Education Online, Aug. 2019

Aug. 2019

	SECRETARY’S COLUMN: Supporting educators; supporting students Welcome to a new school year. I hope you had time to relax and rejuvenate over the summer. I’m eager to get to know all of you better as we work together for South Dakota students.

	LEADER FEATURE: Superintendent Jason Bailey, Bridgewater-Emery School District We recently talked with Superintendent Jason Bailey to learn how things are going as the Bridgewater-Emery School District begins its first full school year of the Project AWARE program.

HOT TOPICS
SPED Interim Legislative Committee to meet Aug. 27 The Special Education Interim Legislative Committee will hold its next meeting Aug. 27. Minutes and audio from the committee’s July 11 meeting can be accessed on the committee’s webpage. The committee was established by SB 3 during the 2019 session, and its purpose is to study the cost and coordination of special education services in the state.

ESSA State Plan Revision Workgroup to meet Sept. 3 The ESSA State Plan Revision Workgroup will hold its next meeting Sept. 3. This group has been meeting with the intention of submitting a revised State Plan to the U.S. Department of Education by early 2020. A list of group members, along with notes from the group’s previous meetings are posted on the department’s ESSA Implementation webpage.

Save the Date! Dyslexia trainings starting in October Dr. Kari Oyen and Dr. Daniel Hajovsky from the University of South Dakota will offer day-long dyslexia trainings for district/school teams of two to four staff members. The trainers will also provide follow-up consultation on a case of suspected dyslexia in the team’s district to help ensure the training transfers into effective practice. Registration will be available soon via GoSignMeUp. Oct. 11, Rapid City Oct. 22, Aberdeen Nov. 8, Sioux Falls

Webinar scheduled on Comprehensive Needs Assessment regional workshops
We’re offering a year-long regional workshop series leading schools and districts through the newly developed South Dakota Comprehensive Needs Assessment Framework and Process. Need more information? Join us for a webinar Aug. 15, 9:30-10:00 a.m. CT. Questions about the webinar? Contact Jordan Varilek.

Free PD available to build your staff capacity to work with English learners
The South Dakota Department of Education has partnered with WIDA Professional Learning to offer two free extensive learning opportunities for educators over the course of the 2019-20 school year. Both opportunities are online, so there is no need for staff to travel offsite. These e-learning opportunities are for all teachers and administrators, not only teachers currently working with English learners.

New laws in effect
Most bills passed during the 2019 legislative session became law on July 1. For schools, these laws cover a range of topics, from a requirement to display the national motto of the United States to authorizing children who are subject to a pending military relocation to apply for enrollment in a school district. Here is a summary of education-related bills that became law on July 1.

New teachers can still sign up for Statewide Mentoring Program
If you have first-year teachers this school year, there’s still time to sign them up for the Statewide Mentoring Program. Kick-off events are underway and scheduled into September. Check out this video from June’s Mentoring Program Summer Academy, the annual celebration and professional development event that caps each year of participants’ two years in the program. Questions? Contact Matt Gill or Kelly Royer.

Announcing changes to statewide assessment names

The South Dakota Department of Education is updating the names of statewide assessments in English language arts, math, and science. The goal is to create clarity and consistency, so that assessment names are not tied to vendor or consortium names (i.e. AIR, MSAA, Smarter Balanced Consortium), which can change over time.

South Dakota again receives highest ratings under IDEA

South Dakota has received the highest rating possible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, for both Parts B and C for the most recent reporting year of federal fiscal year 2017. The state is one of only 14 across the country to meet the requirements and purposes of IDEA under both Parts B and C, according to information released recently from the U.S. Department of Education.

Civics Summit held July 25

On July 25, nearly 40 K-12 teachers and administrators and three professors came to Pierre to discuss civics education as part of a well-rounded approach to preparing students. A smaller group will be asked to continue meeting to develop a definition and vision for civics education in our state. We will share the members of this smaller group (once selected) and summaries of their progress.

Refresher: SD’s model teacher evaluation system and process

South Dakota's model system for teacher evaluation was developed by the South Dakota Commission on Teaching and Learning. It includes a focus on professional practices and a focus on student growth as measured by student learning objectives, or SLOs. As you prepare for the 2019-20 school year, now is a great time to review this model.

School culture, safe schools, and poverty-in-schools resource kits available

The South Dakota Department of Education is offering resource kits to help schools work with students in poverty and improve school culture and safety. Make these kits part of your back-to-school planning:

Poverty in Our Schools resource kit

School Culture resource kit

Safe Schools resource kit

Upcoming Events

A complete listing of events is available at GoSignMeUp.

Frontline Training for New Users
Aug. 7, Sioux Falls

Frontline Training for Returning Users
Aug. 7, Sioux Falls

Aligning Instructional Practices to ELA and Math Standards Using the Unpacked Documents
Aug. 7, Sioux Falls (registration open)
Oct. 9, Chamberlain (registration information coming)

2019 IEP workshops
Various dates and locations statewide, summer and fall

Active Shooter Workshop
Aug. 13, Pierre

SD-STARS for Beginners webinar
Aug. 28

New Special Education Directors Webinar Series
Sept. 11 – Leadership and Management
Oct. 9 – Accountability/RDA
Nov. 14 – Child Count
Dec. 12 – Dispute Resolution
Jan. 9, 2020 – SPP/APR
Feb. 6, 2020 – Fiscal/Budget

Board of Education Standards
Sept. 16, Aberdeen

Fall DOE/Infinite Campus user groups
Sept. 16-20, various locations statewide
(For more information, contact Judy Merriman or Teri Jung)

Indian Education Summit
Sept. 22-24, Pierre

Accreditation Support Training
Sept. 23, Pierre

SD-STARS topical webinar
Sept. 25

School Library Boot Camp
Sept. 25, Spearfish, and online

Northern Plains Law Conference
Sept. 30-Oct. 2, Bismarck, ND

Educator Collaboration to Support Multilingual Learners: Webinar Series
Oct. 1, Oct. 29, Dec. 3, Jan. 21

Community Response to Child Abuse Conference
Oct. 3-4, Sioux Falls

Systems Change
Annual conference, featuring Teacher of the Year Banquet
Oct. 9-11, Oacoma

SD-STARS Training for STARS Account Managers
Oct. 29, Rapid City
Nov. 5, Aberdeen
Nov. 7, Sioux Falls

SD-STARS Training for District Users
Oct. 29, Rapid City
Nov. 5, Aberdeen
Nov. 7, Sioux Falls

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