The Frequently Asked Questions and answers below provide information to schools, districts and educational organizations both in Missouri and nationally. Items specific to Missouri are identified as such and are included to alleviate the need to duplicate material unnecessarily.
The term “eMINTS staff” refers to individuals directly employed by the eMINTS National Center and to individuals who are under contract with the eMINTS National Center as consultants or sub-contractors for the purpose of delivering eMINTS professional development programs.
The term “certified eMINTS Instructional Specialist employed by the participant’s organization” refers to individuals who have successfully completed the certification process included in the Professional Development for Educational Technology Specialists (PD4ETS) program and who are employed by the same organization (external to eMINTS) with which the participant is affiliated.
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Q. What is the purpose of eMINTS4Administrators?
A. eMINTS4Administrators is an important program component in school-wide or
district-wide implementations of the eMINTS instructional model and is required for all principals in buildings adding eMINTS classrooms. The purpose
of eMINTS4Administrators is to support building- and district-level administrators
in their leadership roles specific to implementation of the eMINTS instructional
model. eMINTS4Administrators provides key knowledge about the eMINTS instructional
model and program implementation. It helps administrators to effectively lead
school- or district-based teams in the development of the vision, goals, objectives
and action plan needed to effectively implement eMINTS.
Q. What are the benefits to participating administrators?
A. The primary benefit to participating administrators is the likelihood that students will achieve at higher levels when professional educators work together in mutual support of program goals.
- Participation on a special eMINTS discussion list devoted to administrators.
- Access to electronic updates providing valuable information such as grant funding, conferences beneficial to administrators and other news related to education technology at the state and national level.
- Access to online tools to support administrative leadership.
- Copies of applicable eMINTS professional development materials.
Q. What professional development program activities are included in eMINTS4Administrators?
A. The activities are delivered by eMINTS staff and selected consultants. eMINTS4Administrators begins
with a one-day face-to-face program that features information about eMINTS
program requirements; leadership styles and their relationship to the implementation
of eMINTS; and an introduction to online activities that will follow the day-long
face-to-face session.
School Year – Participants engage in two online webinars (about 1 hour each) that include:
- Updates on eMINTS professional development for teachers
- Tips for managing eMINTS classrooms
- Discussions of the “look fors” used in the on-site walk-through process
- Updates on how to find and secure funding for eMINTS classrooms
- Discussions about engaging parents and community members in eMINTS
Winter through Spring – Day-long on–site visit to school by eMINTS staff or consultant intended to support further implementation of the eMINTS instructional model in classrooms with a focus on supporting teachers, observing best practices in eMINTS implementations and meshing eMINTS with other school improvement initiatives.
Spring - Culminating online webinar to summarize school year, prepare for next school year and answer questions about overall eMINTS implementation process
Q. What content is taught to participants in eMINTS4Administrators?
A. The content taught throughout the year-long experience includes the following topics:
- What is the eMINTS Instructional Model?
- Constructivism and Inquiry-Based Teaching
- Collaboration and Communication for Leaders
- Supervising and Evaluating eMINTS Teachers
- Case Studies of Successful eMINTS Implementations
Q. Is eMINTS4Administrators available in all locations in Missouri and nationally?
A. eMINTS4Administrators delivered by eMINTS staff is available in Missouri depending
on staff capacity and an adequate number of participants in a particular
geographic region of the state. eMINTS4Administrators is available only to
groups of 10 or more participants with a limit of 25 participants per cohort
group.
eMINTS4Administrators is available nationally (in states outside of Missouri). Day-long face-to-face sessions are conducted via video teleconferencing.
Q. How are dates and locations for eMINTS4Administrators face-to-face sessions established?
A.
The first day-long face-to-face session generally is held in early autumn in a centrally located geographic location based on the districts involved. Online webinar sessions typically are scheduled during the day-long session and also are recorded so participants may listen at their convenience. The day-long site visit takes approximately two hours of preparation and four to six hours to complete the walk-through. The culminating online session generally is held in May at a time mutually agreed upon by the districts involved.
