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If students are gaining decoding skills and STILL struggling with comprehension, what might be the problem? Join us to learn from a leading scholar about Developmental Language Disorder, or DLD.
KSDE will host a free webinar with Dr. Tiffany Hogan to teach educators about DLD, 4-5 p.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 24. (registration link below). You will learn what this disorder looks like alongside dyslexia; how it may present without dyslexia; and how we might identify it with our youngest of students and get them the help they need before they struggle with comprehension as they get older.
Are you looking for a specialized professional development opportunity for Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) educators in your district? This two-day training in Salina, Sept. 9-10, is tailored directly to the needs of FCS educators in Kansas and will cover topics like work-based learning in the FCS classroom, managing an effective Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter, methods for running a high-quality FCS program, and much more.
Whether you are a new or veteran test coordinator, make plans to attend one of the mandatory trainings held across the state beginning in September.
Every district must have a district test coordinator and each district test coordinator is required to attend annual security and ethics training before training all district staff involved in giving state assessments.
Make plans to attend this year’s Great Ideas in Education Conference, “Lighting the Path Forward,” Oct. 23-25 in Wichita, by clicking here to register, make room reservations, access the schedule and see the list of titles, strands and audiences for the breakout sessions.
Chris Perry, co-founder and executive director of Cultivate Education, an educational consulting company based in Baldwin City, will be the keynote speaker on Oct. 23.
College credit is now available for attending this conference. Click here for information.
FastBridge screening assessment measures give instructional teams a wealth of data. Yet, how do teams harness that data to inform instructional practice at the ground-level?
During this free, one-day event, the Kansas Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS) and Alignment team will guide districts in navigating several key FastBridge reports to make sense of the data and connect it to specific practices that ultimately impact student learning.
Veteran educators, anyone considering a career in education, and anyone in between is invited to Bethany College’s education conference, Feb. 8, 2025.
Click this link to register: https://www.bethanylb.edu/education-conference
Districts with virtual learning to complete now have until Dec. 31 to schedule your session(s). Check this recording at the 1:37 time stamp to see if this deadline applies to your district. Districts can use their allotted virtual learning for any 60-minute session(s) in the Professional Learning Catalog. You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you do need to schedule it before then so that it does not expire.
September
2: KSDE offices closed in observance of Labor Day.
3: Counting KIDS Workshop, 1-4:30 p.m., Kansas City USD 500 Central Office. Email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
4: Counting KIDS Workshop, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Olathe USD 233 Instructional Resource Center. Email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
5: Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time, 4-5:30 p.m. Click here to access the livestream.
5: Counting KIDS Workshop, 1-4:30 p.m., Andover USD 385 District Office Board Room. Email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
5: School Transportation informational meeting, 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., Bishop Professional Development Center, Topeka. Questions? Contact Keith Dreiling at kdreiling@ksde.org or (785) 296-4567.
Are you looking for a specialized professional development opportunity for Family and Consumer Sciences educators in your district? This two-day training in Salina is tailored directly to the needs of FCS educators in Kansas and will cover topics like work-based learning in the FCS classroom, managing an effective FCCLA chapter, methods for running a high-quality FCS program, and much more.
Every district must have a district test coordinator. It also is required that each district test coordinator attend annual security and ethics training before training all district staff involved in giving state assessments.
Do you want to recognize and reward first-year educators in your district? The Kansas Horizon Award program offers school districts the opportunity to honor outstanding teachers after their first year in the classroom.
The program, sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education, recognizes and rewards first-year teachers who have served as examples of excellent teaching in their elementary or secondary classroom.
The Presidential Scholars program recognizes and honors high school seniors who have demonstrated high achievements academically or in the arts — some having to overcome special challenges or hurdles to do so.
Applications are being accepted for the 2025 United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) and are due Oct. 10. The students selected will be notified after Dec. 1.
Any high school junior or senior is eligible for the program as long as they have not previously been a delegate to Washington Week and have not received a USSYP scholarship. The student applicant must hold a high-level leadership position in any student government, civic or educational organization during the entire 2024–25 academic year.
Make plans to attend this year’s Great Ideas in Education Conference, “Lighting the Path Forward,” Oct. 23-25, by clicking here to register, make room reservations, access the schedule and see the list of titles, strands and audiences for the breakout sessions.
Veteran educators, anyone considering a career in education, or anyone in between is invited to Bethany College’s education conference, Feb. 8, 2025.
Attention teachers and other district staff: Please share with your future educators the 11th annual northeast regional Educators Rising Kansas conference will be 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Nov. 6.
This conference takes place at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe. More information will be shared later this month.
During a no cost, one-day event, the Kansas Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS) and Alignment team will guide districts in navigating several key FastBridge reports in order to make sense of the data and connect it to specific practices that ultimately impact student learning.
