C & I Update
Explore. Learn. Thrive. 3.20.20
COVID 19 Educator and Staff Resources on the PCOE/PUSD Website
Educator and Staff Resources (Main page) includes links to COVID 19 Updates, Access to Books and Audiobooks, Instructional Resources (see below) and Virtual Meeting Tools.
Instructional Resources for planning for supplemental, enrichment and intervention education. This page includes an extensive list of links for Educator Resources broken down by grade level (TK-6, 7-12) and subject matter.
PCOE/PUSD Update March 20, 2020
Good afternoon,
Last evening, 3/19/20, during a press conference, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a stay-at-home order to the entire state of California. The Governor urged Californians to shelter-in-place, avoid nonessential errands and practice social distancing. Despite this announcement, critical functions of education outlined in the Governor’s March 13, 2020 executive order (link below) are still in effect and staff needed to perform those functions are exempt from the new statewide stay-at-home mandate. The bottom line for school districts is that we are required to proceed with our plans until new information dictates otherwise.
A few important facts from the Governor’s executive order provides that even if schools close temporarily because of COVID-19, school districts must:
- Continue delivering high-quality educational opportunities to students through other options, distance learning and independent study;
- Safely provide school meals consistent with the requirements of the California Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture;
- Continue to pay employees.
With the above information the order does NOT change or impact our roles, which are considered essential, and our duty to carry out essential services.
Today, Friday, March 20th, our Food Service Staff and Site Principals have provided an incredible service to our families by providing meals for pick up at designated sites. In addition, we have many of our staff working from home preparing for the roll out of distance learning as well as fulfilling the ongoing functions of running a school district.
Monday, March 23rd, unless our status changes, we will return to our plan from the March 18th “COVID 19 School Closures Memo” (attached) which clarifies the following:
- Eleven month certificated employees are assigned to communicate with their supervisor to determine whether to work from home or a school site if it is safe for them to do so. This includes employees belonging to a COVID-19 high-risk class, who should review with their supervisor.
- Certificated and Classified employees are required to remain available during regular work hours.
- If classified employees are unable to work at their regular site due to high-risk status or complete work at home, they may request personal necessity leave, flex time, or time for time / compensatory time.
- Unless members of a high-risk class, twelve (12) month employees should report to work. If 12 month employees are unable to report to work due to their risk status, they must contact their supervisor and request personal necessity leave, flex time, compensatory time off, or to work at an alternate work site with approval of their supervisor.
- Please note, all employees either fall into the category of 11 or 12 month employees.
On Monday, March 23rd elementary school sites will modify their Chromebook pick up plan and high school sites will have open access between 7:30-10:00am, following social distancing protocols. After that, access will be by appointment only.
On Tuesday, March 24th staff will continue to prepare for the roll out of supplemental distance learning options for students.
The revised schedule for meal distribution has been updated to include bus routes. Please see the attached memorandum titled “Updated Meal Distribution Memo with Routes”.
We understand many of our staff are uncertain of their current work status, roles and responsibilities during school and site closures so please communicate with your site administrator. With messages from our state officials evolving each day, we feel confident with the plan that was shared on Wednesday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. forwarded to all staff by Assistant Superintendent, Kristy Warren will guide us through spring break.
We commit to sharing updates as we receive from our state officials. Again, thank you for your ongoing patience, support, communication and collaboration with each other.
With gratitude and appreciation for all you do!
Terry R. Oestreich
PCOE & PUSD Superintendent
530-283-6500, x 5200 Office
50 Church Street
Quincy, CA 95971
March 19th update, 8:45pm
On behalf of Supt. Oestreich:
Due to the Governor’s announcement tonight of a stay at home order, our school sites, and offices will be closed on Friday, March 20th. Meal distribution will still take place, therefore, food service staff are the only employees working on-site with the support of administration or designee. Meals may still be picked up between 7:30 and 10:00 at designated sites.
PCOE/PUSD Update March 19, 2020
Good afternoon,
Effective tomorrow, Friday, March 20th, the Plumas County Office of Education (PCOE) and Plumas Unified School District Office’s will be closed to minimize the health risk to our staff during the COVID-19 outbreak in accordance with guidance from federal and state authorities.
Minimal staff will be working in the building and others working remotely through April 10, 2020. Staff will check their voicemail messages and returning calls on a daily basis. We prefer to conduct as much business as possible by phone, email, or video conferencing while schools are closed. We are encouraging everyone to schedule appointments if you need to connect directly with staff.
In addition, our school sites will also be keeping doors locked for the same reason and will also have minimal staff working in the building during the day. For further information regarding contacting our school sites, please visit our website at www.pcoe.k12.ca.us.
