Free and Reduced Training

5/16/13 Thursday Update

Dear Districts,

Free and Reduced Training If you have not already signed up for a regional training, there are still spots left in Grand Junction (7/18), Alamosa (8/7), and La Junta (8/8). If you are electing to take the online training, don’t forget that the deadline is Friday 9 August. At least one staff person per SFA must complete the training. For more information, please see http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdenutritran/nutriF&R-Training.htm.

Direct Certification for 13-14 In the Thursday Update on 4/25, we announced some changes that will be coming this year for Direct Cert. We wanted to send out another announcement about the new due dates for the four required uploads. The first deadline is no later than 4 weeks before school starts—or, if personnel are not available during the summer, at least by the day before F&R applications could start being received by the district—but no later than 8/26. The second upload must be completed from mid-October to 31 October; the third, from mid-November to mid-December; and the fourth, from mid-February to mid- March. Stay tuned for further information.

Breakfast Webinar: Update on the School Breakfast Program Requirements  Summary: During this one hour webinar, the CDE OSN will review the changes for the School Breakfast Program effective July 2013.  When: 05/29/2013 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM MST.  To join the meeting: http://connect.enetcolorado.org/r656tp249ms/  If you have never attended an Adobe Connect meeting before, test your connection: http://connect.enetcolorado.org/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm and get a quick overview: http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html.

Breakfast After the Bell Legislation The Breakfast After the Bell bill was signed this week by the governor. This bill creates the "Breakfast After the Bell Nutrition Program,” which requires every school with 80% or more students eligible for free or reduced price lunch to offer a free breakfast to each student in the school, beginning in school year 14-15. (In 15-16, the percentage changes to 70%.) Individual schools may select a method and time to offer the breakfast, so long as it occurs after the first bell of the school day. Exemptions are made for small rural school districts (with a student population less than 1,000) and for public and charter schools that do not currently participate in the National School Lunch Program. The OSN will be working with the State Board of Education over the next several months to develop guidance on this new program, and, of course, we will be keeping everyone apprised of these developments.

Open Positions in the OSN We have two open positions, vacated by Jeanne Aiello and Katie Jackson. Further information can be found at http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdemgmt/HR/jobs.htm. The deadline to apply is Friday 24 May.

Colorado Proud School Meal Day Mark Your Calendars! The 2013 Colorado Proud School Meal Day will be Wednesday September 18! A great way to recognize this day is to include local ingredients on your menus and to educate schoolchildren about Colorado agriculture. More information will be available soon at www.coloradoproud.org.

Hats Off! Thompson Schools’ Tammie Rempe won the region's “Outstanding Director of the Year Award” from the School Nutrition Association. Be sure to read all about it at http://www.reporterherald.com/news/loveland-local-news/ci_23235307/thompson-school-districts- tammie-rempe-wins-national-award. Great job, Tammie!

Reminders Just a few reminders about some important upcoming deadlines & events.  Directors’ Conference Survey: Thank you to everyone who has already provided feedback for 2014’s conference. If you have not already done so, please take a few minutes to answer 11 brief survey questions by 24 May, which can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RWFQJJY.  Free & Reduced Annual Mandatory Training (must be completed by at least one staff person from each district)  Regional Option: There is still a lot of space at the La Junta, Alamosa, & Grand Junction trainings! Please note that the Colorado Springs and Fort Morgan trainings are full.  Online Option: The deadline for completion is Friday 9 August.  Info: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdenutritran/nutriF&R-Training.htm  Free & Reduced Application Checklist—Any SFAs making changes to the CDE prototype application, instructions, and letter to parents must submit this checklist to CDE by 31 May. The checklist is in the F&R packet posted at http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdenutritran/nutriformsbook.htm.  2013 CSNA Summer Conference & Exhibit, 17-19 June: We hope to see everyone at this conference (which is combined with the CDE summer workshop) in Denver this summer! Full details & registration info can be found at https://colosna.com/summer-conference-2013.php.  New Directors’ Orientation, 22-26 July, in Aurora: Registration is still open for this orientation for all new food service directors. To reserve your spot and for more info, visit http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdenutritran/nutridirector.htm.  Paid Lunch Equity Tool: Due by 31 August. http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdenutritran/nutriPaidLunchEquity.htm.

Certified! Congratulations to the following district that was certified during this past week for compliance with the new meal patterns: Primero. Spectacular work! Flash drives received: 183 out of 184 (99.46%). Thank you,

Jennifer

~Thursday Updates (TU) are brought to you by the CDE Office of School Nutrition (OSN) & are provided to Main Nutrition Contacts, F&R Contacts, Certification Contacts, Claim System Users, & our additional TU List.~  If today’s TU contains information pertinent to a different staff person in your district, please forward this information to that person. | To access the TU archives, click here.