Guest Speaker: 

• Beth Chambers - Mindfulness Activity

Esports:

IU1 Esports Winter Classic

• Virtual tournament will beheld on January 28, 2022 from 10:00 to 1:00.

• Register Here 

• IU1 will be hosting a Zoom session on Emerald esports club creation guide.  This training guide aims to give you a broad scope of information on esports and the benefits of starting an esports club in your area.  Register here:  Esports Club Creation for Jan. 10th, 2022 at 1:00PM.

PSEL 

• The Pennsylvania Scholastic Esports League is hosting the first annual virtual Esports College Fair on January 20th, 2022 from 5 to 8 PM! Attendees will hear from several colleges that will share their academic, club and competitive esports programs.

• Register for the zoom link here

Virtual IU1 School Counselor Meeting

• There will be a virtual IU1 School Counselor Meeting on December 16.  Topics we will discuss will include, Open Discussion, SEL, ACT 158 Q&A and Tracking Tools, Mental Health discussions, Career topics and more. 

•  IU1 School Counselor Meeting - Virtual Session Only

PSSA/Keystone DRC Update

December 1, 2021, the 2021 Spring Keystone District Student Data File is available on the DRC INSIGHT Portal. This file contains performance results for all Spring Keystone student records received. This includes results reported this summer and assessments received after July 15. 

The District Student Data File will be available in a CSV format and will open with your default spreadsheet application, most commonly Microsoft Excel. DRC recommends that this file be saved locally in a secure location and maintained as a “read only” file. DRC will maintain the files on DRC INSIGHT for three years; therefore, it is important to save the file locally. After the data files are archived (files over three years), there is a cost associated with the retrieval.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s memo regarding guidance for interpreting, using, and communicating the 2021 Spring Keystone Exam results has been attached for your reference. This document is also located with the data file.

Parent Letters

The 2021 Spring Keystone Parent Letters will be available on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, using the eMetric Data Interaction system. The Parent Letters are a one-page document that displays an individual student’s results at the school where the student tested.

•   The Parent Letters can be viewed at the school or district level.

•   The Parent Letters can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF.

•   The Parent Letters can be printed and distributed but are not meant to replace the Individual Student Reports (ISRs).

DRC’s Online Enrollment System for the 2022 Spring Keystone Exams will be available December 3-8, 2021, via the DRC INSIGHT Portal. 

ACT 13 Updates

• After attending the SAS Institute, IU1 received clarification from the PDE on the term “Temporary Employee” as stated in Act 13 Educator Effectiveness.  Act 13 states that “Temporary Professional Employees” can also be considered “Temporary Employees”.  This decision to classify classroom teachers  who have not received tenure in this manner is a local decision (and always check with your solicitor). 

• If an LEA’s local decision classifies classroom teachers who are non-tenured as “Temporary Employees”, then this means that any teacher classified as a “Temporary Employee” who gets observed twice with in a school year, will result in an evaluation of 100% observation and practice and will not have any data attributed to them.

ACT 158 Updates

• No later than December 1, 2023 (Act 136), and each December 1 thereafter, each school entity shall submit a report to the department which shall be posted by January 15 of each year on the department's publicly accessible Internet website.

• Districts will be able to upload student information into the optional Pathways to Graduation Tool

• The tool will keep the highest score recorded into the tool.

• The Pathways to Graduation Tool will go live early in the calendar year.

• The tool will only show student ID.

• The reporting in the FCRPP will not be available until 2023.

• Next Office Hour for ACT 158 is December 15, 2021.

• The main trigger for an audit is going over the 5% waiver for two consecutive years.

PVAAS

The PVAAS Statewide Team for PDE is pleased to announce the availability of new PA Data Powershots. PA Data Powershots are short videos designed to support educators in understanding and using data for decision-making at the district, school, grade/subject, classroom, and student levels. Each PA Data Powershot is focused on a specific concept, skill, report, or data use and can be used by individual educators or with larger groups such as data team meetings or professional learning communities.

The following are PA Data Powershots scheduled for release within the next couple of months click here for more information.

* Calling All Administrators: Yes, You DO Have Data!

Do you feel you're starting all over this school year with no real data to guide you? Explore ways to uncover existing data and re-engage your staff in using that data for action planning this school year.

* Teachers, Start Your Data Engines!

Learn more about making the best use of past and present data to ensure your students are fully engaged and positively participating in the 2021-2022 school year! Let's take a look at various types of data that can be used as you begin and continue through the new school year.

* Using Four Types of Data: Combining Student Learning, Process, Perceptual, and Demographic Data!

Data comes from many sources and is more than just student learning data. Learn how a focus on a broader range of data leads to better decisions and better student outcomes.