Q. What are the attendance requirements for eMINTS4Administrators? Can missed sessions be made up?
A. Participants in eMINTS4Administrators are expected to attend all scheduled sessions. Participating schools and districts are expected to demonstrate program support by allowing participants in eMINTS professional development programs sufficient flexibility to attend professional development sessions and refrain from imposing additional duties that create undue hardship on participants’ ability to meet attendance requirements.
Participants are expected to attend the full-day face-to-face session and to be present for the complete on-site walk-through with eMINTS staff or consultant. Webinars are recorded and may be listened to at participants’ convenience if there is a time conflict.
Make-up sessions for day-long face-to-face session is not available. In the event of inclement weather or school closings that cause cancellation of on-site walk-throughs, the on-site visit will be re-scheduled.
Q. Who is eligible to apply for participation in eMINTS4Administrators?
A. Schools or districts seeking to establish the eMINTS instructional model in
their settings may apply for slots in the eMINTS4Administrators program. The
program is also available to administrators in schools and districts where the
program is already established. It may be a helpful program for administrators
who are new to schools or districts with established eMINTS implementations.
Q. Are private, independent and charter schools eligible to apply for eMINTS4Administrators?
A. Yes. Private and independent schools as well as charter schools are eligible to apply for slots in eMINTS4Administrators under the same guidelines as public schools.
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Q. Is it possible for an administrator to participate in eMINTS4Administrators
on his or her own without school or district involvement?
A. A goal of eMINTS National Center programs is the development of a professional learning community within a school leading to school-wide renewal and improvement. Development of a professional learning community within a school may be facilitated by the participation of school or district administrators in eMINTS4Administrators as a prelude to the school’s or district’s participation.
Q. What is the cost for participating in eMINTS4Administrators?
A. The costs are outlined in the description of eMINTS professional development programs
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Q. What sources of support are available to pay the participation
costs for eMINTS4Administrators?
A. Please note: the eMINTS National Center does not provide funds to teachers, schools, districts or other educational organizations interested in implementing the eMINTS instructional model. Schools, districts and other educational organizations may fund equipment, software and/or eMINTS professional development programs using the following sources of funds:
- Funding portal
- Title I (note: some states have specific regulations regarding equipment purchase).
- Titles II.A
- Title IV
- Title V,
- Title VI
- Local Professional Development and At-Risk funds
- Foundations – see reliable sources such as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
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Q. How many administrators from a school or district can apply for eMINTS4Administrators?
A. Schools or districts may apply for as many slots in eMINTS4Administrators
as can be justified in the program application and for whom the school or district
will pay participation fees. eMINTS4Administrators is available only to groups
of 10 or more participants with a limit of 25 participants per cohort group.
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Q. What requirements must participants in eMINTS4Administrators meet?
A. The school or district and participants must complete and meet all requirements stipulated in the eMINTS Professional Development application and accompanying FAQ. Participants are expected to attend all professional development sessions and participate in online activities.
Q. When are applications for eMINTS4Administrators due? Where
should it be sent? When will notification of acceptance be provided?
A. Find information
and applications for eMINTS program services.
Q. Can a school or district send other individuals
to audit eMINTs4Administrators face-to-face sessions or share access to
online activities with others?
A.
No. It is not possible for individuals to audit eMINTS professional development
programs. Requests to visit eMINTS programs delivered by eMINTS staff must be
cleared in advance with the eMINTS National Center office. Participants may not
share access to online activities with non-participants.
Q.
What if a participant in eMINTS4Administrators leaves before completing the program?
Will schools or districts be reimbursed for unused portions?
A.
Schools or districts will not be reimbursed for unused portions of eMINTS4Administrators.
Because of the nature of the professional development program sequence, schools
or districts may substitute another individual if the original applicant is unable
to complete the program after the first face-to-face session has been held. Substitutions
are not allowed after that time.
Q. What is a participating school or district
required to provide for participants in eMINTs4Administrators?
A. Participants in eMINTS4Administrators need access to an Internet-connected computer (laptop or desktop) that meets minimal system requirements for use in the online webinar portion of the program. It is not necessary for participants to bring laptops to the face-to-face session unless they wish to bring computers.
