DATE: Wednesday, September 7, 2022 

TIME: 4:15 - 5:15 P.M. PRESENTERS: JoAnn Anderson EC BOCES ELL Consultant and Title III Coordinator Mitzi Swiatkowski 

LOCATION: Zoom 

DESCRIPTION: If you would like to review, or have questions about the redesignation, screening, and identification of English learners, this is the Zoom for you. EL Consultant, JoAnn Anderson and coordinator, Mitzi Swiatkowski will facilitate the hour long Zoom session addressing the noted topics, in addition to information about data needed for Data Pipeline and State and Federal Requirements. There will be time for questions at the end of the session.

ECBOCES is working to support consortium member district teachers as they complete the online modules and earn a certificate for the required K-3 reading training (CDE deadline Monday, Aug. 1).  

Consortium teachers responsible for reading instruction who are eligible for the stipends include teachers from the following districts: Agate, Arickaree, Arriba/Flagler, Bennett, Bethune, Burlington, Byers, Cheyenne Wells, Deer Trail, Genoa/Hugo, Hi-Plains, Idalia, Karval, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Liberty, Limon, Strasburg, Stratton, Woodlin.  (Title III consortium members working in districts outside of this list are not eligible.)

The current budget includes funding for ECBOCES to offer consortium member teachers (who have not yet completed the training) a stipend for completing the following CDE approved PD (while funds last):  Option 5-CDE-Provided Training (online course or face-to-face at no cost to the teacher).

Register for the CDE training at this link:  http://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/onlinecdetraining

Contact Mitzi Swiatkowski at mitziski@ecboces.org with any questions.

Hello All - 

If you need an CPI Initial course or the CPI Refresher you need to sign up for these ASAP!  Space is limited!  

CPI INITIAL CLASS

DATE: Monday, August 1, 2022

TIME: 9:00 A.M. - 3: 00 P.M.
PRESENTERS: JoDee Ellis & Callie Burgess
LOCATION: East Central BOCES West Training Room
DESCRIPTION:
Please see information attached. You must register in advance in order to receive the written portion of the course to have completed by the in-person training. Lunch will be provided.

CPI REFRESHER

DATE: August 2, 2022
TIME: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
PRESENTER: Callie Burgess and JoDee Ellis
LOCATION: West Training Room, ECBOCES
DESCRIPTION: This is blended format training. All participants must register prior to the live training to receive access to the online part that must be completed prior to the training.

See information below:  

https://www.ecboces.org/pluginfile.php/16468/mod_forum/post/4401/CPI%20Training%202022-23.pdf?time=1656014706319

Next year, we will continue to work with Stephanie Hartman from CDE. Please fill out this 1-2 minute survey about Social Studies PD topics for next school year. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedSN3Is86EyAO1BXTE9dN9GkJxSKdq7iYa2kZ0zzTTchfbsQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

We are working on some website improvements and would value feedback from our member districts!  Please take a few minutes to respond to this brief survey and help us as we work on updating the website to better meet your needs.

CLICK HERE 

Thank you.

Emma Richardson

Ute Knowledge History Kits for FREE!!!

Stephanie Hartman from CDE has shared an opportunity for elementary teachers. History Colorado has launched their new Ute Knowledge History Kits!  These free kits are available for educators across Colorado.  They are looking for a few teachers in our area who would be interested in piloting the kit.  If interested, please see more details on the attached flyer. 

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mL0SXJxIMeBcnBOUb5VSdNaP6tY6IanE/view?usp=sharing

Please see the below information for PD with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Learn more at: https://www.dmns.org/learn/teacher-professional-development/k-12-professional-development/

Registration Limit: 40 attendees

Registration Ends: 3/22

Webinar 1: Wednesday, 3/30, 4:15-5:45pm

Webinar 2: Wednesday, 4/6,   4:15-5:45pm

Webinar 3: Wednesday, 4/13, 4:15-5:45pm

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Please read the attached flyer to find out more about the leading cause of death and disability in the United States.

https://www.ecboces.org/pluginfile.php/16468/mod_forum/post/4045/Brain%20Injury%20Awareness.pdf

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Apply for the Educator Loan Forgiveness Program
 

The Colorado Educator Loan Forgiveness Program offers loan repayment assistance on qualified loans for educators, mainly for those who serve in rural and hard-to-fill positions in Colorado. Those who qualify may be eligible to receive up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness for any given year. Individuals who continue to qualify may apply every year of the program for up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness annually. The program is funded for five years. The electronic application for the first round of awards will open on Wednesday, Dec. 15. More program details can be found on CDHE's website.

