January 24, 2019
ATTENTION ALL NDE PORTAL USERS:
Please log onto your portal accounts and go to the “My Profile” tab and check to make sure your contact information (especially the email address) is up to date. It is very important to keep this information updated as the Department of Education uses the email address that is in the users’ Portal account to send vital information. Thank you!!
Register Now
Champions for Equity in Education: Better Data. Better Decisions
2019 NDE Data Conference – April 29-30, 2019 – Younes Conference Center – Kearney, Nebraska
Contact: Debe Dockhorn (402-471-2748 or debe.dockhorn@nebraska.gov) Jeannie Chastain (402-471-2288 or jeannie.chastain@nebraska.gov)
The NDE Data Conference will be held April 29-30, 2019 at the Younes Conference Center – Kearney, Nebraska.
This conference will provide opportunities to learn about how to improve data quality in the first-year of ADVISER statewide implementation, as well as hear from experts about the latest policies and techniques in education data. The conference is open to all Nebraska Public School Districts’ educators but the main audience are the people that input information into the Student Information System or those in charge of the Student Information System as well as the Administrators that “approve” the data. This conference will help to get the teams on the same page and know who to contact at NDE if there are questions, issues or concerns.
To register, or for more information, visit the conference website at https://www.education.ne.gov/dataservices/events/.
2018-2019 AQuESTT Evidence-Based Analysis (EBA)
Contact: nde.aquestt@nebraska.gov
This is required for Public School Districts only
All public school systems are required to complete the 2018-2019 AQuESTT Evidence-Based Analysis (EBA) as part of the Annual Statistical Summary as directed by the Commissioner pursuant to Section 79-528(2). The EBA for both public districts and schools will be web-based, as it was in the 2017-2018 school year, and is currently available on the NDE Portal. The EBA is designed to provide information in support of AQuESTT classification processes, which will inform continuous improvement efforts. School administrators should work with school staff to complete and submit the EBA by June 30. Please review these 2017-2018 AQuESTT EBA instructions and AQuESTT FAQs regarding completion of the EBA through the Portal collection. Additionally, these short videos walk you through retrieving the AQuESTT EBA district activation code(s), or school activation code(s).
DACs: ELPA21 TESTING WINDOW OPENING SOON
The Spring ELPA21 testing window is FEB. 4 – Mar. 15
Contact: Terri Schuster (402-471-4694 or terri.schuster@nebraska.gov)
Testing must be completed within the six-week window. All English learners are expected to take the ELPA21 Summative assessment. Students who were identified as ELs on ADVISER at the time of the NDE testing label upload to AIR, the testing vendor, on January 9 will appear in the TIDE system as test-takers. EL students enrolling in districts after that date will need to be entered manually into TIDE. Former ELs do not test on the ELPA21. Here is a link to the portal where you can find all the resources you need to administer the assessment: https://ne.portal.airast.org/
Teacher Evaluation System Grant Opportunity – Applications Due: February 28
Contact: Kim Snyder, Director of Teacher and Principal Support (402-471-4351 or kim.snyder@nebraska.gov)
A grant opportunity is now available at the following link: https://www.education.ne.gov/educatoreffectiveness/
This grant funding, through Solar and Wind Energy, is intended to improve equity of access to effective teachers by supporting districts as they develop an improved, data-informed, focus approach to strengthening current teachers and educational leaders in their schools.
This competitive grant supports the following objectives:
- Support local school districts in updating or enhancing existing educator evaluation systems and processes, with an emphasis on system alignment to the Nebraska Model of Evaluation.
- Establish a network of model evaluation system districts across the state.
- Continue to seek input related to support needs for Nebraska schools and districts.
- Continue responding to identified needs.
There will be a webinar on February 12 (see application for Zoom link) to answer any questions about the application process. The submission due date for applications is Thursday, February 28, 2019.
Training Modules for District Homeless Liaison now available
Contact: Cathy Mohnike (402-471-1419 or cathy.mohnike@nebraska.gov)
The district homeless liaison training can be found at the NDE Moodle site on the Digital Learning Center at https://moodle.education.ne.gov. Completion of the three-module training meets the ESSA requirement for the district liaison.
To get started, create a free Moodle account using a valid email address. Since district firewalls can cause issues it is preferable to use a personal email.
Find the course by scrolling down the Course categories and clicking on Federal Programs. Then click on McKinney-Vento Liaison Training.
Nonpublic Curriculum Reporting System 2018-2019 – OPENED: January 15
DUE: February 28
Contact: NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)
This is required for Nonpublic Systems only.
The Nonpublic Curriculum Reporting System 2018-2019 will collect data on courses teachers teach for use in determining compliance with Rule 10 and Rule 14. The Nonpublic Curriculum Reporting System is located under the “Data Collections” tab in the NDE Portal. An activation code is required. Due Date: February 28. Audit Window close date: March 15.
Data Collection Tool for Districts: Perceptual Surveys
Contact: NDE.Research@nebraska.gov
Perceptual data is one of the four essential data types for informing continuous school improvement efforts. As part of the Data Cadre’s initiative to equip staff with data analysis training, the Nebraska Department of Education, in collaboration with the ESU Coordinating Council, is providing a free service every school year to all Nebraska public school districts. This service empowers districts with a data collection tool for collecting the perceptions of school staff, students, and parents on multiple dimensions of school climate. This service includes the generation of survey links for every school building, and the development of reports on the survey data collected. To begin, this service will need to be requested via an online form. Note that this request may only be done once per school year for each district. Upon request, survey links will automatically be sent to the designated district contact for distribution to key stakeholders. The survey results are then accessible via the NEP Secure on the NDE Portal. Any inquiries on this service may be directed to the contact information listed above.
Future Ready District Technology Profile
DUE DATE: February 4
Contact: nde.digitallearning@nebraska.gov or 402-471-4366 or Dorann Avey (dorann.avey@nebraska.gov)
A reminder for all public school districts that the deadline to complete the Future Ready District Technology Profile is February 4. All districts need to have their profile entered by midnight on February 4. More information and a printed copy of the profile for reference can be found on the NDE website at https://www.education.ne.gov/educational-technology/technology-plan/ . The instructions and FAQ’s document can be found at both the website and in the NDE Portal under the Data Collections tab along with the Future Ready District Technology Profile. The data provided in the profile will be available for each school on the Nebraska Education Profile (NEP) website this upcoming spring of 2019.
Nonpublic schools who are wishing to fill out the profile can contact Dorann Avey via email at dorann.avey@nebraska.gov to receive access to a profile. Nonpublics are not required to fill out the Future Ready District Technology Profile and data for nonpublics will not be included on the NEP website. There is no deadline for nonpublics to complete the profile.
New Validation Error #727 – Added to the ADVISER Validation
Contact: NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)
Error #727: Retired Student ID in Use – A Student record with a retired Student ID is currently being used by an enrollment or demographics record within your district. Please update the Student record to the correct ID through your SIS or contact the NDE Helpdesk with any questions
New Verification Report – Expected Graduation Year
Contact: NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or adviserhelp@nebraskacloud.org.)
Report available for Public, State Operated and ESU’s
A new report is now available in ADVISER Validation. Expected Graduation Year is located in Student Verification Reports within the Graduation Cohort category. This report allows users to look up the Gradation Cohort of any student within the state.
The Expected Graduation Year report displays the Graduation Cohort Year assigned to a student by a Nebraska district/system and the date it was determined. The Determined On date reflects the NDE Student ID’s earliest entry enrollment record. The Expected Graduation Year becomes the Graduation Cohort Year. Only students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 are placed in a Graduation Cohort Year.
Guidance for Reporting Rule 18 Students – Attendance/Grades
Contact: NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)
Rule 18 – Attendance – Students at Rule 18 Programs can be assigned to the calendar for the school they would be attending if they were at your district. They would be considered in attendance all days. It is very important that you keep in contact with the Rule 18 Program to know when they have completed the program and should be returning to your district. When they finish the Rule 18 program, if they do not return, they would then become reported as absent until you can establish their enrollment status (i.e. dropout, transfer out, etc.)
Rule 18 – Grades – The Rule 18 must provide the district of residence with the course information the students are taking and the grade received. They also need to provide you with the Staff ID# of the staff teaching these courses. If they use online courses, these will need to be reported with the appropriate staff that monitor the courses and the course may be flagged in Section Delivery as 2 (Asynchronous Distance Learning). You will then need to report all the courses the students are taking using an NDE course code in your SIS and reported through ADVISER. Again, close contact with these Rule 18 Programs is so important. If they do not send you the correct information, someone from your district will need to contact them and ask them to provide the information to you so you can report correctly to NDE.
Student Clearinghouse Data Files Updated
Contact for more information: Max Reiner (402-471-6751 or max.reiner@nebraska.gov)
Contact for assistance: NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraska.gov)
National Student Clearinghouse college-going data has been updated with Fall enrollment data and is located in the NSSRS Validation website. The data download files include the most up-to-date college enrollment data currently available for all graduates, including the 2017-2018 graduates. With authorization from the Superintendent, these files can be accessed by logging into the NDE Portal and opening NSSRS Validation, then clicking on Data Downloads in the top menu, then Student Clearinghouse.
Don’t Forget to Resolve Staff Errors
Contact: NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or adviserhelp@nebraskacloud.org.)
Data to be reviewed by Public, Nonpublic, State Operated and ESU’s
Staff Errors are located under the Student & Staff (NSSRS) tab in the portal under NSSRS Validation, Review Errors, Staff. These staff errors have not yet been included in ADVISER Validation so you may have forgotten about them.
Some of the errors require immediate attention, and you may have already been contacted, but others need to be resolved by 6/30/2019. We suggest you resolve staff errors as soon as possible because NDE gets data requests every day and if these errors are not resolved, your data will be reported or used inaccurately. You may also receive contact from NDE staff about specific errors to resolve. Thank you for your prompt attention to this issue.
ADVISER Attendance Verification Reports now available
Contact: NDE Helpdesk (888-285-0556 or ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)
ADVISER Attendance verification reports are now available in the ADVISER Validation.
NDE Portal> ADVISER Validation> Verification Reports> Student> Membership and Attendance.
Excessive Absenteeism, Student Attendance Summary, and ADA/ADM reports are now available in ADVISER Validation in the Membership and Attendance section of the Verification Reports.