IEM September ES Agenda 2009/10

Please read the agenda, along with each of its links (all links available in ES Handbook for future reference) before your ES Group meeting and take any questions with you to the meeting. The agenda quiz must be completed in your ES WEBfiles BEFORE attending your ES meeting!

This agenda has been posted 9/10/2009 and the agenda quiz is due 9/21/2009.

 

Please note that if you must miss your ES meeting, you should inform your Area Facilitator and ES Advisor and make arrangements with another AF to attend another meeting that month. (All meeting times and dates are posted in the ES handbook along with AF e-mail addresses and meeting date, time, and location). If you miss the meeting altogether, you will be reminded of your responsibility to attend and will be held responsible for the information given at the meeting, plus you will need to earn 2 more PG hours in an optional PG session. If you miss another meeting, it will become a discipline issue and may result in a drop in your student load. We do not believe that you can effectively serve your students if you miss critical information about the school and your job. Thank you for making these meetings a priority as you schedule your time for this school year!  The ES Support Department.

 

1) Dates to Remember and Dated Duties

a) For ALL 1st semester 2010 graduates:

·         September 25, 2009 is the last date to email to your advisor your graduate’s preliminary assessment. (See Grad Procedure in ES Handbook at: http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/graduation/graduproc.htm).

·         If you have a 2010 expected graduate, plan to spend some time now going over the graduation procedure, and take any questions with you to the ES meeting for the compilation.

·         The grad packet is also done for those who are taking a “Completion” instead of a diploma.

·         Be sure the graduates/completers are marked with their "expected grad date" in ES Webfiles View Students, Graduation tab.

 

b) CAHSEE dates: October 6 & 7 for your 11th and 12th grades only! Remind them NOW of those dates if they need to take a test! They all should have received this attached letter in the mail: OGCS SSCS .  Ask them about it now or at your next meeting with them.

 

c) Remember the Scantron testing window for returning students: The calendar lists the testing window as September 14 to October 23.  Be sure ALL returning students in grades 3rd to 12th grades are Scantron tested during this period!  (Your new enrollees still have 20 school days to test from the first day they enroll (new enrollees for this school year should be done) all year long.) K - 2nd need to be WRAT tested. (2nd graders can do Scantron if they wish!)

 

d) Payroll Snapshot Dates: September 17 at noon; October 16 at noon.

 

e) Report Card HQT coding DUE BY SEPTEMBER 11th:  If you are not NCLB certified in all of your HS subjects and are serving HS students, please take a minute to make sure that all of your students are covered for the NCLB component in their courses.  Those earning any number of credits this semester need to be signed up by 9/11/09. Remember if you are not highly qualified in a subject, your students need to be enrolled in either:

1.     A community college class

2.     An online class

3.     An SME CP course

Remember, choosing to do NOTHING is not acceptable.  A student cannot get credit for any course that does not have a HQT to assign the grades and credits. (Online courses and community college do qualify as Highly Qualified.) Contact your Advisor if you need help!

 

f) Learning Styles Results Entry: Enter all of your students' LS results and your ES LS results in ES Webfiles by October 31, 2009.  See info flyer given to you in your All ES Meeting packet for entry details.

 

g) HH info: Deadline to mail your HH Info packet of envelopes to the office is October 31 , 2009. (See info below in Section 3d.)

 

2) Things to Do

a) Constitution Day: Remember that September 17th is/was Constitution Day for all students, as required by the federal mandate. Please document the Constitution Day activities in your learning records for September. If no work was done, then enter this comment on the LR: “No Constitution Day activities completed”. Address any questions to your ES Advisor.

 

b) Citrix Server Name: Check your "name" in each Citrix server to be sure that you have all ES privileges you should have when accessing Webfiles.  To do this, follow these directions: Every time after you log into FRED this month, go to Edit and choose "Preferences" at the bottom of the choices.  On the General tab, be sure that you user name is your login name (same as your email name). 

 

c) SME INFORMATION:

·         THERE IS NOW A HELPFUL RECORDED WEBEX CALLED “SME” TO HELP YOU WITH THE INFO BELOW!  Check the video page on our ES protected page at http://www.sscs.cc/video/SME%20training.wrf .

