Our EME Focus
- Tier 1 Instruction
- Belonging
- Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thoughts of the Week
The Story of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody And Nobody
I love the story of these four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
Here’s the story, titled “Whose Job Is It, Anyway?”
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.
The story may be confusing but the message is clear: no one took responsibility so nothing got accomplished.
It’s a story that plays out often in organizations and companies and on teams—anywhere there is culture that lacks accountability.
But how do you get people to take responsibly for their work? Different things work in different situations, but here are some strategies that have proven to be effective:
Become a role model. You can’t tell people what to do if you yourself aren’t willing to hold yourself to the same level. If you want people to act responsibly, you have to be accountable. Your team and your company look to you for direction.
Don’t make assumptions. Don’t assume that others know instinctively what to do and when to do it, or even what you expect from them. Before people can take responsibility for their work they require clear communication. The more you communicate, the better the results are likely to be.
Set the standard. If you expect excellence, it’s up to you to set the standards for results and performance. Make each task or goal measurable and set it on a reasonable timeline so it’s achievable. Give people a clear target and they’ll work to reach it—and maybe even surpass it.
Get the buy-in to go the distance. You need people to buy in and commit if you want to succeed. Each vision should be compelling; each goal should build toward the whole; each task should be laced with motivation. You need people to feel compelled, inspired and motivated to take responsibility.
Make regular check-ups. One of the biggest reasons people fall short is a lack of follow-through by leadership. Help people stay focused by setting up regular checkpoints—phone calls or meetings where everyone can communicate and catch up, staying focused on moving forward and being accountable. When people know there will be check-ups, they’re less likely to procrastinate and more likely to hit their targets.
Provide support and training. Especially with a start-up or a new initiative, people are taking on projects or tasks that they’ve never faced before. Make sure everybody has the training and resources they need to be successful, and provide help in resolving any issues that may arise.
Encourage candor. One of the worst things that can happen to a team is for people to feel uncomfortable discussing problems and expressing their honest opinions. Build a culture of candor so that people know it’s the norm to tell the truth, even when it’s difficult or awkward.
Concentrate on solutions and not only problems. If people are having problems or falling behind, expect them to come to you with possible solutions, not just the problems. Create an expectation that the first response to a problem is to start finding solutions.
Praise performance. Praise people for good results and be specific with your acknowledgment. Let them know what they did well and how their work is affecting others. If they fall short, coach them privately and let them know how they can improve. And if their performance does not improve, also address this with meaningful consequences that have been explained ahead of time.
To avoid having your team become Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody, commit to becoming the kind of leader who takes responsibility for your own life and leadership.
Lead from within: Don’t let Anybody (or Everybody, Somebody or Nobody) stop you from doing what you need to do to create the kind of leadership and life you can be proud of.
THE COMING WEEK:
- Monday
- Classified Employee Appreciation Week!
- Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
- Tuesday
- Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
- ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
- Wednesday
- Emma Keeton’s Birthday!
- Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
- OBOB Pool Play 8:00-8:30
- SIW – Teacher Prep for Art Workshops 1:00-2:30
- Thursday
- Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
- Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
- Title Night – Elk Meadow Learning Summit 5:00-7:00
- Friday
- EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
UPCOMING DATES:
- March 10 – TAG/ICCL Meeting 3:45-5:45
- March 10 – Admin Meet with Peter
- March 11 – Care Teams Meeting 7:00-8:00
- March 11 – Forest Kindergarten 9:30-1:30
- March 11 – Admin Meeting 2:00-5:00
- March 12 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
- March 12 – Art Workshop #1
- March 12 – SIW – Ed Network 1:00-2:30
- March 13 – Fire Drill – 9:00
- March 13 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
- March 13 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
- March 14 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
- March 14 – Assembly!
- March 17 – Ben out for Principal meeting 7:30-12:30
- March 17 – Committee Meetings – 2:30-3:15
- March 18 – Carrie Shorthouse’s Birthday!
- March 18 – Ben Meeting 8:00-9:00
- March 18 – Career Fair – 8:45-10:45
- March 18 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
- March 19 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
- March 19 – Art Workshop #2
- March 19 – SIW – EL Planning 1:00-2:30
- March 19 – Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30-3:30
- March 19 – CPR Training at Elk Meadow 2:30-4:30
- March 20 – Jenn Kandra’s Birthday!
- March 20 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
- March 20 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
- March 20 – Admin BAM Meeting 3:30-4:45
- March 21 – Ben Out
- March 21 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
- March 24-28 Spring Break
- April 1 – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
- April 1 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
- April 2 – Dexter Chamberlin’s Birthday!