For More Information, Contact Megan McDermott at 720-394-3205 or megan.mcdermott@dhe.state.co.us

IMAGINATION LIBRARY OF COLORADO: 

                           For kids from birth-age 5

The mission of the Imagination Library of Colorado is to increase literacy by ensuring all young children across the state may participate in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. 

Our goal is to provide support to current affiliates and launch new affiliates so all children in Colorado have access. 

We know that reading begins at birth, that the benefits of a home library go far beyond the books, and that parents and guardians are a child’s first and best teacher. By providing books every month at no cost to families, the Imagination Library increases childhood literacy rates, fosters a love of books, and promotes a culture of reading among all families in Colorado.

• Imagination Library books are specially selected age-appropriate, high-quality titles.
• Our books are delivered to registered children each month from birth to age five.
• Each book is personalized with the child’s name and mailed directly to the child’s home.
• This creates a gifting experience, making books exciting, showing the child someone is thinking of them. 
  

Share this with families in your communities, friends with young kids, or sign up your own young kids for free! Click on the link below and select enroll 

https://www.imaginationlibrarycolorado.org/?fbclid=IwAR2oEyzp1YuHCTzs7l4EFpaLOmWTy14CIS3r2iGw_cKbks2mJz2jhGlHCr8

During the Title I training on September 30th, there were many questions regarding the READ Act and wanting clarification on EL students, SPED students, and possible training. The SPED guidance for local districts in ECBOCES is to not include the READ Plan in a student's IEP. These should be two separate documents. Attached is READ Plans and Students with Disabilities Guidance Document from CDE with highlighted areas that contributed to East Central BOCES decision that the READ Plan would not be included in IEP’s. In addition, we have attached an EC BOCES document to assist in integrating components of the IEP into the READ Plan to ensure the documents complement each other.

 

Here is the guidance and response we received from the READ Act Team at CDE:

 

All students in grades K-3 that are identified as having a significant reading deficiency (SRD) should have a READ plan. 

This READ Act and English Learners document provides guidance and flowcharts for determining SRD for English Learners. The READ and EL webpage provides additional information on the READ Act and English Learners and provides a sample READ Plan for English Learners. 

Districts have the option to integrate READ Plan goals into an IEP based on the following language in the READ Act:

CRS 22-7-1206 (3) Notwithstanding any provision of this part 12 to the contrary, if a student is identified as having a disability that impacts the student's progress in developing reading skills, the local education provider shall, as appropriate, integrate into the student's individualized education program created pursuant to section 22-20-108 intervention instruction and strategies to address the student's reading issues in lieu of a READ plan.

 

However, most districts choose to keep these plans separate. This is a local-level decision, and it is recommended that district leadership (including Special Education leadership) consult with district legal counsel to determine the most appropriate related district policy. You may find the information and scenarios in this READ Plans and Students with Disabilities guidance document helpful as you make considerations.

It is important to keep in mind that students with an IEP who are identified as having a significant reading deficiency are entitled to all the supports outlined in the READ Act, including scientifically and evidence-based core instruction, READ Act assessments, and READ plan services, whether documentation of the READ plan intervention instruction and strategies are integrated into the IEP or kept as two separate documents. 

 

Our training team is currently providing the K-3 evidence-based training in teaching reading sessions and is not available to provide live READ Act training this fall. We are updating resources on our website and will be posting a voiceover READ Plan training that can be viewed by individuals or in a group. We will let you know as soon as this training is posted on our website. 

Teacher, Alex Taylor, taught four Zoom sessions of "Survival Spanish for Educators" in September.

Links for all four sessions are available on the EC BOCES website (https://www.ecboces.org/), and can be accessed by clicking on the "Professional Development" tile on the homepage, then clicking on the "English Language Learners" tile, then scrolling down to "Survival Spanish Course for Educators". 

Teacher, Alex Taylor, will facilitate "Survival Spanish for Educators" Session #4 on Friday, September 24 from 9:00-10:00 AM.  Links for the videos from sessions #1, #2 and #3 are available on the EC BOCES website (https://www.ecboces.org/), and can be accessed by clicking on the "Professional Development" tile on the homepage, then clicking on the "English Language Learners" tile, then scrolling down to "Survival Spanish Course for Educators".  The video for Session #4 will be added as well once the session is complete.

