ESEA Monthly Newsletter

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March 2, 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, March 9th: contact Cheryl.Lang@maine.gov or your regional program coordinator for the link) 

General & Title Specific Updates from the ESEA Federal Programs Team 

ESEA Preliminary FY22 Allocation Update:  

Title I through Title IV have received the preliminary State allocation. The ESEA team continues to work with poverty and allocation data to determine preliminary SAU allocations.  We should have them available in mid to late March. 

Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) Update: 

At February’s ESEA Office Hour, there were a number of questions about expectations for updating the district and/or schoolwide Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA).  Expectations have not changed.  The district and schoolwide CNAs should be reviewed and updated annually in the Spring.  Once new assessment data is available, the CNA data tables should be updated, the existing goals should be evaluated against the new data, further discussions around data analysis should be conducted, future action steps/strategies should be determined, and refined or new goals should be developed.  Ensure appropriate stakeholders are part of these meetings and maintain meeting documentation, which should include meeting notices, agendas, and minutes with participants and their representative stakeholder group listed.    The district and school profiles in the ESEA Consolidated Application should then be completed using these meeting dates, stakeholder participation, the process followed, and high needs identified.  This CNA updating process informs how the new fiscal year’s ESEA funding should be used.  The updated CNAs should be reviewed periodically throughout the year.   

Only new plans for Title I Schoolwide authority are due to the Maine DOE’s ESEA Federal Programs Team by July 1.  Otherwise, the district and/or schoolwide CNA plans are required to be submitted to the Maine Department of Education (DOE) as part of the ESEA Monitoring process.   

An updated CNA Plan Template is available at https://www.maine.gov/doe/Testing_Accountability/ESSA/cnatemplate.  Also added to this page is the most current Census data provided by the U.S. Department of Education.  It contains:  general school district boundary population data, counts of students aged 5-17, and federal poverty counts.  It is important to realize these are statistically-derived data, and poverty counts are at the extremely low federal poverty income level.  For example, for 1 adult and 1 child, the federal poverty income level would be $17,240. The State Average data link for disaggregated subgroups has also been updated. 

For further questions or clarification, contact your district’s ESEA Regional Program Manager. 

Fun Data Fact(s)--Commissioners of Education in Maine 

Who is the longest-serving Commissioner of Education in Maine since 1854?  Nelson Luce from 1880-1895.   The shortest is Ralph Egers for one month at the end of Gov. Brennan’s administration in late 1986.  As part of Women’s History Month in March, how many women Commissioners of Education have been appointed?  Five, including our very own Pender Makin. 

Friendly Reminders for Planning and Program Implementation 

Here are a few things to keep in mind as the 2020-21 school year continues and March begins: 

Application 

Non-Public On-Going Consultation:  This would be a good time to check-in with your non-public schools and review their current year project implementation--determine if any mid-year adjustments need to occur,  ensure data will be available for evaluating the project outcomes and create a timeline for next year’s consultation.  They should have a similar process to the CNA (illustrated above) for determining their student and teacher needs to inform projects for next year. 

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 need to provide an explanation to their families about the dashboard and the information found on the dashboard.  Tutorials on how to use and navigate the dashboard are provided at the following link: (https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/esea/guidance). We recommend posting this information on a district’s webpage and sharing it with your families. 

School-Parent Compacts:  This is the time of year when schools typically have Parent-Teacher Conferences and provide student Progress Reports.  These are two components of the Title I School-Parent Compact.  Title I Targeted Assistance Programs could share Title I student achievement data with families and send home Title I student progress reports as outlined in the School-Parent Compact.  A Title I Schoolwide Program can use the school’s standard process for reporting student achievement or progress to families as outlined in its School-Parent Compact.  Please take a moment to review this section of your Title I schools’ individual compacts.  See School-Compact requirements in Section 1116(d) (pg.71) of ESSA statute (https://www2.ed.gov/documents/essa-act-of-1965.pdf).  

 

Success Stories One School At a Time:  As a step toward fostering parent and student engagement, one elementary school recently moved to student-led conferences. All students were charged with inviting their parents to their conference and leading the conversation around their own learning. Teachers helped guide the conversations. The conferences were held in person, via Zoom, and phone conferencing as needed. The efforts resulted in 100% parent and student engagement.  

 

Fiscal 

We encourage Business Managers to submit monthly invoices for all ESEA Titles and participate in quarterly check-ins with the ESEA Coordinator.  

As the end of the third quarter approaches, it would be a good time to reconcile carryover expenditures against current budgets and Federal Grant Reimbursement invoices.   

  • If FY19 (school year 2018-2019) funds remained as of September 30, 2020, are they fully expended at this time?   

  • If yes, have you completed the Tydings Amendment Waiver report pages as part of the 18-19 Performance Report?    

  • If not fully expended, what’s remaining?  Is there a solid plan to spend the balance of these funds by September 30, 2021?  The Tydings Amendment Waiver report pages as part of the 18-19 Performance Report need to be completed by November 1, 2021. 

  • If FY20 (school year 2019-2020) funds remained as of September 30, 2020, are they fully expended at this time?   

  • If yes, have you completed the Carryover and Final Summary report pages as part of the 19-20 Performance Report?  These funds can be expended until September 30, 2021, and the Carryover and Final Summary report pages need to be completed by November 1, 2021. 

State and Local  

ESEA Program Team Staff Changes:  

The Title II Program Coordinator and Regional Program Manager, Shelly Chasse-Johndro, for Hancock and York Counties, has accepted a new position with the Maine Department of Education as the GEER Coordinator supporting the recent Federal Relief Package designed for Non-publics.  The school districts in these regions will continue to be supported by the remaining regional program managers. We are in communication with the individual SAUs affected by this change to ensure a smooth transition and continued support.  

The Education Specialist III - ESEA Title II Coordinator position notice is available at http://www.maine.gov/fps/opportunities/. 

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.