February 2018 Newsletter
|
|
|
Transgender Student Information in Infinite Campus
Infinite Campus has new functionality that will allow us to display the students preferred name and gender internally, but still use the legal name and gender for state reporting. We are thrilled to have this available and help us to further support our students. If you have a student that would like to have this change made in Campus, please email the student's current name and their preferred name/gender to Margi Neve. Have a conversation with the student prior to sending their name to Margi and make sure they understand that the automated messages (attendance calls, general emails, etc.) will use the preferred name. It will also display on the parent portal and all printed reports except for the official transcript. Please contact Margi Neve with any questions. DMPS Specific Infinite Campus Help Documents
DMPS specific help documents are now available within Infinite Campus. To access the documents, click on the question mark in the top-right corner of the Infinite Campus webpage. 
A new window will open. Type "DMPS" into the search bar to see all DMPS specific help document.
Current help documents include copying assignments, multi score assignments, gradebooks, class messenger, behavior events, Tableau, and more. We continue to add more help documents throughout the year.
Title I Program Evaluation
Wilma Gajdel, Director of Federal and Grants Programs, and Elena Polush, Program Evaluator, have been leading the effort to design a Title I School-wide Program evaluation with the focus on elementary (early literacy, as the primary emphasis, and math) and middle (literacy and math) schools. The proposed evaluation purpose is to understand: (1) how the work of an interventionist is organized, (2) how Title I funds are spent and the impact of those expenditures on teacher development and student achievement, and (3) what effect School for Rigor has on the context of the Title I school-wide program implementation. This evaluation consists of two phases: Phase 1 – Spring and Summer 2018 and Phase II – 2018-2019 school year with the focus on process and outcomes, respectively. The intent is to learn and to share what works aimed at facilitating the systems of support and improvements. A steering committee of 19 members representing district elementary and middle school network support members, principals, and teachers was formed to provide guidance about the evaluation implementation, to interpret the results, and to develop recommendations. For more information, please see the following documents: (1) the Title I Logic Model, (2) the evaluation plan, and (3) a figure that depict the evaluation design and implementation timeline. Continuous Improvement Update
Lean headlines this month include Gallup results, January Status Quo Breaker, Project Types and the 5 Whys. |
ELL Testing: ELPA21
Between February 13 and March 8, DMPS English Language Learners will be taking the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21). Make ups (if necessary) will occur after Spring Break. The practice test window is currently open. We recommend all students engage in the practice tests prior to engaging with the operational test. ELPA21 Building Test Coordinators are ensuring all ELL students are in the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE). Please let Cindy Slinger know if any ELL students are missing from TIDE so she can enter them into the system. Please contact Cindy Slinger with any questions. Tableau Report Available to Parents
The Student Profile report was released in Infinite Campus for beta testing in December. We’ve made updates based on your feedback and are now ready to release the report to parents and students on the Campus Portal. The new and improved Student Profile will debut on February 5. Parents and students are able to access the report by logging into the Campus Portal and selecting Student Reports from the left-hand index. We are pleased to provide a comprehensive report with pertinent student data. 
Algebra I Program Evaluation
The quantity and quality of high school math education continues to be a significant predictor of future academic success. Student who complete a math course above Algebra II are estimated to be twice as likely to complete a bachelor’s degree (Adelman). Although upper level math courses are key predictors of future academic success, the failure to complete Algebra I can significantly limit the opportunity to complete these courses. It is imperative that Algebra I teachers receive high quality instructional support to meet the increasing needs of students. We are conducting an Algebra I program evaluation to examine (1) the effect of a tiered system of support for schools, (2) the relationship between instructional practices and student outcomes, (3) the relationships between student outcomes and course pathways, and (4) student barriers to success in Algebra I. The evaluation plan was finalized on January 22 after it was reviewed by the steering committee, which is comprised of teachers, building administrators, and central office staff. Data will be collected from a variety of sources including instructional observations, student focus groups, standardized assessments, student attendance, and course grades. The data collection process will be ongoing throughout the spring semester with results available in June. The steering committee, lead by Christi Donald (Secondary Math Curriculum Coordinator) and David Roney (Program Evaluator), will reconvene at that time to create an action plan based on the findings. |
UPCOMING DATES
|
January 15 - February 9: Grades K-3: FAST Testing
January 29 - March 9: Selected Schools Only: NAEP |
February 13 - March 8: Grades K-12: ELPA21
February 27: Grade 11: ACT |
WAIT. WHAT?
Dear Data Diva,
I really enjoy learning new ways to make my job better. The training sessions offered by the district are wonderful, but sometimes the date and times don’t work with my schedule. Also I wish I could suggest other topics I think would be beneficial to myself and others. Is there a way I can do this? Is there something that would allow people to express their opinions about the training sessions and give suggestions?
Sincerely,
Living to Learn
Dear Living to Learn,
We always love to hear what people think, good or bad. This feedback helps us to shape our training sessions, determine when is the best time to offer the sessions and gather ideas for new sessions. We also know that sometimes people are not comfortable expressing their opinions in a public forum. With that in mind we have been working with the program evaluation team to create a short Needs Assessment Survey. The information you submit will be sent to the evaluation team, not the infinite Campus team. You can choose to include your name if you want to, but it is fully optional. The survey will be open until February 9th. At that time the results will be evaluated and the summary information shared with the Infinite Campus team.
Please feel free to forward this link to other staff. This is not intended for teachers since most of their training comes from people other than the Infinite Campus team. Click HERE to access the survey.
As Always,
Data Diva
I really enjoy learning new ways to make my job better. The training sessions offered by the district are wonderful, but sometimes the date and times don’t work with my schedule. Also I wish I could suggest other topics I think would be beneficial to myself and others. Is there a way I can do this? Is there something that would allow people to express their opinions about the training sessions and give suggestions?
Sincerely,
Living to Learn
Dear Living to Learn,
We always love to hear what people think, good or bad. This feedback helps us to shape our training sessions, determine when is the best time to offer the sessions and gather ideas for new sessions. We also know that sometimes people are not comfortable expressing their opinions in a public forum. With that in mind we have been working with the program evaluation team to create a short Needs Assessment Survey. The information you submit will be sent to the evaluation team, not the infinite Campus team. You can choose to include your name if you want to, but it is fully optional. The survey will be open until February 9th. At that time the results will be evaluated and the summary information shared with the Infinite Campus team.
Please feel free to forward this link to other staff. This is not intended for teachers since most of their training comes from people other than the Infinite Campus team. Click HERE to access the survey.
As Always,
Data Diva
PAST NEWSLETTERS