Thank you and be safe everyone.
Terry R. Oestreich
PCOE & PUSD Superintendent
530-283-6500, x 5200 Office
50 Church Street
Quincy, CA 95971
COVID-19 March 18 Staff Update
March 16 Update, School Closures
I appreciate all who have shared thoughts and perspectives over the weekend with our Governing Board and district administration. We care deeply about how the coronavirus is impacting families and their personal and professional lives so your feedback is extremely important to us.
Even though Plumas County still has 0 confirmed cases of COVID-19 the status of what we are hearing from other counties is changing by the hour and new information from our local, regional and state officials are influencing our discussions and decisions. Yesterday’s public conference held by Governor Newsom has influenced decisions that were made on Saturday, March 14th with the release from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention.
Please be assured that we are taking the necessary steps to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community. As a result, we provide you the following updates:
The Plumas Unified School District Board Meeting will be canceled this evening as we choose to honor non-essential events related to social gatherings. A meeting will be scheduled in the near future to discuss multiple topics related to District operations.
- School closure Monday, March 16 through Wednesday, March 18th utilizing our built in snow closure days
- School closure Thursday, March 19th through Friday, April 3rd. We are committed to working with Plumas County Teachers Association (PCTA) and Classified Schools Employees Association (CSEA) leadership as we consider options for online and independent study options to ensure the continuity of our students’ education. We plan to send out an update regarding this matter by Wednesday, March 19th which will include other related topics such as food service/delivery, etc.
- Spring Break April 6th – 10th
On behalf of our Governing Board and district administration, please know we care and are here to assist in any manner possible. Thank you for your ongoing understanding, patience, flexibility and partnerships.
Respectfully submitted,
Terry R. Oestreich
PCOE & PUSD Superintendent
530-283-6500, x 5200 Office
50 Church Street Quincy, CA 95971
www.pcoe.k12.ca.us
March 12 Update, Suspend Out of County Travel
Stop the Spread of Germs!
Renaissance Upgrade Information
Reporting on your Renaissance Growth Platform
Now that your Renaissance® site upgrade is complete, you may be wanting to report on student data in your new Renaissance Growth Platform™.
Please share these tips with your educators to assist them in viewing reports.
If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out our Renaissance Growth Platform Upgrade Toolkit, which includes the tools that you need to successfully navigate your new Renaissance Growth Platform site.
To keep up-to-date on future enhancements and updates, please refer to our Product Updates Page.
Star Reporting Tips and Resources:
- Key reports, dashboards and tools for Star
- Reports and Dashboards Help Guide
- Reporting and Goal Setting How-to, mini-videos
- Using your reporting features
- Key reports and metrics to answer your data questions
- Crosswalk Document on how to find Star reports and key metrics
Accelerated Reader Reporting Tips and Resources:
- How Students View Progress on Quizzes Taken
- New Record Book
- New Goal Setting Steps
- Accelerated Reader Reports
- Student interface preview video
- Student Tasks in Accelerated Reader – includes videos
- Home Connect URLs change with upgrade and new Home Connect Letters will provide this new URL.
Other Math and Reading Apps Reporting Tips and Resources:
You can access Accelerated Math, Math Facts in a Flash, and English in a Flash from the Home page and select Other Math & Reading Apps (under Additional Tools) at the bottom of your screen.
- Using Math Dashboard for Accelerated Math 2.0 Reporting
- Accelerated Math Reports
- English in a Flash Reports
- Math Facts in a Flash Reports
If you have any additional questions or concerns, you can reply to this email or email me directly at heidi.mabie@renaissance.com. You may also contact me by phone at 855-624-6117 between the hours of 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, Central Time.
As always, should your staff have any additional questions, they can contact our support staff at (800) 338-4204, e-mail us at Answers@renaissance.com, or by using our Live Chat feature found in the upper-right hand corner of your Renaissance hosted site. Our friendly, knowledgeable representatives are available Monday - Friday, 6:30 AM - 7 PM CST
Contact Information for Renaissance Support
- Phone support: Call toll free (800) 338-4204. One of our representatives will be happy to assist you. Contact them anytime, Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. Central time.
- Help: The link for the Help Menu is in the upper right-hand corner of your Renaissance home page and is available during regular business hours of Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. Central time.
- Renaissance Smart Start: Click Smart Start under Learn Best Practices on your Renaissance Home page to get started. These quick guides, tutorials, and activities will give you the training you need to get off to a great start with Star.
- Email Support: Email us at Answers@renaissance.com.
