Friday, April 29, 2016

Update: April 29th



Greetings,

On behalf of the Advanced Opportunities Support Team, I wanted to send out this information as it addresses many Frequently Asked Questions that we are hearing this time of year. 

Training
·         Advanced Opportunities Roadshow: The SDE will be hosting a Roadshow around the state to train districts about the new legislation. Please the attached flyer to register for the FREE event.
·         Advanced Opportunities Conference:  Conference registration is now open. Please visit the conference website for more information.

Spring Submissions
·         Courses: As of today, 87% of the state has successfully matched their data with course providers. Please submit courses as soon as a verification match has been attained. Attached you will find a submission guide to walk you through the process of submitting.
·         Exams: Exams are submitted separately from courses. Many districts are choosing to submit exams after AP exam dates have passed, to account for any changes. This is certainly appropriate, please make sure to submit this information just as quickly as you are able.
·         AP Exams: All AP exams that were entered into the portal as $20.00 or $21.00 dollars have been updated to reflect at $15.00 reimbursement for low-income students.  If you have students that qualify for the reduced fee and were entered for a different cost, please make corrections for their reimbursement to reflect the correct amount.

Summer Courses
·         Portal Entries: Summer courses should NOT be entered into the portal until after July 1st. Our systems will change to reflect the new allocation per student on July 1st.
·         Deadline Extension: Due to summer vacation, the switch in systems, and the need for accurate data, the deadline for submitting summer data has been extended to September 2nd.  This will allows school personnel to enter summer courses when they return from summer break.
·         Early Summer Courses: If your district offers summer courses that end BEFORE July 1st. Please contact me right away for special instructions.  The switch in systems will require separate action for those courses.

County Deadlines
·         House Bill 527: New Legislation has clarified deadlines for students that for Certificates of Residency.  The legislation can be viewed here.
·         Deadlines:  The new deadlines for future school years to turn in Certificates of Residency are as follows: Fall- December 1st and Spring- May 1st.

As always, please feel free to reach out to our team.  We genuinely appreciate your hard work at the school level, particularly during this time of year when things are extremely busy.

Tina Polishchuk

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Update: April 19th



Dear Advanced Opportunities Users,

As the end of the school year is quickly approaching, I would like to inform you about several items that may impact your work with Advanced Opportunities.

Portal Submissions:
Please plan to complete your portal submissions in the next couple weeks. More than 70% of the state has data that is matched and ready for submission. Our goal is to have it all submitted early and have payments made well before the June 3rd deadline. If you still have data that has not been verified by the college, please make this a priority in the next week or so.

Changes for Next Year:
As many of you know, the Fast Forward program is significantly expanding for next year. Students in grades 7-12 will have $4,125.00 to use towards overload courses, dual credits, and exams.  Details related to these changes can be found on the Idaho Legislature website: House Bill 458. Changes will take affect July 1st.

Summer Courses:
Due to the change in programs limits on July 1st, summer courses will need to be entered into the portal after July 1st. Submission deadline for these courses will be August 5th.    If your school district offers summer dual credit courses that end before July 1st, please contact me right away for special instructions.

AP Exams:
As many of you may know, we’ve been waiting for a verdict on reduced fee for AP exams from the federal government. After multiple communications of a cost of $20 or $21,  the actual cost came in as $15.  This means that students who qualify for a reduced fee for AP exams will only need to pay $15.  For those of you who entered $20 or $21 into the Advanced Opportunities Portal, our developers will be able to adjust this amount in bulk in the next few days. All AP exams that were entered into the portal for those amounts will be changed to $15 by the SDE.  If this a concern for you, or if you’d like further clarity, please feel free to give me a call.

Roadshow:
Our team will be doing a tour around the state providing training on the new legislative changes and portal updates.  Additionally, they may be an opportunity for your to have an Advanced Opportunities parent night with our team present.  If this is of interest to you, please contact your regional coordinator. Specific times and locations will be provided in the near future. Dates for the roadshow are as follows:
·         Coeur d’Alene, May 24  
·         Moscow, May 25
·         Treasure Valley, May 26
·         Twin Falls, May 31
·         Pocatello, June 1
·         Idaho Falls, June 2
We hope all of you will be able to join us.

Conference:
Registration for the Advanced Opportunities Conference is now open. Please visit the conference website for details.

Thank you for your hard work, particularly during this time of year. With all that is going on, things can get very hectic.  We appreciate all that you are doing. Your Advanced Opportunities Support Team is always available to assist.

Warmly,

Tina Polishchuk
Coordinator of Advanced Opportunities
Idaho State Department of Education
Office: (208)332-6944