This is a reminder for districts about the need to share assessment results with parents and guardians. Overviews of reporting requirements are posted under the Parent Communication heading on the DOE assessment webpage [http://doe.sd.gov/Assessment/].

The South Dakota Department of Education has implemented a common course numbering system for high school courses for all accredited school districts. The state course codes will be used for accountability purposes including, but not limited to, Career and Technical Education federal reporting, migrant course history and course data for the college and career readiness indicator within the School Performance Index. The state course codes within the PRF database are used to capture staffing information for all accredited districts.

The department has spent the last several months reviewing the list of course codes available for the following systems: Infinite Campus, the Personnel Record Form (PRF) and the Perkins system. All course codes will be available for use in the systems for the 2018-19 school year. The master course code list is available at http://doe.sd.gov/octe/commoncourse.aspx.

The department requires that districts use the state common course codes on a student’s high school transcript. Districts have the flexibility to keep local course titles and descriptions, if the course content aligns with the intent of the course and course descriptions.

Within the Infinite Campus district edition are two new validation reports that districts can run to verify that all high school courses have an appropriate state course code. See the Student Data Collections Desk Guide [http://doe.sd.gov/ofm/documents/DataGd-18.pdf] for further details. This will help identify high school courses within a district’s system that have expired state course codes or no state course codes.

The department is requesting that all districts run the two new validation reports, correct and adjust accordingly so that students’ transcripts, starting with the 2018-19 school year, reflect the updated high school course codes. The department is NOT requiring districts to update courses that were transcribed in previous years.

The department is only requiring the common course numbering process for high school courses and transcripts. However, the Infinite Campus system will not allow the district to save a K-8 course without a state course code. To accommodate this, the department has created the state course code of “Bypass” to be used for all K-8 courses in the Infinite Campus system. When editing an existing K-8 course or entering a new K-8 course into the Infinite Campus system, the district will simply enter the word “Bypass” in the required State Code field. This “Bypass” code is ONLY to be used on K-8 courses. All high school courses must be aligned to the appropriate state course code from the master course code list.

The Common Course Codes will be reviewed and updated by the Department of Education on an annual basis using the following timeline:

• Oct. 1: Districts may submit a request for a new course code to the Department of Education if a course does not align to any of the state course descriptions. The course code will be available for use for the following school year.
  • The request must include the following information: course title, course description, subject/content category and standards addressed in the course.
• Nov. 1: The department will review the district request and communicate the final decision back to the district.
• Dec. 1: If a new course code is identified, the new code will be added to Infinite Campus and communication will be sent to districts.
• August of the following year: If a new course code is identified, the new code will be added to the PRF system when the PRF system reopens for the following school year.

• Technical assistance with Infinite Campus: Randy Hanson, 605-773-4727
• Core Content course alignment: Cheryl Reiter, 605-280-0990
• Career & Technical Education course alignment: Erin Larsen, 605-773-2533
• Personnel Record Form (PRF): Carla Leingang, 605-773-4638
• Dual Credit: Amber Rost, 605-220-6612

Once again this year, eligible students will have the opportunity to complete postsecondary remedial coursework while still in high school. College readiness coursework, provided by the Department of Education, includes courses intended to assist high school seniors who need continued support in developing the skills necessary to enroll in credit-bearing coursework at the postsecondary level.

Students who scored at a Level 2 on the 11th grade Smarter Balanced test or had an ACT English sub-score below 18/math sub-score below 20 are eligible for this opportunity. Students who meet the eligibility criteria will receive a letter from the Secretary of Education in early October indicating that they may access the college readiness coursework. About one week before these letters are mailed to students, the department will provide schools with a report via SD-STARS, allowing them to see which of their students qualify for the program.

Coursework can be completed in one of two ways: online through the South Dakota Virtual School, or a school district can offer the coursework as a face-to-face option with a highly qualified math or English teacher supporting the students.

