• State Mandate Document and State Mandate Checklist 

• Digital Learning Day - February 22, 2022

• Getting Ready for PA State Assessments 21-22 

• Chapter 339 Guidance Plans - 5 Phases for submissions

• FID Applications for 2022-2023

  • • • The application will be available on or before April 1, 2022 on the FRCPP.  Completed applications are due by no later than June 1, 2022.

        • • Tom Dubbs

          • (717) 214-8212

          • tdubbs@pa.gov

• Request Curriculum and TAC services for In-service August 2022 dates now as these are filling quickly.  

• Educational Leadership Academy (formerly the Principal Academy) is accepting registration

• 2021-2022 PILLAR courses.  Click here

• Get Connected ELA Conference at St. Vincent College

  • • • Register Here: https://www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?preview&event_id=15484  

      • Visit Our Conference Website here for additional information on breakout sessions, featured speakers and more: https://www.getconnectedela.com/  

• Accelerated Learning Webinar Series at 10am every other Friday 

  • • • Dates: Feb 4; Feb 18; March 4; March 18; April 1; April 14 (this is moved to Thursday due to Easter break); April 29; May 13; May 27; June 10; June 24

      • Zoom link for all sessions: https://iu1-org.zoom.us/j/2397866795 

• Class Size Survey Results

• Many of you have requested surveys for staff, students, and parents/community.  Below are some sample surveys in PDF form:

  • • • Parent/Guardian

      • Staff

      • Student

• Real Talk:  Staffing Resources for Conversations to check-in on educators

  • • • Depending on the size of the school and the capacity of school leaders, approaches for learning about staff members’ future plans can be uniform or individualized. Some schools/LEAs use a digital survey. In others, leaders have check-ins with each staff member to express the reasons the employee’s work is valued in the school, ask how the school can support the employee in the future, and learn about plans for the next school year. Conversations can occur multiple times during the school year. For details on making retention conversations effective, see this guide.  In particular, here are recommendations for conversations with your most effective teachers.  (see what would make their work environment better in order to retain teachers)

      • During retention conversations, staff may not yet have decided on their plans for the next year, or may not want to share their plans yet. Consider whether your policies can change to offer encouragement/incentives for early reporting of resignations. For example, when educators report their resignation in the spring, can they retain their insurance benefits through the summer? See further strategies to boost earlier resignations–and note that the advice about examining recent resignation timing is not as applicable during pandemic years.

• Graduation Credit Question and Answer from PDE

  • • • Recently, the following question was posed to one of my colleagues in another IU and PDE responded to the question regarding graduation and credits:  Are districts allowed awarding credit towards graduation for advanced courses taken before grade 9?  For instance, if a student takes Algebra 1 or Geometry prior to Grade 9, can districts award them credit towards graduation for those courses?  Is this a local decision?

      • Response from PDE’s Kevin Mauro: it is a local decision and should be detailed in the school board policy of that district.

• Open Educational Resources (OER)

  • • • PAIU OER Hub

        • • Easily search through thousands of content based resources for K-4 and 5-12 grade teachers, along with resources for trends and professional development using the PAIU OER Commons Hub.  In addition to the Intermediate Unit member groups, there are also member groups for both public and private schools and targeted topic working and member groups.

          • includes STEM Toolkit lessons; Alyssa Moore can train your staff of the use of this toolkit

      • K-12 Open Education Professional Development - Utilize if your district is moving into the open education space and away from textbooks to open educational resources (CK12 also provides free textbooks online!)

      • Open Education Week - March 7-11, 2022

• Teacher Professional Development Opportunity: New Program for Teachers – Deadline to apply is February 11th, 2022

  • • • The 2022-2023 NEWT Program gives teachers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience, learning engineering skills and conducting research side by side with Navy engineers and scientists. This 8-week summer program will give teachers a taste of life as a professional engineer, and give them crucial insights that they will be able to bring back to their classrooms.  

      • Teachers will work with Navy mentors to develop demonstrations and curriculum materials, and will receive continued mentorship throughout 2022-2023 the academic year including a classroom visit to give students a chance to interact directly with STEM professionals.

      • The program is a collaboration between Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division and the Philadelphia Robotics Coalition. Teachers receive a $10,000 stipend for completing the 15-month program.

      • The application can be accessed by clicking this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-q0Im3LobJeAc9EidN1tp82Lcrm9Clrd-lrqUtPNOZ5_8sQ/viewform

• PETE&C Conference - February 6-9, 2022 at the Hershey Lodge (shuttles between lodge and hotel)

  • • • Amazing Esports strand

      • Technical Track  for tech leadership

• PDE Data Summit - March 21-23, 2022; Focus on PIMS, but also focusing on School Improvement, Cyber Security, and Equity

• PDE Data Quality Network - Your PIMS person should attend these monthly meetings!  In addition, if they are new or experiences, they should consider taking the Data Quality Curriculum courses to learn more about PIMS and data! 

