Principals’ Weekly
August 21, 2012
Table of Contents
· Calendar of key dates and deadlines
Schools / Description / DatesAdministrative Announcements
All / Prepare to Serve All Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners (ELLs) / FYI
All / Prepare for School Opening / FYI
All / New Student Registration / 8/28-9/14
All / Galaxy Staffing Transactions and the First Payroll Close / 8/28
All / Register for Teacher Recruitment Fair / 8/28
All / Campus Audit Template / 9/1
Mid, high / Stars Scheduling / 9/5
All / Arts in Schools Report / 9/20
Pre-K / Pre-K Developmental Screening (ESI-R) / 10/20, 11/9
Elem, mid / August Promotion Update / FYI
Mid, high / 2012 Over-the-Counter (OTC) Placements / FYI
All / Periodic Assessment Updates / FYI
All / Data Systems Updates / FYI
Elem / Ready New York Kids / FYI
***Updated Announcements***
All / Subsidized Bilingual Extension Program Update: Nomination Deadline Extended / 9/14
All / Share a Full-Time Teacher Update: Candidates and Opportunities Identified / FYI
Reminders (Announced in Previous Issues)
All / Enter Summer School Performance Ratings / 8/31
Mid, high / Scanning Answer Documents for August Regents / 8/24
All / Annual School Walkthroughs / 8/31
All / Nominate Teachers for the Subsidized Bilingual Extension Program / 8/31
Elem / Gifted and Talented Applications / 9/14
All / Ordering Period for Administrative Forms / 9/14
All / Common Core Instructional Leads and Additional Resources / 9/28
All / Renew Blackberry, Broadband, and Cellular Services in FAMIS / 10/5
All / IEP Paraprofessional OSIS Confirmations in Galaxy / Ongoing
All / Student Requests for Transcript and Attendance Records / FYI
Elem, mid / NYS Grades 3-8 ELA/Math Individual Student Reports (ISRs) Now Available / FYI
All / New York State Accountability Status Release / FYI
Elem, mid / Class List Reporting (CLR) / FYI
All / ARIS & ARIS Parent Link Updates / FYI
All / Quality Review Scoring Guidelines and Report Changes / FYI
All / Student Transfer Offers Posted for NCLB "Receiving Schools" / FYI
All / Special Education Office Hours and Hotline for Families / FYI
High / June Regents Item Analysis Reports / FYI
All / Core Curriculum Residual Ordering / FYI
All / Hiring Restrictions Update / FYI
All / NYC Teaching Fellows Available for Hire / FYI
All / 2012-13 Posting Calendar for Assistant Principal Vacancies / FYI
All / Close of Open Market; Opening of Excessed Staff Selection System / FYI
All / NYCDOE Job Openings / FYI
Grants, Professional Development and Student Opportunities
Opportunities available to schools are posted on the following webpages:
This Week’s Highlights:
Grants (you can visit the grants Web site on any computer using this link)
§ The Air Force Association Educator Grant Program
§ The American Geological Institute
Professional Development and Student Opportunities
§ Register Now: Middle Schools Invited to Participate in the Future City Competition this Fall
§ Beginning August 28: Free P-Credit Course and Math Professional Development for Middle and High Schools
§ Participate on Sept 5: Free Presentation for High School Students about the Mathematical Structure of Musical Sound
We appreciate your feedback on the ways we share information with you. Please let us know what you think.
Administrative Announcements
7
Prepare to Serve All Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners (ELLs)
All schools
Special Education CORe Checklist: You and your School Implementation Team (SIT) should use the CORe Checklistto get to know the unique needs of students with disabilities and to analyze school resources to meet these needs as you prepare for school opening. For questions or for support using the CORe Checklist, contact your network Special Education Achievement Coach.
Placement Data Correction Policy: In order to ensure that related services are provided promptly at the beginning of the school year, you must enter all placement data in CAP and/or SEC for all students with IEPs.Networks will monitor CAP and will communicate with schools to ensure that all required placement information is accurately reflected for all IEPs associated with current students. The Placement Data Correction Policy memo provides guidance on completing this process and includes resources to identify IEP data that requires follow-up. For questions, contact your network Administrator of Special Education (ASE).
Administer the LAB-R as early as August 27: Rather than waiting for the start of school (as has been the requirement in past years), all schools are now authorized to administer the LAB-R to eligible students, beginning as early as August 27. For materials and instructions on LAB-R packaging and delivery of documents, contact your borough assessment implementation director.
Complete the ELL Parent Choice Screen in ATS: The NYSED requires schools to record the ELL program chosen by the parent of each new admit whose home language is not English. You should direct your staff to record parent choice information in the ELPC screen in ATS. This information includes the date of LAB-R administration, whether the parent was provided with information about ELL programs, which program the parent chose, and in which program the student has been placed. ELLs must be placed in the parents’ program of choice within 10 days of enrollment and the ELPC screen must be completed no later than 10 days after each new ELL admit is placed in an ELL program. Directions for completing this process are here. For more information, contact your senior ELL CPS or Nick Pandey at 212-374-0793.
Ensure ELLs with disabilities are served and record services in IVR: ELLs with disabilities served in CTT or special classes, and whose IEPs recommend ESL, must be served in an ESL class. Students recommended for bilingual services who are awaiting placement (called alternate placement) should, at a minimum, receive ESL services. These students are identified on the Special Education Online Reports pagewhich can be accessed via a NYCDOE-networked computer.To ensure that services are recorded for ELLs with disabilities, you should direct your staff to call in first-attend dates to the IVR system.
For questions about the online reports, contact Richard Bellis at . For more information about recording first-attend dates in IVR, refer to this guidance document, to the Q&A on Recording First Attend Date of ESL for ELLs in Self-Contained and CTT Environments, or contact your senior ELL CPS.
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Prepare for School Opening
All Schools
School Opening Checklist: A school opening checklist has been posted to the School Opening website. Although not mandated, you are encouraged to use the checklist to assess your school’s readiness for the start of the school year. This checklist is for your internal planning and does not need to be submitted to your network; please feel free to share it with your staff. For questions and support, contact your network leader.
Test Roster: On the morning of August 28, a test roster will be sent to all ATS printers (The ATS print queue job will be named “ROSTER”). All schools must scan this test roster to test their printer's network connectivity. Please scan the roster as you would a real attendance sheet. Note that nothing needs to be bubbled on this test roster. For questions, contact your network data/application specialist.
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New Student Registration
All schools / Event: August 28–September 14
New elementary and middle school students can register at their zoned school. Families can call 311 or visit this webpage to find their zoned school. Students who live in a neighborhood without zoned schools should visit a Student Registration Center in their borough. New high school students must register at a Student Registration Center.
Student Registration Centers will be open throughout the five boroughs from August 28–September 14. The centers will be open from 8:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m. Monday-Friday; centers will be closed September 3, in observance of Labor Day.
For more information, including student registration center locations, required documents, and translated materials, see here.
For questions, contact .
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Galaxy Staffing Transactions and the First Payroll Close
All schools / Deadline: August 28
Staffing in Galaxy must be finalized by August 28 at 7:00 p.m. in order to ensure that new pedagogues make the first September payroll; staffing actions made after 7:00 p.m. may not make the first payroll close. The status of applications and background clearance (fingerprint clearance and the moral questionnaire) can be viewed in Galaxy by left-clicking the icon with two people (), pictured to the left of the person’s name, and by clicking on “Details.”
For questions about the status of the personnel transactions, as well as certification issues, contact your network HR Director. For assistance with budget issues related to vacancy creation, contact your network budget liaison.
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Register for Teacher Recruitment Fair
All schools / Event: August 28
Register to attend the final teacher recruitment fair before the start of the school year, to be held at the Brooklyn Museum on August 28. Register through your New Teacher Finder account. You or your designated representative should arrive by 1:30 p.m.; the event begins at 2:00 p.m. and ends at 6:00 p.m. Teachers attending will be from various pathways and programs including current NYCDOE teachers, TeachNYC Select Recruits, NYCTF, and TFA candidates.
