Spring Dibels Day – 5/14*/20 (*Revised as of 1/13/20)
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20.
Greene/Cross 2nd graders = Monday 3/9 11:30-12:30
Howard/Therrian 2nd graders – Tuesday 3/10 11:30-12:30 (please let me know if there is a problem with this time.)
Resinger (Page) – Wednesday 3/11 11:30-12:30 (Let me know if this will work)
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
2020-2021 Classroom Grant Funding Program Is Now Open!
The Education Foundation for Bend-La Pine Schools’ Classroom Grants Application for K-12 educators for the 2020-2021 academic year opened Monday, February 10, 2020. Public school educators and principals may submit their request using the simple 2 page pdf fillable application form (online at our website and attached). Information about the grant process is also attached to guide you in preparing and submitting a grant. Grant applications must be submitted no later than Friday, March 16, 2020. The grant application process is open to all educators in Bend, La Pine and Sunriver.
Once determinations are made, funded grants will be awarded in May 2020.
Questions can be directed to Michelle Johnson, Executive Director, Education Foundation at:[email protected] or (541) 355-5660 or to Angie Cole, Allocations Committee Chair at: [email protected] or (541) 318-3794. Requests for STEM, art, music & wellness projects will be accepted during the dates indicated and must complete all necessary forms for consideration. The Education Foundation will also offer a “Back to School” Classroom Grant opportunity in September 2020 (for funding of needs in that academic year). This will be the 2nd year of funding opportunities for K-12 educators, and is dependent on available funds. Please consider carefully the amount you are requesting is the actual amount needed. Directions on how to fill out a pdf form can be found here: https://www.wikihow.com/Type-on-a-PDF
PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR COMPLETED APPLICATION TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS! SEND IT TO “[email protected]”
In the 2019-2020 academic year, the Education Foundation funded over $100,000 in classroom grants — it’s highest award in 31 years of service to the K-12 educational community. To learn more, visit www.engagedminds.org
Thank you! Angie Cole, Allocations Chair, and Michelle Johnson, Executive Director
While graffiti really does bother me, I have to allow myself a little chuckle when it reads, “I love My Mom”.
Recess Supervision Tips – Sorry to point this out, but I am noticing that our supervision is tending to bunch up and become more stationary than best practices call for. Be sure to spread out, move around and make those positive contacts with students in a variety of areas on the playground. Visit that big tree often, so kids know you see them there. Try to be present with some of the more contentious games such as football and ga-ga. If you feel like the game is getting tense, then throw in a little positive interference with their game. Ask questions like the following; Is everyone clear on the rule? Is this a disagreement…how can it be resolved quickly and easily? (rock, paper, scissors maybe?). Sometimes you may need to impose your own ruling to get them to move on, but when you can facilitate their own problem-solving you make a stronger student and a stronger positive culture. Thanks so much for your work out there!
2020-2021 Master Schedule – After some more discussion during the most recent leadership meeting, it was asked that we explore some changes to address a few grade-level specific issues, however if the changes can’t be confined to that grade level, we may need to bring a committee together to explore revising the schedule. Stay tuned.
Sites & Facilities Survey Update – I met with Mike Tiller and Angus Eastwood today to go through our list of site improvements. The next step is the official formation of a district sites & facilities committee in the fall. That committee will go through all the schools’ lists to generate the highest priorities to be placed on the next bond measure (I believe in 2022). My understanding is the last cycle of this process produced over 800 projects district-wide to be considered, so it’s important that everyone manage their expectations and remain patient. There will be a few minor items that I will pursue through other channels, but I don’t have any specific timelines yet.
Ice Packs – To ice or not to ice? Let’s go with “not ice”…. I am going to ask everyone to reduce how frequently we send students to the office for ice packs. The first reason we want to use as a justification is the use of the plastic bags. For sanitary reasons, we have to throw-away and replace every plastic bag each time these are used (that’s a lot of single-use plastic going to landfill for a placebo). The other reason is I would like to reduce how frequently we sending perfectly healthy students into a tiny room with students who might actually be sick. If you feel the need is legitimate, just please send them with one of those yellow notes but if at all possible please find a way to encourage the student to go without the trip the nurse’s station.
Minis – Next week I will be really focused on cranking out some mini-observations and I for sure need your help. If you can try to make time for me on the same day I am in your classroom or the next day, I would really appreciate it so we can have that follow up conversation.
