There are four unique listservs that disseminate info about CALPADS.  One is maintained by CSIS/FCMAT and serves as a Q & A forum for day-to-day users.  The other three are "one-way" messaging systems and do not accept replies.  A list of these and their intended audiences and access instructions is below: "CALPADS" listservsIntended AudienceAccess Instructions  1.  "CSIS-LS" Lot's of back-and-forth messages from CALPADS Coordinators Individuals who work on a daily basis with all aspects of the system, including preparing data for upload, working with various SIS systems, resolving errors, and validating/verifying data.  The group is open to all local school district CALPADS administrators and usually has around 200 active participants.  This is a lively back-and-forth discussion forum with roughly 25 to 50 email messages going back and forth each day.  It is advisable to use a secondary email account just for this listserv or to create some rules within your email filter to sort these messages into their own folder. https://csis.fcmat.org/Pages/Listserv.aspx 2.  "CALPADS-LEA" Only official information According to the CDE website, "The CALPADS-LEA listserv is a private listserv restricted to LEAs. All requests for membership will be reviewed before approval is granted."  This is one of the official channels in which "Flash" updates from CDE regarding CALPADS is disseminated.  Generally anyone who is the LEA CALPADS Coordinator should be on this list to receive deadline information, product improvement updates, known issues updates, and new data requirement updates.  (Note to CDE - Since this is official information already posted on the CDE site, and not priviliged info in any way, it might make sense to open access of this list up a bit too!  That way we can assign a unique email address to it (e.g. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and then route this critically important info to all necessary parties at our schools.http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/listservs.asp 3.  "CALPADS-SIS-VENDORS" Only official information "The CALPADS-SIS-VENDORS listserv provides information relevant to the development and implementation of CALPADS to Student Information System (SIS) vendors and LEAs utilizing custom-designed SISs. This listserv is an open listserv with no membership restrictions." This listserv provides an opportunity to understand how changes in the CALPADS system may impact your student information system (e.g. Aeries, PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, Illuminate SIS, and others).  There is usually a monthly vendor conference call as well, that is usually attended by representatives of those companies (when it hasn't been cancelled).   http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/listservs.asp 4.  "CASEMIS-TO-CALPADS" Only official information "The CASEMIS-TO-CALPADS listserv disseminates information to LEAs regarding the transition from the California Special Education Management Information System (CASEMIS) to CALPADS. This listserv is an open listserv with no membership restrictions. "  Since the CASEMIS data is scheduled to "morph" into CALPADS at some point in the 2019-2020 time-frame, it would make sense for Special Education leaders and CALPADS Coordinators to participate in this listserv in order to anticipate these changes in how SPed data is captured, stored, and reported.http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/listservs.asp

Here's a PDF of today's CALPADS Flash.      Download PDF File Here

Good stuff from Digital Promise.  Link here:  digitalpromise.com  

Interesting article and stats about Learning Management systems used by school districts in other states.  As you know, this site looks mostly at California school district's use of systems.  But having a comparison to other states I think is also useful.  Worth a look.  The organization typically looks at Higher Education back-office systems.  This is one of their first forays into the K-12 community. Preliminary Data on K-12 LMS Market - LISTedTECH Enter some description here... http://listedtech.com/preliminary-data-k-12-lms-market/

A short 20 minute video explaining the "big picture" of the CALPADS end of year process. Reminder:  EOY deadline is July 31, 2018! 

​​Editor's note:  Below is a communication sent out by the CDE on April 26, 2018 detailing some of the information regarding the transition from paper distribution of CAASPP test scores to the electronic distribution (e.g. secure PDF files sent via email to parents).  The effort is being headed up by CDE and ETS and additional details are available in the CALPADS vendor notes. ​ Dear County and DistrictSuperintendents and Charter School Administrators: CALIFORNIA ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTPERFORMANCE AND PROGRESS TRANSITION TO ELECTRONIC STUDENT SCORE REPORTS In spring 2014, California tookthe bold step of transitioning almost completely from paper assessments toonline assessments with ...

 Dear DataQuest Users: This message is to notify you about several new staff data reports that are now publicly available on the California Department of Education (CDE) DataQuest Web site at https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/. These reports are based on data submitted and certified in the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) by districts and charter schools. These reports include: 2017–18 FTE of Classified Staff2018–19 Estimated Number of Teacher Hires You can access these reports by performing the following steps: 1.Navigate to the DataQuest home page at https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/ 2.Select the desired Level (State, County, District, or School) 3.Select one of the follo...

The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) Update, from the California Department of Education (CDE), is a monthly e-mail for K–12 educators, including testing coordinators. The ELPAC, when it becomes operational, will replace the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). Updated ELPAC Practice Tests and Rubrics At the end of April 2018, updated ELPAC practice tests and rubrics will be posted on ELPAC.org under the Resources tab. For specific details, go to the Known Issues Log at ELPAC.org. Initial ELPAC Local Scoring Tool After administering the Initial ELPAC, trained local educational agency (LEA) staff will score the Initial ELPAC Answer Books locally...

Entity Profile Update We want to thank all of the Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) that were able to update their entity profile in the E-rate Productivity Center (EPC) to include the County-District-School (CDS) number prior to the close of the Administrative window. A total of 1,837 sites now have the added CDS number to help them through the Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) review process.Important Funding Year 2018 Dates and Deadlines The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) announced on December 14, 2017 the E-rate Funding Year 2018-19 application filing window dates.·         The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form...