Calling all school districts – time is of the essence! Check this recording at the 1:37 time stamp to see if your school or district has virtual learning to schedule. You can use yourvirtual learning for any 60-minute session(s) in the Professional Learning Catalog. You can hold the session(s) at any point in the school year, but you do need to schedule it before Sept. 1 so that it does not expire.
August
26: Counting KIDS Workshop, 1-4:30 p.m., Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center, Oakley. Email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
27: Counting KIDS Workshop, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Dodge City USD 443 district office building. Email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
28: KESA 2.0 facilitator training, in-person, Southwest Plains, Sublette. Click here to register. Contact Pat Bone at pbone@ksde.org for more information.
29: Counting KIDS Workshop, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-4:30 p.m., Auburn-Washburn USD 437 district office building. Email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
29: KESA 2.0 facilitator training, in-person, Northwest Plains, Oakley. Click here to register. Contact Pat Bone at pbone@ksde.org for more information.
Make plans to attend this year’s Great Ideas in Education conference, “Lighting the Path Forward,” Oct. 23-25, by clicking here to register, make room reservations, access the schedule and see the list of titles, strands and audiences for the breakout sessions.
NEW: College credit is now available. Click here for information.
Calling all school districts – time is of the essence! Check this recording at the 1:37 time stamp to see if your school or district has virtual learning to schedule. You can use the remaining virtual learning for any 60-minute session(s) in the Professional Learning Catalog. You can hold the session(s) at any point in the school year, but you do need to schedule it before Sept. 1 so that it does not expire.
Reach out to scheduling@renaissance.com for more information or schedule your time here.
The KSDE required dyslexia training modules have been updated and are available for all districts to use in training new teachers and teachers new to teaching in Kansas based on teacher licensure (see link below for details).
There are five modules included in the training, and all are accompanied by supportive materials, a slide deck with presentation video, and a facilitation guide.
Make plans to attend this year’s Great Ideas in Education conference, “Lighting the Path Forward,” Oct. 23-25, by clicking here to register.
For room reservations for the Hyatt Regency Wichita, click here. For the Fairfield Inn and Suites room reservations, click here.
NEW: Click here to see the conference draft schedule.
NEW: Click here for a list of titles, strands and audience for each of the breakout sessions. Stay tuned for more details on these sessions in the near future.
Calling all school districts! Check this recording at the 1:37 time stamp to see if your school or district has virtual learning to schedule. You can use the remaining virtual learning for any 60-minute session(s) in the Professional Learning Catalog. You do not need to hold the session by Sept. 1, but you do need to schedule it before then so that it does not expire.
11: Conclusion of Sunflower Summer, a program of Kansas Tourism. For a complete list of participating locations and more information about the program, click here. Have questions? Email sunflower.summer@ks.gov.
12: KESA 2.0 monthly Zoom update, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Click here for the Zoom link. (Mark your calendars for these future Zoom meetings: Sept. 9, Oct. 14, Nov. 11, Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 10, March 10, April 14, and May 12.) Email accreditation@ksde.org with questions.
13-14: Kansas State Board of Education meeting, in Topeka.
The KSDE required dyslexia training modules have been updated and are available for all districts to use in training new teachers and teachers new to teaching in Kansas based on teacher licensure (see link below for details). There are five modules included in the training, and all are accompanied by supportive materials, a slide deck with presentation video, and a facilitation guide.
Registration is open and registration deadlines are approaching for KSDE’s annual Counting Kids workshops presented in advance of the state’s official student count day on Friday, Sept. 20. Each year, KSDE Fiscal Auditing Director Laurel Murdie updates school districts on the information needed to enter for funding purposes.
Make plans to attend this year’s Great Ideas in Education conference, “Lighting the Path Forward,” Oct. 23-25, by clicking here.
NEW: Click here for a list of titles, strands, and audience for each of the breakout sessions. Stay tuned for more details on these sessions in the near future.
If your district previously used or is currently implementing Star Assessments, you may have virtual learning to schedule. Schools can use their remaining virtual learning for any 60-minute session(s) in the Professional Learning Catalog. You do not need to hold the session by Sept. 1, but you do need to schedule it by then so that it does not expire. Reach out to scheduling@renaissance.com for more information.
6: ASQ® Training for School Leaders, 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Visit ksdetasn.org/events to register.
In this edition | Feature Story | Assessments and Accountability | Reporting and Operations Standards and Instruction | Student Health and Nutrition | Upcoming Events, Trainings and Recognition
Questions about this page contact:
Denise Kahler (785) 296-4876 dkahler@ksde.org
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The Kansas State Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities. (more information...)
To accommodate people with disabilities, on request, auxiliary aides and services will be provided and reasonable modifications to policies and programs will be made. To request accommodations or for more information please contact the Office of General Counsel at gc@ksde.org or by 785-296-3201.