* Summative, Formative, Diagnostic, and Benchmark Assessments: An Overview of Type & Purpose

What's more important when looking at student learning data? Summative or formative? Benchmark or diagnostic? Learn why a balanced approach to using all types of assessments is key to supporting positive student outcomes.

* The Three Levels of Data Analysis: School, Subject/Grade, and Student

There are different purposes for analyzing data at the school, subject/grade, and student levels. Learn more about the differences, why all three lenses are needed, and how to establish structures to create all three level of analysis.

* Timing Your Data Team Meetings to Your Assessment Plan

You have your assessments scheduled for the year, but have you aligned your school, grade/subject, and student data meetings to the assessment schedule? Are your assessments analyzed and acted upon in a timely manner? Listen in for some tips!

* Structure Data Meeting Discussions with Focused Protocols

Do you want to have more productive data conversations? Establishing data protocols for school, grade/subject, and student level-data team meetings can support more meaningful dialogue regarding teaching and learning.

* Evaluating and Fine-Tuning Your Assessment Map: A Brief Overview of an Informal Audit Process

You have an assessment plan in place. What questions do you ask to evaluate and fine-tune your map to ensure effective assessments are used at the right time and frequency during the school year?

* It Doesn't Stop at Ticket Out the Door!

Admins, what do your teachers need to know about formative assessment? What do you look for to know if quality checks for understanding are in place and being used to adjust instruction? Explore ways to lead your staff in making the best use of formative assessments!

* Improving Student Outcomes Through Grade and Subject Data Meetings

Data analysis at the grade and/or subject level brings collaboration and consistency in not only the analysis of data, but also on action planning at a system level. Learn how this level of data meetings is essential to a data meeting framework.

* Student-Level Data Meetings with Purpose!

Holding student-level data meetings are a vital part of an established data-driven culture. But who should be part of those meetings? When should students be brought into that conversation? How are protocols helpful in guiding the discussion and documenting actions? Watch and learn more!

* Finding Root Causes: A Focus on Variables Within Our Control!

Getting to the root causes of what we observe in our data trends requires us to shift away from students' weaknesses and instead focus on the variables in curriculum, instruction, assessment, and organization that are within our control - and there are many! View to learn more about guiding teams to address what they can control. 

Local Assessments

Most LEA's should have received an Analysis on Unfinished Teaching & Learning reports 

If you did NOT receive this report it is one of the following reasons:

1. Not enough schools in PA are using your districts local assessment

2. Not enough students took your districts local assessment 

3. Does NOT have 3 years of rolling data

Keystones and Building Level Scores

• Is there an advantage for students to retake the Keystone exams?  The building level score takes the highest score for the students up till the end of their 11th grade year.

ACT 35 

• The deadline for submitting the Civics information into the FCRPP is 

January 7, 2022

• Here is a link to the user guide:  ACT 35 User Guide

Guidance Plans

All Phase 1 LEA's will submit their K-12 Guidance Plan in FCRPP. Due March 30,2022.  More guidance will be coming for Phase 2 and Phase 3 districts.

Phase 1 Districts:

Avella

Burgettstown

Canon-McMillan

Chartiers-Houston

Fort Cherry

McGuffey

Peters Township

Trinity

Washington

Western Area CTC

DQN

Next meeting will be January 19th - www.padqn.com

Upcoming Workshops:

• Investigating Accelerated Learning with Science - January 14 from 9 - 11:30 AM

• Open discussion on Assessment, Data, and Online Solutions - January 19th from 1 - 3:00 PM.  Nathan Howell will be here from edInsight (OnHand Schools) to listen and give some solutions to the issues that districts are having.

Resources

PETE&C Conference

• Feb. 6-9 at Hershey Lodge

• Link to Register

Family Engagement

Buliding Partners with Families 

Sketch Up Pro is transitioning to Sketch Up for Schools

• With the launch of SketchUp for Schools, we now have a K-12 specific product that is available free to schools around the world. SketchUp for Schools is a web-based 3D modeling app available through Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) and Microsoft education platforms. Since it's built on these educational platforms, SketchUp for Schools is accessible to millions of students around the world without the need for software licensing.

• As a web app, SketchUp for Schools is compatible with Chromebooks and features built-in training tutorials and curriculum to help students and teachers quickly gain confidence and improve their 3D modeling skills. SketchUp for Schools is built on the same 3D modeling platform as SketchUp Pro and can be used to design anything, from parks and skyscrapers to 3D-printable action figures. For more information, please visit: https://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-for-schools 

• Moving forward, we encourage all schools utilizing the SketchUp Pro grant to explore the exciting features available in SketchUp for Schools, including in-app video tutorials, K-12 lesson plans and 3D printing tools.