·         ALL ESs should complete 1 & 2 below.  If you are certified in all HS subjects, you do not need to do #3!  Here’s some helpful steps to complete this task:

1.   Check your certifications.

a.     In FRED, go to VIEW/ES Detail

b.     Select the NCLB tab

c.     Review what you are certified in.

d.     If you find a discrepancy, email Linette Harris (lharris@ieminc.org) asap and cc your advisor.

e.     If you are unsure about what you are certified in, please email your advisor so they can help you.

f.     Note for September: If you have received an email from Linette that you are certified, copied to your advisor, you may use that for now to consider yourself "certified".  Do check back in a month to be sure they are listed in Webfiles.

2.   Review your report cards.

a.     Make sure they are all coded with the proper NCLB component on the right hand side:

§  0 – N/A: select this option for classes that do not need an HQT component (like PE, electives, life skills, and core courses NOT being used for graduation requirements.)

§  FOR CORE CLASSES (English, Math, Science, History, Arts, Language)

·         1 – HQT ES is certified: select this option if you are certified in the particular core subject area (e.g. English, Arts, Math, etc.)

·         2 – HQT Online Course: select if it is an online course (like Odysseyware, ALEKS, etc.)

·         3 – HQT SME course: select if student is enrolled in the CP SME course

·         4 – Community college: select if student is attending a community college class. 

Note:  The a-g designations on the report card ARE NOT the same as your HQT designations--do not confuse the two, but contact your advisor if you need help!

3.   Make sure your students are signed up for SME classes if they are not enrolled in college or online classes. 

a.     In webfiles, go to View / HS report card

b.     Select the green “CP Enrollment” tab.  You will be able to see all of the CP courses for that student listed here.  If the course is not listed, they are not signed up. 

·         HQT SME Course Enrollment Date – Less Than 5 Credits

1.     In the CP course enrollment form, enroll all students for an HQT SME course, using the beginning of the semester date, 8/17/2009, or their enrollment date in the school if not enrolled on 8/17.

2.     If you need to change an enrollment date, email Shelley Ross, curriculum@ieminc.org and cc the HQT SME instructor with the course number, student name, and  new enrollment date.

3.     If a student is attempting less than 5 credits, email Shelley Ross, curriculum@ieminc.org and cc the HQT SME instructor for a drop date that will be pre-scheduled by Shelley and your HQT SME.  Please email the course number, student name, and amount of credits attempting.  We will communicate that pre-scheduled drop date to you, and office staff will request the drop at that date for you.

4.     Any changes to the pre-scheduled drop date, need to be emailed to Shelley Ross, curriculum@ieminc.org, prior to the pre-scheduled drop date, as we cannot back-date drops.  

1.     If you will be in one course, although different "sections (a or b), in any one semester, you do not need to drop from one section to enroll in the next.  For example, if you need 2 credits of Algebra 1a, then expect your student to continue on to do 3 credits of Algebra 1b in the same semester, you may just leave them in the one HQT SME course for the entire semester (no need to drop and enroll in another course).  But, if you will finish Algebra 1b, and go on to Geometry, that is a different course, and you need to enroll in BOTH courses before 9/11/09.

 

d) Parent list serve: IF the parent sent in an email address on their student application, they will be sent an invitation to join by the school secretary.  Encourage your parents to be on the school parent listserve!  If they declined and now wish to join, or did not give us an email address, or rejected their first invitation to join, you or they can send an email to the school secretary (sssecretary@ieminc.org or ogsecretary@ieminc.org ) and request to be added.  The school name and the parent name and email address of choice needs to be sent. Please remember to print out all parent listserves and start a file of them to take with you on your LR visits to your families.  Let them look through your file of emails while there, as we want everyone to be informed of all school information, and the listserve and ES visits are the way we communicate with our parents.

 

e) Listserve email web login info . If you have not set up an account with Yahoo Groups (they host our Listserves), please do so now. When you have a yahoo account, you can access the school listserves at any time and view all past messages.  Step by step directions are located at: http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/computerrel/eslistserve.htm .

 

f) Record Keeping: (http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/recordkeep/faqesfiles.htm) What student records should an ES keep? Set up your files now so that you are keeping what you need to keep, and know what you can get rid of when. The office keeps a general file on each student, but it is the ES's responsibility to keep copies of their educational records for each student on file in their home offices, and pass them to the new ES if a transfer occurs. It is recommended that K-8 records be kept for 2 years, and high school records for 4 years. For High School, the ES or the parent should keep documentation for the grades and credits that have been assigned, and any info that will help answer questions that might come from another high school or college: name of texts, topics covered, if it was a-g, etc. Copies of learning records are kept in the database, but you may want copies of tables of content, and some work samples as the portfolios collected are sufficient for an audit but may or may not be sufficient for transfers to other high schools or admission to some colleges. An exception is parent permission slips, which you should keep forever.

