Michelle Malvey, a school health training consultant at CDE, is presenting a webinar at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, based on the premise that a healthy workforce leads to better outcomes for students, staff, families, and the community. She is a former principal, school psychologist, and teacher with a passion for making sure everyone in the school environment gets what they need on a daily basis. The webinar's focus will be on embedding employee wellness and “we care” practices into all that we do in schools including daily routines, team building, and the implementation of new initiatives.

Participants who attend the webinar will be able to:

• Understand the value of investing in self-care work in the educational environment.
• Acknowledge that resistance exists and the need to reframe our thinking around self-care.
• Understand how they can embed staff emotional wellness into existing practices.
• Identify two to three ways they will embed we-care strategies into their current structures and routines.

Sign up for the webinar via Zoom here.

Districts/LEAs requesting a new school code, school name change, school grade change, and/or are seeking to close a school must submit the application, including the superintendent/executive director's signature, on or before June 30 for the 2022-23 school year.

The benefits of submitting on or before June 30:

• Your on-time change requests will be incorporated into the school and district performance frameworks; thus the school characteristics for districts will not need to rely on the previous year’s characteristics.
• For those using the Colorado Performance Management System (RANDA), submitting school code change requests early ensures the school code will be available for use in the performance management system. This is beneficial as it provides the opportunity to make adjustments in the system prior to the start of the evaluation cycle.
• You will ensure that induction programs are attached to the appropriate school code.
• Time to complete the online certification application, a late request would miss the deadline for the online certification application.

We cannot guarantee that your request will be approved if submitted after June 30 deadline.

Visit the Year-Round Collections – Directory webpage for more information.

School districts operating a four-day school week (less than 160 scheduled days per school year) must submit a request for approval.

To be considered for the 2022-23 school year, districts must complete the application via the Directory in Data Pipeline by Wednesday, May 11. Districts requesting approval are not obligated to follow their proposed calendar if their local planning is not finalized.

In addition to submitting the four-day application through Data Pipeline, districts Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan or Accredited with Turnaround Plan that are submitting a district-wide application for all schools within the district to be on a four-day school week must submit the following additional information separately to Jhon Penn, executive director of Field Services, at [email protected]:

• A copy of their respective school calendars.
• Building class schedules.
• Assembly schedules.
• Bell schedule including lunchtime interval.
• Professional development calendar.

CDE will review the additional materials for the use and prioritization of instructional time. The executive director of field services and the associate commissioner of school quality and support must recommend approval of the application before it is forwarded to the commissioner for consideration.

Visit the Year-Round Collections – Directory webpage for more information.

Colorado is receiving $171M in State Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. The Colorado Broadband Office will provide a brief update on the eligible uses and timeline of these funds and then open each session with some guided questions to hear your feedback on the needs of your community. Register ahead of time at the provided link. 

Everyone is welcome to participate (ISP, community members, COGs, Rural Electric, Community Anchor Institutions, Utilities, Non-profits,etc) 

School districts and education companies from across the country will be on hand to meet with potential new hires

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 20, 2022) – In order to help organizations that are affected by ongoing staff shortages and individuals who are looking to enter the education field, the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) is hosting a virtual National Career Fair from 1 - 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 11 and Feb.12, 2022. School districts and education companies from across the country will be at the online event to recruit for a wide variety of jobs, including teachers, school counselors, school and district superintendents, and other education positions, as well as for company jobs such as education consultants. The event includes workshops for job seekers with interview tips, resume feedback, and mock interviews. For school districts and companies, it offers an opportunity to make connections with the ALAS network to support diversity within staff.

The Colorado Department of Higher Education’s Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) program has launched the new Fund My Future Grant, which will award up to $1.5 million in grants to LEPs for student aid completion programs. This grant focuses on increasing student aid application completion (FAFSA/CASFA) among high school seniors in Colorado. COSI is seeking proposals from local education providers interested in receiving funds to help implement programming and student services with the goal of having all high school seniors complete an application for student aid before graduation.

Some highlights of this opportunity include:

• Successful proposals must require students to complete the FAFSA/CASFA before graduation unless the requirement is waived under conditions approved by the LEP.
• Funds will be disbursed to:
  • Support strategies to increase awareness and completion of FAFSA/CASFA, or;
  • Hire staff to focus on student aid applications in addition to general college-going support to increase postsecondary access.
• Grants begin July 1 (or earlier depending on the application period and program structure), and funds will be available for use through June 30, 2026. Grant terms may vary depending on the award.

More information on the timeline as well as application materials and support can be found on the COSI website. An informational webinar will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27. Use this Zoom link to access the meeting.

The Student Re-engagement Grant Cohort 3 is accepting new grant applications. The Request for Applications is due Wednesday, Feb. 16. Colorado’s Student Re-engagement Grant provides educational services and supports to local education providers to maintain student engagement and facilitate student re-engagement at the secondary level. The grant, authorized by state statute C.R.S. 22-14-109, is managed by the Office of Student Engagement and Dropout Prevention.

Funding for this three-year grant is awarded through a competitive grant process and is based on state appropriations. In each fiscal year, $1.9 million is distributed to grantees. The grant program focuses on LEAs serving sixth to 12th-grade students.

Visit the Student Reengagement Grant Cohort 3 RFA webpage for more information.

The Educator Preparation office will review the current reading teacher and reading specialist endorsement standards in early 2022 and seeks to establish a working group for possible revisions. The initial meeting for the stakeholder group will be held at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 27. A full-day working meeting will follow on Friday, Feb. 4. Interested stakeholders must be able to commit to both of these dates and times. Meetings will be held virtually.

We’re seeking participation from a variety of stakeholders, including:

• District/BOCES teachers, leaders (reading teachers, hiring managers, principals, instructional leads, etc.)
• Colorado teacher preparation programs (reading faculty, program leaders, etc.)
• CDE literacy experts
• Community and educational literacy advocates

Interested participants must complete the interest form by Thursday, Jan. 20. Notifications will be sent out to all interested participants next week with details about the review process.

A strong educator pipeline that can prepare, recruit and retain high-quality and diverse educators is essential for improving student success. However, many Colorado districts are experiencing teacher shortages and high turnover. To address this challenge, CDE and the Region 12 Comprehensive Center are launching an online community of practice initiative in 2022 for K-20 peer teams to engage in collaborative analysis, discussion, planning, and action to improve educator preparation, recruitment, hiring, diversity, and retention.

We’re seeking participation from leaders, key staff, and stakeholders from a variety of organizations, including:

• School districts & charter schools
• Traditional & alternative teacher prep programs
• BOCES
• State offices (CDE, CDHE, CDLE, etc.)
• Advocates (CEA, TEACH Colorado, etc.)

Learn more and sign up here.