SBAC Draft Testing Schedule – ⅔ and ⅘ teachers please open this soon and examine; you will have editing rights when you open it. This is a collective work in progress. Please feel free to modify to fit your grade level or individual needs. I’ve overlayed some of the all-school storyline field trips and incidents.
Quick Reminder regarding SBAC Opt Out communication
In all communication related to opt-outs it is critical that parents are engaged in the communication and that non-adult students are not subjected to undue influence by educators or staff during working hours. Principals need to ensure all staff understand what types of communication has been deemed inappropriate by the state. Inappropriate communication would include:
Making repeated announcements to non-adult students (e.g., over school intercom systems, assemblies) during working hours reminding students to pick up ODE’s opt-out form
Initiating a discussion of ODE’s opt-out form or process with non-adult students during working hours
Repeatedly reminding non-adult students to submit ODE’s opt-out form during working hours
Encouraging students to submit ODE’s opt-out form during working hours
All student opt-outs again need to be entered into the district’s Google form for tracking opt-outs.
The opt-out forms apply only to ELA and Math. Exemptions for all other state assessments require parents to submit a written request based on disability or religion.
Spring Dibels Day – 5/14*/20 (*Revised as of 1/13/20)
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20.
Greene/Cross 2nd graders = Monday 3/9 11:30-12:30
Howard/Therrian 2nd graders – Tuesday 3/10 11:30-12:30 (please let me know if there is a problem with this time.)
Resinger (Page) – Wednesday 3/11 11:30-12:30 (Let me know if this will work)
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
Resiliency Survey- survey occurs on March 4th. This will be similar to the Dibels day when we have a team come in to help us administer the survey. We will be sending a letter out to families and there will likely be a couple families opting out.
2020-2021 Classroom Grant Funding Program Is Now Open!
The Education Foundation for Bend-La Pine Schools’ Classroom Grants Application for K-12 educators for the 2020-2021 academic year opened Monday, February 10, 2020. Public school educators and principals may submit their request using the simple 2 page pdf fillable application form (online at our website and attached). Information about the grant process is also attached to guide you in preparing and submitting a grant. Grant applications must be submitted no later than Friday, March 16, 2020. The grant application process is open to all educators in Bend, La Pine and Sunriver.
Once determinations are made, funded grants will be awarded in May 2020.
Questions can be directed to Michelle Johnson, Executive Director, Education Foundation at:[email protected] or (541) 355-5660 or to Angie Cole, Allocations Committee Chair at: [email protected] or (541) 318-3794. Requests for STEM, art, music & wellness projects will be accepted during the dates indicated and must complete all necessary forms for consideration. The Education Foundation will also offer a “Back to School” Classroom Grant opportunity in September 2020 (for funding of needs in that academic year). This will be the 2nd year of funding opportunities for K-12 educators, and is dependent on available funds. Please consider carefully the amount you are requesting is the actual amount needed. Directions on how to fill out a pdf form can be found here: https://www.wikihow.com/Type-on-a-PDF
PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR COMPLETED APPLICATION TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS! SEND IT TO “[email protected]”
In the 2019-2020 academic year, the Education Foundation funded over $100,000 in classroom grants — it’s highest award in 31 years of service to the K-12 educational community. To learn more, visit www.engagedminds.org
Thank you! Angie Cole, Allocations Chair, and Michelle Johnson, Executive Director
6! Six is the number of times I have walked out my office door straight into Shawna (Sory Shawna)….still working on getting used to the new office layout. Change is hard…especially when you hit your toes on those chair wheels!
MAC Day – Monday 2/24
Message from Eileen: Our Winter MAC survey day is scheduled for next Monday, February 24th. This is the day that your work with our students around any medical, mental health, dental, vision, substance abuse or connections to OHP can generate funds for our district. Please start thinking about any students that may need these connections or have had these connections, but need to be followed up on. More, lots more, tons more, you’ll be so tired of hearing about MAC more, later.
Welcome, Shahayla Evans!
Please join me in welcoming Shahayla Evans to our team. Shahayla will be leaving us for awhile to have her baby at some point in the spring, but we look forward to her being a part of the Highland family upon her return. Be sure to go downstairs and introduce yourself when you get an opportunity.
SIW and Staff Meetings
I made some adjustments to the staff meeting times so they did not fall on the Storyline SIWs. These are reflected on the master schedule document and calendar. The good news for those of you who prefer consistency is we are starting at 1:30 every Wednesday through the end of the year. I also need to point out that this format creates a long gap due to conferences, vacations, etc between meetings (similar to the gap in the fall). As always, I reserve the right to cancel if there is no pressing need to meet and give you that time back. If you feel there is something that needs to be on a staff meeting agenda, be sure to let me know.
Sibling Conferences – Due to this long gap we will not have a staff meeting at an ideal time to schedule sibling conferences. My suggestion is that you use some of the individual teacher prep day on Wednesday 3/18 to accomplish this task with each other. If anyone has a better idea, let me know, but if I don’t hear from anyone this will be our plan.
BrainPOP – Thanks to Cami and Evette Nishikawa our BrainPOP is back, baby! The account is reactivated for free for the rest of the year. Evette is working with the district and the hope is that this resource might get included in our apps next year, but for now, you have continued access for the remainder of the year. If you would like to meet with Evette and get a quick refresher, let me know and we’ll do our best to find the time to make this happen.
Core Effectiveness Meetings – thank you for taking the time on Tuesday to work on the core effectiveness documents. I did a quick read-through on each of them for my own learning. The following thoughts came to mind that I would like to share with the whole group;
Don’t skip the celebrations. When you think of a graph of Performance versus Growth, our students are all in that upper-right quadrant with high performance and high growth.
Keep the focus on the whole group. What’s working for everyone (students)? And what needs to be tweaked in order to work smarter, not harder? EBISS will focus on the interventions for the at-risk students, but this process is about what is working on a global scale.
Be sure you share strategies that work. This is really your only apples-to-apples comparison between your classes. If one of you is struggling ask what your teammates are doing differently. If one of you is feeling particularly successful with a particular strategy, then share. It’s not a competition between classes, it’s a method to improve learning for the entire grade level. (I know you are pretty good at this, but just in case you need a little prompting….)
Keep it simple and short. I did not use SIW time for these meetings for the very specific purpose of imposing a time limit. Don’t dwell on things too much. You have the skills and you are surrounded by supportive colleagues and you are already doing great work. If we use this process well, it will provide a support system for new team members in the future or some of those particularly challenging groups of students who come through from time to time.
Learning is not a finite game. There is no finish line; in fact, the finish line keeps moving away. Because of this, it is often difficult to feel like you are “winning”, but if our job could ever be simplified to a win versus lose paradigm, know that you won. Even on the roughest day of the school year, you already won the moment you stepped out of bed to come here. Every now and then throw your arms up in the air (like you just don’t care) and claim it – you deserve it!
These meetings and the documents will be a topic at a future leadership meeting, so if you have some suggestions pass them along to your rep.
2020-2021 Master Schedule – Most feedback/questions/concerns with the schedule for next year seem to be centered on reading intervention timing. There might be some potential changes to intervention times for some, but this can likely be accomplished without major changes to the overall schedule. I have not heard from every grade level yet, so reps please be sure to check in with me if you have not already.
Spring Dibels Day – 5/14*/20 (*Revised as of 1/13/20)
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20. Letters went out to all families this week.
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
Resiliency Survey- survey occurs on March 4th. This will be similar to the Dibels day when we have a team come in to help us administer the survey. We will be sending a letter out to families and there will likely be a couple families opting out.
Exploring Bias
I am including this article summary in the interest of growth and learning (and it reminded me of the Taking It Up training provided each year). Bias in schools is incredibly difficult to address. The Taking It Up training provided by our district each year tackles this subject with racial bias first, because it tends to be the most difficult to address, however, similar messages apply to gender, culture, socioeconomic status, etc. It’s good to read, reflect and talk about it. It’s difficult, but it is incredibly necessary. It’s also a mistake to think that because we are not a racially diverse school in terms of skin color, we don’t need to think about it. Please take the time to read this and give it some thought. If you are feeling up to writing a response or asking questions, please feel free to email me. This is totally optional, but I would love to hear from you on this topic – no deadline.
