TS Gold Instructions
Be sure to finalize checkpoints for all children in all 38 objectives! (An article about how to finalize is attached.) When you have finalized all areas for all children, the bars in the Assessment Status report (look in the Reports tab) will appear green.
No child reports need to be printed or sent to our district, as we access these electronically. However, please be sure that your funding sources for each child are accurate or they may not appear on our reports. For teachers or to share with families, the Development and Learning Report may be most helpful.
Documentation can also be printed to share with families. Documentation may be maintained in a separate child portfolio, though uploading it to TS Gold is recommended by the state. At least two pieces of evidence for each indicator is also recommended. This evidence may be photos, videos, observation notes, child work, checklists, or other assessment/observation data you have collected this fall. One piece of evidence may be used for multiple indicators if appropriate.
Additional information related to TS Gold and annual set-up is included below. TS Gold also has a Support Portal here.
TS Gold Quick Guide:
Renew your license, check sites, and assign portfolios: Be sure that if you are setting up your license for the first time you are under the Vermont umbrella. The cost/portfolio is $13.55 this school year. Make sure you have the correct number of portfolios assigned to each classroom/site. When you set up your TS Gold license, please ensure that your site name(s) is listed as named in your CDD child care BFIS account, and not listed as “default”. If you need to change your site name, you can edit site details.
Check your users: If you have had any staff changes, you may need to add users to the system, add co-teachers to a classroom, or change teachers to new classes. Be sure to also delete or disable old accounts. Staff who have left a program should NOT have any access to protected student information. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.
Archive children: Children who have moved on should be archived, not deleted, within the system, and their records maintained for at least three years. Vermont programs have access to unlimited archives in TS Gold; contact TS Gold if it appears you have run out of archive space.
Transfer children: If a child left your program to attend another PreK program, the TS Gold portfolio should be transferred. Vermont GOLD® Transfer Form needs to be signed by the sending program, receiving program, and parent and the release is then sent to the state. Contact me if you are not sure of how to reach the other program.
Add children: For step-by-step instructions on adding children, please see this tutorial AND be aware that there are some Vermont-specific items to check for each child:
Children's Names: Please use each child’s full legal name, NOT a nickname, when enrolling them in TS Gold; this helps the state and district match the children’s assessment results to the correct student.
Funding Sources: It is extremely important that you accurately list the funding sources for all PreK children, especially SU/SD counting this child in ADM and Town of Residence. A list of funding sources is included below for your convenience. To manage funding sources for multiple children at once, see this tutorial.
Home Language Survey: TSG's Home Language Survey should be completed for all children whose families report that a language other than English is spoken in the home and any child whose first language was not English, including children adopted from a foreign country. For children whose first language is not English, send the completed Home Language Survey to Meg Baker at the district of residence (with name and birthdate clearly marked!). Here is a tutorial on how to complete the Home Language Survey as an administrator.
Train staff: The interrater reliability trainings should be completed by ALL staff who are entering documentation or checkpoint ratings, regardless of how long they have been doing assessment or teaching. TS Gold has discontinued their other free online courses unless you had previously started them or join their members platform.
Enter documentation: Documentation may be maintained in a separate child portfolio as opposed to uploaded to TS Gold, though adding it to TS Gold is recommended. No specific amount of documentation for each indicator is currently required by our contracts, but two pieces of evidence is recommended.
Twice yearly checkpoint dates: Addison County districts use the Agency of Education checkpoint dates. Checkpoints must be completed for Fall and Spring using all 38 objectives. No reports need to be printed or sent to our district, as we access these electronically. Be sure to finalize checkpoints for all children.
FUNDING SOURCES:
SU/SD counting this child in ADM: Only PreK children should be counted here, not infants or toddlers. TS Gold has not updated all SU/SD names, so here is your key to SU/SD based on child’s town of residence:
Addison Central SU: Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham, Weybridge.
Addison Northwest SU: Addison, Ferrisburgh, Panton, Waltham, Vergennes.
Mt. Abraham USD (note: NOT Addison Northeast SU): Bristol, Lincoln, Monkton, New Haven, Starksboro.
Race and Ethnicity: Must be self-reported - see PreK application for this info
Town of Residence: According to what is listed on the child's PreK application. Please know that mailing addresses are often different than town of residence. Be sure to update this field if a child moves!
Pre-K: Only children who are receiving tuition dollars from the schools.
Head Start: Children receiving Head Start services.
Child Care and Development Block Grant: This is Child Care Financial Assistance or subsidy.
Private: Tuition from families or scholarships.
TANF: Reach Up funding
Part B Section 619/ Part C Early Intervention: Indicates child receives special education services through IDEA. Part B covers children ages 3-21, while Part C covers children from birth to their 3rd birthday.
Free and Reduced Lunch: Children who are migrant, homeless, in state custody, receiving 3 Squares or Reach Up are automatically eligible for free lunch. Children who have a household member such as a sibling receiving FRL are eligible for free or reduced lunch status at the same rate as their household member. Other children may be eligible based on income guidelines. If you offer CCFAP or a school lunch program, you may use the FRL information from that application to inform this section. PreK applications may help identify other children who are eligible also.
STATE LEVEL GUIDANCE: Please contact Leslie Freedman, UPK Monitoring and Assessment Coordinator at leslie.freedman@vermont.gov if further clarification or information is needed.
Please let me know if I can provide any assistance to you or your program as you complete this process.