• Online college readiness coursework ranges in cost from $125 to $175. However, if students complete the coursework, they can be reimbursed for the full cost.
• Website: https://sdvs.k12.sd.us/Students/CollegeReadiness.aspx

The Build Dakota Scholarship Program, along with the state’s four technical institutes, is hitting the road this fall to provide presentations at school and community events. The intended audience includes high school students and their parents, local business and industry officials, community leaders, and economic development groups.

The free sessions will explore topics such as the importance of “test-driving” careers in high school and ways to do that; bringing industry and education together to provide job shadowing, internships and other partnerships; and details about the Build Dakota Scholarship. Last year, the road show included 40 visits.

For more information, contact Deni Amundson [deniamundson@goldenwest.net], Build Dakota Program Manager, at 605-347-1804.

The Department of Labor and Regulation offers a youth version of its workshop, “Bring Your ‘A’ Game to Work,” at no cost to schools. Using experiential learning activities and group participation, it focuses on seven foundational behaviors to build work ethic: Attendance, Appearance, Attitude, Ambition, Accountability, Acceptance and Appreciation. Capacity is limited. For more information, contact Jami Burrer [jami.burrer@state.sd.us] at 605-773-5017.

September is Suicide Prevention Month. The South Dakota Department of Social Services has developed a suicide awareness and prevention campaign, BeThe1SD [http://bethe1sd.com/], to help decrease the number of suicides in South Dakota. The ‘BeThe1SD’ campaign emphasizes a positive message that encourages youth to be vigilant about the signs of suicide and to “be the one” to make a difference.

Native American hip-hop artist Supaman will perform and deliver a keynote address at this year’s Indian Education Summit, scheduled for Sept. 23-25 in Pierre. Keynote speaker Jace Pratt will discuss the topic of peaceful teaching. Other highlights include a pre-conference session on traditional games and a presentation from the Montana Office of Indian Education on that state’s Indian Education for All program. Register [http://tie.events/ies] today!

The nomination process is open for the U.S. Senate Youth Program, a nationwide program that brings high school students to Washington, D.C., for an onsite introduction to the functions of the federal government and, in particular, the United States Senate. Nominations are due Sept. 21. Learn more on DOE’s U.S. Senate Youth Program Scholarship webpage [http://www.doe.sd.gov/scholarships/senateyouth.aspx].

Board of Education Standards
Sept. 17, Aberdeen [http://doe.sd.gov/board/]

Fall DOE/Infinite Campus user groups
Sept. 18-21, various locations statewide
(For more information, contact
Judy Merriman [judy.merriman@state.sd.us] or Teri Jung [teri.jung@state.sd.us])

Interpreting ACCESS for ELLs Score Reports
Sept. 19, Rapid City

New Special Ed Directors Webinar Series – Accountability
Sept. 19, Online

SD-STARS Monthly Webinar
Sept. 19, Online

Behavior De-escalation Training
Sept. 21, Mobridge

Indian Education Summit
Sept. 23-25, Pierre [https://tie.events/ies]

Northern Plains Law Conference on Students with Disabilities
Sept. 24-26, Rapid City
[http://www.cvent.com/events/2018-northern-plains-law-conference-on-students-with-disabilities/event-summary-16c919a006564ae28495331a3f67b711.aspx]

SDMyLife: Next Generation
Oct. 3, Sioux Falls
Oct. 4, Rapid City
Oct. 15, Watertown
Oct. 16, Pierre
Oct. 22, morning webinar
Oct. 22, afternoon webinar
Oct. 23, morning webinar
Oct. 23, afternoon webinar

Annual Community Response to Child Abuse Conference
Oct. 4-5, Sioux Falls [https://www.sdcpcm.com/conference/]

Supporting Early Learners Institute
Oct. 11-12, Sioux Falls
[http://supportingearlylearners.doodlekit.com/home/index]

Systems Change
Oct. 17-19, Sioux Falls [http://systemschange.net/]

Dakota TESL Conference
Nov. 15-16, Fargo, ND [http://dakotatesl.com/2018_conference]