September Newsletter
Greetings!

Hope to see you in Indy!
 
We are looking forward to seeing so many of you in Indianapolis at INPEC 2021 on October 4th and 5th! We greatly appreciate your support of INPEA through the INPEC Conference! This year’s theme “A Vison for Mission” has certainly been key as we have worked our way through this unprecedented pandemic. We are now blessed to see the COVID numbers on the decline; so, we are excited about safely coming together in person to grow in our profession as non-public school educators. And what a conference we have planned for you! We have two great and very different keynoters, Jon Gordon and Gerry Brooks. Check out their social media and published books before coming to the conference if you can.
 
After these past 18 months, we all need to be together. We can’t wait to see everyone as we celebrate the many accomplishments of these past two school years and explore new ways to educate for mission. As you prepare to come to the conference, check out my “INPEC To Do List” below.
 
By chance if you haven’t registered, you can still do so today; or we’ll also accept onsite registration. 

John




John's Recommended
INPEC To Do List


  • Get excited about being with many of your non-public school colleagues and growing in your profession!
  • Prepare your conference agenda.
  • Download the mobile app (Attendify/INPEC 2021) from your app store or using the QR code, located on page 7, in the program.
  • Determine what sessions will benefit you and your school the most and divide and conquer with your colleagues.
  • Check to see if any of your speakers have posted handouts.
https://inpea.org/2021-presentations/
  • Find any no longer needed or gently used eyeglasses and/or sunglasses to bring and donate.
  • Get to know our keynoters through their social media and authored books.
  • Plan some evening social time with the colleagues from your school, especially if coming from out of town and staying over Monday evening.
  • Get ready to share your insights on Twitter #inpec2021. Help build our electronic learning community.
  • Get ready for the scavenger hunt. Meet some vendors and get entered in the prize drawings.
  • When at the conference, checkout our wellness room located in the Show Offices 2-3 (2nd floor). The room will be open Monday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and Tuesday from 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Great opportunity to chill, relax and renew!
  • Listen to John’s three INPEC podcasts (“John’s top 12 INPEC speakers”, "Highlighted Speakers", and “Prepping for INPEC – Getting Bang for your Buck”).

  • Bring your mask. Masks will be optional.
  • If coming from out of town, leave home early. Monday's General Session begins at 8:30am ET. Tuesday's General Session begins at 8am ET.
  • Be prepared to thank Speaker of the House, Todd Huston, for his leadership in securing the tremendous choice expansions! INPEA will present him with the 2021 Legislative Leadership Award at Monday’s General Session.
  • Get ready to learn, laugh and have fun!!!!

Dues Statements

Over the next two weeks, you will be receiving your annual dues statement. We greatly appreciate your support of the work of INPEA. We had a great year at the statehouse last session and hope for many more successes in the future. Your dues, donations and conference attendance help keep INPEA strong and viable!

If you'd like to support us in other ways, please visit our website and learn more about our "Friends of INPEA" designation or fill out our form to become a "Friend" today! Thank You!
Marian University’s Orton Gillingham Learning Loss Grant

Over 80 INPEA member schools are participating in Cohorts One and Two of Marian’s OG Learning Loss Program. Because of the great response, Marian has opened a Third cohort. In this cohort, trainings will be held two evenings a week for 2 hours for a six-week period beginning October 11, 2021. Following the training, these teacher/tutors will be paid $50/hour to tutor students after school for 2 hours per week. The grant has a strong data focus and has seen positive results in schools where it’s been implemented. Spaces for Cohort 3 are limited. New schools will also have to appoint a “team lead” as well. If your school would like to participate, or if your school is already participating but would like to add additional tutors, they should register here ASAP. https://marian.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cw3Y2euvX4jdHka

Additional information about the grant can be found here: 

Special Education Study – Important!

As a part of our ADAC Special Education Study, school leaders should have received a survey regarding their special education services. It is very important that schools respond to the survey. It is an essential piece of data in combination with the data collected from IDOE to have a complete pictures of how non-public school students are being served. If your school has not responded, here is the survey link. Please respond by: October 1, 2021.


Special Education Study Training Sessions & Registration

Another essential part of the study is to ensure school leaders have the information and skills to advocate for their students accessing the services and funding to which they are entitled. Five training dates/sites have been scheduled around the state. There will also be a “make-up” virtual training on November 11, 2021. We are hoping that all schools will participate. The training sites and registration link are below.

