KSDEweekly: Thursday, May 15, 2025

Thursday, May 15, 2025 | Issue 139

In This Week's Edition

Feature Stories

Reporting and Operations

Accountability, Accreditation and Assessments

Reminder: Every Child Can Read Act survey data required for third grade students
Final reminder: Last in-person KESA 2.0 spring 2025 information session slated for Friday, May 16

Student Health and Nutrition

New Body Venture exhibit application deadline for 2025-26 school year is May 31

Upcoming Events, Trainings and Recognition

Feature Stories

State Board approves updated state assessment performance level descriptors

Members of the Kansas State Board of Education approved new performance level descriptors (PLDs) for the revised 2025 state assessments during their May meeting in Topeka.

“It’s clarity,” Beth Fultz, director of the Kansas State Department of Education’s Career, Standards and Assessment Services, told board members. “It’s just clarifying what the test will measure.”

The revised performance level descriptors were developed and reviewed by Kansas experts and educators over the past year. The PLDs will provide a foundation for setting cut scores that identify the level of proficiency students achieve on the assessments.

Reminder: Now available:

KSDE Insight Podcast -

"Putting the Brakes on the Summer Slide"

As summer break approaches, how can Kansas families and educators help students avoid the "summer slide" and hold onto the academic gains they've made throughout the year?

Join Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson and his guests as they discuss engaging, accessible ways to keep kids reading, thinking, and learning all summer long. From library partnerships to simple at-home activities, discover tools and tips that make summer learning fun and meaningful.

Dr. Watson's guests are the following Kansas educators:

Dyane Smokorowski, coordinator of digital literacy, Wichita USD 259
Dr. Brent Wolf, principal, Derby Hills Elementary School, Derby USD 260
Jeri Powers, reading specialist/teacher leader consultant, Kansas State Department of Education

"Putting the Brakes on the Summer Slide" is now available to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Picture of the Week: Valley Center USD 262 students create their own popcorn business

Second-grade students in Valley Center USD 262's Abilene, West and Wheatland elementary schools who created their own popcorn business from the ground up are featured in this week's Picture of the Week. (Photos: Valley Center Public Schools, USD 262 Facebook page)

Posted on the Valley Center Public Schools, USD 262 Facebook page:

"For the past 10 years, USD 262 second graders have been getting a real-world lesson in business through their English Language Arts (ELA) unit on Buyers and Sellers.

As part of the project, students create their own popcorn business from the ground up. It all begins with a trip to a local bank to secure a 'loan,' followed by developing a business name and logo, interviewing for jobs, crafting ads and jingles, taking orders, and finally popping, packaging, and delivering the popcorn.

While it's part of their ELA curriculum, this hands-on project also incorporates math, social studies, and important social-emotional skills like teamwork, public speaking, and active listening.

The best part? All the money earned is donated to a charity chosen by each class, showing our students the power of giving back."

Send pictures of students, staff or other district personnel to be recognized for their accomplishments to ksdeweekly@ksde.gov, along with a description of the photo, and it may be featured in KSDEweekly!

Reporting and Operations

Reminder: Chronic absenteeism data submission window open; closes June 30

Districts are reminded attendance policies fall under local control. While coding practices remain at the discretion of individual districts and buildings, KSDE strongly recommends implementing consistent attendance policies across all buildings within a district to ensure data accuracy.

The chronic absenteeism data submission window opened Tuesday, May 6, and closes June 30, with all data submitted through end of year assessment (EOYA) records.

Reminder: Recommendations provided for

district educator licensure coordinators (ELCs)

If an educator licensure coordinator is not receiving emails from the Kansas Licensure Application System (KLAS) that alerts them to applications needing attention, the KSDE teacher licensure team has the following recommendations:

The ELC should visit with their IT team to ensure their agency’s firewall is not blocking the new ksde.gov email format as suspected spam.
Check in the KLAS web application’s directory updates to see if the ELC is listed for their district and update if necessary.
The ELC should continue to follow the best practice of checking their queue periodically for pending applications. The courtesy email is not required for processing applications.

Contact Leslie Bruton, leslie.bruton@ksde.gov, with questions.