Current NYCDOE teachers seeking an invitation to the event must contact HR Connect at 718-935-4000. If eligible, non NYCDOE teachers will receive an email invitation to the fair from the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality.
For questions, contact Kataura T. Washington-Simon at or 718-935-4803.
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Campus Audit Template
All schools / Deadline: September 1
Per Chancellor’s Regulation A-190, all campuses with co-located schools are required to submit the Campus Audit Template, which was emailed to all campus principals on August 1. Work with your Building Council to complete the audit template and submit it to your campus folder by September 1, in accordance with the instructions you received by email.
For questions, contact Linda Edouard at 212-374-0232 or .
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Stars Scheduling
Middle and high schools / Deadline: September 5
Schedule all sixth to twelfth grade students in STARS by September 5.
You must:
§ Finalize the schedule,
§ complete the “Bell Schedules” section on the STARS client to reflect length of instruction per period, and
§ complete the “Teacher Reference/Email Reference” section on the STARS web to link teachers to the master schedule.
For policy questions, high schools should refer to the High School Academic Policy Guide. For other questions, contact your network data/application specialist.
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Arts in Schools Report
All schools / Deadline: September 20
Your annual Arts in Schools Report for the 2011-12 school year will be available on your school’s public Web portal the week of August 27. This report provides baseline information for arts education accountability and can help identify areas of success and areas in need of support.
The name of your school’s Arts Education Liaison is listed on your school’s report. The NYCDOE will send information about arts education resources and opportunities for the upcoming school year to your Arts Education Liaison. Update your school’s Arts Education Liaison contact by September 20 using this link.
Elementary schools can prepare for next year’s Arts Survey using the instructional hours tracking tool for the 2012-13 school year on the Arts Education webpage.
For questions, call Darleen Garner or John Brinegar at 212-356-8574 or email .
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Pre-K Developmental Screening (ESI-R)
Pre-K / Screening Deadline: October 20, Data Submission Deadline: November 9
All schools with pre-k programs must administer the Early Screening Inventory – Revised (ESI-R) or a comparable developmental screening to capture potential developmental delays of all children within 45 calendar days of their entrance into school. Screening for students who begin school in September 2012 must be completed by October 20, and results must be entered into the Payroll Portal by November 9. Teachers administering developmental screenings should consider the needs and backgrounds of the children they are screening and should ensure that they are being culturally, linguistically, and developmentally responsive. See here for more details, as some of the screening policies have changed.
Materials to complete screenings will be shipped to pre-kindergarten programs at the beginning of September. The website includes information for the new school year as well as letters for families (translated letters should be available shortly).
For questions, contact Michael Greenberg at or 212-374-5767.
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August Promotion Update
Elementary and middle schools
As indicated in the August 7 Principals' Weekly, August final promotion decision letters for all elementary and middle school students not promoted in June will be mailed by the NYCDOE to student residences, in accordance with addresses listed in ATS.
Letters will be mailed in English, with a note at the bottom that is translated into all languages and directs parents to request translated versions from their school. Sample versions of the letter, including translated versions, are posted on the August promotion page on the Principals’ Portal.
During the summer, students were moved to the next grade (“grade bumped”) in ATS in preparation for the 2012-13 school year. This week, students who were retained will be placed back in their previous grade level in ATS.
Parents who are not satisfied with their child’s final August promotion decision may submit an appeal to their child’s principal beginning the week of August 27. The Parent Appeals Process Flow Chart outlines the process for families to appeal August promotion decisions. All parent appeals should be submitted to the principal first and decided upon using the student’s promotion criteria and assessment-related performance. All recommendations to change a student’s final August promotion decision are subject to superintendent approval. Principals should work to resolve all promotion decision appeals by September 5.
For questions, contact your network promotion point.
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2012 Over-the-Counter (OTC) Placements
Middle and high schools