All training is scheduled for 8:30 am - 2:30 pm local time on the specified dates.

October 25 - Archdiocese of Indianapolis Catholic Center
October 26 - Our Lady of Guadalupe - Warsaw
October 27 - Our Lady of Consolation Church - Merrillville
October 28 - St. Joan of Arc School - Kokomo
October 29 - Diocese of Evansville Catholic Center
Advocacy Training

We are already gearing up for the 2022 Legislative session. This will not be a budget year so any legislation with a cost associate with it will most likely not be considered. We anticipate that our focus will be on playing defense. Last year was one of our best years in terms of schools engaging with their legislators. Schools created videos, met personally with their legislators, held town halls, sent thank you notes, came to the statehouse, and engaged their parents. We are hoping to build on that momentum. As always, we ask schools to appoint a legislative liaison and set two public policy goals. We will be conducting virtual advocacy training for leadership (school leaders, board members, legislative liaisons, and other interested stakeholders). You can find dates and times below. We will also be partnering with IQE who will be focusing on specifically training parents in legislative advocacy. Please encourage your school leaders and stakeholders to participate.

INPEA Virtual Training Dates
November 4, 2021 @ 2:00pm ET
November 10, 2021 @ 4:00 pm ET
November 17, 2021 @ 6:00pm ET
 
Registration information will be sent out later. Please encourage participation.
INPEA also hopes to again provide an advocacy video to be used for boards and stakeholder groups. Stay tuned.
 
We hope to meet with IQE before they begin their parent trainings to ensure that our two approaches to engaging our folks in advocacy are complimentary and not duplicative.

My School Options Parent Advocacy Sessions
(Scheduled at Non-Public school locations)
Sacred Heart Pre-School - Evansville
Contact Erin Smith for more information at erin.smith@myschooloptions.org.

St. Luke catholic School - Indianapolis
Contact Kisha Walker for more information at kisha@myschooloptions.org.
REMINDER: School Office Hours for Data Exchange

IDOE will be hosting weekly office hours on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET and Thursdays from 3 to 4 p.m. ET. These office hours are intended for school personnel to ask questions and troubleshoot support with Data Exchange implementation. These meetings will be drop-in style and are not recorded. To join the office hours, log in to the Data Exchange Training and Community course in Moodle and select the page for Data Exchange Office Hours. Questions about Data Exchange may be directed to dataexchange@doe.in.gov
NEW: Assessment Accommodations Webinar Series Now Available

IDOE’s Office of Assessment and Office of Special Education, in partnership with the Indiana IEP Resource Center, have released a webinar series regarding assessment accommodations for the 2021-2022 school year. The webinar series includes separate webinars for the I AM, ILEARN, ISTEP+ Retest, and IREAD-3 assessments. Each video covers new and notable accommodations available for the assessment, tutorials for how those accommodations appear in Indiana IEP, and frequently asked questions related to assessment accommodations. Please reach out to the Office of Student Assessment with questions. 
NEW: College Board Opportunity Scholarships

Join College Board and IDOE on Thursday, September 30 for an information session to learn more about the College Board Opportunity Scholarships. The information session will provide you with additional materials to share with your students and families. To join the 12 p.m. ET session, click here. To join the 4 p.m. ET session, click here. You can also learn more about scholarship details and student eligibility by clicking here. Contact Michelle Clarke at mclarke@doe.in.gov with questions.

Education Savings Account Program (ESAP) Specialist Position Posting
IDOE Choice Office will be hiring an additional staff person to work with the new ESA (Education Scholarship Account Program) program passed in the last legislative session. See the job posting here:
Dual Credit MOUs

It was brought to our attention that some dual credit provider’s MOUs have broad based discrimination language included. This may be an issue for some schools. We have reached to a few universities. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Many thanks to our business partners!
Contact: Steve Lockwood
Contact: Rob Pizzurro
Contact: Mike Rivard
Contact: Mike Collins
Contact: Joy Roberts
Contact: Paula Latvenas
Contact: Cathy Tooley
Contact: David Sexauer
*Would you like to be come an INPEA Business Partner or know a business that would be a good fit? Check out our website here or contact Heidi Gant at hgant@inpea.org for more information!
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The Indiana Non-Public Education Association serves as an advocate, promotes engagement, and strives for the advancement of non-public schools. 
(317) 236-7329
1400 N. Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202 
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