Full-Time Special Education Paraprofessionals needed for our West Area Center-based Learning Program located in Strasburg.  Competitive pay and benefits including individual health insurance. $13-$17 per hour depending on experience. Rewarding position in a supportive work environment with same schedule as Strasburg School District. To apply for this position, please complete the Classified Application for Employment available for download on the ecboces.org website under "Jobs" or contact Tracy at (719) 775-2342, ext. 101.  Please fax completed application to 719-771-4001 or email it to tracyg@ecboces.org Equal Opportunity Employer 

WIDA Secure Portal Redesign and eWorkshops: Complete your coursework today!

If you took advantage of the WIDA Self-Paced eWorkshops, and have worked on any workshops that you have not yet completed, you must complete the work before August 31 to be sure you receive the professional development contact hours from WIDA.  More details below:  The WIDA Secure Portal is getting a makeover! The redesigned WIDA Secure Portal goes live on September 1. A few things to keep in mind: Make sure your professional learning coursework counts! The portal will be down briefly on August 31, so we encourage you to wrap up any in-progress coursework before then. When you log in to the redesigned portal, you’ll notice some changes in how you access WIDA self-paced eWorkshops. Instead of going through the WIDA eLearning Center, you’ll select Professional Learning from the main menu and locate the course you want. Click Course Details and Enroll Now to join the course. From that point, you’ll interact with the course exactly as you’ve done in the past. The next time you log in, you’ll see an option to Enter Course. WIDA will move over your account and course completion history, and you’ll keep your same login information. Have you changed schools or districts recently? Log in and update your account information so you’re ready to go on September 1. Need assistance with your account? Have additional questions about the WIDA Secure Portal? Contact the WIDA Client Services Center at 866-276-7735 or help@wida.us.

Mitzi was award the the Roy G. Brubacher Award on July 12, 2021 at the Colorado BOCES Association meeting held in Colorado Springs. Mitzi is pictured above with Jason Westfall, EC BOCES Executive Director and her husband Greg. The Roy G Brubacher award recognizes outstanding leadership at the regional, state, or national level. Without question awardees show leadership that has impacted school districts in our region, across our state, and even at a national level. This is a well deserved award for Mitzi. She is voice for East Central BOCES schools and other rural schoosl at the state level. Mitzi is very skilled at her job and spends countless hours ensuring everything is completed appropirately and timely to ensure EC BOCES districts receive funding they need to provide services to students. As Jason shared in his nomitation letter, most of us are replaceable as someone could step in and take are place if needed, but that is not the case with Mitzi. The skills and knowledge she exhibits are outstanding and she it not replaceable. Congratulations Mitzi for this well deserved award!

(Edited by Jason Westfall - original submission Thursday, July 15, 2021, 8:43 AM)

Educator Licensing

Professional license extension increased to 7 years

Recently passed Colorado House Bill 21-1104 extends all professional teacher, special services, principal and administrator licenses from five to seven years. Beginning July 1, all applications for professional licenses will be issued for seven years and all active professional licenses will automatically be extended two years, (as will any professional licenses issued in response to renewal applications already submitted).

This two-year extension also delays the deadlines for meeting any required English learner, special education and behavior health professional development activities at the time of renewal, thus granting educators additional time to meet these requirements. Visit the Educator Professional Development Requirements webpage for more information. 

Please keep in mind that READ Act requirements do not pertain to licensure so this extension does not apply to them. However, the deadline for individuals teaching reading in a K-3 classroom to meet this requirement has been extended to the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. Visit the K-3 Teacher Evidence-Based Reading Training Requirements webpage for more information about the READ Act and how individuals may fulfill its expectations.

CDE has paid WIDA to provide these eWorkshops to Colorado teachers to earn EL PD hours for free.  This will not be available forever.  If you need assistance getting onto the WIDA website for access to the eWorkshops, contact the person(s) in your district who has/have an account to administer the ACCESS assessment, and they should be able to guide or assist you in gaining access to the site/workshops.  EC BOCES does not have the capacity (is not able) to assist with the WIDA website. Hello,    Have you been meaning to try a WIDA Self-Paced eWorkshop to earn EL PD contact hours? Or perhaps you started one, but didn’t get a chance to finish? Don’t worry, you have until August 31, 2021, to access this year’s self-paced offerings:  WIDA Writing Rubric  Doing and Talking STEM  Classroom Educators: Engaging Multilingual Newcomers  Leading for Equity: Classroom Walkthrough  Social Studies: Engaging Multilingual Learners through Inquiry  Developing Language for Learning in Mathematics  School Improvement Planning for Multilingual Learners  The WIDA ELD Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach  Visit the WIDA Self-Paced eWorkshops webpage to view eWorkshop descriptions, estimated time to complete each course, and more.  If you’ve started an eWorkshop, and haven’t had a chance to complete it yet, follow these steps:  Log in to your WIDA Secure Portal account and click on the WIDA eLearning Center tile.  Click into the eWorkshop you started. Look to see if you have any green checkmarks on the Modules page (located on the left menu bar). This may help you determine where you left off.  Work through the eWorkshop modules, which may include videos, handouts, and activities.  When you’re finished, print a certificate to document your eWorkshop completion.  Questions? Visit your member/state page on the WIDA website for specific instructions from your State Education Agency, or contact the WIDA Client Services Center at 1-866-276-7735 or help@wida.us.    With gratitude,  Your friends at WIDA

Terms:  The stipends will be paid out on a first come, first serve basis.  Once the budgeted amount has been expended, no more funding will be available to be paid out.  Hard deadline: May 28, 2021 (if the funding lasts through that date).  Please submit as soons as you have completed the training, and gathered the documentation.  Almost 50 stipends have already been paid out which is about 1/3 of the funding available for the stipends.

Email a scanned copy of the Stipend Request Form, W-9 and certificate of  of the successful completion of an approved training to:

Mitzi Swiatkowski (mitziski@ecboces.org)

East Central BOCES

719-775-2342 Extension 114

The stipends will be paid for with Federal funds and are approved only for payment to certified teachers for completing CDE approved and provided online, or face-to-face online PD.

The following are not eligible for stipends: Holding a State of Colorado Endorsement as a Reading Teacher or Reading Specialist, CDE-approved Alternative Assessment, Undergraduate or Graduate Reading Course.

As per CDE guidance, the state provided training, and payment of the stipend will be limited to K-3 teachers and other teachers providing literacy instruction for students grades K-3, such as a Title I teacher, EL teacher or Special Education teacher.

Good Morning All,

One of the consortium teachers emailed me with a question about the EL and READ Act PD requirements.  She had been reviewing the READ Act online module introduction.  It indicated that many ELL strategies are included in the online program.  This was her question, "Is there a possibility that this class/program could also count toward the 45 hours of ELL training that we need in order to renew our teaching license?"  I emailed Jennifer Simons who works in licensure at CDE in Educator Talent as an Educator Development Principal Consultant.  She responded with, "This should be fine."

If you choose to earn the EL PD hours as you are completing the READ Act PD requirements, please take notes that will allow you to provide a description of how the module addressed the selected elements in the EL PD Matrix.  Jennifer at CDE has told me that "justification is key".  

From my perspective, the READ Act PD will most likely meet EL PD Standard III, Elements A and B related to literacy development.

CDE provided reading training online is now available. 

Reading Course Details:

• Registration for the online asynchronous training “Building a Strong Foundation: Developing Early Literacy Skills” by the Public Consulting Group, Inc. is now open.
• After registering, participants will receive access to the course in the Pepper Learning Experience Platform.
• Access to the online course will expire one year after the enrollment date.
• Completion of all course modules and a score of 80% or higher on the end of course assessment are required to meet the evidence-based training in teaching requirements.

Use this link to sign-up for the online training with CDE

https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/onlinecdetraining

WIDA Resources:  eLearning Professional Development 

WIDA (Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, at University of Wisconsin, Madison) provides eLearning courses for Colorado educators as part of their contract with CDE. These courses are free and count toward the English Learner Professional Development Quality Standards Professional Development requirement for relicensing. Educators can request access to WIDA eLearning by contacting the WIDA Client Services Center (help@wida.us) from their school issued email. Please share this information with new and veteran teachers in your district.

 

CDE has training courses available for K-3 teachers needing CDE hours to meet the READ Act requirements.