 

g) New ESs: Don’t forget the important Observation Visit with your AF (http://www.ieminc.org/genericforms/ESobserv.pdf), and the forms that must be sent to the training office by both the ES and the AF after that visit!

 

h) Cell Phones: Included in your stipend reimbursement is funding to help pay for a cell phone plan for you. Please enter this cell phone number into the database on the ES detail page as your work number. For a complete listing of stipend reimbursements we pay automatically in your ES paycheck, go to: http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/esjob/esreimsti.htm .

 

i) ES Pay check stub reminder: Employees who elect direct deposit have been set up with an email account using your school IEM email address. All employees that have direct deposit will receive their pay stub through this email account, with directions to open it as it is password protected. This is different than your Payroll Snapshot which is available the first week of every month in ES Webfiles, View/Payroll Snapshot. Any stipend positions you are being paid for, or classes you are teaching will not show up on your snapshot, but will be listed as separate line items on your pay stub. If you have a question after you receive your pay stub, paycheck, or about your payroll snapshot, please email Janet Marsh (jmarsh@ieminc.org) and not payroll/personnel with your questions. They can only verify the amount they paid or deductions made, Janet ONLY can research if the amount is accurate.

 

j) Persuasive Writing Assignment: Remind your families of the deadline for the Persuasive writing assignment this month at your LR meeting. Give them any help they need to get started if they haven’t yet started. You may want to have the students do their writing while at the meeting with you. The writing documents are all linked to the website on the curriculum page under "CURRICULUM RESOURCES" at the Writing link: (http://www.sscs.cc/Handbook/writing_2010/wr_per_index_10.dwt). Remember you can provide Write Reflections to them as well to help with their writing.

 

k) Transfer checklist: Be sure to follow the timeline listed on the transfer/drop checklist and let your Advisor know that all has been done on time by submitting the form to them.  Reminder: Do not email office staff for a transfer, but email your advisor only to initiate a transfer during the school year. Your advisor will forward the request on when it is complete and approved.

 

l) Portfolio samples: Remember to start collecting and assembling your portfolio samples now and at each meeting, checking to be sure that each part of the label is complete and accurate! You will have a portfolio assignment this month (see networking section for assignment) and every month until the March portfolio collection. Read the attached document and be ready to discuss any additional ideas to add at your meeting.

 

3) Training Items

a) Webex trainings: There is now a SME recorded Webex to refer to when you have questions about working with a SME: http://www.sscs.cc/video/Transcript%20coding.wrf.

 

b) Transfer & Drop Policy/Procedure:  Read the Transfer & Drop information on the webpage at http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/transferdrops/indexiema.htm .  Please read all of the policy documents on that page and bring your questions to your meeting.  All ES initiated transfers are to be communicated to Cindy only by your ES Advisor during the regular school year (summer has a different process)!  Cindy will no longer be processing any transfers during the regular school year that do not come from the Advisors. Even parent initiated requests must go through your ES Advisor for approval.

 

c) ES Communication/Professionalism:

·         The ES Communication Protocol document is attached. Please read the school standards for appropriate and effective communication.

·         Visit the School Personnel Webpage (http://www.ogcs.org/handbook/index3.htm  ) to see who does what in the school business offices.

·         Remember you are the professional representative of the school when you visit with a student/parent.  Dress the part, be punctual and call if something delays you for a meeting even for a few minutes, and do not take anyone with you to a meeting if you have not obtained prior approval from the parent (children, pets, parents, neighbors, others checking into our school, etc.). 

 

d) HH Info:  New HH info must be collected from every family at your next LR meeting!  This information is critical for many state reports we do, plus our AYP and API results. See directions at this link in the ES Resources: http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/studentenrollment/hhinfo.pdf . Bring any questions to your ES Group Meeting. Deadline to mail to the IEM office is 10/31/2009. 

 

e) Learning Center reminder: Please note that ES's may not use any of our school vendor sites to meet with students or conduct school business, such as writing learning records, creating PO's, or any other aspect of your job.  Charter school law dictates that we may not operate a learning center outside of our chartering county and we cannot even have the appearance that we are operating one by having ES's hang out or serve students there.  There must be a strict separation of vendor and school.  Always meet with your families at their homes or a public building such as the library or a coffee shop.  This includes vendors who are paid for tutoring or classes, such as European Educational Services or Corban Learning Center.  Families should also understand that the vendor is not an extension of the school, but is being paid for by our school to provide a specified educational service.