Mary's quick-guide to reports in Ren
Please see the following message from Mary Juska, Library/Media Specialist and Tech Integration Lead at Chester Elementary School:
The new dashboard in Ren looks totally different, but I BELIEVE IT WILL BE BETTER WHEN WE GET USED TO IT.
#1 TIP: Pretend it's an all-new program (to help you get over the visual change) then use your powers of reading... I bet you'll be surprised how easy it is to navigate. I was. I'm speaking from experience.
I recommend you do this NOW so it is easy when you need data fast:
1)Log in to Ren
2)Go to STAR READING*
3)Select "Reports"
4) Scroll down and click the image of the pin to pin the reports you use most frequently to the top of the page (I selected STAR Summary, STAR Test Record, and STAR Growth reports... you may use something else in your capacity as a teacher).
*The process will be about the same for Math.
Still have questions? I am totally happy to help! I am a fan of Ren, and enjoy opportunities to learn more about it when I otherwise wouldn't go looking.
530-258-3194 ext 1224
Free Resource for Writing and Grammar Activities
Research Study Opportunity for Jr. High Math Teachers
Technology Help Ticket
1. Visit the link above:.
2. Select "Submit a ticket"
3. Click on your site: Example PHS or CES, depending on which site you need us to assist you in.
4. Fill in ticket details and confirm the 5 digit code before submitting your work request.
Assessment
CAASPP and ELPAC Scheduled Downtime
Various CAASPP and ELPAC systems will be unavailable from Wednesday, March 25, 2020, at 5 pm through Monday, March 30, 2020, at 8 am for scheduled downtime. During the downtime, the following will NOT be available:
- TOMS (including the local scoring tool)
- Data Entry Interface
- Online Reporting System (ORS)
- California Educator Reporting System (CERS)
CAASPP and ELPAC: Current Updates to Supported Operating Systems and Browsers
Please see the following instructions from Tarrick Grant on properly restarting laptops to ensure they have received the updates:
Before testing actually starts I recommend the teachers have the students properly restart their laptops by going to the menu in the lower left and hitting restart not by holding the power button down until it shuts off. We often find their computers have not been restarted in a long time and are behind in updates. If they are behind in updates then the restart process may take some time.
In addition, please put in a work order if any student laptops are found without the current browser. Work orders may be submitted here: https://pusd.hesk.com/
Access Update for CAASPP/TOMS
For anyone needing access to student groups in TOMS for test score results through Smarter Balanced, please let me know as soon as possible. The process has been changed and now a file must be prepared and uploaded into CERS through a CSV file. This process takes significantly longer and I would like to make sure everyone is getting access to what they need promptly.
Thank you, everyone!
Justina Anderson, Media Specialist
283-6500 x5240
Interim Assessment Video Series Updated!
The California Department of Education’s (CDE’s) Interim Assessment Video Series offers a quick and effective way to learn about the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments. This video series acquaints viewers with the online systems that are used to view, administer, score, and report the interim assessments. Five modules are included, each containing videos that range from approximately three to ten minutes in length. Most of the modules are accompanied by a video demonstration that shows, step-by-step, the functions of the systems. The modules are as follows:
· Module 1. Introducing the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments
· Module 2. Interim Assessment Viewing System
· Module 3. Administering the Interim Assessments
· Module 4. Interim Assessment Hand Scoring System
· Module 5. California Educator Reporting System (with separate teacher and administrator videos)
Modules one through four were updated in November 2019, and module five was updated in January 2020. Check out these modules today! They can be found on the CDE’s Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Video Series web page.
Resources for the 2019–20 CAASPP and ELPAC Now Available
The following resources that support 2019–20 CAASPP and ELPAC testing can now be found on the programs’ portals:
v 2019–20 CAASPP and ELPAC Technical Specifications and Configuration Guide for Online Testing
Ø Link to guide on CAASPP Portal
Ø Link to guide on EPAC Portal
v 2019–20 CAASPP and ELPAC Accessibility Guide for Online Testing (See the introduction and the chapter describing the individual accessibility resources.)
Ø Link to guide on CAASPP Portal
Ø Link to guide on ELPAC Portal
California Educator Reporting System: Key Resources
The California Educator Reporting System (CERS) will soon be the “one-stop shop” for LEA staff to access student results from all California summative assessment along with the interim assessment results it already contains. The following resources are available to promote and learn about using the system:
· CERS Sandbox Promotional Flyer
While CERS is a secure website for LEA staff access only, the above resources are all publicly available. Please note that the CERS Sandbox URL has changed. If you created a shortcut to the Sandbox URL, please update it with the one above.
