May 2024 CDE Update for Superintendents and BOCES Executive Directors

Welcome to the CDE Update! This monthly publication for district superintendents and BOCES directors will show you what is happening in key priority areas at CDE and include details on implementation, milestones, deadlines and resources.

If you have any feedback regarding the CDE Update, email CDE_Communications_Office@cde.state.co.us.

We are making changes to CDE’s organizational and leadership team structures that are designed to:

Build culture through intentional leadership structures and spaces for collaboration;
Improve alignment of functional areas; and
Create manageable and effectual spans of oversight.

The Theory of Change page provides an overview of the changes that are designed to strengthen our work to support you and your teams. Changes to our leadership team structures will take effect by the end of May. The role reconfigurations and new roles will take effect over the coming weeks as positions are posted and filled, with the new structure anticipated to be in place no later than Monday, July 1.

Accountability, Performance & Support

Results of the 2024 TLCC Survey are out now. We have released the results of the 2024 TLCC Survey at www.TLCCsurvey.org. Results for all districts with 40%+ participation or for schools with 50%+ participation are publicly available. We encourage you to use this data in continuous improvement efforts, including in the UIP for root cause analysis and for implementation benchmarks. CDE staff is available to support training and facilitate work sessions at uiphelp@cde.state.co.us.
Join us on May 23 to learn about Alternative and Flexible Instructional Models. Save the date of Thursday, May 23 from 9-11:30am for our Alternative and Flexible Instructional Models learning community meeting. We will talk about the flexibilities within the new Public School Finance Act Rules (1 CCR 301-39), and participants will have opportunities to share ideas and resources.

Assessments

Results of the kindergarten ACCESS and ACCESS for ELLs 1-12 are available in the WIDA Assessment Management System. Alternate ACCESS was new this year, so those results are expected in mid-September following a standard setting process. Districts and schools should share confidential individual student performance reports with parents as soon as possible and may use results to inform redesignation decisions.
The window is open for optional Student Biographical Data collections. Starting this month, district participation in optional Student Biographical Data collections allows you to verify the accuracy of state assessment data and check for common errors that can impact district and school accountability, including student demographic data and test invalidations or not tested reasons for each assessment.

Educator Talent

Please share this important reminder about licensure requirements with school leaders and teachers. Educators with an elementary, English language arts, math, science or social studies, or any middle-level endorsement on a professional teacher license that expires on or after Sept. 1, 2025 must complete English Learner Professional Development prior to renewal or they will be unable to renew until the professional development has been completed.

The deadline for assurances for educator evaluation systems is July 1. By July 1 each year, Colorado districts and BOCES must submit assurances that they are implementing the State Model Evaluation System or another evaluation system that is aligned to the requirements in statute C.R.S. 22-9-106 (PDF) and Colorado State Board of Education rules (1 CCR 301-87 (PDF)) for teachers, principals, and special services providers. The 2024-25 assurances are the same as the 2023-24 assurances. Visit the Assurances for Educator Evaluation Systems webpage for more information.
Do you want to support school leaders in empowering their teachers, building stronger climates and cultures, and optimizing systems for collaboration? We hope you will encourage your principals to apply to our Principal Leadership Institute. Applications for the 2024-25 Principal Leadership Institute are due by Friday, June 14.

District Operations

The deadline for applications to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2024 Renew America’s Schools Prize is Thursday, June 13. The prize is a $180 million investment to fund energy-efficient and clean energy infrastructure improvements in K-12 public schools across the country to help districts build capacity, perform energy audits, and implement energy improvement projects.

Federal Programs & Support

We are hosting (virtual) ESEA and ESSER office hours in June. These sessions will focus on answering frequently asked questions about the Consolidated Application for ESEA funds. We will also provide time for any questions you may have about the Consolidated Application, which is due by Sunday, June 30. Register via Zoom for office hours at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 6 or Thursday, June 20.

Nutrition & Health

School Lunch Hero Day is on Friday, May 3. Colorado’s school nutrition professionals work tirelessly to ensure all meals meet rigorous nutrition standards, are appealing to students, and reflect the culture of their communities. Find a variety of ideas, resources, and tools to celebrate on the School Lunch Hero Day website and the School Nutrition Association website.

Teaching and Learning

Pre-registration is open for our Powerful Practice: Evidence-Informed Math Teaching (Google Forms) online course. This free professional development supports educators to shift practices in math instruction with a particular focus on supporting students at greatest risk of falling behind grade-level proficiency. Pre-registered educators will gain access to 14, 1-hour modules beginning in June 2024. For more information email mathacceleration@cde.state.co.us.

Our new advisory list of nationally evaluated, high-quality math curriculum and assessments is available now. Educators and school leaders can access detailed evaluations to confidently select evidence-informed textbooks, screeners and progress monitoring tools. For more information email mathacceleration@cde.state.co.us.

Applications are open for youth advisors, to inform the Colorado Academic Standards revision process. Nominees must be ages 14-19 and able to serve from 2024-2026 from June 1 to August 1. Nominators should notify nominees using this template (Google Docs), which includes a link to the application (Google Docs) that nominees will need to complete. Youth advisors must be committed and active participants. For more information email messier_s@cde.state.co.us.

Annual restraint review reports are due by June 30. HB 22-1376 now requires submitting the Annual Restraint Review Report to CDE by June 30 annually, starting this year. Note that the review is conducted at the school district level, not at the administrative unit level. Each individual school district must submit a separate Annual Restraint Review Report.