Addressing Unconscious Racial Bias in Schools
In this article in School Administrator, leadership consultant Sarah Fiarman and Tracey Benson (University of North Carolina/Charlotte) share uncomfortable moments they experienced as school leaders. Benson, who is African-American, got pushback from an all-white middle-school staff when he presented data showing stark racial disparities in student achievement. “Are you saying we’re racist?” one educator asked, leading Benson to back off and adopt an indirect approach on racial issues in the school. Fiarman describes avoiding discussions about race and racism as a new principal, worried that she would make a mistake and lose credibility “as a good white person fighting for social justice.”
After leaving school leadership positions and beginning to consult in schools, Fiarman and Benson found that uncomfortable moments like these are quite common. “White people fear being called racist and education leaders fear the consequences of that reaction,” they say. “Most of us are stuck in what we’ve come to understand as a binary view of racism… On one side are racists who are bad people with malicious feelings toward people of color, and on the other side are people with good intentions who are therefore nonracists. Within this bad racist/good nonracist binary mindset, racism is something you can choose to be exempt from.”
But research has established that almost all Americans have unconscious racial bias, say Fiarman and Benson, and it influences daily interactions in schools: “who gets called on or gets probed for deeper thinking, who is chosen for a special job or recommended for honors or pushed to improve further in written and oral responses. Bias also influences who is reprimanded more often and who is denied empathetic listening or a second chance.” These small daily events accumulate over weeks, months, and years, profoundly affecting the experience of students of color and also perpetuating biases in white students.
Understanding the pervasiveness of unconscious bias – often counter to our espoused values – is key to reducing racial disparities in schools, say Fiarman and Benson: “Once educators are freed from defensiveness and realize that no one is questioning their intentions, they can engage in the daily work necessary to ensure students of color are consistently treated fairly and with respect, high expectations, and dignity.” They believe that two high-leverage steps by school leaders can make all the difference:
• Normalizing conversations about race and bias. “Few educators in the United States have experience talking about race and racial bias in mixed-race settings,” say Fiarman and Benson. “Many white people don’t have experience talking about or recognizing the impact of their racial identity at all, and some white people still mistakenly subscribe to a colorblind approach.” Everyone needs practice, and leaders should work to create a safe space for these conversations. One caution: too often educators of color are called on to lead this work, which is unfair and emotionally taxing for them.
• Gathering evidence of impact. Effective school leaders “understand that the issue is not whether racial bias impacts their students but where and how,” say Fiarman and Benson. “As a result, they regularly collect, disaggregate, and analyze data. They model taking responsibility for results by asking, ‘What is the learning experience of students of color in my district? How do I know? What do we need to change in our practice in order to get better results? How will we know whether the change is an improvement?’”
“The Reality of Unconscious Racial Bias” by Sarah Fiarman and Tracey Benson in School Administrator, February 2020 (Vol. 77, #2, pp. 20-25), https://bit.ly/31XxxjU; the authors can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].
2020-2021 Staffing Survey – Please take a moment to complete the following staffing survey. This process is starting a little earlier this year so I need this information by Friday 2/21. I would love to encourage everyone (or more of you) to consider a change of grade level. Each year there are a few people who express interest in changing, but without more people expressing interest or willingness to move, it tends to keep us locked into place. The novelty and challenge that comes with such a change can be extremely beneficial to your individual health as well as the health of our organization. Yes, it can be stressful too, but with the right mindset, stress can be extremely beneficial and I know many of you would be pleasantly surprised by the change. If you have even a hint of interest or curiosity about such a change, please come have a conversation with me. This next year could provide a variety of opportunities for us.
2020-2021 Master Schedule – thank you for taking the time to work with each other on the master schedule input. (I have to point out your input was incredibly positive and reading through the comments was enjoyable, not just to me but the leadership team too.) We looked at the input as a leadership team and determined that there does not appear to be any cause for a full revamping of the schedule. Your next step is to devote some team time to look at your schedule and come up with some potential solutions to any of the issues you identified for your grade level. The hope or expectation is that we might be able to tinker and try solutions within the current confines of the existing schedule.
Secure Vestibule – Construction will start this Friday. Most construction will occur on weekends and after school hours (as late as 2am). The office should be functioning each Monday (or Tuesday) morning for the week. The whole process should be finalized and wrapped up within a 5-week period.