In response to this afternoon's CALPADS listserv meme . . . .  Have a great weekend my fellow CALPADIANS.  You've earned it!

Many schools in California are rolling out "one-to-one" computing initiatives, to supplement existing policies of bring your own device (BYOD) programs to advance digital curriculum in K-12. These changes provide amazing educational opportunities for students and staff alike, but introduce new challenges. One of the most pressing is ensuring security while more than doubling the endpoints involved. We believe that intelligence and visibility are powerful, particularly when it comes to cyber-security threats and the defense against them. K-12 schools are particularly vulnerable targets because they have transient and often novice populations. Today's students are digital natives who are very ...

Important Funding Year 2018 Dates and Deadlines The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) announced on December 14, 2017 the E-rate Funding Year 2018-19 application filing window dates. • The administrative Window (used to update Entity Profiles in the E-rate Productivity Center) closes January 10, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. EST.• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form 471 window: opens January 11, 2018 at noon EST and closes March 22, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. EST.• The last day to file the FCC Form 470 is February 22, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. EST.  The EPC Administrative Window is Open until January 10 at 11:59 p.m. EST! This is our second reminder encouraging Local Education...

FCC ACTS TO RESTORE INTERNET FREEDOM Reverses Title II Framework, Increases Transparency to Protect Consumers, Spur Investment, Innovation, and Competition -- WASHINGTON, December 14, 2017—The Federal Communications Commission today voted to restore the longstanding, bipartisan light-touch regulatory framework that has fostered rapid Internet growth, openness, and freedom for nearly 20 years. Following detailed legal and economic analysis, as well as extensive examination of comments from consumers and stakeholders, the Commission reversed the FCC's 2015 heavy-handed utility-style regulation of broadband Internet access service, which imposed substantial costs on the entire Internet ecosyste...

E-rate Funding Year 2018 Application Filing Window Opens January 11, 2018 I am pleased to announce the Funding Year (FY) 2018 FCC Form 471 application filing window opens Thursday, January 11, 2018, at 12:00 noon EST and closes on Thursday, March 22, 2018, at 11:59 PM EDT. This filing window is more in keeping with those used in prior funding years. Applicants can begin preparing now for the successful filing of their FY 2018 funding applications by taking the following steps:Step 1 - Install Browser Updates: Google Chrome is the preferred browser for EPC, but no matter which browser you use, be sure the latest version is installed on your computer. Step 2 - Establish Account and U...

Editor's note:  This just came across the CSIS listserv: Dear LEA Representative: We have determined the recent slowdown in CALPADS is due to sheer volume in the last week of the deadline. We were not able to get more LEAs certified earlier and reduce the load on the system prior to the deadline. As of Monday, 12/11/2017 only 50% of the 1,906 LEAs in the state had certified Fall 1. While we work to encourage LEAs to certify throughout the submission window we were unsuccessful to encourage more to complete sooner. So, due to this high volume causing extreme slowness with rendering reports and related screens, and the closure of some number of districts due to fires, the 2017 Fall 1 cert...

Dear LEA Representative: The attached CALPADS Update FLASH #132 provides information about the following topics: · Aligning Guidance Regarding When to Disenroll Truants to Support Practices to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism, Truancy, and Dropoutso When should an LEA disenroll a student who has been enrolled and attending school and then becomes habitually truant and appears to have dropped out?o Statutory steps for addressing truancy; exit optionso Are LEAs responsible for students who are expected to return the following school year, but who do not show up ("no shows")?o When should a student be exited with E400 – OtherOrUnknown?· Changes to CALPADS Field and Code Definitions to Support Guidanc...

Very cool nationwide online map of district boundaries just released:   https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolmap/   Not yet able to download the files that would allow you to import into your SIS, but this looks promising. The U.S. Department of Education tool, School & District Navigator, was developed to provide a geographic presentation of the Common Core of Data's (CCD) public school and public school district datasets.The CCD is a program of the U.S. Department of Educations National Center for Education Statistics that annually collects fiscal and non-fiscal data about all public schools, public school districts and state education agencies in the United States. The data ar...

A new malicious Google Chrome extension steals any data victims enter into any website they visit reports the security team over at Barkly.com. Malicious browser extensions are unfortunately nothing new, but a newly discovered example analyzed by Morphus Labs Chief Research Officer Renato Marinho is a good indication of how advanced and dangerous they're becoming. Appropriately dubbed "Catch-All," this malicious Google Chrome extension captures all the data posted by its victims — including usernames, passwords, etc. — on any website they visit and transmits it into the hands of cyber criminals. Read the entire article at Barkly.com.

E-Rate News Flash E-rate Funding Year 16 (2016–17) Invoicing Deadline Monthly recurring services received between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017 have an invoicing deadline of October 30, 2017. Invoicing is accomplished using one of two methods.      1.  The local education agency (LEA) submits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form 472, also known as the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) form, to the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to receive reimbursement, after each invoice is paid in full.     2.   The Service Provider submits FCC Form 474, also known as the Servic...

This is a truly fascinating use of "big data."   Kudos to Daniel Willis over at EdSource for creating a map that highlights where student homelessness is greatest throughout the state.  You can see the map here at this link:  https://edsource.org/2017/california-map-shows-hot-spots-of-homeless-students/588165.  To my memory this is the first time I have seen an actual "heat map" of the geographical locations where student homelessness is more pervasive than other areas.  Hopefully with the LCFF process additional resources will flow to these students and these schools to have a positive impact on their learning and continuity of educational services. &...