Federal Advocacy Update:
Big Win for Rural Districts
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Created in the 1990s, the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) helps offset low federal funding and the diseconomies of scale rural districts experience. In early February, 2020 the Department of Education quietly sent letters out to states notifying them that they are no longer able to deem certain districts as “high poverty” if they do not meet the 20 percent Census Bureau definition of poverty.
After sending the notices, the Department faced considerable political backlash, which AESA helped to organize. Consequently,
the Department announced
states would be allowed to distribute funding to districts in using FRLP data for FY20, avoiding an immediate and arbitrary funding cut to rural districts.
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For more information, contact:
Alex Webb
Employer Group & Transitions Coordinator
Phone: (800) 874-6910 2324
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Legislative Alert from PlanMember
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In the Spring 2020 edition of PlanMember's
Legislative Update for School Districts & Nonprofit Employers,
industry-leading 403(b)/457(b) consultant Ellie Lowder discusses the action steps retirement plan sponsors should take to comply with the SECURE Act that was signed into law on December 20, 2019.
Read article
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Ditch the Duct Tape for a Durable Data System
News from the AESA Blended Learning Group
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The
Blended Learning Affinity Group
had a great discussion with Stephen Pham, Partner, The Learning Accelerator. As Stephen described it, "Ditch the duct-tape solutions and think about a data system that lasts!"
Three points of the discussion included:
- Focus on co-creating goals with students;
- Focus on co-designing learner profiles with holistic data;
- Team collaboration - provide time for structured data analysis through data inquiry cycles.
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Executives in Residence Applications Now Open
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The Executives in Residence program is a year-long program of professional development for ESA leaders. Its purpose is to help develop national leaders for the future of ESAs. AESA is now accepting applications for the 2020 Cohort.
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Free Webinar: How to Implement Remote Learning
During a Pandemic
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Free Webinar from Microsoft
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How to Implement Remote Learning During a Pandemic
Thursday, March 19, 2020
3 pm Eastern (2 pm Central, 1 pm Mountain, 12 Noon Pacific)
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Microsoft Education has free tools, resources, and support to help schools with remote learning. Whether you need a full, free, solution like Microsoft Teams for Education or free tools to complement existing systems you already have, Microsoft is ready to help support schools in your state. Microsoft has also recently created a new Remote Learning global community. The goal of this extended professional learning network is to connect Microsoft product teams with educators, administrators and school leaders who are looking to collaborate, learn, and support with implementing remote learning.
Presenters:
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Geri Gillespy, Program Manager, Microsoft Education Engagement Team
Geri’s Digital Integration Team supported the implementation, training, and evaluation of technology integration at all levels, K-12 throughout the largest school district in Utah, including full implementation of Office 365 and Teams across all 57 buildings. She is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Fellow and Trainer and was awarded the ISTE Make it Happen award for Leadership in Educational Technology at the NCCE 2018 conference.
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Mike Tholfsen, Principal Product Manager, Microsoft Education Team
Mike’s team focuses on Inclusive Classroom, Learning Tools and OneNote Class/Staff Notebooks. He is passionate about education and has been regularly working with students and teachers around the world over the past ten years to create products that improve student outcomes.
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Showcase Your ESA at the Annual Conference
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Submit Your Breakout Session Proposals!
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The Annual Conference
Call for Proposals
is now open. Be sure to submit your idea and showcase the work of your agency today!
Deadline: April 21, 2020 (but why wait?)
Exhibit Hall booth registration is now open too!
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Save the Dates: Upcoming AESA Events
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The first e-Classroom is March 26!
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Select one or all - it's up to you!
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Summer Leadership Conference
July 20-23, 2020
Hilton Nashville Downtown
Registration open.
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Educators' Call to Action Conference
September 28-30 2020
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill
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AESA Annual Conference
December 2-5, 2020
Hilton Orlando, Florida
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