6/1/24 Last day for Parents to Request Special Education Services from Districts

6/14/24 Complete 2024-25 Professional Development Plan (Recommended)

6/16/24 Complete 12 Required Drills; Four must be Lockdown Drills

6/27/24 NYSED Nonpublic Safety Equipment (NPSE) Claims Due

7/1/24 First day 2024-2025 Textbook Orders are allowed

TBD NYSED Elementary School AIS Claims Due

8/1/24 NYSED MST/STEM Grant Submission Deadline

Consultation Summary Forms Available for Title Ia, IIa, IIIa, and IVa: If you end up having students who might qualify for Title I funding, make sure you arrange to meet with the district for consultation about Title I before signing any pages of the “Written Affirmation” form beyond page 3. I have adapted the official form into a “Consultation Summary” that you can use when you talk to the districts to ensure they cover every topic required (Title I guidance here; Title IIa, IIIa, and IVa guidance here); please consider using these summary forms when you meet with the districts to help guide your conversation on each of the Title programs and take notes on the meeting to compare with the final version of the “Written Affirmation” form they create for you to sign. I have added some references to the District’s Consolidated Application on these forms that might help you to ensure that the Per Pupil Amounts on your form were calculated properly. One final reminder: please be sure to make a copy or take a picture of any forms you sign before you give them to the public school district.

Written Affirmation for 2024-2025 Title Funding Consultation: NYSED has released the “2024-2025 Written Affirmation of LEA Consultation with Private School Officials” recently. This is the form that each public school district from which you have children at your school will ask you to sign this summer. If you are currently working with districts on Title I, Title IIa, or Title IVa consultation, you may want to share the above form from this website. The nice thing about this form is that it first asks on pages 2 and 3 if you wish participate in each Title while also asking if you have eligible students (for Title Ia, IIa, IIIa, and IVa) or whether the grants are applicable due to your geographic location (for Title IIa, IIIa, and IVa). This should make completing the entire form much easier because you will not need to complete the associated consultation pages for Titles you are not eligible or qualified for.

One of the questions on page 3 of the form asks if you are interested in receiving a copy of the LEA’s 2024-25 Consolidated Application; I am asking that you check the box here to request a copy of each District’s Consolidated Application. A sample of this form can be found here. I would highly recommend that you obtain a copy of their draft consolidated application, or at least specific sections of it, prior to signing your “Written Affirmation” form. Looking over last year’s form, specifically pages 16 to 21, 26, 37-38, 41-42, and 51 to 54, I was able to determine if the district had accurately calculated your allocation amounts for Title Ia, Title IIa, and Title IVa. A summary of your participation will show on page 51 or 52 after they update the form with your information after consultation. After checking the box to request a copy of an LEA’s 2024-2025 Consolidated Application and receiving an “approved” copy by January or February, please consider sharing your copies with me as a digital scan.

I would like to remind you once more that you should not sign a Written Affirmation form that is incomplete, especially page 6 – “Section 4: Services to be Provided”. Before you sign it, this page must show the number of students (“Student Count”), a “Per Pupil Amount,” and a “School Allocation” for each Title you are eligible for and participating in along with a “Program Services Description” that describes the program services you and the district agreed upon during consultation. Please see the attached from 2022-2023 for further explanation of how the Per Pupil Amounts (PPAs) on this page are calculated based on the information in the 2024-2025 District’s Consolidated Application.

Should you find that you and the District disagree on any topics of consultation, please fill out Section 5: Disagreement; even if you do not have a disagreement, both your signature and the district’s signature on this page confirm that this entire form was completed entirely – do not sign this until all sections are completed by the District! Make sure you get the District to sign the completed form and make a copy for your records.

I hope this helps you prepare for the upcoming consultation with your school districts. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions about the process or problems with districts during consultation.

Embracing Virtue: Celebrating Character Development in Our Catholic Schools

Our Catholic schools are dedicated to developing students who live, learn, and lead as disciples of Christ. Through faith formation and character education, we aim to instill values deeply rooted in our Catholic faith, fostering the growth of compassionate and responsible individuals. Each month, we highlight a specific virtue that reflects essential aspects of our faith and moral development.

This is the second year of our Diocesan-wide character development and education program, designed to help form disciples of Christ who live to serve others. Each month, teachers nominate students from each grade who they feel best demonstrate the character trait or virtue of the month. We are proud to recognize these students and their exemplary behavior.

Let us join together in celebrating the remarkable character and virtue displayed by our students.

• Welcoming: Being friendly and kind to everyone, making sure everyone feels included, just as Jesus did.

• Sportsmanship: Playing fair, respecting others, and handling both winning and losing with grace, following Jesus' teachings of respect and humility.

• Service: Helping others and giving your time to improve the community, inspired by Jesus' example of serving others.

• Appreciation: Being thankful and showing gratitude, as our faith reminds us to thank God and appreciate those around us.

• Determination: Working hard and persevering through challenges, like saints and faithful people who trusted in God.

• Inclusion: Ensuring everyone feels valued and part of the group, recognizing that everyone is made in God's image.

• Sacrifice: Giving up something to help others, following Jesus' example of the greatest sacrifice.

• Problem Solving: Finding ways to overcome challenges with God's help and wisdom.

• Optimism: Staying positive and looking for the good in every situation, trusting in God's goodness.

• Joy: Spreading happiness and enjoying life's moments, finding joy in God's love and in our daily lives.

This evening, we will be hosting our 2nd annual Diocesan Award Ceremony, where Bishop Michael Fisher will celebrate Mass, followed by the ceremony at St. Amelia Church. In addition, we will honor the 3 teachers who were selected to receive the Golden Apple Award for teachers who demonstrate excellence in teaching while modeling the Catholic faith. Let us celebrate the outstanding character and virtue displayed by our students and teachers throughout the year.

It’s that time of year where Erie 1 Boces is looking for each school to complete their school setup page and return it to either jdominguez@e1b.org or aknavel@e1b.org.

All STAR testing must be completed within the window of May 20 - June 10. No exceptions.

The Character Virtue for June is Joy. Please submit your names here by June 14th.

Our calendar for the 2024-2025 year is ready, but is subject to change as the year progresses.

Here are the results from our Diocesan Track Meet held at St. Francis High School last week:

Monday, May 20th:

Overall winner: Notre Dame Academy, Buffalo

Boys top 4:

1. Notre Dame Academy, Buffalo

2. St. John Vianney, Orchard Park

3. St. Benedict, Amherst

4. Northern Chautauqua, Dunkirk

Girls top 4:

1. Notre Dame Academy, Buffalo

2. St. John Vianney, Orchard Park

3. Immaculate Conception, East Aurora

4. St. Benedict, Amherst

Tuesday, May 21st:

Overall winner: Nativity of Our Lord, Orchard Park

Boys top 4:

1. Nativity of Our Lord, Orchard Park

2.St. Joseph University, Buffalo

3. St. Peter, Lewiston

4. Queen of Heaven, West Seneca

Girls top 4: