September 2008/9 ES Meeting Compilation

(A compilation of questions and answers from the all ES meeting this month)

ES Specific Info:

Are we going to have WebEx trainings at each ES Meeting from now on?

Webex trainings will be given at ES Group meetings when appropriate. We have found Webex to be a great tool for our school provided trainings and plan to expand our Webex offerings for you to view at any time for a review.

Will some Webex trainings be offered in the evening?

No. Recorded meetings are available 24/7 on the webpage, but for our live trainings, the admin staff works regular work hours.

On the payroll snapshot, where is the net shown? We can't scroll down to see it?

All of the pay info available on the payroll snapshot is in the box at the top section of the page. Only student days is listed after that section.

As far as keeping records for elementary and high school students, does this mean items like transcripts?

You may want to keep a copy of the transcript in the file for quick reference. But, the school holds the official transcript forever, as required by law.

Do we need to hold onto extra samples and student work for the recommended amount of years?

Yes. Whatever the teacher of record used to support their assignment of grades and credits should be kept.

We all thought that we had to mail in the Pre-Concurrent Enrollment form before the College Concurrent enrollment form.

This new form is to provide information needed to process the College concurrent enrollment form in the office; therefore it is best if it comes in WITH the form, and not after.

How can we add a parent to the school listserve?

Email the school secretary with the information.

Many ESs were confused about the concept of looking up the listserve emails on Yahoo on the internet.

Follow the directions to create your own Yahoo account (if you already have one, you can use that one). Then log in and access your account information, add a secondary email address (your iem one). Then hit the “find my groups” button. You can then view any past emails at any time, or check to see if you missed any if you had computer/email issues. The “find” feature works very well if you know the subject matter of an email you need to retrieve, but not the date or topic it came out. You can forward a listserve message to your parents directly from the group as well, if they say they can’t find a message they are looking for.

Does NCLB work count toward professional growth hours?

Talk to your advisor about your specific situation. Your advisor is your PG advisor.

Do preliminary credential people need to do professional growth hours or only those with a clear credential?

Everyone has to do PG for NCLB. PG is no longer tied to credentials at all, but is a school NCLB requirement for all teachers nationwide.

Do we get PG credit for reading the agenda and watching videos that are part of the agenda?

Everyone gets 2 hours of PG credit if you attend the entire ES Meeting. Those who arrive late or leave early will have time deducted from this automatic 2 hours.

How many hours are needed for professional growth after our meetings?

Refer to the document we reviewed at the all ES Meeting: http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/esjob/iemprogroplan.htm .

Will we get an ES discretionary fund this year?

The newly approved state budget contains cuts for schools this year; therefore, no school will qualify for discretionary funding.

Is it possible to get a totally web-based version of FRED?

Not at this time. If you are experiencing difficulties, use our tech support provider, Cenion, for help.

When FRED is being worked on can it not be during peak work hours?

I have forwarded your request to the IT department.

When will we know about charter renewal?

We are asking our sponsoring districts for charter renewal this year. We will let you know when we hear anything about this.

Are Mac users going to get new Office version so they can use the email program more efficiently?

I am not in the loop with what Office is planning to come out with for this. We inform everyone in their ES interview that PCs are most compatible with our school system, and that using a MAC may cause issues.

Some Es are driving more than 25 miles one way to a meeting. Will that extra be reimbursed?

Talk to your tax accountant about whether or not you can get a tax break for any unreimbursed miles you drive on school business. We pay a set amount of mileage for the position, then anything else you track should be submitted only for your taxes. Most people find that they are within the mileage amount the school pays if they combine trips and use their miles wisely.

Why does a stipend get taxed as part of our paycheck?

It is a legal IRS requirement. Talk to your tax accountant about these types of issues.

Why don’t we get more money for cell phones- packages as they are more expensive than our allotted amount?

We expect that much of your cell phone usage is personal. We only pay for your expected business usage. Many ESs choose a plan with free incoming calls, then any time a parent calls you, there is no charge for that call.

When families request an ES will that ES get the family if there are students on the waiting list?

Students must be assigned in the order they arrive on the assignment list. When a space opens up in a geographic area, the next waiting student gets that spot. The only exception is for a sibling, who has priority. A brand new student requesting an ES with 25 students ahead of them will not get the space. The only school with a waiting list at this point is OGCS in the Santa Clara county area.

Educational Info (POs, Curriculum, Vendors, LRs, etc )

Several ESs reported having trouble printing Student Agreements. How can we have this problem solved?

When you encounter a Webfiles problem such as this, email your advisor with all the specific information you can give. We will then have IT take a look at the issue.

What if I am observing a EA that the IF is paying for? For example, can I meet the parent while they are doing a ballet class?

We ask, for our school’s legal accountability, that you NOT meet your students at any vendor location. You may (and we do encourage you to) drop in to observe the progress of your student, such as a ballet recital. But, while there, do not make this time a LR meeting. In the example above, if there is a coffee shop next door, meet with the parent there, as it is a public location.

Should we go back and code (EA) to learning records we have already created?

Yes if they had no coding at all. If you already put (CP), then leave it and start now with (EA) on all future LRs.

On our LRs, should we say “Sally is taking gymnastics at Santa Cruz Gymnastics (EA)” or should we say “Sally is taking gymnastics (EA)”?

Start the appropriate section of the LR with:

“Gymnastics (EA): This month, Sally successfully completed a forward roll, a backward roll, and ….”

Remember, the emphasis of the LR is WHAT new learning, new standards, or mastery took place this month in the student’s courses, HOW it was done, and HOW it was assessed; never WHERE or WITH WHOM the learning took place. The (EA) is sufficient to indicate that we spent IF on a person/business outside of the ES for this course.

Can we meet at Barnes and Noble or Borders coffee shops since technically they are a vendor?

The coffee shop part of that vendor would qualify as a public location, and therefore, yes, you may conduct a school meeting with a parent/student at that location.

Can we make changes to a report card or do we need to delete the report card and create a new one?

You must only create one report card per semester, then edit it as needed. Do not delete and start over! This will affect other records in Webfiles that are attached to the report card file.

Do we or do we not email the office when changes have been made to a report card?

If you can edit a report card line, then there is no need to email anyone about a change that you make to a course name, credit, HQT, or mark. Once a line has been “sent”, it can no longer be edited—you will need to contact your advisor for any changes.

Saxon Algebra I: We see that it is designated for 8^th grade. Is that because it is below grade level or because of the new ‘push’ for having 8^th graders do Algebra?

Algebra 1 is now a CA 8^th grade standard. We do not yet have to require all of our 8^th graders to take algebra 1, but if they are ready for this course, please do encourage it!

Regarding Saxon, if our families have been using Saxon for years and are on the wrong grade level, how would we accommodate them?

Our students may continue to work at their level at their own pace and are not expected to hurry to catch up.

Singapore Math: If a parent prefers to use the US version rather than the CA version, may we still order it?

If it is available for purchase, it can be used—parent choice.

The a-g textbook webpage and the ES protected page show a lengthy list of texts/materials listed as “required texts”, then the SME syllabus shows different requirements (usually less) of the same published text, and the ES protected page under “Curriculum” shows just one entry for each class. Can we try to clarify and get some consistency?

Remember there is a difference between a HQT SME course (which can be modified for all working levels of students and allow a lot of choice in which to meet standards) and the a-g courses, which this year are textbooks specific. We allow a lot of parent choice whenever we can! Talk to your advisor if you need help deciding which information applies to your student.

Is there a way to list CP classes and/or advertise them to ES's and families? 

School Approved Instructors or ESs teaching classes can send a write-up on their CP class to Nancy Mack at edpo@ieminc.org for review. She then posts these to the Parent Listserve.

Constitution Day: If we write about Constitution Day activities in the LR, do we need a work sample in the portfolio?

You need a sample from that growth area for the semester, not necessarily a CD sample, although they typically make great portfolio samples!

How do we know what online course is an HQT approved course?

At this time, it has been determined that ALL online classes are to be considered HQT approved. (Not classes on CD or DVD, but Online only).

Do all items the school purchases on a PO need to be accounted for in a LR?

Yes. Educational items are only to be purchased for enrolled students’ usage in their educational program—and you are responsible for documenting usage of your purchases. Items over $350 must be documented every month until they are returned to the ES.

Regarding ROP: what county must students live in to enroll in ROP? When do we enroll?

ROP classes are offered statewide, and tend to fill up quickly. Contact them well ahead of the semester to find out what their local timetable for enrollment is. Your phone book or the internet can be used to locate the one that serves the area your student lives in. They need to be contacted directly by the person/family wishing to enroll in an ROP class. SSCS has a ROP coordinator to help with this—ask your advisor for contact information.

Do families need a permission slip for free EA’s.   If so, where are they found? 

If a GEA/EA is school sponsored, whether free or not, then a permission slip from the school forms page must be used.

Can a family buy a wireless router with funding?

No, this is not an educational item, but a personal item.

Who to contact if ESs are having trouble downloading Webex player?

Cenion can help you with this if you have installed their tech support program.

When creating a PO for a long list of items, can we have more lines in the PO page?

Sorry, but this is not possible within our system at this time.

For portfolio samples, will a picture of a student doing an activity like bike riding suffice? Or do we need to have the student write up something also?

Please always have the student add a statement of what they did or learned in this activity. We have had stand alone pictures where no one knew what it pictured! We don’t want an auditor to have to ask that kind of a question!

Portfolios: Are the labels currently linked good for this year?

Yes. If in doubt, ask your advisor!

Could the advisors email to the ESs the portfolio envelope label and portfolio sample label templates again this year? They printed better from the format that was emailed last year.

Yes. Contact your advisor.

Read Naturally Questions

Does the Read Naturally program go through high school?

The fluency levels begin at .8 and go through 8.0.  It is used for intervention at the high school level, for students reading below or far below grade level. 

How should ESs purchase this program? Is it expensive? Can ESs use the same program for multiple students? Would the school consider purchasing it for ES to use with their students?

Go to the Read Naturally website for product options and pricing, then create a PO with IF funds.  The Masters Edition—Sequenced Levels on CDs currently cost $115 per level.  The CD’s and books can be recycled if not written in.  Replacement books can be purchased.  Instructions for replacement books are in the Educational Notes Box on the PO.  The only way the school can purchase Read Naturally for our regular student population is through student IF POs.

Some of the slides in your Webex had black print on them, that couldn’t be read by the group. The white print showed up well.

Good to know!  Black print will not be used in the future.

It would have been helpful to have a physical example of the Read Naturally program to look at during the training.

Understood, but not feasible.

It would also have been helpful to have a print out of the passage being read during the training so that ESs could read along and complete the exercise of counting the misread words. The writing on the computer screen wasn’t large enough for the group to read along with it.

Most of the time the trainings will not require handouts, but for those trainings that do, select handouts can be posted for the ES to print out and bring to their meeting.  Will let you know where they will be posted the next time there is a handout.

Can we purchase a site license for Read Naturally or have the school buy CDs for the ESs to check out for families?

The site license does not work in our school model.  ESs can share their CD Levels within their ES groups if they wish, or through the Curriculum Inventory Exchange.

Can we pause the WebEx video to discuss while watching?

Yes.  The person showing the video has a video player with a pause/stop/start feature. Just request that in your group.

Read Naturally – does it address comprehension or just fluency?

Indirectly, comprehension is addressed by increasing fluency.  Read Naturally also has some built in direct comprehension and reading strategy instruction.   After they read the vocabulary words and their definitions, students are asked to write a prediction.  After the student feels they have reached mastery of the story, they answer four comprehension questions:  main idea, two details, and inference.  After the student completes their final timing on a story, they write a retell of the story.  Older students write a summary.  All of the Read Naturally stories are non-fiction science and history which exposes them to vocabulary in those subject areas.