- April 2 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
- April 2 – SIW – EL Planning 1:00-2:30
- April 3 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
- April 3 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
- April 3 – Admin BAM Meeting 3:30-4:45
- April 4 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
Updates from Downtown
Common Language: We had a conversation at cabinet regarding the use of the term “graduation” for anything other than seniors who “graduate” from high school. We are going to align K-12 to reserve the terms “graduation”, “graduate”, etc. for graduating seniors only. For other kinds of celebrations K-8, the terms “celebration” or “promotion” will be used to represent those types of transitions. So, long story short, if you do any type of Kindergarten or 5th grade celebrations, please be sure to use other words to describe that celebration instead of graduation.
ALL-STAFF MEETINGS MARCH 13 WITH DR. COOK: Please remind all your building staff of the virtual meetings with Dr. Cook on Thursday, March 13. These 30-minute virtual meetings are open to all District employees, with two afternoon time slots to accommodate different work schedules.
Dr. Cook will provide updates on bills making their way through the state Legislature and how they could impact our work to build a budget for next school year. He also will touch on directives related to public education coming out of Washington, D.C. Dr. Cook will leave time to answer a few staff questions. PICK YOUR TIME!
- 3:05 to 3:35 p.m. (best for elementary schedules)
- 3:50 to 4:20 p.m. (best for secondary schedules)
We will provide meeting links closer to the date. Attendance is optional, and we will provide recordings of both meetings afterward.
Important Links
- February 19th Elementary TLC Update
- Topics of Interest/Problem of Practice–Someone is looking for a Field Trip Checklist!
- FAQs for Special Education Inclusion Topics—Keep checking in here! BEA and BLS supported
Notes from our Team:
From Information Technology – Scott McDonald: We need to talk once again about security and keeping our organization and personal data safe. Email phishing and scams continues to be our number one threat. And lately, the bad guys have been busy. Fortunately, there are actions both we in IT and you can do to protect our data:
Report any suspicious email message– Use the “Phish Alert” button in Microsoft Outlook to flag any suspicious message. Of course, do not click any links in the email before reporting!
Note External Messages– Along with the yellow banner, you will now see the label “External” beside any message that is not from a Bend-La Pine user. In some cases, you may also see additional information about the sender.
Only use Microsoft Outlook!- The security features that we invest in and maintain as a district are only available on Microsoft Outlook mail clients and tools. Please do not add your work email to any other mail application (examples include Apple Mail, Gmail, etc.).
Soon, we will be disabling the ability for users to view their work email on third party applications. There will be additional messaging to support users who will be impacted by this change.
Finally, you might have noticed our email phishing campaign has become a lot harder lately. That is because the bad guys are also getting trickier as well. Do not be afraid to over report when you are suspicious of a message!
From Social Emotional Wellness – Jennifer Hauth
Join us in celebrating our incredible Student Success Coordinators, Clinicians, Instructors and Educational Assistants the week of March 3rd – March 7th! This coincides with School Social Work Week & Classified Appreciation week.
Student success staff are instrumental in supporting students with significant social, emotional and mental health needs. These amazing humans work tirelessly to provide intensive care coordination, family engagement, academic support and emotional support.
Our student success staff serve as vital members of a school’s education team, playing a central role in creating partnerships between the home, school, and community to improve student well-being and academic success.
Please take a moment during this week to celebrate and acknowledge the student success staff in your building! Thank you.
Wayfinder. Please share this poster with your staff. Unlike the picture below, the poster has live links for them to click on.
Life and From School Improvement – Dave VanLoo: NNAT3 Update. After several days of back and forth with Pearson, we have confirmed that students cannot use Clever to login to the NNAT3 on iPads. Currently Clever is used for rostering and for adults to log into the website to manage testing and reporting. Unfortunately, this means that students will need to install the TestNav app using Self Service and login to it via username (BLP Perm ID#) and password (Session ID # generated in the website). The Synergy report STU408 (Class list and click 2nd grade and Perm ID) can be used to get usernames. In addition to the NNAT3 resources that were shared in the blog a couple of weeks ago, here is the link to the great slide deck Laci made to help with installing TestNav and administering the test. Let me know if you have additional questions. https://www.canva.com/design/DAF-weB3_o8/q_rg5hHIpyVC33qE4hfziw/edit?utm_content=DAF-weB3_o8&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton
From Director of Multilingual Services -Liza Huet: SIGN UP HERE. *Space is limited
Action Items
- Start planning Erin’s Law lessons–share the information with your staff
- Share SIOP training with staff
Important Dates
- March 3-7: Better Lesson will be here to do school walk-throughs this week–if we haven’t notified you that they will come to your school, no need to note this.
- March 5: All Admin Professional Learning at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30
- March 11: Horizontal Meeting 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Pine Ridge hosted by PRE and NSE
- March 13: 3:05 or 3:50—Take 30 minutes to participate in the All Staff Update with Dr. Cook
- March 19: Elementary Safety Cadre, 1:30-3:30–thanks Scott and Kayla for moving it for us!
- March 24-28: The long awaited Spring Break!