Accountability, Accreditation and Assessments

Reminder: Every Child Can Read Act survey data required for third grade students

Each school district is required to submit an Every Child Can Read Act report that includes literacy interventions and the interventions outcomes for their third-grade students.

Data that should be submitted to the survey includes the following:

The number of third grade students in the district.
Any programs used for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students (literacy interventions).
Fall and spring aggregate screening data and the screener used.

Final reminder: Last in-person KESA 2.0

spring 2025 information session slated for Friday, May 16

The final in-person KESA 2.0 information sessions for the 2024-25 school year to get updates on the latest developments of the accreditation process is Friday, May 16, at Greenbush, in Girard.

Hosted by Dr. Ben Proctor and Dr. Jay Scott, of KSDE’s Division of Learning Services, this session will ensure districts and systems are prepared for the KESA requirements and activities for the 2025-26 school year. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions, share feedback, and network with fellow educators.

Registration is not required, and attendees can participate in either a morning session from 9-11 a.m. OR an afternoon session from 1-3 p.m.

Contact Rue Huereca-Retana, Rue.Huereca-Retana@ksde.gov, with questions.

Student Health and Nutrition

New Body Venture exhibit application deadline for 2025-26 school year is May 31

Body Venture is a traveling health education exhibit for K-5 students operated by KSDE’s Child Nutrition and Wellness team. It is a great opportunity for students to learn about the importance of making healthy food choices and being physically active.

This interactive exhibit travels in its own truck and is set up in a school gym or multi-purpose room. It is an enclosed walk-through exhibit representing the human body.

Upcoming Events, Trainings and Recognition

KSDE Child Nutrition and Wellness team

to host required procurement

training on May 22

The KSDE Child Nutrition and Wellness (CNW) team will be hosting a required procurement training for School Nutrition Program (SNP) sponsors on May 22.

Per the Child Nutrition Program Integrity Final Rule, school nutrition program directors, management, and/or staff who work on procurement activities must complete procurement training annually.

KSDE School Transportation Safety Unit provides reminders for summer trainings

Several training opportunities are available for school transportation personnel this summer.

Transportation directors and school bus contractors are invited to ask questions and share information via Zoom, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. on the first Wednesday of every month. Join the Zoom here: https://ksde.zoom.us/j/98559287456

Read more for additional events and training opportunities this summer.

Reminder: Identify team members ASAP for the Great Ideas in Education Conference, July 28-30

Before school is out for the summer, districts and systems should identify the members of their district and/or building leadership teams who will attend the Great Ideas in Education Conference, July 28-30, and register those team members. Room reservations can be made here.

Attendees of this year’s conference can access the conference schedule (subject to change) via the Sched application accessible via mobile and desktop. Conferees can create their own schedule in the app by choosing the sessions they wish to attend. The app will also send attendees daily emails during the conference as reminders of their daily schedule.

Contact Kelli Byrne, kelli.byrne@ksde.gov, with registration questions. Contact Pat Bone, pat.bone@ksde.gov, with program questions.

Save the date:

Educators Rising Conference set for Nov. 5

Save the date for the 12th Annual Northeast Regional Educators Rising Conference, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., on Nov. 5, at MidAmerica Nazarene University, in Olathe.

Registration will open in September. There are openings for 12 university and community sponsors.

Contact Dr. Jill Gonzalez-Bravo, jegonzalezbravo@mnu.edu, with questions.

Calendar

May

15: Action plans due for schools receiving federal Title funds. Click here for a 2024 video that explains how to navigate the KansaStar platform for those who need a refresher. Contact Roxanne Zillinger, roxanne.zillinger@ksde.gov, or (785) 296-7260 with questions.

16: KESA 2.0 in-person information session, at Greenbush South, in Girard. This is an optional meeting and registration is not required. Attendees can participate in either a morning session from 9 -11 a.m. OR an afternoon session from 1-3 p.m. Contact Rue Huereca-Retana at Rue.Huereca-Retana@ksde.gov for more information.

20: Science collaboration for curriculum leaders, virtual, 4-5 p.m. Register here. Contact Stephanie Alderman-Oler, stephanie.alderman-oler@ksde.gov, with questions.

