Voluntary Pre-K: SIS Data Entry Good morning. I’m Liz Newsome, and I’m the Data Manager working with the Voluntary Pre-K program. I’m here to talk about entering pre-K students in your local student information system. As I understand it, most of you are not the people who make these entries so please be sure to share this information with people in your districts who do. SIS Data Entry Liz Newsome | Education Consultant/Data Manager | Division of Special Populations & Student Support

Why Enter Pre-K Student Data in SIS? Required in Scope of Services Interest from legislators, media, and general public Interest from National organizations collecting data on state programs Interest in state for recognizing unmet need for pre-K Potential for upcoming funding changes- Maintain accurate student records Let’s start by talking about why it’s important for you to enter these students in your system. It’s important because it is required within the scope of service as it is for K-12 students. Though, it is voluntary for a parent to register their child for a Pre-K program, entering these registered students into the student information system is not voluntary. It must be done for each of them. We often receive requests from legislators, the media, and the general public regarding enrollment information for Pre-K students. We also receive requests from national organizations conducting nationwide surveys on early childhood education. To prevent us from having to contact each district when we get these requests, it’s important that your information is accurate and current. The data that you enter in your system also helps us to identify funding needs for each district. Entering the information allows you to maintain accurate student records, and that should be the goal with all the children we serve regardless of grade level.

“If it’s not in EIS, it didn’t happen.” Problems in the Past Districts might have the budget for 3 classrooms of 20 students each and actually have those classrooms filled, but, because many of those students are not officially enrolled, the state EIS shows underutilized classrooms. If a legislator then asks TDOE how many students are in pre-K in a particular county, the number enrolled will not justify the dollars budgeted for pre-K in that area. If students are not entered into the system with accurate Q or L codes, it will appear that few Economically Disadvantaged students are enrolled in VPK. Legislators/taxpayers then complain that they are funding pre-K for families that could afford childcare. “If it’s not in EIS, it didn’t happen.” When these students are not entered correctly, it makes it appear that the funds are being underutilized and that there is less need in the districts for the funds. When this happens, it makes it very difficult to justify the amount of money being requested. Some districts have other ways of tracking this information like printed rolls or documents saved on a computer. Maintaining the information outside your system is okay if it helps you as long as the information is secure. However, it must also be viewable in the EIS database. If it’s not in EIS, it didn’t happen.

EIS Errors Observed This School Year Students not entered into the system at all as late as January 2016 Students assigned to more than one grade Students with multiple entries and responses for questions about special education and income eligibility Students assigned to multiple teachers or no teacher K-12 students coded Q Teachers not entered in the system Teachers assigned incorrect course codes Here is a brief list of some of the most frequently observed errors in EIS from this current school year. Many students across the state were not entered into EIS as late as January of this year. This should not be happening. Student data should be entered at the start of the school year unless the student begins class later in the year. There were several children assigned to multiple grades and multiple teachers. There were students who were assigned multiple responses about their income eligibility and special education needs. Some K-12 students were assigned a Q code which shouldn’t happen since this code is unique to Pre-K students. There were teachers who were never entered at all leaving courses with students assigned but with no teacher, and some teachers had incorrect course codes listed. Many of these errors appear to have been a matter of oversight, but each of them causes major problems when we need to use the information you have entered. This information has to be reliable and current.

How Do I Enter VPK Student Data? Enrollment process is exactly the same as for K-12 students. Enter all Pre-K teachers into the student information system. The student’s first day attending class should be the date used for all programs. Code each teacher’s course 2223, 2224, or 0002. Enroll ALL students attending VPK this year including: Students currently attending VPK who are not yet officially enrolled, and New students who start VPK throughout the year. Code P3 or P4 based on student birth date by Aug. 15 of the current school year. (P3 or P4 code is based on birthdate and not age at time of enrollment) The process for entering Pre-K students into your SIS is the same as it is for all other students. You must make sure all the teachers are entered in the system, and each teacher must be assigned the correct course code so that data can be pulled accurately. Enter students in the system at the start of the school year, and the date of entry should be the first day the student attends class.

How Do I Enter VPK Student Data? Code Q for all students in grant funded seats. Code L for all students who are income eligible. The J code is something different that does not satisfy this requirement. To assist with this process, each district should use the income eligibility Focus on accuracy – DOB, gender, etc. Assign each student to a teacher based on the actual classroom the student attends. Perform an extract so that the information in your system will load into EIS When entering the students into the system, please make sure you code them accurately. All children in seats funded by the VPK grant must be coded Q. All students who are income eligible must be coded L. The J code is not the same as the L code. You will have to enter each code separately as applicable. Make sure that the information is accurate, and then make sure each student is assigned to a teacher. An extract must also be completed to make sure that all of the information in your SIS loads into EIS.

What has worked in other districts? Clarksville-Montgomery County School System Conduct training with all the people in the district who will be entering information into SIS Set up the courses and sections before the start of the school year Program automatic prompts in SIS Constantly check for accuracy We asked some districts to share what steps they follow to make sure their data is as accurate as possible. In Clarksville-Montgomery County, they conduct training with everyone in the district who will be entering student information to ensure consistency across the district. Always set up the courses and sections in the system prior to the start of the school year. This district also had their programmers automate their system so that certain information is automatically populated when a child is entered and other information is corrected if it is entered in error. They said that the most important step they take, though, is constantly checking for accuracy.

What has worked in other districts? Obion County Schools Check to be sure student program definitions are correctly marked in the system prior to transfer Focus on P4 students and make sure all students are coded as Q (VPK grant funded) and L if they are income eligible Run queries to check for accuracy Upload data nightly to EIS, run reports through EIS, and check data again the following day Constantly check for accuracy In Obion County schools, they first check to make sure that the student program definitions are marked correctly in their system prior to any information being transferred to EIS. They focus on making sure all P4 students in VPK grant funded seats are coded Q and that all income eligible students are coded L. They run queries to check for accuracy, and upload the data into EIS. Like the previous district, though, they said that the most important step for them is to constantly check for accuracy.

Remember the Codes!! Q: VPK grant funded L: Income eligible 2223: Course code for 3 year olds only 2224: Course code for 4 year olds only 0002: Course code for combined classrooms (3 and 4 year olds) 10: Pre-K withdrawal per parent request 13: Permanent dismissal from pre-K Note: These codes are not all inclusive. They are specific to the VPK program. Please continue using all required codes. Remember the codes! The Q code is for students in VPK grant funded seats while the L code is for students who are income eligible. Coding the student J (Direct Cert) does not satisfy the L code requirement. Classrooms only serving 3 year olds should be coded 2223 while classes only serving 4 year olds should be coded 2224. A classroom serving both of these age groups should be coded 0002. With regards to withdrawal, the 10 code is used when a parent voluntarily chooses to remove their child, and the 13 code is used when the school decides to remove the child. Whenever possible, please encourage parent choice. Check with your pre-K staff for guidance on which code to use. Please remember that these codes are specific to the VPK program, but these are not the only codes that you will use for students served in VPK classrooms.

Questions? VPK data questions should go to Liz.Newsome@tn.gov. If you have additional questions about VPK data, please contact me at Liz.Newsome@tn.gov.