IEM September ES Agenda 2008/9

Please read the agenda, along with each of its highlighted links, then print out as a guide for this month’s ES job duties.

The agenda quiz must be completed in your ES WEBfiles BEFORE attending your ES meeting!

 

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) Be aware of critical registration deadline dates to remind your high school students heading to college. See info in the Guidance section below. SS Guidance  OG Guidance

 

b) Grade levels for high school students: Please check your 11th and 12th grade high school students’ detail page to confirm that they are enrolled in the correct grade level according to credits earned on their past transcripts, as this is a CAHSEE accountability issue.  The final deadline for changing 11th and 12th graders grade level for Fall semester is September 26, 2008, so be sure to review a transcript (official or unofficial) before  then.  Refer to the Grade Placement policy on the website for help: http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/highschool/hsgradeplcmt.htm . Various assessment tests will be ordered using this information.  After you enter the corrected grade level on the student’s SA, Theresa will correct the grade levels with just an email to her at sa@ieminc.org.

 

c) For ALL 1st semester 2009 graduates: September 26, 2008 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 2009 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 are marked with their expected grad date in Webfiles—Student detail, Graduation info button.  The dates will show on your Active Students list once you have entered it.

 

d) CAHSEE dates: October 7 & 8 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

 

e) Remember the Scantron testing window for returning students: The calendar lists the testing window as September 15 to October 24.  Be sure ALL returning students in grades 2nd to 12th grades are 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.)

 

f) Payroll Snapshot Dates: Check the http://office.ieminc.org/ website, IEM Report Schedule Calendar at any time for the Payroll Snapshot dates for each month.  Upcoming dates: September 17 at noon; October 20 at noon. Do not expect to have paperwork arrive in the IEM office on the morning of the snapshot run, and still have it entered before the snapshot is run.  Plan ahead!

 

g) Report Card HQT coding: For active students, your 2008, Semester 1 High School report cards must be coded with how you are meeting their HQT requirements for each course by October 24, 2007.  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!

 

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) 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.

 

c) 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 .

 

d) Record Keeping: 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.

 

e) IEM FRED Performance Issues: If you encounter DATABASE (ES Webfiles) issues in September, please help the IT department out by filling out this form: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pYUBFbUegqzZ6jhmUtHIGEA .

If this process works well, IT may continue to use it on a regular basis. This does NOT replace the Ceniom Managed services reporting function for email and Citrix connectivity. This is only for logging into and operating your ES Webfiles.

 

f) 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!

 

g) 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 .

 

h) 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.

 

i) Response to Literature Writing Assignment: Remind your families of the deadline for the Response to Literature 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.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/writing/2009/wr_re_index.dwt). Remember you can provide Write Reflections to them as well to help with their writing.

 

j) 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 Cindy for a transfer, but please follow the procedure (See 3b below) and 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.

 

k) Portfolio samples: Reminder 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! We will be doing a check that 1st semester samples are complete at your December ES Group meeting—it will come quicker than you think!

 

3) Training Items

a) Webex trainings: http://www.sscs.cc/video/Transcript%20coding.wrf .

·        Watch the Transcript coding Webex training in order to code your new high school students’ transcripts as they are entered into our system. Even if you have no high school students at this time, remember our 7th/8th graders often take high school level courses and you need to know how to code a transcript in ES Webfiles.

·        Watch the Rollsheet Variations Webex training for reminders/instruction of how to deal with irregular rollsheet situations.

 

b) Transfer & Drop Policy/Procedure:  Read the Transfer & Drops webpage s 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) LR for Service POs/CP courses: Use the designation “Course Name 1A (EA)” on your LRs for any course that a student takes that is paid for from IF, whether it is a course that you have submitted a Service PO for, or a course with a school CP instructor, or a GEA.  This will make it easier to remember to add to your LRs and you will not need to check to see if it was taken from a PO or a CP.  EA stands for “Educational Activity”.

 

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 2009 Test Proctor assignment on the assessment website.  Select your school from the list at the top of the page and it is located under “2009 Assessment Info”. Remember you must make a trade as needed, then email Sara at Scantron@ieminc.org with the trade information.

·        The Brief Assessment Overview has been updated on the web-site at http://www.ieminc.org/Assessment/ogbriefoverview.htm.  Please make sure to point out this link to your parents or print them a copy so that they are aware of what each test is and its purpose. 

·        Also, the Assessment by Grade Level Chart is a great chart for your parents to take a quick look at the assessments that their student(s) is expected to take.  The link for that is http://www.ieminc.org/Assessment/OGSSAssessbyGr.pdf.  Once again, make sure to point out the link or print the chart out for them.

·        The CAHSEE October administration sites and times are now available on-line at http://www.ogcs.org/assessment/index1.htm.   If you have an 11th or 12th grade student that has not yet passed the CAHSEE, please check their site location in FRED and let them know ASAP where they are supposed to test at.  If there is a problem with their location, please e-mail Sara at ssatterfield@ieminc.org.     

·        If you need a WRAT4 for your K-2 students, please e-mail Fina at assessmentclerk@ieminc.org.  For all other grades, please get the WRAT4 from your Area Facilitator. 

 

b)   GUIDANCE

·        Do not send in your student’s college Concurrent Enrollment Form until you have completed the Pre Concurrent Enrollment Form with your family.  Once the two are appropriately completed, please make sure you follow the instructions at the top of the Pre Concurrent Enrollment Form before sending it in.

·        SAT/ACT/PSAT 2009 Info: The info at this link is pdfed so you can easier forward to your college bound high .

 

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.

·        Professional Development Training:

Topic:  Reading will be discussed in your groups lead by your AF this month, covering the following components:

1.      Necessary components of a reading program.

2.      The need for direct fluency instruction.

3.      Read Naturally (Vendor: Read Naturally)

·        Glencoe Reading Essentials History Workbooks:

---Glencoe textbook written two grade levels below in write-right-in interactive format.

---Use to supplement and cover the standards for any non standards-aligned history curriculum, such as Story of the World.

---Especially useful  in 6th 7th, 8th, World, and US history to prepare students for their CST’s.

---Great in conjunction with the FREE Glencoe website activities and self-quizzes, www.glencoe.com.

---Only order the TE as it comes with a complete Student Workbook and answer key.  Tear out answer key.

---Reading Essentials ordering information can be found in the ES Secure Website/Vendor Info/history/grade/Glencoe.

·        Saxon Math

The Saxon Math (homeschool version) needs to be used one grade lower than previously used to be consistent with California’s math standards.  Many parents are not aware of this shift.  Please use the following chart to insure that our students are using the correct package in the correct grade:

Grade K:  Use Saxon 1  (Saxon K is now considered preschool as explained by the Saxon sales rep)

Grade 1:  Use Saxon 2

Grade 2:  Use Saxon 3

Grade 3:  Use Saxon 5/4

Grade 4:  Use Saxon 6/5

Grade 5:  Use Saxon 7/6

Grade 6:  Use Saxon 8/7

Grade 7:  Use Saxon Pre-Algebra

Grade 8:  Use Saxon Algebra 1 (new non-integrated version, ordering info in ES Secure Website/Vendor Info)

Grade 9:  Use Saxon Geometry (new non-integrated version, ordering info in ES Secure Website/Vendor Info)

Grade 10:  Use Saxon Algebra 2 (new non-integrated version, ordering info in ES Secure Website/Vendor Info)

Grade 11:  Use McDougal Littell Precalculus

Grade 12:  Use McDougal Littell Calculus

Children who grasp math concepts easily often find Saxon math too repetitive and slow. These students will complain that math is boring.  Having said that, the spiraling feature of Saxon is one of the program’s strengths and is very powerful for average and struggling students.  Please explain this to your parents so they can make an informed math curriculum decision.

·        Singapore Math – NEW CALIFORNIA EDITION!

If you have families using Singapore math, please order the new California editions rather than the old national editions from Rainbow Resource Center.  The CA Edition Singapore Math pricing and ordering information is in the ES Secure Website/Vendor Info.  The program is available for grades K-5.  The vendor is Marshall Cavendish International.  The new California Editions are state-adopted.  How cool is that!!      

·        Websites: The following websites have been recommended by your fellow ESs and administrators:

http://www.hhmi.org/catalog/main?action=home   Science DVD's from Howard Hughes medical institute

http://www.nea.org/resources/free-stuff.html   Free stuff from NEA

http://maxweber.hunter.cuny.edu/pub/eres/EDSPC715_MCINTYRE/Sociogram.html Sociogram

http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/about.php

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/curriculum/top_toc.htm CA DMV Drivers Ed outline/standards

 

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 be sure you click in the body of the box to see the entire text.  There may be text that is not in view if you don’t click in the box. Example:

o   POWER-GLIDE EXAMPLE #1: This is what shows if you didn’t click in the box:

SS & OG: More information can be found on schoolwebsite/EducationalResources/EducationalResourcesHomePage/Curriculum/Vendor Info & Online Vendor Order Info/Power-Glide.

Power-Glide 2008-2009 Special Course Pricing: see other notes box for discounted course prices.

There are improved product features for 2008-2009.

o   POWER-GLIDE EXAMPLE #2: This is what you missed if you didn’t click in the box:

Power Glide Teacher Services, 2008-2009 Special Pricing:

Middle & HS, Year 1 & 2:  $125 per semester

HS, Year 3:  $140 per semester

AP courses:  $150 per semester

·        New Vendors:  SSCS   OGCS

·        GEAS:   SSCS   OGCS

 

5) Networking: