ESEA Monthly Newsletter

spring

April 6, 2021 

We hope to provide you with helpful information monthly through the newsletter and office hours. Our newsletters will often include: 

  • General and Title Specific Updates from the ESEA Federal Programs Team 

  • Fun Data Fact(s)  

  • Friendly Reminders for Planning and Program Implementation 

  • Professional Learning Opportunities 

  • Contact Information 

Virtual Office Hours: 2nd Tuesday of every month from 10:15 – 11:15 am  

(Next Virtual Office Hour is Tuesday, April 13th: contact Cheryl.Lang@maine.gov or your regional program coordinator for the link) 

 

General & Title Specific Updates from the ESEA Federal Programs Team 

Title IA Reallocated Funds: 

Fifty-four applications were received with a request of over $1.9 million.  It is our pleasure to announce that thirty-seven proposals are being funded for a total of $1.4 million.  All persons completing a proposal have been notified of their status.  If you have not heard directly from Jackie Godbout via email, please contact her at jackie.godbout@maine.gov.   Final grant award information will be sent to the Superintendents of Schools and persons completing the proposals within the next two weeks.   

Title V: 

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education REAP team has put out a resource that covers all things related to Title V from eligibility through allowable expenses.  To make this more accessible to Maine LEAs it has been posted to our ESEA website under the Title V header.  If you have any specific questions regarding Title V, please reach out to Daniel Weeks (Daniel.r.weeks@maine.gov) or to your Regional Program Manager.  The direct link is provided here for your convenience:  https://www.maine.gov/doe/sites/maine.gov.doe/files/inline-files/Title%20V%20Informational%20Document%20from%20USDE_0.pdf  

Fun Data Fact(s)/Trivia 

Question 1:  How long has the current GEM system been used for grant management? 

Question 2:  In what year did invoicing for reimbursement of federal funds begin in the GEM system? 

[See answers at the end of the newsletter.] 

 

Friendly Reminders for Planning and Program Implementation 

WE ARE ON THE MOVE! 

We are moving into our new home for our Grant Management System!  We are moving from the GEMS platform to the new Grants4ME platform for much of our grant management needs. Please mark your calendars for upcoming trainings: 

  • Grants4ME General Platform Navigation Overview Training  

  • Tuesday, May 25th at 9 AM – 12 PM or 

  • Wednesday, May 26th at 12 – 3 PM 

  • Grants4ME Specific ESEA Federal Programs Training for ESEA Coordinators and Business Managers: 

  • Application Training  

  • June 1st @ 9 – 11 AM or  

  • June 8th @ 1 – 3 PM  

  • Budget/Invoice Training  

  • June 2nd @ 1 – 2:30 PM or  

  • June 9th @ 9 – 10:30 AM  

Here’s a few things to keep in mind as the 2020-21 school year continues and April begins: 

New Year ESEA Application Planning 

The ESEA year-at-a-glance planner indicates it is time to begin the development of the new year ESEA application.  Preliminary awards have been posted to the web to inform your planning.  School-level poverty data is available to begin identifying Title I school eligibility rankings. If there was a Title school identified as “grandfathered”, determine if the school is now eligible or if it will no longer be eligible for Title I funds.  Make a plan for updating district and school level comprehensive needs assessments.  Prepare for any stakeholder feedback or input.   

Parent & Family Engagement 

ESEA Data Dashboard:  Districts need to annually notify and educate their families about the ESEA Dashboard. Along with posting the link to the state’s ESEA Dashboard, districts also need to provide an overview of the dashboard and the information found on the dashboard to their families.  

This year, we have a NEW look to the dashboard. We are pleased to share that the 2019-2020 school year data is now available for your review within the ESSA Data Dashboard. The SAU review period will begin April 1, 2021, and will run through Friday, April 16, 2021. (Please contact your regional program manager for the link and password.) 

As a direct result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Maine DOE received, from the US Department of Education (USDOE), a waiver from administering the state assessments and implementing Maine’s Model of School Support (accountability model) for school year 2019-2020. While the ESSA Data Dashboard does meet the reporting requirements as outlined within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, due to received waivers,  there are data elements that are not available for the 2019-2020 school year.  

There is an information icon on the top right-hand side of the Data Dashboard landing page that illustrates how to locate specific schools or districts. This page has been modified to have more of a web page dynamic. The snapshot was reworked. The "Access to Technology" page is new and comes from the Office of Innovation. All other content pages are the same. 

Upon review of district data, should discrepancies be identified or questions arise, please notify Janette Kirk by 4 pm on Friday, April 16, 2021. The anticipated public release of the ESSA Data Dashboard is May 3, 2021. 

Once the ESEA Data Dashboard is publicly released in May, we recommend posting this information on your district’s webpage as well as sharing it with your families. 

State and Local  

Fiscal

We encourage Business Managers to submit monthly invoices for all ESEA titles. 

Professional Learning Opportunities 

Professional Learning offered through the Department of Education is a fantastic resource for supporting leadership development for administrators and educators. The Department’s professional learning calendar is available at https://www.maine.gov/doe/calendar. This calendar has increased functionality including a search feature.  

For more information about professional learning opportunities specific to Tier III identified schools, please contact Teri Peaslee, School Turnaround Professional Development Coordinator at teri.peaslee@maine.gov or (207) 624-6706. 

 
Contact Information 

As always, reach out to your ESEA regional program manager with questions. Their contact information can be found at https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/esea/contact. Also, your feedback is encouraged and appreciated. Please contact Cheryl Lang at cheryl.lang@maine.gov with feedback and suggestions. 

Fun Data Fact(s) Responses 
Question 1:  For FY2004 grant funds, 10 school administrative units (SAUs) piloted the GEM grant management system.  For FY2005 grant funds, 50 SAUs used the system.  For FY2006, all SAUs transitioned from a paper grant management system to this automated system for ESEA, IDEA, and CTE funds.   
Question 2:  The Maine Department of Education transitioned from forward funding grant funds to a reimbursement system on July 1, 2011.  At that time, the FY10 funds used a paper reimbursement model to closeout out any remaining fund balances; FY11 funds transitioned to the electronic reimbursement system for any remaining fund balances; and FY12 funds became fully automated using the Federal Grant Reimbursement System.