District/School Administration  Information Services  Data Collection  SIMS 
SIMS 2007–2008 Schedule

* - Reports are posted to the SIMS Reports application on the Security Portal

ESE General Communications to Districts and Charter Schools:

The majority of the communications regarding the SIMS data will be sent via email to District personnel. ESE staff will utilize the email addresses that are in Directory Administration.

• Email to SIMS contact and superintendent/charter school leader in all districts when SIMS window opens.
• Email reminder one week before due date to SIMS contact and superintendent/charter school Leader in any district not yet submitted.
• Email sent day after due date to superintendent/charter school leader in any district who has neither submitted nor requested an extension. Follow up with phone calls.
• Email and phone calls to superintendent/charter school leader in any district that does not submit by extended due date.

Extensions on Due Date

A district may request an extension to a submission deadline at any point prior to the stated deadline. The process for requesting an extension is:

• The superintendent/charter school leader must send a letter to the Commissioner stating the reason for the delay. The letter must be signed by the superintendent/charter school leader.
• The letter should be faxed to 781-338-6850.
• Department staff will inform via email the superintendent/charter school leader of the Commissioner's decision.

Summary Reports & Data Review

District staff should review all of the summary reports that are provided by the ESE after the SIMS data are received. Department staff, including staff from Data Services, the School Finance Office, and the Charter School Office, will review all data submitted by districts. ESE staff will communicate questions and concerns regarding the data to the superintendent/charter school leader and SIMS contact. ESE staff may not identify all data errors, however. Ultimately, it is the district's responsibility to ensure that the data submitted are accurate. For an explanation of the reports provided, please see the Explanation of SIMS SummaryReports.

Duplicate Student Resolution

If two or more districts report the same student as being enrolled or out-placed on the same reporting date, the student will be included on the Duplicate Student application back to the district. District staff must investigate each student listed in the report and update. Changes must be made within the reporting period Edit window. If a district has not responded to Department staff by the deadline in which to edit data, all students for that particular district will be changed to transferred to remove the duplication. For more information on this process, please see http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/sims/duplicate_student.html.

Analysis Reports

Several analysis reports will be posted by December 20th. Each report is located within the ESE security portal and is accessible by staff with the SIMS Transmission security role.

Superintendent Data Certification Sheet

When the district data are final, the duplicates have been resolved and the edits are complete, the data certification sheet must be downloaded from the dropbox, signed by the superintendent/charter school leader, and mailed or faxed to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. A sample sheet is included in the dropbox for the particular data collection period.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Data Collection
350 Main St., Malden, MA 02148
Attn: Helene Bettencourt
Fax: 781-338-6850