• Equity Resources from Dana Milakovich, PDE Office of Safe Schools - Mental Wellness and Trauma Specialist

• Mental Health Wellness Check App - Rhithm 

• Statewide Vendor Contracts with discounts through PAIMS for the following resources:

  • • • BrainPop

      • Canvas

      • CatchOn

      • Classcraft

      • Discovery Education Experience

      • Gaggle Safety Management

      • Nearpod

      • Newsela

      • Schoology

      • Sphero

      • Sketchup Pro

      • FortiClient Endpoint Protection

      • Impero

      • Edlio

      • ViVi

      • Parago

      • Streamable Learning

      • EdPuzzle

      • News-O-Matic (Press4Kids)

      • Class.com

• PDE’s Educator Effectiveness Series

Act 13 Rating Tools Review

PDE will review the rating tools for the educator categories.

February 23, 2022: 3:00-4:00 PM

Act 13 Office Hours and Targeted Topics

This session will address frequently asked questions as well as an opportunity for attendees to ask questions relative to Educator Effectiveness implementation and      processes.

March 3, 2022: 3:00-4:00 PM

March 10, 2022: 3:00-4:00 PM

Location: Webinars

Presenters: PDE Leadership

Credit: No credit is offered

Cost: There is no cost for this course.

Registration Information:

You may register online by clicking on the name of the event on the Training Events Calendar at: https://www.pattan.net/events

For content related information and questions, please contact Sara Frey at sfrey@pattan.net or 717-901-2294.

For general registration information and questions, please contact Sadie Hetrick at shetrick@pattan.net or 717-901-2273

Act 13 is for temporary professional employees (TPEs) and permanent professional employees.

• TPEs are evaluated using the Framework for Observation and Practice data only. A PVAAS teacher specific growth score is not included in the final evaluation of a TPE.

• Although PVAAS data is not included in the TPE’s evaluation, the LEA can have the TPE complete the PVAAS roster verification process and receive a PVAAS teacher specific growth reporting in the PVAAS reporting system.

  • This is an opportunity for the TPE to become familiar with PVAAS roster verification process, as well as the PVAAS teacher specific growth reporting.

  • This is also an opportunity for the LEA to receive PVAAS teacher specific growth reporting to inform discussions and support with the TPE.

Calculation of Teacher-Specific Achievement Measure (% Prof/Adv at teacher level)

• • SAS EVAAS did not previously calculate this for LEAs under Act 82.

  • SAS EVAAS will now calculate % Prof/Adv for LEAs.

  • LEAs can choose to use:

    • This % Prof/Adv for the Teacher-Specific Achievement Measure, OR

    • A  local calculation of the % Prof/Adv for the Teacher-Specific Achievement Measure

  • Therefore, LEAs can choose to include grade 3 and PASA in their PIMS SSS collection and roster verification process; PVAAS teacher specific growth reporting would not be provided for Grade 3 or PASA.

• PVAAS:

  • New Resources coming to PVAAS

• Value-Added Tri-fold Desk Reference

  • Click Paths - I want to know - What do I click - What will I see?

  • Link to pdf

• School Leader Flip -It

Local Assessments FAQ

Here is the direct link to the Local Assessment FAQ document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13gkjSz4NhsUEIlvSZ9sDT2f_alBA7EtB/view?usp=sharing.

Roster Verification

LEA Preview Phase

April 27 - May 6

Teacher Verification Phase

May 7 - 20

School Administrator Verification Phase

May 21 - June 3

LEA Verification Phase

June 4 - 24

• Phase Dates, Resources, and Webinars available below

1. Preparing for an Efficient Roster Verification Process

• •  April 6, 2022, 9:00-10:00 a.m. and April 12, 2022, 1:00-2:00 p.m. (choose one)

  • Preparing for PVAAS roster verification is critical since the data counts toward an educator's evaluation. The spring 2022 roster verification process serves as data to support year one data in a teacher's three-year rolling average. This session provides an overview of PVAAS roster verification, key responsibilities of teachers, principals, and district administrators throughout the eight-week process, and tips on how staff can efficiently use their time to ensure that rosters are accurate and verified during each phase. Time is allotted for questions and a review of available resources.  Registration

• Roster Verification info page 

Act 13 is for temporary professional employees (TPEs) and permanent professional employees.