Tuesday – 2:45-3:30 PLC *- 2nd Core Effectiveness Meeting – Winter Documents are linked below. These are copied and pasted from Fall. Winter Dibels data replaces fall and you can edit your responses from earlier in the year.
1:30-3:30 – SIW – All Staff with Culture of Care Team – All Staff are Invited to attend.
*There might be an opportunity to meet with Jen O’Reily to learn more about the spotted frog, so if your team would like to conduct the core effectiveness meeting at a different time, that’s fine – just let me know when.
Upcoming Field Trips:
NONE
Assessments
Spring easyCBM Window – 5/11/20-6/12/20
Spring Dibels Day – 5/14*/20 (*Revised as of 1/13/20)
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
Resiliency Survey- We will once again be administering the Resiliency survey. We are currently scheduled to conduct the survey on March 4th. More info to come later.
Here’s a fun message from a parent at our information session I thought I would share. Thank you Alicia, Marina, Becky and Shawna for doing such a great job representing our team!
Message:
Hi Brian,
My name is Casey Hester. I was on Leslie’s tour yesterday as well as in your informational meeting afterwards. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about Highland. I just wanted to say that you have a wonderful school! The positive energy, the passionate teachers and all of the student driven work was so uplifting to see. I was an educator at a similar school back in Los Angeles and your school brought back my excited feelings regarding education, so thank you! 🙂
Best,
Casey
Secure Vestibule – FYI – It looks like the secure vestibule project will start on Monday 2/17. I will be meeting with the contractor on Monday the 10th to confirm. Let’s hope for a quick and painless remodel.
Tech Discussion – please come prepared to analyze your current use of technology with teaching and learning.
2:00-3:30 – SIW – Storyline
I will be out of town on Thursday and Friday. Lorin will keep her eyes on you!
Upcoming Field Trips:
NONE
Assessments
Spring easyCBM Window – 5/11/20-6/12/20
Spring Dibels Day – 5/14*/20 (*Revised as of 1/13/20)
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
Resiliency Survey- We will once again be administering the Resiliency survey. We are currently scheduled to conduct the survey on March 4th. More info to come later.
Magnet School Guidelines:
I want to share some language from our Magnet School Guidelines that does not match up with past practice, just so you are aware. This was debated fairly in depth and this is where it landed. It’s important for you to know moving forward just in case you have an opportunity to correct a parent’s assumption.
Effective the 2020-21 school year lottery, siblings of current students in 5th and/or 8th grades will not have sibling preference in the lottery process. Sibling preference will only be given to those students who will attend the same Choice Option during the same school year.
From Skip– This might be an event you would like to share with your staff… The Adult Programming team at the Deschutes Public Library is hosting a free program that will cover the inclusion of tribal history in Oregon schools. The event will be held at the East Bend Library on Saturday, March 14th at 3:00 p.m. Here is the link for the event.
This is just one of the messages I received so I thought I would share the love with you….thanks again!
Message:
Dear Brian,
I want to extend my appreciation to you and all your staff regarding Tuesday’s “LockOut” during school hours. As a retired law enforcement officer, I watched the whole thing go down from the “other side of the fence” (civilian) for the first time. I have an extensive background in how this all works on both law enforcement side and working with families during “crisis”. The way you and your team/staff handled this was absolutely professional and flawless from the outsiders perspective. The text chain, to the way you all released the kids and follow up email with reassurance to all families that the children of Highland and their safety was always in complete control of a highly trained staff. We could not be more thankful and grateful for the dedication and commitment to excellence that you and your team continuously exhibit. Please pass along to all our thanks for your professionalism.
Robin and Lauren Brant
Sustainability-Please see message from Jackie Wilson, BLSD Sustainability Coordinator-
Please see information about energy use in the district and where all schools are in the ENERGY STAR ranking across the district. Also included in the update is a link to a survey about energy management. I am hoping to get a few hundred to take the survey and get a better pool of information to work from. The link is here:
SBAC Training Modules – I am sharing these earlier to help us get a jump on preparing for the spring. With the All School Storyline along with all the other fast and furious things we have going on in May, it’s probably a good idea to start thinking about this now. The “Facilitation Guides” are one-page documents with hyperlinked resources that can be very useful in addressing specific questions. I am sorry to ask this of you, but would you please set aside some time to work through this material. I will provide the security affidavits for you to sign in the near future so look for those in your box.