Reading Course Details:

• All face-to-face sessions will be held virtually as synchronous sessions.
• Class sizes will be capped at 30 participants.
• If a minimum of 15 participants do not register for a cohort, the cohort may be canceled.
• Registration for courses will close 2 weeks prior to the first training session to allow for manuals to be mailed to participants. 
• Course manuals will be mailed to participants soon after registration closes.
• Attendance at all training sessions and a score of 80% or higher on the end of course assessment are required to meet the evidence-based training in teaching requirements.

Visit this link to sign-up
https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/cdeprovided-readingtraining-f2f

We are collaborating with Belize to provide some teachers to share a session or so for their teacher training conference this summer.  If you have a great idea, are considered innovative or just have something that you want to share with other teachers, ECBOCES, through the help of the Morgridge Foundation is offering stipends for teachers who would be willing to teach a session or so via Zoom/Google.  Please contact Emma Richardson (emmar@ecboces.org) for more information.

ECBOCES is looking for a part-time Spanish teacher to teach over our Distance Learning system.  Please see  https://www.ecboces.org/course/view.php?id=19 for more information. 

Hello Families, Students, Staff and Service Providers. 

As part of the Office of Special Education Programs’ (OSEP) results-based accountability process, OSEP requires states to gather information from students one year post high school exit as part of our State Performance Plan Indicator 14. In Colorado, districts are responsible for contacting students to collect data on special education students who have graduated, dropped out, or aged out and report that information to the Colorado Department of Education. This survey is intended for students who have left high school or a transition program, not those currently enrolled in a secondary education program. 

These calls will begin around June 1st to families of students that graduated one year ago.  Please respond to the call so that we can gather the appropriate data in order to support our special education programs. 

Thank you all! 

(Edited by Lorie Coonts - original submission Monday, May 11, 2020, 9:44 AM)

Hi All,

I realize you have had so many resources and links passed on and it can get a bit overwhelming to keep track of all of them.  

In the last several weeks CDE has passed on info about serving students including:

• COVID-19 and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education
• Colorado Provisional Identification and Placement of English Learners
• Re-designation of English Learners
• Colorado EL Distance Learning Guidance
• COVID-19 and ESEA 

Links to all of these resources can be found in one place on the EC BOCES website:

In order to access them, log into the website.

Look for the "COVID-19 Resources for Districts" (orange rectangle on the right side of the homepage).

On the next page look for "CLICK HERE FOR FEDERAL PROGRAMS RESOURCES" (on the right side of the page).

Clicking on that link will take you to the resources CDE has shared with me.  I will continue to add the the list as the resources are made available.

Best,

Mitzi

Need Resources and Support with Transitioning to Remote Learning?

We recognize the unprecedented moment in education across the country.  Are you in need of support with maintaining student engagement in scientific practices through remote instruction? PEER Physics has online resources to help with timely and effective web-based support for teachers and parents.

Remote learning link for resources: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kOOmCOl9XHQo-iSP1wsIl2LbBx7TW19e

Jonathan Mann

Director of Educational Partnerships
University of Colorado, Boulder | School of Education
jon.mann@peerphysics.org | Cell: 303-887-6216
PEERphysics.org 

East Central BOCES has started a webpage of resources for our districts that might be looking at closing down during this COVID-19.  This page will continued to be updated as we continue to research options for our schools that might need to support their students remotely.  A link to the page is found on the ECBOCES website or the page can be found HERE.

For those teachers who have school email addresses associated with a Google Apps account, we have now enabled Google login so that you can log in to our website with your school credentials.  Currently, this is set up for the following districts:  Agate, Arickaree, Arriba Flagler, Burlington, Hi Plains, Idalia, Limon, Kiowa, Stratton. 

To take advantage of this, you have to do the following:

1. The email in your ECBOCES profile must be your school email address.  (If you are unsure, when logged into the site, click on your name in the top right hand corner of the site, click on Profile.  If the email there is not your school email, click on Edit Profile, update the email and click on update profile)

2. If you are logged into the ECBOCES website, log out.  Then, from the home page, click on the Google icon in the Login box.  Enter your school login.

3. You will then be sent an email to connect your Google login to your ECBOCES website account.  Once you have clicked on the link in the email, the two accounts will be linked and you will then be able to use your school login to access our website.

We hope that this will make it easier for you to access our site.  I hope to be able to add more districts as they confirm that the emails will match correctly so if your district is not listed and you know that you have Google Apps, please put in a help desk ticket and we will follow up.  A few districts (Bennett, Byers, Deer Trail) do not have your school email linked to Google and so we cannot set those up as yet.