Documentation for Administrators

Focus - USDE ESSER Data Collection Report – PDE - Release and Instructions

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As a PIMS Administrator, you would have received an announcement from PIMS re: EANS & ESSER  2020-21 Collections.  

This communication announces the Focus School Software update for this collection due before April 29th. It leverages the new [PIMS Student Programs] log field called “methods intervention activities” released March 18th through email and in the Focus State Reporting Release Notes.  

Unlike your Focus Pennsylvania PIMS Extracts, this update is a compliance report, which will generate counts by activities and then subpopulations.  The state has provided an excel data collection tool, which you’ll use to transcribe the counts from the new Focus report. (see snippet below)

The instructions for this new Focus compliance report are provided through a series of questions:

(1) Where is the data stored to indicate students who were eligible or participated in activities offered by my LEA?

You can find the data on Student Demographics in the PIMS Student Programs category.

The log field includes the following columns:

School Year - When the report is generated, it will take into consideration the school year of your filter bar (top-right), e.g. 2020-21, and use the records from this logging field column that matches.  

Methods Intervention - The select-one list is populated with the methods interventions the LEA is expected to report on if implemented.

Eligible? - A checkmark indicates the student was eligible for the methods intervention activity during the school year.

Participated? - A checkmark indicates the student participated in the methods intervention activity during the school year.  

(2) How can I prepare my data for these reports?

It is likely that you will have offered many of the methods intervention activities to large portions of your populations, either by school or grade spans.  

The most efficient way of populating the log field is through “Mass Add Log Records”, but first we recommend that you have a clear understanding of who was eligible and who participated in the activity.  IMPORTANT:  The “Mass Add Log Records” is only a mass-add function with the ability to edit specific student records before saving.  Once saved, records are created, and any further changes to an existing log record will need to be done at the individual student record level.

  1. School Year 2020-21
  2. Students > Mass Add Log Records
  3. Select BY GROUP tab
  4. Use the STUDENT SEARCH based on the activity to find students who were eligible, e.g. ALL SCHOOLS, *Include Inactive, Grade Levels 04, 05, 06, 07, 08

IMPORTANT: Include inactive students

5. SEARCH  The resulting list will show a total record count, which you should use as a sanity check (too high?, too low? Did you click all schools if applicable?)

6. Select the LOGGING FIELD  Methods Intervention Activities

7. BE AWARE of all choices

  1. Checkmark in the header, places a checkmark next to all students from the search criteria (e.g. 16), and by doing so, all rows will be highlighted.  You can uncheck a student, and by doing so that student’s row is no longer highlighted.  You will also notice that the # selected will change, e.g. 16 students, 15 selected.
  2. SCHOOL YEAR  This collection is for the 2020-21 school year, so these log records should be the school year 2020-21 (important).  You will notice the value changes in the temporary table below.
  3. Methods Intervention  select the activity for this search criteria.  You will notice the value changes in the temporary table below.
  4. Eligible?  check the box.  You will notice the value changes in the temporary table below.
  5. Participated?  check the box. You will notice the value changes in the temporary table below.
  6. IMPORTANT. For those students that did not participate in the activity, uncheck the box in the participated column on the student row.  (In the snippet above, 3 students were unchecked.)
  7. IMPORTANT. If a student or students, from your search criteria, should not get a log record, uncheck to the left of their name (notice # selected changes).  If a student is unchecked, the student record will be ignored. (In the snippet above, 1 student, Johnson, Angelina, was unchecked.)
  8. Double-check that your values are correct, including school year.
  9. SAVE

Spot check your work, and REPEAT for each activity

(3) What student data is being used to determine the subpopulations?

Subpopulations are the groups depicted in the snippet below and on the new Focus report:

Focus Subpopulations defined:

Disability - The report evaluates the PIMS Special Ed & 504 category’s Special Education log field with a “challenge type” defined for an effective date.  

Low income - The report evaluates the PIMS Free & Reduced Lunch category’s Free and Reduced Lunch Data log field for “economic disadvantaged status” defined for an effective date.

English learner - The report evaluates the PIMS English Learner & Family category’s English Learner Data log field for an “EL status of 01 or 06” defined for an effective date.

Foster - The compliance team added one new optional field added in the district fact section of the PIMS Title I & District Fact category: ESSER Foster Care (Yes/No). If a value is selected there, that value will be used.  Note: If no value exists in this new field, the report evaluates the student enrollment record within the school year for a residency code of C - 1305 Non-resident Foster Child, to determine a Yes for foster.  A snippet of both appear below.

Or

Migrant - The report evaluates the PIMS Title I & District Fact category’s Title I Migrant Override field for a value of Yes.

Homeless - The report evaluates the PIMS Student Programs category’s Student Programs log field for “Program Code” of 055 or 056 defined for an effective date.

Race and ethnicity - The report evaluates the calculated PIMS Race & Ethnicity code found on the General category used in PIMS extracts.  Note: If the individual race questions and hispanic questions are not defined in the student record, the report will take into account a multi-racial value from the Single Ethnicity field.

*NOTE:  Because this data is “students active on or after”, rather than a single effective date, the various categories are determined based on ‘was the student in that group at some time during their enrollment?’

(4) Which schools are included in my reports?

The same schools used for PIMS are included in this district report.  Those schools with an “exclude from State Reporting” checkmark are excluded from these reports.  An example appears below:

(5) Where can I find the new report?

Pennsylvania Reports > Other Reports > USDE ESSER Data Collection Report - PDE

Troubleshooting?

Check to make sure your profile has MENU permissions to this Pennsylvania Report, and STUDENT FIELD permissions to the “Methods Interventions Activities” and the new optional field added in the district fact section of the PIMS Title I & District Fact category: ESSER Foster Care (Yes/No).

(6) What School Year & Effective Date should I use for the reports?

School Year

This collection is for the 2020-21 school year, so you should run it from the 2020-21 School year. This is set in the top-right.  Because it is not the current year, your interface will appear in red.

Note: The report will use the “Methods Intervention Activity” log records from the matching School Year defined, e.g. If the School Year is set for 2020-21, then the report will use Log records with the school year value of 2020-21.  

The effective date

Because this data is “students active on or after”, rather than a single effective date, the various categories are determined based on ‘was the student in that group at some time during their enrollment?’.

To avoid including summer exits, consider using the first day of school for the district unless directed otherwise by the state.

Important:  When changing the effective date, remember to click on REFRESH DATE, before selecting an activity.  

(7) How can I audit the counts that appear on the report?

The STUDENT DETAIL is a report to audit counts of students and subpopulations.  It includes a FILTER function so a PIMS Administrator can narrow the records for review.  Like the activity reports, the students that appear are effected by the SCHOOL YEAR and EFFECTIVE DATE.  

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