September 2023 Update

Assessment

• Assessment administration training for District Assessment Coordinators will be held virtually for PSAT/SAT and ACCESS for ELLs in September. Registration details, including training dates, will be sent directly to District Assessment Coordinators. Tentative 2024 Colorado State Assessment Windows are available on CDE’s website.

Accountability, Performance & Support

• Preliminary performance frameworks and 2023 growth data for CMAS, PSAT/SAT, and WIDA ACCESS, were released to districts Aug. 23 through Syncplicity and publicly on Aug. 28 on CDE’s website. For questions related to the performance frameworks, Colorado growth model, or related training support, email accountability@cde.state.co.us. 

• All districts must submit the Accreditation Form, which can be found on the Accreditation Portal within the UIP/ACI online system, indicating the district and local school board’s accreditation ratings for their schools by Friday, Sept. 22. Accreditation and request to reconsider guidance and support are available here. 

• 2023-24 school and district pre-populated reports will be updated in the Unified Improvement Plan Online System under the “School/District Requirements & Information” tab of the UIP. All school and district UIPs will be due for public posting and/or CDE review on Monday, Oct. 16. 

Federal Programs &Support

• Apply to join the Committee of Practitioners Today! CoP will advise CDE in the implementation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act , reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act .CDE is especially focused on recruiting representation from southeast, northwest, west central, and southwest Colorado. The application can be found here. Please submit to Emily Owen at owen_e@cde.state.co.us.

ESSER

• Nearly 13,000 teachers applied for and received classroom supplies through a special CDE initiative that allocated $11 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to help pre-K to 12th grade public school educators obtain classroom resources to address COVID-19 learning loss. The campaign, a collaboration between CDE and DonorsChoose, provided Colorado  teachers who applied up to about $800 in materials after fees and other costs. If your project didn’t get funded or if you were late to apply, don’t fret. Your project will remain available for any DonorsChoose donor to support. Officials at DonorsChoose say about 70% of projects that are posted get funded. Go to www.donorschoose.org to learn more.

District Operations

Data Pipeline

• Local Education Agencies calendars for 2023-24 may be entered beginning Sept. 1.  For more information, visit the Year-Round Collections - Directory page.  
•  The 2023-24 Student Demographics, Student School Association, and Graduation Guidelines files are now open, and districts may begin uploading in data pipeline. The Student October Snapshot opened Friday, Aug. 25th. 
• The End of Year snapshot is open with an initial submission deadline of Thursday, Sept. 7. Snapshots will reopen Thursday, Sept. 21, when the Cross LEA Validation phase begins.  
• Facility Schools System – Tuition Cost Application
  • The close date for the Facility Schools Tuition Cost Application is Friday, Sept. 15.
•  2023-24 Special Education IEP Interchange   
  • The 2023-24 Special Education Child, Participation, and CEIS files are now open, and AUs may begin uploading files in data pipeline.
• Special Education End of Year (EOY) 
  • The Special Education EOY Snapshot is open with an initial error-free date of Thursday, Sept. 7, followed by the statewide duplicate resolution process. The final deadline for this collection is Friday, Sept. 29. 
• Staff Evaluation 
  • The Staff Evaluation Interchange is open with a final Staff Evaluation Snapshot deadline of Monday, Oct.16.   
•  December Finance 
  • The 2022-23 December Finance collection is due by Sunday, Dec. 31.

Grants Administration

• CDE's department-wide grants management system, GAINS, will launch this fall, and will streamline and consolidate multiple CDE application systems and processes into a single location and system.
• CDE will host in-person trainings throughout Colorado. Including, Tuesday, Sept. 19, at Adams State College in Alamosa; Wednesday, Sept. 20, at Pikes Peak BOCES; Monday, Sept. 25, at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction; Wednesday, Sept. 27, at Front Range Community College in Westminster; and Thursday, Sept. 28, at the Fort Morgan School District in Fort Morgan. There will also be one virtual training offered. 
• The training sessions will be targeted for people responsible for district fiscal operations and staff who approve and/or submit funding applications. Though all potential system users are welcome to attend. There is an initial limit of four attendees per district or two per other organization type, but a waitlist will be maintained if spaces open up. 

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Please take note of the following training dates:

• Tuesday, Sept. 19 - Alamosa - Location: Adams State College
• Wednesday, Sept. 20 - Pikes Peak - Location: Pikes Peak BOCES
• Monday, Sept. 25 - Grand Junction - Location: Colorado Mesa University
• Wednesday, Sept. 27 - Metro - Location: Front Range Community College (Westminster)
• Thursday, Sept. 28 - Fort Morgan - Location: Fort Morgan School District 

This training is the first of several that aims to provide LEAs with the necessary tools and knowledge to support the grant application process. The focus will be on the following key areas: 

• General Navigation 
• Applications for Funding 
• Reimbursement Requests 
• Checklist, History Log, and Comments 

CDE realizes that the vendor-hosted trainings may conflict with upcoming events and have tried very hard to avoid these conflicts. CDE will provide additional ongoing training opportunities, and information regarding those opportunities will be made available soon.
Dates, locations, and registration links are available on CDE’s GAINS webpage. For questions, please contact us at CompetitiveGrants@cde.state.co.us. 

Postsecondary Readiness

• The Office of Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness will hold regional tours around the state this school year to facilitate strategic conversations about Graduation Guidelines, capstone, work-based learning, industry certifications, ICAP, and other programs.

Teaching and Learning

• Districts and schools can still sign up to use the Zearn Math accelerator platform for the 2023-24 school year at no cost to school districts. In addition, school districts have access to Zearn's K-8 instructional curriculum to complement the math accelerator platform at no cost.