CAASPP Accounts
Welcome to the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) or the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) assessment systems! Secure access has been assigned by a testing coordinator, or a user has self-registered for the Digital Library, so access has been granted to the appropriate online applications and systems associated with the assigned testing program and level of access.
To begin, use the secure verification link to verify an identity and set a password. This link expires after 30 minutes. If the account is not activated within this period, users must request a new secure link by selecting the secure verification link, entering the associated email address on the Reset Your Password web page, and then selecting the [Submit] button.
A new password must contain at least eight (8) characters and include all of the following:
- One (1) lowercase alphabet character
- One (1) uppercase alphabet character
- One (1) number
- One (1) special character such as one of the following: ~!#$%^&*()-_=+[]|;:,.<>/?@
Follow the instructions on the screen to enter a password for the username, which is the email address to which this was sent. Select the [Save] button to complete the process.
After the new password has been established, the system requires that the password be reset every 90 days.
Check Them Out! Interim Assessment Resources for Educators
As the 2019–20 school year begins, LEAs can look to several resources that are available to support their educators’ understanding and use of the 2019–20 Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments:
· The Interim Assessment Overview provides information about the interim assessments available and includes the addition of 42 focused Interim Assessment Blocks as well as the Interim Comprehensive Assessments for grades nine and ten.
· The three-page Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments: At-a-Glance presents the interim assessments available for the 2019–20 school year, by content area and grade level.
· The 14-page Interim Assessments Available by Grade for 2019–20 lists all available interim assessments, by grade, claim, and target(s). It includes the total number of test items and items that require local hand scoring. This information is for LEAs to assist them in their planning for the administration and local hand scoring of the interim assessments.
· The Sandbox training tool is available to help educators become familiar with the features and functions of the Interim Assessment Reporting System (IARS). This tool features virtually the same functions as the IARS, but uses practice test items and fictitious student data in a nonsecure environment with no log-on credentials required. The Sandbox can be accessed on the CAASPP Portal Interim Assessment Administration Resources web page by selecting the button labeled “Reporting System Sandbox.”
· The Interim Assessment Viewing System is a secure-access preview tool that can be used to view the interim assessments for professional development and training as well as to prepare for general assessment administration. The viewing system is located on the CAASPP Portal Interim Assessment Administration Resources web page. Log-on credentials are required for access.
Additional resources related to the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments are available on the CDE Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments web page.
Free Parent Resources Available from CAASPP
Please see the link below for Starting Smarter, an informative and free parent resource offered by CAASPP. The site includes topics on understanding score reports and areas, sample test questions and practice tests, a link to the "Learning Hero" website and a guide to parent teacher conferences.
Thank you to Mary Juska, Library/Media Specialist and Tech Integration Lead at Chester Elementary School for providing the link.
CAASPP Online Practice and Training Tests
CAASPP Test examiners, Test Coordinators and teachers alike - please be aware you can find the Online Practice and Training Tests here - > http://www.caaspp.org/practice-and-training/index.html
Mileage Reimbursement Policy for District Meetings (including VT/CAIS)
Upcoming Dates
3/27 Science Vertical Team, 8:30 am-2:30 pm-District Office B117 Conference Room *canceled*
Help us share the great things going on around our district!
Useful information
Instructional Coaches
Our Instructional Coaches are here to help!
Yvonne: ycasalnuovo@pcoe.k12.ca.us
Susan: sfrediani@pcoe.k12.ca.us
Vertical and Grade Level Teams
2019-2020 Grading Period Calendars
PUSD Employee Handbook 2019-2020
Useful Links
1. Visit the link above: (This has been updated on our websites as well.)
2. Select "Submit a ticket"
3. Click on your site: Example PHS or CES, depending on which site you need us to assist you in.
4. Fill in ticket details and confirm the 5 digit code before submitting your work request.
Please Note: Previous work orders did not migrate over to the new system, so we ask that you please create new tickets moving forward so that our Team can assist you in a timely manner, as we revisit your sites in the coming weeks.
TK/K- 6th Grade ELA
Curriculum and Instructional Services
Assistant Superintendent, Curriculum and Instruction
@kristymwarren on Twitter
@PlumasUSD on Twitter
Email: kwarren@pcoe.k12.ca.us
Website: http://www.pcoe.k12.ca.us/pages/Plumas_Unified/District/PUSD_Departments/Student_Performance
Location: 50 Church Street, Quincy, CA, United States
Phone: (530)283-6500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Plumas-Unified-School-District-451388284901916/
Twitter: @PlumasUSD