Online Courses

Registration for the 2013 Summer IDEAL Online session will open on Friday, May 17, 2013. Courses will begin on June 5, 2013.  Go to www.ideal.azed.gov to register for courses.

You will need to have your IDEAL login and password information and a credit card to complete the registration process. Contact IDEAL Support at 602-542-7378 or 1-866-577-9636 or support@azed.gov if you need help with your IDEAL ID or your password.

To register for a course, you will login into IDEAL, click on Professional Development and Course Catalog. The courses that are listed are open for registration. If a course is not listed, it is full. Most courses can take up to 35 participants.

Offerings:

Arizona’s Common Core Phase I – ELA 15 hour (3 week) course will be offered 3 different times as indicated below with multiple sections each offering and will cost $50.

June 5 – June 25 (2 Sections)
June 12 – July 2 (2 Sections)
July 10– July 30(2 Sections)

The 30-hour (six week) courses will begin June 5 – July 16 and will cost $65, except as indicated below. The offerings include:

• Arizona’s Common Core Standards – Mathematical Practices (2 Sections)

• Project Based Approaches (Aligned to Arizona’s Common Core Standards)

• Assessment in the 21st Century Classroom (Aligned to Arizona’s Common Core Standards)

• Collaboration in the Digital Classroom (Aligned to Arizona’s Common Core Standards) – Time Change:   June 19 – July 30

• Thinking Critically with Data (Aligned to Arizona’s Common Core Standards) – Time Change:  June 19 – July 30

• ^NEWDesigning Blended Learning (Aligned to Arizona’s Common Core Standards)

• AZTeach 21 (Aligned to Arizona’s Common Core Standards)

• The Arizona Water Story – Free (Aligned to Arizona’s Common Core Standards)

The 45hr Full Structured English Immersion Completion Course will begin on June 5 – July 30 and will cost $85. There will be five sections offered during the summer.

Read On Arizona – Summer Reading Program

As educators and administrators across the country focus their efforts on improving students’ reading skills, many students show measurable success by the end of the school year. However, once the school year ends, a whole new challenge begins during the summer for ensuring that students retain the gains they have achieved in reading during the previous school year.

 This summer, the Department of Education, The Arizona State Library, First Things First, the nonprofit organization, Read-on Arizona and MetaMetrics®, an educational measurement company and developer of The Lexile Framework for Reading have joined to promote a summer reading program for parents, educators, librarians, and children/students.

 The Lexile Framework for Reading provides a common, developmental scale for matching reader ability and text difficulty. Lexile measures enable educators, parents and students to select targeted materials that can improve reading skills and to monitor reading growth across the curriculum, in the library and at home. Recognized as the most widely adopted reading measure, Lexile measures are part of reading and testing programs in the classroom and at the district and state levels.

 The goal of this collaboration is to reduce summer reading slide for Arizona’s children/students. This partnership uses the public library’s annual summer reading program as a springboard to involve educators, students and parents in choosing summer reading materials based on interest and Lexile measures. The Summer Reading Program is to encourage Children and families to read throughout the summer so they’ll increase or maintain their reading levels they worked so hard to achieve.

For more information, go to Read On Arizona.

By uniting and mobilizing the education community behind a common purpose for preparing our students for college- and career- success, the Arizona Department of Education is welcoming educators from around the state to be an active contributor to ensure a seamless and effective implementation of Arizona’s Common Core Standards.

The Arizona Department of Education values the input of our educators. This webpage will host a variety of opportunities for you to become a part of what’s happening in Arizona education. Below are applications for different committees that the we would like for you to consider.

Arizona Standards and Assessment Committee Application
Complete this application if you are interested in serving on Arizona’s standards committees or AIMS committees.

Master Educator Instructional Resource Review Team Application
Interested Arizona educators can apply to be a part of Arizona’s Common Core Standards Resource Review Team to review existing and new resources which help support Arizona’s Common Core Standards. Complete the entire application. You will be notified if you are selected to be a part of this Review Team.

Upcoming WebinHours:  (click on title to register)

Archived Webinars

Click here for a listing of recorded Webinhours.

Click here for upcoming  training opportunities.  You will be taken to the ADE Event Registration page.

MEMORANDUM

To:   Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, Principals

From: John Huppenthal, Superintendent of Public Instruction

Date:  February 22, 2011

Subject: Third grade retention

The most recent revisions to A.R.S.§ 15-701 require districts and charter schools to officially notify their K-3 parents about changes to third grade promotion beginning in the 2013-14 school year.  While the new law specifically states that districts and charter schools are responsible for this notification, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is providing guidance on the content that should be included in the information letter to parents. Please see the attached sample letter.  Districts are welcome to use this suggested framework for theirletter to parents, providing local, relevant information where necessary. Districts and charter schools may also opt to construct their own letter to parents with the pertinent information included.

While the new law requires that all K-3 parents be made aware of the potential for retention at thirdgrade, the first class to be impacted by this change will be this year’s kindergarten students who will be in third grade during the school year 2013-14. It is important that districts and charter schools clearly articulate the changes to A.R.S. § 15-701 to ensure parents are well-informed and knowledgeable about potential decisions that may affect their child’s promotion to the fourth grade.

The ADE will continue to provide ongoing professional development and technical assistance to district and site educators to support the successful implementation of a tiered system of instruction that includes effective K-3 reading instruction, purposeful intervention, and meaningful assessment systems. Please check the ADE website for upcoming trainings and additional information on the AZRTI (Arizona Response to Intervention) framework. You are welcome to contact Associate Superintendent Kathy Hrabluk (Kathryn.Hrabluk@azed.gov) or Associate Superintendent Roberta Alley (Roberta.Alley@azed.gov) with any questions you may have concerning this new law.

It remains critically important that all of Arizona’s young students are reading proficiently by the end of third grade. Academic success in the ensuing grades demands it. Informing parents of our commitment to this task is the first step in engaging them in the important process of teaching their child to read. Thank you very much for your continued dedication, effort, and tenacity to build a strong K-3 program in your schools. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

  Third Grade Retention Letter (Spanish)  (English)