• TPEs are evaluated using the Framework for Observation and Practice data only. A PVAAS teacher specific growth score is not included in the final evaluation of a TPE.

• Although PVAAS data is not included in the TPE’s evaluation, the LEA can have the TPE complete the PVAAS roster verification process and receive a PVAAS teacher specific growth reporting in the PVAAS reporting system.

  • This is an opportunity for the TPE to become familiar with PVAAS roster verification process, as well as the PVAAS teacher specific growth reporting.

  • This is also an opportunity for the LEA to receive PVAAS teacher specific growth reporting to inform discussions and support with the TPE.

Calculation of Teacher-Specific Achievement Measure (% Prof/Adv at teacher level)

• • SAS EVAAS did not previously calculate this for LEAs under Act 82.

  • SAS EVAAS will now calculate % Prof/Adv for LEAs.

  • LEAs can choose to use:

    • This % Prof/Adv for the Teacher-Specific Achievement Measure, OR

    • A  local calculation of the % Prof/Adv for the Teacher-Specific Achievement Measure

  • Therefore, LEAs can choose to include grade 3 and PASA in their PIMS SSS collection and roster verification process; PVAAS teacher specific growth reporting would not be provided for Grade 3 or PASA.

   PA Data Powershots

View the 4-minute video "What is a PA Data Powershot?" to learn more about these resources and how they can be used: https://youtu.be/ZGg2_Z-rugY

Several new PA Data Powershots were recently made available. View them, and those released earlier this fall, at https://www.education.pa.gov/K-    12/Assessment%20and%20Accountability/PVAAS/ProfLearning/Pages/PADataPowershots.aspx . This page will be updated with additional topics and content throughout the school year.

* 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.

* 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.

* 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.

• Comprehensive Planning Updates

339 Plan

The master phase list, a how to guide and additional information can be found here. 

audit document

LEA can reach out to RA-EDFRCPP@pa.gov. If they have questions regarding the K-12 Guidance Plan

Virtual IU1 School Counselor Meeting

There will be a virtual IU1 School Counselor Meeting on February 28, 2022.  Topics we will discuss will include, Open Discussion, SEL, ACT 158 Q&A and Tracking Tools, Mental Health discussions, Career topics and more.  

Bus Evacuation Report

Released on 2/1/22.  Due for submission on 4/10/22

Found under "Reports" - "Safe Schools" in the FRCPP

Must be assigned to users with permissions by the LocalUserAdmin

School Improvement Plan

Click here to access the Federal Programs Compliance Requirements for 2022. 

FID application 2022-23

The application will be available on or before April 1, 2022 on the FRCPP.  Completed applications are due by no later than June 1, 2022.

ESPORTS:

Congratulations to California Area SD (California #1) for winning the IU1 Rocket League Winter Classic Tournament.  Each member of the winning team received a $25 GameStop Card.

IU1 Esports League

PDE Content Updates

• Science Standards: Been approved by the Board of Education but still have some items that need to be completed before they are final.

• Working on implementation items to share.

• Act 35 Submission:  Please make sure your LEA have submitted.

• There will be a request for a survey to be completed on Distance Learning

• Nick Slotterback (nslotterba@pa.gov) is back as the advisor for Health and PD

DRC Update

The project management team for the Pennsylvania state assessments (PSSA, Keystone Exams, and Classroom Diagnostic Tools—CDT) has been working closely with the WIDA team and our IT staff to ensure we had a full understanding of last week’s issue and DRC’s resolution. After gathering all of the applicable information, we can respond with total confidence that the WIDA issue has been resolved and is not a concern for the PA state assessments (i.e., the live CDT administration was unaffected and the root cause was specific to the WIDA program). Here’s a little more information.

• The application issue behind WIDA’s intermittent slowness was resolved February 9, and the DRC INSIGHT system has since been performing as expected for the WIDA assessments. 

• No other active state-assessment programs were affected, and no upcoming online state assessment would have been affected by the issue – this event applied only to WIDA testing. 

  • DRC uses separate systems and services to deliver online testing for each state-assessment program. This approach allows us to substantially limit the potential for a program-specific issue to affect other programs. 

• The WIDA issue was in no way related to a capacity.

  • DRC has processed over 5.6 million WIDA ACCESS and Screener tests and over 10.7 million tests in total this academic year.  

  • DRC’s systems are designed to support the peak and ongoing testing volumes for all of our online state-assessment programs by configuring our capacity to support volumes three times higher than the projected peaks.

