1. Jill Budny IU3:Some issues with link for online app form for Interscholastic. Who do we call for tech support with this? Go to the Interscholastic Athletic Opportunities section of the 2013-14 PIMS Manual Vol 1 for details on this collection. A website is provided that contains a contact email for this collection.
  2. Candice Schuld BCIU 14: Can clarification be given as to when each District Fact template is required? The District Fact templates used in the LEP collection are required in October Student data collection. See the attached presentation for details on the LEP collections. Information regarding Title 1 and School Choice/SES will be incorporated in the PIMS Calendar soon. Both of these collections were formerly collected in eGrants. The contact for Title I is Kelly Gallatin (). The contacts for School Choice/SES are Norma Hull () Erin Oberdorf ().
  3. PIMS administrators are not familiar with the Professional Development Survey previously submitted separately, and by the ELL Coordinators. Could you explain this data and explain which data pertains to the 12-13 school year and which data is pertaining to 13-14 school year? I do not see the term "Professional Development Survey" referred to anywhere in the PIMS manual....although we were referred to Appendix AF...which is NOT labeled as the survey....but seems to have survey questions. See the attached October Student Collection webinar which addresses the Professional Development Survey. Questions regarding this collection should be sent to .
  4. Refresh our memories on the formatting of the Grade 9 Entry date field and DQE errors concerning this field. In the 2013-14 PIMS User Manual Vol 1, in the Student template go to field 97 Grade 09 Entry Date and review the Definition and Business Rules for this field.
  5. Regarding the Title 1 program, who would be able to answer questions regarding "School-Wide Schools" . If an entire building qualifies as Title 1 School-Wide, how are students reported in the Programs Fact template in PIMS? Only those students who qualify, or a The contact for Title I is Kelly Gallatin ().
  6. Lori Rodgers - IU28: What if you don't offer lunches? Should all of your students be coded as "N"? Report Y for students who are receiving F/R Lunch regardless if you are offering it.
  7. Lori Rodgers - IU28: We have a pre-k counts program this year for the first time. Do we submit those students in our October count? In the 2013-14 PIMS User Manual Vol 1, see the “Students to Be Reported” section regarding the reporting of Pre-K Counts students. Also, refer to slide 13 of the attached October Student Collection webinar for a summary of how these students should be reported.
  8. Lori Rodgers - IU28: Does homeless identification have impact on the food eligibility data? It is important to identify these students as F/R lunch recipients in PIMS.
  9. BVIU 27: Must grades K-2 have teachers assigned for core subjects? Yes, all core-content courses taught to public LEA students for elementary or secondary credit are to be reported to PIMS. This will require the LEA to submit all 3 course templates, Course, Course Instructor (should be the teacher of record), and Staff Student Course (report all staff who have direct instructional responsibility for a student, including the teacher of record). K-2 courses (reported as 001, 002, K5F, etc.) are considered core-content courses. They are subject to HQT, but not PVAAS.
  10. BVIU 27: Special Ed students that remain in 12th grade for 4 yrs should we indicate yes in field 46 for repeating current grade level? Yes.
  11. Greg - IU 13: On required fields, why are the other LEP fields not required? (Student Snapshot and Program Fact LEP Eligibility) Questions regarding LEP should be sent to .

12.  Jill Budny IU3: Do districts report IU ELL teachers in the staff collection as subcontractors, field 44? October Staff Collection - refer to pages 17 and 18 of the PIMS User Manual Volume 1. Review the section Which LEA should report this person? Determine your situation and use the guidance that best reflects your situation. Course/HQT Collection - No, an LEA who has another LEA (SD, AVTS/CTC, CS and/or IU) teacher who has direct instructional responsibility for a course should be reported by the employing LEA in the Staff Student Course template with the teachers PPID. If the teacher is the teacher of record, then the LEA should also report this teacher in the Course Instructor template.

  1. Greg - IU 13: To go along with the Pre-K counts question: We have Pre-K counts, Federal Head Start, and State Head Start. Which of those do we report for October 1? Pre-K counts and State Head Start only? In the 2013-14 PIMS User Manual Vol 1, see the “Students to Be Reported” section regarding the reporting of Pre-K Counts students. Also, refer to slide 13 of the attached October Student Collection webinar for a summary of how these students should be reported.
  2. Lois Roach, MIU4: What are the new rules on field 70 in the student template, ADA. Do we have to mark any student that has an IEP in field 38 with a N in field 70 if they do not have a 504 plan. Questions regarding ADA status should be sent to Steve Simchock ().

15.  Jill Budny IU3: Do we report Staff filling a LTS vacancy ? We know that has been discussed, but please clarify once again. Thank you. For the October Staff Collection only report a Long-Term Substitute if they are filling a vacancy. Please refer to page 17 of the PIMS User Manual Volume 1 on how to report Long-Term Substitutes in the Course/HQT collections. A vacancy would be an open position that does not have a permanent employee filling this position.

  1. Kim Moyer - IU 10: Question regarding the teacher of record for a teacher who is acting as a language arts coach for the 13-14 SY and is doing all teaching obligations in the sub position. Is the sub to be on the PIMS report as the teacher of record?

17.  Kim Moyer - IU 10: To clarify my question above, the professional employee is still in the district teaching another assignment and the LTS is filling that position and doing all the planning and teaching. A LTS needs to be reported if any one of the following apply - they are filling a vacant position(October Staff Collection), are the teacher of record, provides sole direct instruction to the student, or is teaching the same course for 70 or more days. The person performing the job is the only person instructing students, so they must be the teacher of record. Refer to page 17 of the PIMS User Manual Volume 1 for additional guidance.

  1. Wassel IU29: In a past VC it was stated that staff couldn’t get emails sent to personal accounts - is this a change? A work (school) email account has always been required due to the confidentiality of the data. The school email address is now going to be used to set-up access to the PVAAS system. As a reminder, each PVAAS account (UserID and Password) is for 1 user and are not to be shared. Providing someone access to confidential data, who does not need to have access, may be considered an issue of professional misconduct.
  2. Kim Moyer - IU 10: For a newly enrolled student, what is the best way to get an accurate initial State Entry Date into a PA school? Looking for advice or guidance. Questions regarding State Entry Date should be sent to .

20.  Lori Rodgers - IU28: We believe that we heard a contradiction with the long term subs for a semester or longer or for filling a vacancy? Or subs just filling a vacancy? Slide 3 of the Staff Collection presentation list Who Is Reported?, the 2nd bullet point is On long-term leave (semester or longer). This statement represent a staff member that is on leave from the LEA, for example military leave, sabbatical leave, suspension, other, or workers’ compensation. You would report this staff member in the October Staff Collection as if they would be in the LEA for the 2013-14 school year with the appropriate Active/Inactive Indicator. For the October Staff Collection only report a Long-Term Substitute if they are filling a vacancy. Please refer to page 17 of the PIMS User Manual Volume 1 on how to report Long-Term Substitutes in the Course/HQT collections. A vacancy would be an open position that does not have a permanent employee filling this position.

21.  Kim Moyer - IU 10: How do we contact the TIMS team to correct a work assignment? Ensure the 2013-14 staff assignments are an accurate reflection of the staff members work assignment(s). If the collection has closed and no further revisions can be made to the October Staff Collection and you realize you made a mistake on someone’s staff assignment then you will want to contact the TIMS Team via the Remedy Ticket System or their Call Center (717) 728-3224. Once the collection is closed and the data is submitted to the Federal Government and published on the PDE website, the Division of Data Quality can no longer open the collection for you to make revisions.