 

4) Messages from School Departments

a)   ASSESSMENT

·         ES Test Proctor Assignments: Check out your 2010 Test Proctor assignment on the assessment website.  Select your school from the list at the top of the page and it is located under “2010 Assessment Info”. Remember you must make a trade as needed, then email Sara at Scantron@ieminc.org with the trade information. (Schedule to be posted the end of September).

·         SCANTRON:  Here are some changes that Scantron has made to their web-site:

1. The FIRST thing you will see is a brand new landing page at www.edperformance.com.  All the previous functionality is still available, with some additions.  This page has been reformatted with larger fonts and to reflect the current product branding.  Student and Staff login buttons are still prominently on the left.  However, you do not need to choose their testing subject first anymore.  It will ask you which test you would like them to take after you select “Student Login” and then type in the Site-ID.

2. Three new templates are available under Site Admin / Print Profiles.  Each has a different focus to improve the conversations with either students or parents.  The new templates are: Student Goals Summary, Portfolio Record, Parent Review.

3. Your students will also see a new addition to the testing experience, a navigation language option.  During the sign in process, your students will have the opportunity to change the navigation (not test question) language to Spanish, if it will make them more comfortable.  This will affect all buttons and instructions throughout the test enabling your ELL or other students to focus on the test and not translating any instructions. The update your students will not see, but will experience, is the improved test delivery speed.  Information delivery to and from the student workstation has been improved and will result in smoother testing, especially during heavy internet use times of the day.

·         CAHSEE: The sites for the October CAHSEE are now posted on the school web-site at http://www.ieminc.org/Assessment/index.htm#CAHSEE.  Please let any of your 11th and 12th grade students that have not yet passed the CAHSEE, know which site they are assigned to.  If they are NOT marked in FRED as having passed the CAHSEE and yet they say they have at a previous school, make sure to send their previous results and/or transcripts to Fina in the Assessment office so that we can correct that error.

·         STAR REWARDS:  You should have received your student’s STAR rewards that were passed out at the all ES meeting.  OG teachers will be getting their 6-11 grade reward planners at their next AF meeting.  Please remember that the monkey planners were for grades 2-5 and the leather planners were for grades 6-11.  E-mail Sara at ssatterfield@ieminc.org if you have any issues with the rewards.

·         OGCS CELDT: Please make sure to have all CELDT testing completed and returned to the Placerville office no later than October 16th

·         SSCS CELDT ONLY: Nancy Thomas and Jennifer Allen, the EL Support Teachers, are giving the CELDT to all of the English Learners this month.  High school ELs will have the opportunity to test as a group at the Sylvan Oaks library, over two sessions.  We will continue to test in students’ homes as necessary. All first through eighth graders will be completed by September 4, 2009.

·         Postage Reimbursement Changes for Assessment Coordinators: Please note that the cost-center code for assessment reimbursement for postage is (OG) 170-15 and (SS) 160-15 with both object codes being a 5902.

 

b) GUIDANCE

·         Our High School Handbook is now available on our school website.  From the main school webpage à click “Educational Resources” à select “Guidance” from dropdown menu à click “2010 High School Handbook”.

·         WebEx Training “Questions and Answers on the High School Handbook”, for ESs only, will be held on Tuesday, September 22nd from 9-10am and 2-3pm.  Contact Brandy Anderson (banderson@ieminc.org) to sign up for one of these meetings, and earn a professional growth hour.

·         For the students who plan to apply to a 4-year college directly out of high school, they should start to make plans to take the PSAT in the 10th grade, and SAT in the 11th grade.  Students who score very highly on the PSAT, could be awarded scholarship money from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.   Visit www.collegeboard.com from more info on SAT/PSAT tests.

·         WORK PERMIT INFORMATION: All Work Permits granted last year and over the summer are now expired!  If the original permit was granted through our school, the student needs to mail or fax in a new application to our office, Attention: Brandy Anderson.  Brandy will now be processing the school work permits.  Please make a note of this.  ES Approval will also be needed for these renewals. 

