From: STATE SUPERINTENDENT
Sent: Friday, October 25, 2002 11:04 AM
To: District Superintendents, ROEs, Directors of Special Education
Subject: Weekly Message for Your Review and Approval
Good
afternoon. “Spirited and intense
discussion” is the best way to characterize this week’s Assessment and
Accountability Task Force meeting.
Beyond data reporting and the needs of our different constituencies, the
objects of our intensity were an exploration of different testing options/grade
levels, and the effectiveness and appropriateness of the Illinois Alternate
Assessment.
The
deliberations included a variety of scenarios in which some combination of
norm-referenced testing and ISAT/PSAE could be used to measure student
achievement for adequate yearly progress toward meeting the Illinois Learning
Standards. Virtually everyone present
agreed that the IAA is problematic and needs revision. The Task Force’s next meeting on November 6 will
include further deliberations on testing options, IAA improvements, similar
activities in other states and inquiries into what norm-referenced tests local
districts are using and how much they cost.
In today’s message:
Ÿ 2002-03 Unfilled
Positions Survey now on line
Ÿ State Superintendent
appoints Hazel Crest Financial Oversight Panel Members
Ÿ Governor proclaims
Principal Appreciation Day
Ÿ Those Who Excel/Teacher
of the Year nominations now available
2002-03
Unfilled Positions Survey now on line
In our attempts to collect the most recent and accurate data
that will help us explain elementary and secondary education’s true financial
needs, ISBE is requesting information about the number of unfilled educator
positions in your district this fall.
Please log on to IWAS at http://webprod1.isbe.net/tsrup/asp/default.asp
and complete the 2002-03 Unfilled Positions Survey, which is the last
item on the System Listing menu. The deadline for submitting
information is Friday, November 8.
These
data are crucial for documenting local personnel needs and shortages and will
be used in the state Supply and Demand Study and by the Illinois Student
Assistance Commission to determine the federally-defined shortage areas for
scholarships and loan deferment.
In
order to better document regional differences in supply, the first section of
the survey asks you to rate the supply of educators for various positions. This is an extremely important component of
the survey and should be completed whether or not any unfilled positions are
reported.
To avoid duplicating
unfilled positions reported by public school districts, Special Education
and Vocational Centers should only report unfilled special education
cooperative positions or vocational center positions. Regional offices should only report unfilled
positions in regional programs.
Instructions for Accessing the Unfilled Position Reporting System:
To log on, please follow the steps identified below:
1. Go to http://webprod1.isbe.net/tsrup/asp/default.asp
(will route the user to the security module).
2. Click on the “Sign
Up Now” link to get a login ID if an IWAS account has not already been
created.
3. The link will take
you to a page that asks for your name, a login ID, password, and secret
question/answer.
4. Once that is done,
click on the “System Listing” link on the left side of the screen
and sign up for the application.
5. When signing up for
an application, the user is to put in their Region, County, District, Type code
(RCDT), reason for access need, etc.
6. The user request is
submitted to their IWAS Administrative account for approval. Once you are approved you can begin accessing
the application.
To enter data:
1. Login through http://webprod1.isbe.net/tsrup/asp/default.asp.
2. Choose “System
Listing” link from the ISBE security menu on the left side of the
screen.
3. Choose the “Unfilled
Positions Survey” link (available once user is approved).
4. This will bring up
the “User Main Page.”
5. Select the
appropriate year that the user wants to work with. If a specific year is not present, then it
has not been finalized by ISBE staff.
6. If it is the user’s
first time in for a particular year, enter the “Person Completing Form” and
“Telephone” fields. If a user has
already saved data for that year, those fields will default. The user then presses the “continue button.”
7. This will take the
user to the main survey page. User
enters appropriate survey data and may save a draft copy for future
revision. Once a survey is saved, it can
also be printed.
8. When the user has
finalized the data, the survey can be submitted to ISBE. All edit checks will be performed at that
time. If all checks pass, the survey is
sent to ISBE. NOTE: Once submitted, it cannot be modified! It can be printed as many times as necessary
and viewed after submittal.
9. The user will
receive a message in the system’s “Inbox” stating that ISBE has received
the survey.
We
appreciate your help in collecting this information electronically so that we
can more quickly use the information we receive. Any questions about logging on or gaining
access to the system may be directed to the ISBE technical helpdesk at (217)
782-4313 ext. 1182. If you have
questions about the survey, please contact Jim Sweeney, Data Analysis and
Progress Reporting Division, at (217)782-3950 or jsweeney@isbe.net.
*********************************
State Superintendent appoints Hazel Crest Financial
Oversight Panel Members
On
Monday, November 21, I appointed three members to serve on the Financial
Oversight Panel for the nearly insolvent Hazel Crest School District
152.5. At the direction of the State
Board, I met with the Hazel Crest board of education and other interested
parties that same day to explore possible solutions.
More
information about the panel members and my discussion with the district that
day is available at http://www.isbe.net/news/2002/oct21-02.htm.
********************************
Governor proclaims Principal Appreciation Day
Governor
George H. Ryan has proclaimed Friday, October 25, as Principals Day in
Illinois. The day is set aside to recognize the good work done by principals,
assistant principals, and deans in schools statewide . For more information,
contact: David Turner, Executive Director, Illinois Principals Association at 217/525-1383.
****************************
Those
Who Excel/Teacher of the Year nominations now available
Nomination
forms for the State Board of Education’s 29th annual Those Who
Excel/Illinois Teacher of the Year program are being mailed to all schools
and districts, and is available on line at http://www.isbe.net/pdf/excel.pdf.
This
program is an excellent opportunity to publicly recognize people from all
aspects of the education community:
classroom teachers, school administrators/principals, student support
personnel, educational service personnel, school board members/community
volunteers, and teams.
A
banquet honoring award recipients will be held March 22 at the Crowne Plaza
Hotel in Springfield. The 2004 Illinois
Teacher of the Year will also be announced at this time. If you have any questions about the
nomination packet please contact Public Service and Communications at
217/782-4648 or akeran@isbe.net.
Robert Schiller
State Superintendent
of Education