  1. BVIU 27: Do you send out additional questionnaire to determine low income besides the lunch questionnaire? Low Income and Free/Reduced Lunch are not the same. It is at the discretion of the LEA to decide if a student is considered economically disadvantaged. In the 2013-14 PIMS User Manual Vol 1, in the Student template go to field 88 Poverty Code and review the Definition and Business Rules for this field.
  2. Lois Roach, MIU4: Why wasn’t the Location Fact templates set up similar to the PATI and Interscholastic Surveys (excel spreadsheet)? Each collection is set up in a manner which best meets the data need of the requesting program office.
  3. BVIU 27: Cyber program is conducted at home district using staff from another school. Home district enrolls student and gives grade. How is staff reported? how are students reported? Students in your LEA that attend a Cyber Program are reported at the school in which they would be educated if not in the Cyber Program. See slide 14 in the attached October Student Collection webinar.

This depends on the employer of the staff member, the following information can be found on pages 17 and 18 of the PIMS User Manual Volume 1.

a.  The LEA that employs a person is responsible for reporting, this means in situations where an LEA subcontracts services from another LEA that reports to PIMS, only the employing LEA is responsible for reporting related Staff and Course data.

b.  Each LEA that employs a single person under multiple or separate contracts, is responsible for reporting.

c.  When an LEA enters into an agreement with a private vendor or an institution of Higher Education (IHE), and that agreement includes the use of the vendor’s or IHE’s staff in the performance of work on behalf of the LEA, the LEA retains responsibility for reporting.

  1. iu08: Our district is contracting with a cyber school provider to provide classes t 3 of our students. they are still our responsibility but attend cyber classes. What location code do we use? If this is not an official Cyber Charter School and simply a cyber program, the school in which the student would be educated if they were not in the Cyber Program. See slide 14 in the attached October Student Collection webinar.

26.  Greg - IU 13: Long Term Vacancy - does this include long term position leaves by an active teacher or just vacant positions that do not have a permanent employee? For the October Staff Collection only report a Long-Term Substitute if they are filling a vacancy. Please refer to page 17 of the PIMS User Manual Volume 1 on how to report Long-Term Substitutes in the Course/HQT collections. A vacancy would be an open position that does not have a permanent employee filling this position.

27.  iu08: Would you please clarify vacancy for reporting substitutes? For the October Staff Collection only report a Long-Term Substitute if they are filling a vacancy. Please refer to page 17 of the PIMS User Manual Volume 1 on how to report Long-Term Substitutes in the Course/HQT collections. A vacancy would be an open position that does not have a permanent employee filling this position.

  1. iu08: When will the spread sheets with the columns be available for the districts to use with pims manual? Not sure what this is referring to. Please send a more detailed question to .
  2. Greg - IU 13: Clarification for October Template/Snapshot - Do we only upload students being serviced at our LEA or do we upload students being serviced at other LEAs or by the IU? See the attached October Student Collection Webinar for students to report in the October Student Snapshot template. Slides 12-17 provide guidance regarding this question.

30.  iu08: A teacher will be out for 6 weeks which spans the Oct. staff collection. Should the sub be reported? No, report the teacher on leave as if this teacher was at the LEA during the entire 2013-14 school year.

31.  Greg - IU 13: Staff Assignment - example: we have a full-time MS Math teacher who teaches in our Virtual Cyber Academy. She gets a stipend and work is done beyond the school contract. Some students that she teaches are HS. We report the students, so does this affect her assignment? Report the assignment code(s) which best reflect what each employee does. All elementary/secondary professional assignments must be reported.

  1. Lois Roach, MIU4: What is a TAS program? Not sure what TAS represents and which collection this may be collected for. Feel free to send a detailed question to .
  2. IU22: Please go over the reporting of Long Term Substitutes for Staff. For the October Staff Collection only report a Long-Term Substitute if they are filling a vacancy. Please refer to page 17 of the PIMS User Manual Volume 1 on how to report Long-Term Substitutes in the Course/HQT collections. A vacancy would be an open position that does not have a permanent employee filling this position.

34.  IU22: Do APS have to report staff? No