Spring Dibels Day – 5/14*/20 (*Revised as of 1/13/20)
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
Resiliency Survey- We will once again be administering the Resiliency survey. These will begin on February 24. Be on the lookout for scheduling information as support will be coming to your schools to help administer.
*With dibels happening on Monday, I will look into a delayed due date for report cards if everyone feels this is necessary.
SBAC Training Modules – I am sharing these earlier to help us get a jump on preparing for the spring. With the All School Storyline along with all the other fast and furious things we have going on in May, it’s probably a good idea to start thinking about this now. The “Facilitation Guides” are one-page documents with hyperlinked resources that can be very useful in addressing specific questions. I am sorry to ask this of you, but would you please set aside some time to work through this material. I will provide the security affidavits for you to sign in the near future so look for those in your box.
Monday 1/27 – 9:10-11:20 Green to Bend Science Station
Monday 1/27 – 12:00-2:10 Thomas to Bend Science Station
Assembly Change – FYI – We are changing the February Assembly so it is now on the 21st. This will be the culminating event for our Kindness week.
Assessments
Winter easyCBM window – 1/6/20 – 2/7/20
Spring easyCBM Window – 5/11/20-6/12/20
Winter Dibels Day – 2/3/19
Spring Dibels Day – 5/14*/20 (*Revised as of 1/13/20)
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
Special Programs Service Delivery- Please see Sean’s summary of some proposed changes to how special services programming is delivered.
Improvement Science Training- Some of you have heard about or participated in an Improvement Science training in the past year or so. The HDESD is bringing two additional PD opportunities to Central Oregon in the next month. There will be a basic training (Feb. 10), as well as an advanced training (Jan. 31) opportunity. Both are free and will be held at the HDESD. Click on a link to find out more or to register.
Linked here is the updated 2019-2020 TAG List. This list shows students already identified and students who are in our “pipeline” or not yet identified. “Identified” means they have two pieces of evidence. I’ve highlighted in green the new additions to this list based on the list Stephanie Bent sent this week. These are the students who hit the 97th percentile cut off for SBAC last spring (we already identified the majority of the students who were at the 98th and 99th percentile so we are ahead of the game). I’ve highlighted a handful of students in orange because of teacher input (for example, if you think I should give them the Naglieri or you have a strong feeling they will hit the cut-off with SBAC.)
If you have students highlighted in either green (or yellow from last year), then you should be working on gathering evidence for the teacher referral. You do not need to submit all the evidence to me, you simply need to submit the referral. Below are two versions of the same tool. The teacher referral should be used as the second piece of evidence for identification. If you are finding it difficult to “see” that evidence in the classwork, remember this process is primarily set up to identify those students who may not “look” successful with our typical classwork. If they are scoring in the 97th percentile or better they clearly have something strong going on in those brains so our tricky task is to find that next piece of evidence. If we are not moving forward with the identification of a student who already has one piece of evidence we are required to provide an explanation.
Below is the PEP or Personalized Education Plan. These are typically completed after a student is identified and has a purple folder in their cum file. The suggested timeline is to use conferences to develop and revise, however, there might be a need to meet at different times.
If any of this is feeling confusing or overwhelming, please do not hesitate to talk to me. I know sometimes my effort to communicate this material can get wordy, so it’s sometimes much easier to talk it through with me.
2020-2021 Master Schedule Input
Please see the following link to review the input you provided regarding the master schedule. I’ve included both the original and the slightly synthesized version based on my interpretation. Leadership will be looking at this more closely at our next meeting, so it would be good to set aside time with your team to look at things together prior to that meeting.
Child and Youth Resilience Survey Results – Linked below is the report based on the Resilience surveys conducted with our students at the end of last year. Overall our students show a very high degree of resilience but take a look at the report yourself when you have time and see what sticks out to you.
I will be off-campus all day on Thursday 1/23 for training at the Ed Center.
Lorin will be out all day on Friday 1/24 and the following Monday 1/27.
Brain POP – the subscription is running out this month and after reviewing our usage data with the leadership team it seems like the cost for this resource is difficult to justify to continue as a K-5 expense. If you have questions about this decision see your leadership rep or me.
Assembly Change – FYI – We are changing the February Assembly so it is now on the 21st. This will be the culminating event for our Kindness week.