Is the training for us to be aware of the vendor and to show parents the program? Will all students be required to use Read Naturally if they are not reading fluently, or is this being presented as a resource?

It is another resource you need to be familiar with in order to be able to offer it to those in your class that might benefit from this program. The choice to use it or not should be made in conjunction with your parents.

What do they deem is "proficient"?

We will be using the Hasbrouck-Tindal fluency chart to determine proficiency, http://www.readnaturally.com/howto/orftable.htm .  On that chart, the 50^th percentile is considered a good goal, and the 50^th percentile or above is considered to be proficient.  Students within 10 words below are in the “gray” zone, and 10 or more words below, students definitely need direct fluency instruction.  Keep in mind, you are using fluency placement timings that only give you an indication of the fluency level of your student.

Can an ES show the Fluency webex to a family if they think that the family might be interested in the program?

ESs and parents can request a live Fluency Webex training by contacting Shelley Ross at curriculum@ieminc.org. The school’s Fluency Webex training is not to be downloaded onto computers or emailed to parents; it is for ESs usage to become knowledgeable with the program to be able to explain Read Naturally to their parents. ESs can request an Information Packet from Read Naturally, to keep on hand, and give to their interested parents.

Information can also be found on the Read Naturally website:

• The link about the Read Naturally strategy is, http://www.readnaturally.com/approach/default.htm
• The link for placing students in Read Naturally is, http://www.readnaturally.com/howto/placementpkt.htm
• The link for “how to use the program” is, http://www.readnaturally.com/howto/stepsme.htm

Assessment Info (Scantron, Writing assignment, state assessments, etc):

What is considered full-time or part-time for testing proctor days?

12 and under is part-time; 13+ is full-time.

When will specific STAR assignments be finalized?

As soon as a site is confirmed, they will be added to the website.

If your own child is taking CAHSEE, can the ES/parent be a proctor?

Yes, only if there is another ES in the same room during the test.

WRAT - do the same rules apply as SCANTRON? Do we test new students within 20 days? Returning students by Oct 24th?

Yes! Please use the same Scantron timeline!

Can we get hands-on training for Scantron ‘bells and whistles’?

There are many documents posted in the school’s assessment website with information directly from Scantron. After you log in to Scantron, you will see even more trainings you can do on your own.

Do we need to email when we get a new student to add them to the Scantron or is that done automatically?

They are added periodically as they are activated or transferred.

What if we Scantroned our returning students before September 15th? Do we need to redo the test?

No, but do follow the calendar dates for this from now on, please! This is important for our reports.

When administering the writing assignment, can students do prompts for a different grade level if they are Special Ed? Can we read the story to them?

If they are special ed, they need to follow their IEP specifications in order to do a lower grade assignment.  We have said that we will read the story to any student that needs it, since it is about writing, not reading.

Are we allowing parents to substitute different prompts to the Response to Literature Writing Assignment if they provide us the text?

Because of the nature of this genre, which requires the person grading to read the selection before they can grade it, there needs to be a STRONG reason for the parent to select their own. Contact Shelley Ross if you feel this is the case.

Guidance Info:

A-G Coding: On HS report cards, if the ES is HQT, should the a-g boxes be left blank?

The HQt and a-g coding on the HS report cards are 2 separate items with 2 separate purposes and do not relate to each other. Contact your advisor for help as needed!

The system will not allow a 5R coding for a-g Algebra.

Don’t hold these type of concerns for your ES meeting, but always let you advisor know ASAP if you encounter database irregularities so they can be corrected, as this one has now been.

Should we check grade levels for all students, not just High School 11th and 12th?

Yes! We asked everyone to do this in August for all students.

Parent Specific Info:

When requesting a school ID card, do student pictures have to be mailed to the ES first or can the parent mail it directly to the school secretary?

They can go directly to the school secretary from the parent/student, as long as all required information is included.