standards before it adjourns sine die this fall.

Computer Science Resource

CSforPGH Index

• Curated by members of the CSforPGH Working Group, this Index is designed to help educators and administrators find hardware and software that meets the needs of their students, supports progress towards academic standards, and fits their budgets. 

STEM Pals Website

• STEM in PA Goes On

Check Out Our Fall Catalog for These Upcoming Virtual PD Session Opportunities:

• The Basics of Google Classroom- 10/2/20- 2:30-3:30

• Screencastify for Asynchronous Learning- 10/16/20- 2:30-3:30

• Interactive Lessons Using Google Slides- 10/30/20- 2:30-3:30

• STEM/CS Virtual Resources- 11/13/20- 2:30-3:30

**National Challenge Event!**

The US Dept of Education is offering this national challenge event to high school students to design, build, launch, CubeSats. Link to the program: https://www.ctemissioncubesat.com/the-challenge/  This is being supported by the Pittsburgh Space Collaborative with support from Astrobotic. 

PBS/WQED Resources

Sarah Durzo