Draft of K–12 Standards Available for Public Comment

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices have released the draft of the K–12 standards for public comment, which must be received by April 2nd.

The standards were developed with the collaboration of teachers, school administrators, and experts to provide a consistent framework for preparing children to graduate high school ready for college and the workforce.

Investing in Innovation Fund (i3)

The U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has announced the final priorities and grant application for the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). The $650 million fund will support the development of path-breaking new ideas, the validation of approaches that have demonstrated promise, and the scale-up of the nation's most successful and proven education innovations. Individual school districts or groups of districts can apply for the i3 grants, and entrepreneurial nonprofits can join with school districts or a consortium of schools to submit applications, which are due in mid-May.

The Rural School and Community Trust will host a free webinar on i3 March 19th at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

STEM Education Grants from Motorola

Motorola Foundation Innovative Generation Collaborative Grants
All requests must be partnerships between two or more non-profit organizations or schools. Maximum award is $500,000. Eligibility: U.S. non-profit organizations, schools, or school districts that are prior Motorola Foundation Innovation Generation grant recipients. Deadline for application: April 1, 2010.

Funding priority will be placed on partnerships that
— focus on a key STEM interest area
— engage students and teachers in innovative, hands-on activities
— teach not only STEM, but also innovative thinking and creative problem-solving skills
— focus on girls and underrepresented minorities
— engage Motorola employees as volunteers

Closing the Expectations Gap, 2010

The Closing the Expectations Gap report examines all 50 states in terms of how well their high schools are preparing students for college and careers. It focuses on standards, graduation requirements, assessments, accountability, and longitudinal data systems. Texas was reported to be the only state with an accountability system that includes all four of Achieve’s critical college- and career-ready indicators.

Snapshot 2009 Available on TEA Web Site

Snapshot 2009 provides an overview of public education in Texas at the state level and for each public school district. Up to 90 items of data for each district can be browsed or downloaded for the 2008-09 school year. Summary tables provide district information in some common categories, and a peer search function permits grouping districts according to shared characteristics.

Snapshot 2010 will be available in the spring of 2011.

Empowering Effective Teachers

In the summer of 2009, nine school districts and one coalition of Charter Management Organizations proposed strategies to improve the recruitment, placement, evaluation, retention, and support of highly effective teachers. The group identified four areas important to future success: shared leadership, vision, and commitment to action; culture of data-driven decision making; stakeholder engagement; and policies that support improvement efforts.

The first brief, Empowering Effective Teachers: Readiness for Reform, explains why districts and sites that want to develop a more effective teaching force should assess their strengths and weaknesses in those four areas and provides considerations and rubrics to help with assessment.

The second brief, Empowering Effective Teachers: Strategies for Implementing Reform, reports on strategies for implementation that were identified by site teams: adoption of multidimensional measures of teacher effectiveness; creation of better teacher evaluation tools and processes; making the tenure decision a more meaningful milestone; and the design of career pathways and differentiating compensation. It provides examples of how some sites plan to implement those strategies over the coming years.

A third brief is forthcoming.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reform

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Labor invited stakeholders to email their suggestions on how to reform the ESEA. The committee’s first hearing, focused on charter schools, will be held this Wednesday, February 24, 2010. Stakeholders can send their input and suggestions on reauthorization to the committee at ESEAcomments@mail.house.gov. The deadline for comments is March 26, 2010. For more information, visit http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2010/02/lawmakers-announce-plan-for-a.shtml.

List of Possible Budget Cuts for TEA

Legislative leaders in January asked each state agency to compile a list of state-funded programs that could be cut to produce a 5% budget reduction. This was done to help ease a projected budget shortfall of between $10 billion and $20 billion. The TEA proposed budget cuts total about $135 million.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram carried a story on TEA’s proposed budget on February 16, 2010.

Texas Graduation Requirements

This TEA Web site provides links to a number of documents relating to the changes in graduation requirements that were made to the Texas Administrative Code by the State Board of Education. These changes will be effective beginning in the 2010-11 school year. The site also provides access to information about House Bill 3, passed by the 81st Texas Legislature.

The Texas Education Today newsletter for January features a centerfold chart summarizing the new requirments.

School Improvement Grants (SIG)

The Center on Innovation and Improvement provides a tool to assist LEAs in selecting an intervention model and external partners for School Improvement Grants.

Texas Title I Priority Schools Grant Program
Only certain schools are qualified to apply for the School Improvement Grants. In accordance to USDE regulations, TEA provides the methodology and lists of qualifying schools.

A consortium of school improvement leaders in state education agencies and federal comprehensive centers developed ARRA related resources and webinars.

The - CII Handbook on Effective Implementation of School Improvement Grants (Jan. 20, 2010) is an aid to the successful implementation of the School Improvement Grants. The School Improvement Grants are targeted to rapid improvement of schools that are persistently low achieving. The handbook also provides resources and research to support school improvement.

Related PowerPoint documents:

These PowerPoint documents are from webinars hosted by USDE on January 26 and 27, 2010. They provide the new regulations for the SIG. A recording of the sessions is available at www.centerii.org/leaders.

• School Improvement Grants, Implementing the SIG Requirements
• SIG Technical Assistance: Things to Think About
• Considerations for Technical Assistance

Texas Student Data System - Stakeholder Feedback

Texas Education Agency is introducing a new system for collecting statewide student data. They are set to begin a series of forums to collect feedback from users of the new system, including teachers, campus principals, PEIMS coordinators, and district administrators. The objective is to design user-friendly reports, tools, and screens that will provide the users of the system with timely and pertinent information about student, campus, and district performance.

TEA Correspondence

List of Forums