Update: Web Data Collection System (WDCS) Title I Administrative Meeting—September 30, 2010 Kristi Peters, Research and Evaluation Coordinator 1

Title I: Not One, but Many Title I, Part A (Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance) Public School Choice Supplemental Educational Services Title I, Part B (Even Start Family Literacy) Title I, Part C (Migrant Education) Title I, Part D (Neglected or Delinquent) Homeless Children & Youth, including McKinney-Vento 2

Challenges Data collection and reporting is a challenging task, on top of everything you already have to do and the short timelines we all have to manage. 3

Federal Data Reporting Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR) EDFacts Initiative – Educational Data Exchange Network (EDEN) Most (59%) of MSDE’s federal reporting for was for Title I programs Used by USDE and Congress to determine program effectiveness and to make decisions about continued funding 4

Past Practice- where we were: Multiple data submissions in multiple formats ◦ Master Plan Update, Attachments 4-7 (Word) ◦ Allocation Worksheet (Excel) ◦ Participation Report (Excel) ◦ SES LSS and Provider Databases (Access) ◦ Even Start Database (Access) ◦ N or D Annual Report (Excel) ◦ Homeless Annual Report (WebSurveyor) ◦ Homeless Shelter Monthly Reports (Fax) 5

Past Practice, continued Usually submitted by Title I or other program office – not Accountability Officer Aggregate counts, with some exceptions MSDE has tried to make data collection as easy as possible given limited tools LSS Title I staff struggle with internal data management and state reporting MSDE staff struggle with data quality and aggregation for federal reporting 6

Why WDCS- Share data across MSDE where possible so we can eliminate redundant requests to districts Make data reporting easier for districts, using current technological tools and best practices Make data compilation easier for MSDE staff Improve data quality and accuracy Comply with federal requirements, e.g. unduplicated counts 7

CELEBRATING SUCCESSES AND BUILDING MORE: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD… 8

Reminder – Strategy for Data Collection DAA and HR agreed to amend the end-of-year attendance and annual staff data collections Regional meetings were conducted in December 2008 LSS teams included Title I Coordinator, Accountability Coordinator, IT and HR. Each district developed a plan to make necessary changes to internal data collection, tracking, and reporting processes 9

Reminder- Strategy for data collection Web Data Collection System was developed and trainings were conducted February 2009 and again September

IMPACT ON TITLE I PROGRAMS 11

Impact on Title I Programs What data or reports do local school systems and others submit to MSDE for each of these programs? 12

Title I, Part A (Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance) Attachment 7 of the Bridge to Excellence Master Plan Update and accompanying worksheets Participation Report 13

Attachment 7 of the Bridge to Excellence Master Plan Update ◦ Reserving funds, identifying Title I schools and allocating funds to schools ◦ Prior to beginning of school year ◦ Beginning in : WDCS ◦ Tables and worksheets are completed and approved (preliminarily) in WDCS 14

Attachment 7, continued Any data that MSDE has, including school names, enrollment and poverty data, is pre-populated Title I Coordinator will generate Word version after approval in WDCS, complete text sections, and submit following usual BTE procedures Trainings were conducted at MSDE in February 2009 and September

Participation Report ◦ Reporting on students served by SW and TAS ◦ After the school year has ended ◦ 3 main changes  In WDCS since last year, not Excel  New data fields in end-of-year attendance and staff, so Title I Coordinator does not submit counts  Title I Coordinator must upload student-level data files for TAS students and private students ◦ Training was provided at MSDE in February

Participation Report, continued WDCS includes: ◦ Actions taken in schools in Corrective Action and Restructuring – Implementation ◦ Funds spent on public school choice ◦ Extended time program participation ◦ Count of applications received for choice ◦ Student-level data file upload for private students and students receiving targeted assistance 17

Participation Report, continued Counts of students participating are derived from attendance data file, where possible Counts of staff are derived from staff data file Continue to work in collaboration with your Accountability and Human Resources staff, following the plan you developed in December 2008 to ensure that these data files contain accurate information 18

Public School Choice Most data will be obtained from the end-of-year attendance data file (number of eligible students, number of students who actually transferred, which schools were involved) Student transfers based on choice are coded “25” (as defined in the Student Records Manual and the attendance data file) In Participation Report in WDCS, districts will report total number of applications for school choice received each school year 19

Supplemental Educational Services SES districts only – new districts and providers will need trained WDCS replaces the LSS and Provider Access databases Information collected from LSSs and Providers remains basically the same Title I or SES Coordinator will identify students registered for SES and their selected Provider in December in WDCS Providers will log in to WDCS and submit data for LSS approval LSS will submit data to MSDE using WDCS 20

Title I, Part B (Even Start Family Literacy) Even Start grantees only WDCS replaced Access databases Even Start grantees log in to WDCS and submit program indicator and participation data to MSDE Information collected remains basically the same Training took place in July for new and returning grantees. 21

Title I, Part C (Migrant Education) Migrant Education Program staff WDCS replaced multiple Excel spreadsheets What’s included: ◦ participation and services data for 12 month, regular school, and Summer/Intersession ◦ staffing data- still in Excel format 22

Title I, Part D (Neglected or Delinquent) WDCS may replace Excel workbooks in school year State (subpart 1) and local (subpart 2) agencies may submit data or delegate to facilities Training will be announced to Subpart 1 and Subpart 2 agencies Student-level data still not required 23

Homeless & McKinney-Vento WDCS replaces WebSurveyor annual report form for federal reporting Student data are derived from end-of-year attendance data file, using new fields LSS Homeless Coordinators are working in collaboration with Accountability staff to ensure that the data file contains accurate information Homeless Coordinator will continue to report on activities and barriers WDCS will display homeless student data from attendance and assessment 24

Homeless, continued WDCS will replace paper monthly reports from shelters (COMAR) Shelters will log in and submit data on homeless children Training for shelters to be announced NEW: LSS Homeless Coordinator will have access to shelter data via web, including students in shelters in other districts 25

Security & Confidentiality Login account information managed with help of MSDE Title I staff All data is submitted over a secure connection (https) Exercise caution when using WDCS ◦ Log out when finished ◦ Close your browser ◦ Be aware of others around you who should not see student-level data 26

Summary We have come a long way toward improving data collection and reporting Divisions at MSDE are becoming less “divided” WDCS brings us into the 21 st century The next years will be a time of changes Please be patient and open-minded We are here to help you 27

Technical Assistance MSDE staff will provide one-on-one technical assistance with WDCS ◦ Research & Evaluation ◦ Your Title I point of contact Contact information at the end of this presentation , phone, in person, on site Our goal is for you to be comfortable with WDCS 28

Contact Information Kristi Peters ◦ (410) ◦ 29