Graduation and Dropout Application Rollout Workshop Announcement

This message comes from our member, John Petitto, Avondale HS:

This is an announcement for the new graduation and dropout application training workshop to be conducted by the MPAAA and CEPI. Building administrators need to be aware of the changes in the report, the processing of information, and the subsequent audit requirements. THIS IS ALL NEW.

MPAAA members:

As most of you are (hopefully) aware, CEPI has spent several years in the
process of converting our graduation and dropout rate calculations from the old 1-year-at-a-time approach, to the new 4-year cohort.

The culmination of that process, CEPI's new GAD application, is currently
planned to be available to users for finalizing our 2006/07 rates starting April 1, through the audit process set to end at the end of May.

What you may not know is that the new application will require you to adjust your data 1 student at a time, and that there will be an auditing process tied to this data where you will need to provide some type of documentation to back up your changes. This audit process is still being finalized, but is expected to involve coordination between LEAs, ISD auditors, and CEPI staff.

Because of the newness of this approach, and the short timelines involved (4 weeks for initial LEA input, 4 weeks for auditing), The Board of MPAAA felt we needed to give our members the opportunity to see this application in a training setting before they are required to start using it.

Consequently, MPAAA is hosting two training workshops where MPAAA members, along with MDE and CEPI staff, will show you the new application, take you through its use, and discuss all the new documentation and audit requirements.

The Lansing workshop will be held on Friday, April 4, at the Holiday Inn South in Lansing. On Monday, April 7, The workshop will be repeated at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. Both sessions will run from10 AM - 3:30 PM to allow most attendees to drive in, and back, in 1 day. We do realize that this is during some school District's spring break, but the Board felt that waiting until Mid-April, when all spring breaks were over, would not give users enough time with the application before the LEA input stage closed on April 30.

More information on the workshops, and a copy of the registration form can be found on the MPAAA website. Because these workshops are being organized rather quickly, we will be unable to mail out paper registration materials.

To see more information on the Lansing workshop, click on: www.mpaaa.org/Conference/S08/S08_GAD_WrkShp_Lans.pdf

For more information on the Marquette workshop, click on: www.mpaaa.org/Conference/S08/S08_GAD_WrkShp_Marq.pdf

If you have any questions, please call or Email Rob Dickinson, MPAAA Membership Chair at 616.819.2085, or dickinsonr@grps.k12.mi.us

This workshop is open to all who wish to attend, MPAAA members and non-members alike. Please feel free to share this information with anyone in your organization who may benefit from attending this workshop. I hope to see you
there!

Rob Dickinson
Pupil Accounting Coordinator
Grand Rapids Public Schools
616.819.2085
616.819.3350 fax
dickinsonr@grps.k12.mi.us