 

c) CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT

·         SSCS ROP: Remember - all SSCS students enrolled in a ROP courses must also be registered/enrolled in the "ROP Admin" SSCS CP course. SSCS ROP Procedures are linked here.

·         Learning Styles – Kaleidoscope Profile Results
ES Kaleidoscope Profile Results:
ESs are required to enter their ES Kaleidoscope Profile score card results from their Inservice into the ES Webfiles.  The ES fields can be found by going into FRED, click on “ES View” which opens to the Welcome tab.  At the top, click on “View”, and on the drop down click on “ES Detail”, then click on the “ES Training Tracker” tab.  On the top right, you will see “Educator Profile,” and four gray rows below.  Click on the drop down for each row to enter your ES Profile results.   
Student Kaleidoscope Profile Results:
--ESs are to have each of their students complete a Student Kaleidoscope Profile (grades 3-6) or (grades 7-12).  Profile folders with stickers, score card, and instructions were included for each of your students in your August Inservice packet.  If you feel you did not receive the correct number of grade level folders, or simply need more for newly enrolled students, contact Kirstine Larsen, iemtraining3@ieminc.org.
--Upon completion, ESs are required to enter the student’s score card results into the ES Webfiles before leaving for winter break.  (This is a change from the earlier October 31st deadline). 
To locate the fields to enter the student’s learning style score card results, go into the ES Webfiles, click on ES View, at the top click on “View”, and on the drop down click on “Testing”, then click on the “Learning Styles” tab.  To the right in each student row, click on all three boxes and select from each drop down to enter the student’s results.  If the student has tied scores in a category, then pick one to enter for that category.
--While it is not mandatory that students complete this learning styles assessment, the expectation is that almost all will.  If you have a parent strongly object, then put “Parent Declined” for the score result.   This is located on the Sensory Preferences drop down only, at the bottom.
After entering the results in WebFiles, ESs can use their discretion as to what to do with students’ completed Kaleidoscope folder. 

·         School-Wide Writing Assignment
The below is for 504 and IEP students ONLY…not regular education students:
If the modifications or accommodations on a student’s 504 or IEP are in conflict with the policies stated in the Directions handout of the school-wide writing assignment, the 504 and IEP modifications  and accommodations always take precedent and must be followed.  If you have any questions about this, email Shelley Ross, curriculum@ieminc.org.

·         Discovery Education streaming - Systems Requirements
If your family is having trouble using Discovery Education streaming, have them first check their systems requirement by going to this link. 
http://help.discoveryeducation.com/support/index.cfm?event=showAsset&criteria=requirements&guidAssetId=f6ceb770-1b78-cd48-f800-5e2819268d29

·         Discovery Education streaming - Not too late to purchase a license!

--Family licenses for Discovery Education streaming for the 2009-2010 school year can still be purchased at special, prorated pricing.  To obtain this pro-rated pricing, go to,
http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/vendor/DE%20pro-rated.pdf
To learn about Discovery Education streaming. go to their information link,
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/products/streaming/streaming.cfm

·         CAHSEE Grant Money
Hot off the Press Update:  There is some CAHSEE grant carry-over money from last year that we can use this year until it is gone.  But there is no new money for this year.

Whether or not there is grant money, does not mean that ESs and students are off the hook doing CAHSEE Intervention.  Any CAHSEE Intervention PO’s from now…forward, can be written as CAHSEE Grant PO’s and the funds will not come out of the student’s IF. 
--To create a CAHSEE Grant PO for Intervention:  ESs DO NOT click “DONE” on their PO.  Also, ESs need to go to the ES Notes, and click “Other,” then write the word, “CAHSEE” in the ES Notes.  This is a little different process from last year.  Failure to follow this process may mean that the money does not come from the CAHSEE grant.
 
--ALL 11th and 12th grade students who have not yet passed both sections of the CAHSEE MUST receive immediate CAHSEE Intervention.  ESs need to email Fina Hustrulid, fhustrulid@ieminc.org, with the CAHSEE Intervention for each of their 11th or 12th grade students.  (ESs with any 10th graders that would benefit from early Intervention, can also do PO’s for those students using the CAHSEE grant money.  This is optional for those 10th grade students).  Fina will track all CAHSEE Intervention (11th & 12th, and optional 10th graders) and run her report the first Tuesday of each month to check to see that all mandatory students are receiving Intervention.  ESs with a chronic pattern of not emailing Fina will be noted and the ESs Advisor will be contacted. 
Please refer to your August ES Agenda for CAHSEE Intervention vendors and Prep materials.

·         11th & 12th Graders Who Have Not Yet Passed the CAHSEE – Verifying Scores
ESs may verify a CAHSEE passing score from an unofficial “parent” copy of the transcript.  If so, communicate those passing scores to Fina.  If the ES is not able to verify a passing score from an unofficial “parent” transcript, the ES may not just take the word of the student or parent.  That ES needs to order Intervention right away for that student.  ESs may not wait for CAHSEE test score results to arrive before ordering Intervention materials.  At the very least, the ES should print out some of the FREE CAHSEE prep lessons from the CDE website to give the student work while the test scores arrive.  Be sure to communicate that to Fina.
The links to these FREE CAHSEE Prep materials are:

·         Preparing for the CAHSEE: A Mathematics Study Guide (2008), http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/documents/mathstudyguide08.pdf
Mathematics Teacher Guide, http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/documents/mathteacherguide08.pdf 

·         Preparing for the CAHSEE: An English-Language Arts Study Guide (2008), http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/documents/studyela08guide.pdf
English-Language Arts Teacher Guide, http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/documents/elateacherguide08.pdf
See August ES Agenda for complete list of CAHSEE Prep materials and vendors.

·         Vendors – CHECK THEM OUT!
*Ascend Education, KMB of Shreveport dba* (Math), http://www.ascendedu.com

--Ascend Education (math) assesses your students’ needs based on our California standards and automatically assigns each student an individual education plan based on those needs. 
--Students are then guided through instructional content including video instruction (the Grasp Math videos), interactive learning activities both online and print practice problems.
--Special school individual pricing of $60 per individual 12 month license.
--3rd Grade through CAHSEE Prep.   
--To view the Ascend Education video, go to http://www.ascendedu.com/
--Ascend presentations are held every Wednesdays 3:00pm and Thursdays 10:00 Central time for anyone who wants to attend.  To sign up, go to http://www.ascendedu.com/presentation.html.  Attendance will qualify you for a free 30-day trial period. 

 *eTAP*, http://www.etap.org
--K-12 online supplemental home study resource that includes instruction, assessment, and test prep for  Math, English, Science, and History, CAHSEE Prep, all on one single easy-to-use website!
--Correlated to the California state standards.
--But here is the cool part!  eTAP lessons are partnered with Discovery Education videos (sold separately) and Personal Professors archived lessons (included).  The student is given the eTAP instruction, then has the option to view a Personal Professor video of the standard, and/or view a Discovery Education video on the lesson. This makes for multi-sensory, very effective learning.
--Great for students with learning problems and independent students.
--Free Demo Lessons, http://www.etap.org/demo/index.html, click on the subject, then the lesson.

*The Learning Springs* – NEW! http://www.learningsprings.com

For The Learning Springs additional charter school specific information, go to, http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/vendor/vendor_info_index.dwt
--User-friendly courses.
--CA standards aligned (correlations are listed in lesson 1 of each course).
--Core courses grades 5-12; 4th grade Health and Life Skills.
--Affordably priced!  Check it out!  We receive special school pricing listed in the PO Notes.
--Individual; Full unlimited; and 90-day license options.  Teacher support option. 
--Courses can be set up with either the parent having the ability to manage the course with ES “view only,” or the ES can manage the course with the parent having “view only.”  ES login may not be “shared.”  After making that decision, please email Kirstine Larsen, iemtraining3@ieminc.org, so she will know which way to create the logins.        

--After submitting PO and receiving the logins, the ES can schedule a FREE individual (let me repeat…individual…amazing!), ES training on The Learning Springs system by emailing Ron Davies, Director of Sales, rdavies@learningsprings.com, 1-317-385-2191 (cell). 
*Revolution Prep, http://www.revolutionprep.com  – RECOMMENDED!
--CAHSEE Prep Mathematics and CAHSEE Prep English-Language Arts
--Online intuitive computer generates individualized diagnostic that prescribes the face-to-face instruction by parent-teacher, or tutor-teacher, followed by student workbook practice.  Course consists of three sessions with unlimited time for completion.
--Student license is $29.99.  FREE online Teacher Guide, or $39.99 if purchased.