Even though this issue was not associated with the Pennsylvania state assessments, it’s still important to note that DRC’s engineers are always actively monitoring the testing environments for each of our state-assessment programs. This level of vigilance will ensure that both the performance of the infrastructure and the student experience will remain stable for the administration of Pennsylvania’s spring assessments.

We fully understand why the WIDA issue caused you concern, and we sincerely appreciate your commitment to ensuring a successful administration of the spring assessments within the LEAs you support. We are equally as committed to ensuring the integrity, availability, performance, and reliability of our systems and services, and we are entirely confident that the DRC INSIGHT system will deliver a seamless testing experience for all Pennsylvania schools and students this spring 

• Resources:

I wanted to make you aware of EVERFI's early literacy resource for your students in Grades K-2. WORD Force Literacy Adventure is a digital course with 15 games (each     with 5 levels) that targets the topics below: 

· Phonological awareness

· Letter-sound/letter name correspondence

· Phonics

· Spelling

· Vocabulary

· Sight words

· Reading comprehension

This would be a great resource to use with students before upcoming remote learning days. You can get them set up and started on the program in the coming week and then they can continue to use the course at home (send out this link to parents who want to learn more).

I also wanted to make you aware of EVERFI's middle school financial literacy resources for your students in Grades 6-8. 

FutureSmart is a digital course with seven 20 minutes lessons that cover the following topics: 

· Financial values and goal-setting

· Budgeting and opportunity costs

· Saving and investing

· Risk vs. return

This would be a great resource to use with students before upcoming remote learning days. You can get them set up and started on the program in the coming week and then they can continue to use the course at home (send out this link to parents who want to learn more). After completing the course, students are able to apply for up to $5,000 in 529 college savings scholarships!

To explore and get started, just follow these simple instructions. Or you can schedule a quick walk through with our local EVERFI specialist, Carly Taylor, and she will get your started. You can also email her with any questions that you might have or if you're interested in participating in a study where you can earn up to $300 in classroom donations: ctaylor@everfi.com

The Apple Professional Learning Team

APL Virtual Conferences

· Beginning February 1st, we have an exciting lineup to support educators with 24 virtual conference sessions, see the attached schedule for topics and times.

· Our virtual conferences are designed to be hands-on to explore resources, practice new skills, and reflect on ways Apple technology can support great learning and teaching.

· All sessions are offered twice daily, Tuesday through Thursday and after school hours, to meet the demands of busy educators.

· Participants can opt in to receive a verification of attendance for each session.

· You are encouraged to share out these exciting offerings and highlight that our APL team are educators supporting other educators to grow in their practice. 

· To learn more, and register, visit apple.co/apl. 

One-to-One Coaching

Leaders, Educators and IT are invited to schedule a personalize one-to-one or small group coaching session with an Apple Professional Learning Specialist. These       personalized sessions offer all educators an opportunity to learn new skills and ask questions about Apple technology in the context of leading, learning and              teaching and specifically related to supporting their district and/or school. 

Visit apple.co/askapl to schedule a 30 minute, no cost, personalized coaching session for individuals or groups of up to 5 participants.

PETE & C

Keynote: Jimmy Casas- Culturize

Keynote: Gregg Behr- The Fred Method- Panel included: Dr. Laura Jacob, Dr. Todd Keruskin, Dr. Sue Mariani

Video: Be a Mr. Jensen

Cool Classroom Tool Takeaways:

• EdPuzzle

• Plasma Games

Remake Learning Updates

Educator Opportunities

Everfi 

Early Literacy course, WORD Force. 

• This course is built for k-2 graders, but I've seen it used well with 3-5 grade students who are behind in their reading development

• ·  We are currently running a study where teachers can earn up to $300 in classroom donations 

• This would be a great resource to use with students before upcoming remote learning days. You can get them set up and started on the program in the coming week and then they can continue to use the course at home (send out this link to parents who want to learn more).

• To explore and get started, just follow these simple instructions. Or you can schedule a quick walk through with our local EVERFI specialist, Carly Taylor, and she will get your started.

Middle School Financial Literacy program, FutureSmart.

• • • • This course is built for 6-8th graders 

      • Students who complete the course can apply for up to $5k in 529 college savings scholarships. 

      • This would be a great resource to use with students before upcoming remote learning days. You can get them set up and started on the program in the coming week and then they can continue to use the course at home (send out this link to parents who want to learn more). After completing the course, students are able to apply for up to $5,000 in 529 college savings scholarships!

      • To explore and get started, just follow these simple instructions. Or you can schedule a quick walk through with our local EVERFI specialist, Carly Taylor, and she will get your started. 

Email Carly with any questions that you might have: ctaylor@everfi.com

Presenters:  

Megan Foster - Discovery Education