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Secretary Schopp sat down with School Administrators of South Dakota’s Rob Monson to talk about the department’s aspirations for the future.
2013 legislative session begins Tuesday
The 2013 Legislative Session gets underway on Jan. 8 with the Governor’s State of the State address beginning at 1 p.m. (Central). You can listen in via South Dakota Public Broadcasting. You can also follow any education-related bills by visiting the Legislative Research Council’s webpage.



Final public draft of Next Generation Science Standards to be released Jan. 8
A second draft of the Next Generation Science Standards is scheduled to be made available for comment on Tuesday, Jan. 8. South Dakota was one of 26 lead states involved in development of the standards. Click here for more information.



Farm to Schools grant winners announced
Congratulations to Flandreau Indian School on its successful Farm to Schools grant application. Flandreau received a planning grant for $39,463.
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South Dakota unveils portal for Common Core Resources collection

The Department of Education has officially unveiled its online portal offering a compilation of open educational resources aligned to the Common Core State Standards.

South Dakota teachers began working to compile and curate the collection of online resources over the summer. The open educational resources are available through the web-based portal found at www.MyOER.org.

The teachers have scored many resources in the portal based on a rubric, and the curation team is currently in the process of continuing its work of aligning resources to standards or curating the resources. New, curated resources are being added throughout the year, so teachers can check back for new material when they are planning new lessons or beginning to teach new concepts.

The portal enables teachers to search for, save and comment on the resources available by using their ‘locker’ within the portal. Many educators see the ability to search by standard as a key benefit. The Common Core Blueprints are also listed under the Tools dropdown on the MyOER site, and can help teachers as they are looking at outlining lesson plans using Common Core.

Statewide trainings were held in August and October, with more than 1,600 South Dakota teachers receiving training on how to get the most out of MyOER. DOE partnered with the ESAs to provide the training, and if districts missed out on the first round or would like additional training with MyOER, they should contact their local ESA. The ESA can provide valuable tips on how to properly use the portal and get the most out of the information contained within.

Teachers who have attended a statewide training have said: “I will use it to find lessons that are already prepared and will go with the Common Core standards. This will save me time and help me to expand my knowledge of the Common Core standards.”

“I will use it to help me fill the gaps I find in my curriculum when working toward CCSS.”

Contact Becky Nelson at (605) 773-4681 for more information.