Assessments
Winter easyCBM window – 1/6/20 – 2/7/20
Spring easyCBM Window – 5/11/20-6/12/20
Winter Dibels Day – 2/3/19
Spring Dibels Day – 5/14*/20 (*Revised as of 1/13/20)
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
The Storyline (Future Ready) Team will be looking at how we fundraise and other issues related to attending international conferences. Please direct your questions and ideas to your team rep. If you have specific questions about the Siberia conference, please talk to J.J.
Upcoming Meetings:
Tuesday 1/14 – 2:30-3:30 – PTO General Meeting
Wednesday 1/15
1:30-2:00 Staff Meeting
Agenda*
Break Space (Fancier name TBD)
2020-21 Master Schedule – Please come prepared to discuss what’s working well and what could be improved in terms of the master schedule. The information gathered will be used to determine if and how much revision is needed for next year.
2:00-3:30 SIW – Storyline
*If there are certain topics you feel need to be on a future staff meeting agenda, please email me to let me know.
Speaking of meetings….after some discussion with our leadership team we will be switching two of our SIWs – 2/19 will now be a PBIS professional development with our Culture of Care team and 2/26 will be the teacher-prep afternoon. We will be spending the SIW time on the 19th building our culture of care as a whole community and we would like all staff to attend. It will be fun!
Assembly Change –FYI – We are changing the February Assembly so it is now on the 21st. This will be the culminating event for our Kindness week.
Report Card Info- Report card work day is coming up later this month. Linked here are the first semester report card information and stretch band information. Julie has provided further explanation for the stretch band info, “You can figure out where students are performing in this range by looking at the lexile level on the back of their Wonders leveled readers or looking at the Wonder’s Teacher’s Edition in order to figure out the lexile level of every book students are accessing each week.”
Classified PD- Please click her for a PD opportunity for classified staff who provide interventions for students. It will be held on January 31 at Three Rivers. Most questions are answered on the flyer.
One Class at a Time- As you likely are aware, Mid Oregon Credit Union and KTVZ sponsors the One Class at a Time program, awarding $500 with a KTVZ News story to share with the community and highlight great things happening in schools. They are currently looking for innovative and relevant classroom programs that we can feature (things happening now, this spring, or even next fall).
Winter Clothing Wonder
Ever wonder why there are always some kids wearing shorts in the winter? This is a great article, although I have to laugh a little that somebody took the time to write about this topic. The curiosity approach versus the authority approach is applicable to a variety of circumstances.
2020-2021 Magnet School Lottery Process Please email me if you plan to be a part of the presentation team for these evenings.
Assessments
Winter easyCBM window – 1/6/20 – 2/7/20
Spring easyCBM Window – 5/11/20-6/12/20
Winter Dibels Day – 2/3/19
Spring Dibels Day – 5/20/20
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
Naglieri – all 2nd graders and any new-to-district students – Window 3/2/20-3/13/20
SBAC – 5/11*/20-5/29/20 – (We may want to consider starting some groups in the middle of the first week of May to help with working around field trips, school-wide SL incidents, etc.)
Emergency Drills
FYI; all further fire drills will be unannounced. We are required to conduct drills at various times of the day, so we will do our best to mix things up. We do our best to work around major events and avoid making everyone go out in miserable weather. We will also be conducting another earthquake drill and a lockout drill before the end of the school year. Thanks for your patience and understanding with these requirements.
Hallway Safety
Thank you for the continued effort to keep hallways clear. Below is the exact language from the ODE site from the State Fire Marshall. This provides the standard we are trying to meet. Please find the appropriate storage for anything not already in the locker. Please do not add any other furniture other than the few items I’ve already approved.
Does not use exit hallways or corridors for storage or instructional purposes (no tables, desks, or chairs).
Use appropriate storage cabinets. Keep accumulated materials to a minimum. Materials provide fuel for fire.
Mandatory Visitor/Volunteer Sign-In
This is just a reminder that we are required by district policy to have all visitors and volunteers sign in and obtain a badge during school hours. Thanks to all our communication and especially the work by Shawna and Elizabeth, we’ve been incredibly successful at training our population not only to be ready for this requirement but also, more importantly, to appreciate our effort to keep people safe. Parents should be reminded to give time to check-in and bring their IDs routinely whenever they visit any school campus. Thanks so much for helping to keep this consistent.