21: Science collaboration for science teachers, virtual, 4-5 p.m. Register here. Contact Stephanie Alderman-Oler, stephanie.alderman-oler@ksde.gov, with questions.

22: Child Nutrition and Wellness procurement training; required for School Nutrition Program (SNP) sponsors. Join the training at this link; meeting ID: 268 616 900 608; passcode: vW949NK3. The training is also available on the KSDE Training Portal at https://learning.ksde.org.

23: Fifth annual “Give Back Kansas Challenge” closes. Contact Dr. Jessica Dorsey at jessica.dorsey@ksde.gov or (785) 296-3163 with questions.

26: Memorial Day. KSDE offices closed.

29-30: Kansas Math Project professional development; 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn, in Salina. Register here. Contact kmp@kansasmtss.org with questions.

31: Deadline to submit “Request to Schedule Body Venture” form for the 2025-26 school year. Click here: https://cnw.ksde.gov, SNP, SNP What’s New. Contact the Child Nutrition and Wellness team, cnw@ksde.gov, or (785) 296-2276 with questions.

31: Kansas Preschool Pilot grantees data submission deadline in the Early Childhood Foundations for School Success web application: KSDE authenticated applications. Contact Natalie McClane, natalie.mcclane@ksde.gov, with questions.

June

2: Kansas Preschool Pilot 2025-26 grantees deadline to return signed assurances to receive 2025-26 funding. Contact Natalie McClane, natalie.mcclane@ksde.gov, with questions.

2: Deadline to register for Building Opportunities for Outstanding Teachers (BOOST) summit, 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fort Hays State Memorial Union, in Hays. Sponsored by Educate Kansas. Register here. Contact Cris Seidel, crisseidel@educatekansas.org, with questions.

3: “Systemic Implementation of Universal Design for Learning” (UDL) online course; 11 a.m. Click here to register. Contact Janet Peters, jpeters@upcnet.org, with questions.

10-11: Kansas State Board of Education meeting. Click here for the agenda and meeting materials.

10: “Systemic Implementation of Universal Design for Learning” (UDL) online course; 11 a.m. Click here to register. Contact Janet Peters, jpeters@upcnet.org, with questions.

17: Building Opportunities for Outstanding Teachers (BOOST) summit, 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fort Hays State Memorial Union, in Hays. Sponsored by Educate Kansas. Register here. Contact Cris Seidel, crisseidel@educatekansas.org, with questions.

17: “Systemic Implementation of Universal Design for Learning” (UDL) online course; 11 a.m. Click here to register. Contact Janet Peters, jpeters@upcnet.org, with questions.

19: Juneteenth. KSDE offices closed.

30: CPA independent auditor reports (non-single audit) due to the Kansas Department of Administration’s Municipal Services. Click here for instructions. Contact KSDE’s Fiscal Auditing, auditing@ksde.gov, or (785) 296-4976 with questions.

30: Every Child Can Read Act survey data submission deadline for third grade students. Contact Dr. Ben Proctor, ben.proctor@ksde.gov, with questions.

30: Chronic absenteeism data submission window closes. Contact Dr. Robyn Kelso, robyn.kelso@ksde.gov, with questions or assistance.

July

4: Independence Day. KSDE offices closed.

8-9: Kansas State Board of Education meeting. Click here for the agenda and meeting materials.

15: Deadline to register for 2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference. Make room reservations here. Contact Pat Bone, pat.bone@ksde.gov, with questions.

28-30: Great Ideas in Education Conference, Hyatt Regency, in Wichita. Contact Pat Bone, pat.bone@ksde.gov, with questions.

August

4: Preparing for the Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot, virtual, 3:30 – 4 p.m. Register here. Contact Stacy Clarke, stacy.clarke@ksde.gov, with questions.

5: Preparing for the Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot, virtual, 10 – 10:30 a.m. Register here. Contact Stacy Clarke, stacy.clarke@ksde.gov, with questions.

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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 and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: KSDE General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, KSDE, Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, Suite 102, Topeka, KS 66612, (785) 296-3201.