Ordering and Pricing Info, http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/vendor/revprep2010.html

     *Study Island*, http://www.studyisland.com
--Online California Content Standards Mastery for all California subjects, Grades 2-8, and

CAHSEE Prep
--Study Island Demo Video, http://www.studyisland.com/demoAsk.cfm?mystate=CA
--School scheduled, contracted 12 month license only $20 for all subjects. 
--Call for prorated (lower) pricing for partial year license. 
--All licenses expire at the end of each school’s contracted year license period…different for each school.
OG’s school contract goes from March to March.  A new OG PO needs to be placed in March for students wanting to continue through May.  SS school contract goes from June to June.
*Test Tools* – NEW!  http://www.testtools.com
--CAHSEE Prep Math or ELA Online
--12 month license for CAHSEE Math $40; 12 month license for CAHSEE ELA $40
--Three-Step CAHSEE Program:
1.  Diagnostic Pre-test:
take a practice Mathematics or  English-Language Arts exam using actual CAHSEE released questions from previous year's exams.
2.  Take a Practice Exam:  Take a practice exam that is limited to a specific California content standard, review standard specific hints to assist students in answering each question, and get immediate answer selection feedback that includes a detailed explanation for every question.
3.  Take a Diagnostic Post-Test:  take another practice exam using actual CAHSEE released questions and compare results to the Pre-Test.
--For free trial for California,
go to:  http://www.cahseeonline.com/trial

·         Vendor Name Changes
Companies are buying out each other at an unprecedented rate. 
Here is a list of some recent changes with the new IEM vendor number:
Rigby   New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental, IEM7716

Great Source New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental, IEM7716

Steck-Vaughn New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental, IEM7716

Riverdeep New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Learning Technology, #8911

Saxon School Publishers New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental, IEM7716

Saxon Homeschool New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental, IEM7716

Harcourt School Publishers New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K-6, #16160

Harcourt Achieve New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Supplemental, IEM7716

Holt, Rinehart, and Winston New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Holt McDougal 6-12, #396
Houghton Mifflin Company, Grades K-6 New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K-6, #16160

Houghton Mifflin Company, Grades 6-12 New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Holt McDougal 6-12, #396
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Grades 6-12 New Vendor Name:  Glencoe, #2917

McDougal Littell and Company New Vendor Name:  Houghton Mifflin Holt McDougal 6-12, #396

Prentice Hall, Grades 6-12 New Vendor Name:  Pearson Curriculum Group, #9856
Scott Foresman, Grades K-6 New Vendor Name:  Pearson Curriculum Group, #9856

·         Standards Review Materials
--It is recommended that students be given a standards review product at the beginning of the school year to maximize their benefit and use.  Particularly for the 8th grade history CST, as it covers the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade history standards and students will not be able to review three years all at the last minute.
--All subjects/grades, http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/cresource/curricresourcefiles/standardsrevieworderinginfo.pdf
--History - Grades 6-12,
http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/gencurres/curric/HI_6-11/hi_stds_rev.dwt
--Math - Grades 6-12,
http://www.sscs.cc/es/Departments/Mathematics/fe_ma_6_12/mastdrev6-12.pdf
--Science - Grades 8-12,
http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/gencurres/curric/SC_6-12/sc_stds_rev6-12.dwt
--STAR Released Test Questions - Grades 2-11 can be used to review the standards, http://www.sscs.cc/es/Departments/freestdrevweb.pdf

·         Standards Review Vendors
--List of popular standards review vendors,
http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/csuggest/standrevvend.htm

·         Parent Curriculum Workshops – REMIND THEM!
The list of monthly workshops for the year can be printed out or viewed from this link,
http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/gencurres/curric/2010parentwkshp.html
The form includes the information needed to sign up.

            The next two workshops are:

September
Topic: Persuasive Writing and the School-Wide Writing Assignment

Thursday, September 24th
1:00pm - 2:00pm

In this workshop, we will discuss the characteristics of persuasive writing using comprehensive school website information and resources. The workshop will include an orientation to the support materials specific to the school-wide persuasive writing assignment.

Age/Grade Focus: All age/grades, with an emphasis on 2nd - 12th grades.
October
Topic: California Holt Mathematics; California Fast Forward Math

Friday, October 9th
10:00am - 11:00am
--Product workshop. Holt California Mathematics is a recommended, California standards-aligned, concise math program with built in lower skills and on-grade-level intervention, and lesson-by-lesson teacher-tutor on CD-ROM. Holt California Mathematics breaks down the math concepts and presents them incrementally, allowing students to build slowly, but thoroughly towards mastery.

