National Promising Practice Awarded to MDE and SPARC

Exciting news! The Minnesota Department of Education was awarded a National Promising Practice Award by CASAS and Essential Education during the CASAS Summer Institute in June. The award was in recognition of the work SPARC (the Support Professional Advisory Resource Committee) does in providing professional development for the state’s support staff.

Who are our support staff? These heroes can wear many different capes, and their titles may be different from program to program (e.g. Administrative Assistants, Proctors, Intake/Enrollment Specialists, or Data Managers), but they are typically the first person a new student works with at your school!

SPARC meetings

SPARC meets monthly over Zoom, the second Thursday of the month between 10:30-11:30 AM. Meetings are facilitated and attended by local program representatives, along with MDE staff (MN Department of Education), statewide assessment trainers, and other professionals, to answer questions and deepen the knowledge of the profession. MDE has recognized the insights from the group and relies on SPARC to advise on state ABE policy revisions, accountability documents, and NRS assessments review and approval (most recently CASAS STEPS, GOALS Math 2, TABE 13 & 14, and GOALS Reading 2).

Support Services Conference

SPARC hosts the Support Services Conference held every year in November. This year’s conference will be held over Zoom on Thursday, November 13, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (CASAS and TABE Certification Training for new staff) and Friday, November 14, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, with concurrent 45 minute sessions covering different themes including technology tools, policy, customer service, work culture, and more! Save the date!

Coffee Breaks

SPARC also hosts hour-long Coffee Breaks over Zoom throughout the school year where professionals share what they have learned about a topic and include time for discussion and questions. Some of the different topics covered in the 2024/25 school year were digital inclusion and connecting students with devices, CASAS eTesting, best practices for discussing and collecting sensitive data at intake, and how to counsel students on the three different high school diploma options in Minnesota. Keep an eye out for the next one advertised in the Minnesota Connect Newsletter!

Join us and learn more!

All are welcome to be part of SPARC’s strong, supportive, and fun community. Please feel free to share your contact information with SPARC chair, Rachel Stiglitz ([email protected]) or Marty Olsen, the State Assessment Trainer and Supplemental Grant Supervisor ([email protected]), to be added to our team!

Learn more about:

• additional promising best practices that other local and state ABE programs are doing around the US.
• what’s new with CASAS, and what to expect with the new CASAS Reading Goals 2.