--California Fast Forward Math is a math intervention program for students in 4th - 7th grade, and high school students lacking lower math skills. Parents will be shown how this product can be used along side other math programs to diagnose and identify skills weaknesses. Worksheets can be purchased to re-teach and provide skills practice.
Age/Grade Focus: Holt California Mathematics, grades 6-12; California Fast Forward Math, grades 4-12.

·         Odysseyware – Change to Course Units (and thus to eCASH pricing)
--Some Odysseyware courses are now 13 units for a year course instead of 10
.  This means that the year course price will be higher if it is being purchased by units through an eCASH license.  The number of units for some semester courses may have increased also.

--Please check the list of courses and the number of course units prior to ordering. To view the list, go to http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/vendor/vendor_info_index.dwt, scroll to Odysseyware, and click on the “Units per Course” link. If there are 13 units, the first semester would be 6 units and the 2nd semester would be 7 units.  The second semester includes a semester final and a grand final that includes the 1st and 2nd semester coursework.  If the course shows only 5 or 6 units, then it is a semester class.
--The pricing is still $15 every time a student purchases or opens a unit.  The seat licenses remain at the $600.00 per year pricing.

·         Online Vendors: Pacing & Back-End Teachers
--ESs need to communicate our school schedule (semester start/end dates & holiday dates) to their student’s online course, back-end teacher.  Most online courses that have vendor start and end dates can be adjusted to our school schedule through the back-end teacher, IF that teacher is made aware of our school schedule.
Please inform your students of this and help facilitate it for them.
--Some vendors that come to mind are: (and there may be more)
National University Virtual High School (always has a back-end teacher)
Powerspeak (if back-end teacher was purchased)
Odysseyware does not have a back-end teacher, but is pre-programmed each year electronically (by me) with our school schedule.  ESs must still monitor the pacing of their student’s program and help the parents with the pacing of their courses.

 

d) VENDOR ReLATIONS

·         Conflict of Interest: Please review the Conflict of Interest policy before requesting a new vendor/employee (http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/esjob/conflictint.htm ).

·          PO EDUCATIONAL NOTES BOX: Please read carefully the information in the PO Notes.
We have more than one charter school with school-specific information in the PO Notes.
SM = Sky Mountain Charter School
CWCS = Connecting Waters Charter School

SS = South Sutter Charter School
OG = Ocean Grove Charter School
Use the information that is for ALL SCHOOLS, AND the information that follows  OG or SS.
For example, The Learning Springs is a new vendor with lots of PO Notes, please pay close attention. 

·         New Vendors:  SSCS  OGCS

 

e) GEA Information:  

   OGCS (See link)

SSCS:

9/25-IMAX-Whales and Dolphins 3-D

10/1-Bishop's Pumpkin Farm

10/20-Exploratorium

11/10-Sacramento zoo

12/17-RR museum and Polar Express (Canteen time) 1/12-King Tut-deYoung Museum 2/11-King Tut-deYoung Museum

March-TBA

April-None-Testing

May (date tba)-B Street Theatre-Beauty and the Beast.

For students enrolled in GEA’s

·          Please give parents the permission slip to fill out.  Keep a copy and let them know to bring their copy to the activity.  Many parents at the last GEA stated that their ES did not give them this.

·         Click “ES Approval” when you have confirmed that the family will attend and you have given them the permission slip.  Families will be deleted from the GEA if this is not clicked when the deadline passes.

·         Pay close attention to deadlines, parent ticket costs, and arrival times so that families are aware ahead of time and can prepare accordingly.

 

f) Student Records:

·         Whenever there is a change to page one of the student agreements, which requires a reprint, please email a pdf of the new page one copy as an attachment, instead of printing out and mailing in.

 

g) IT: New technical support guidelines have been posted at: www.iemsupport.com Click on the section at the top entitled: SSCS, OGCS, and SMCS .

 

5) Networking:

  • Watch the Curriculum Webex together and discuss the follow-up questions with your group.
  • Portfolio help:  Bring a portfolio sample from 5 of your students collected this month, labeled correctly.  At your meeting be prepared to review all samples for completeness, appropriateness, and give other ideas of what could be collected for that class. Be ready to tell what the LR said for that class from which you collected the sample.
  • Discuss help needed from each other for textbook ideas, CP classes, tutors, HQT suggestions, and other curriculum.  Pass any good ideas on to the ES Support office for inclusion in our next ES Agenda.
  •