TO DO:

Mark your calendars: 5th Grade Move-Up Day is going to be Tuesday, May 19 from 9:30-11:30. Please work with your feeder schools on related details. ______________________________________________________

Yesterday you received an email from Alandra regarding our district’s Choice Option High Schools. Here is the link she provided in that email, that contains a Keynote presentation and brochures in both Spanish and English. Please find a way to share these Keynote slides with your 8th-grade students (e.g. during lunch, in a certain core class, etc.) in the next few weeks. __________________________________________________________

Here is a link to next year’s calendar… Bend area and South County schools. (Did you notice that LPMS & LPHS are now on the same calendar – and semester terms – as Bend area schools?!) The MS conference schedule will be a little different next year, which I’ll explain the next time I come see you at your school. Lastly, if you’d like to brighten someone’s day, reach out to Andrea Wilson and thank her for her work on calendars each year. Definitely a thankless job that garners a ton of feedback. ___________________________________________________________

If you haven’t turned in your Probationary 3 letters to HR yet, please do so by Jan. 21. Thanks! ___________________________________________________________

In your pursuit of making connections with all students, some of you (at least) have inquired about the possibility of allowing – with supervision – students to skateboard on your school’s campus. In an effort to have open communication and work through whether this should be allowed or not, I’d like to set a time to meet (all together) with a representative from each school that is interested in this topic. I’d like to share current policy, practices that are allowed, share concerns, and hear from you on what you’d like to see possible in the future. Honestly, this is one that my heart and head are speaking differently about – and I’d love to process it with those who are interested in doing so. Please send me a name from your site (if you want to be involved) by Tuesday, Jan. 21 and I’ll set up a meeting. ___________________________________________________________

As you are aware, BLS completed a large number (more than 30) listening sessions in our district/community that resulted in an Excellence and Equity Report. At our next Horizontal, you’ll be participating in an exercise (facilitated by Chris Boyd) that digs into this report’s findings. Following are some things I’d like for you to have completed prior to our meeting: 1) Read the final Excellence and Equity Report. 2) Identify two or three passages that “stand out” in some way (e.g. you strongly agree or disagree with the content, or have questions, or want to expand on what you’ve read.) 3) Bring a copy (electronic or paper) of this Report to our Horizontal. 4) Have a way to capture some of your thoughts (paper or electronic) from our discussion. Here is an overview of the process that Chris will lead us through, as well as our Common Agreements, and the protocol we’ll use.

THIS and THAT:

Kimberly Strong is coordinating an upcoming training, on Feb. 7, by Jessica Sprick, related to student attendance; and specifically on building out your attendance MTSS by focusing on tier 2 and tier 3 interventions. Here is a workshop flyer, and the registration information. If you’ve heard Jessica speak before you’ll know that she is a well-received presenter! The training is free – but any sub costs will be paid from the building. __________________________________________________________

We have still not received a dollar amount from the state yet on how much SIA (Student Investment Account) we’ll be receiving here at BLS. We hope to have this prior to our Feb. 3 Leadership meeting. According to ODE, here are the four areas (umbrellas) all new investments need to fit under:

Reducing Class Size

• Use evidence-based criteria to ensure appropriate student-teacher ratios or staff caseloads;
• Increasing the use of instructional assistants.

Instructional Time

• More hours and/or days.
• Summer programs; before or after school programs.
• Technological investments that minimize class time used for assessments administered to students.

Health & Safety

• Social and emotional learning, trauma-informed practices; student mental and behavioral health.

Well-Rounded Education

• Developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive early literacy practices and programs in pre-K through third grade.
• Culturally responsive programs and practices in grades 6-8, including learning, counseling and student support that is connected to colleges and careers.
• Broadened curricular options at all grade levels including: Art, Music, PE, STEM, CTE, engaging electives, accelerated college credit programs, including dual credit, IB, AP, Life Skills, TAG, dropout and prevention programs, and transition supports.
• Access to licensed educators with a library media endorsement.

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An update from Lora…

At our December leadership meeting, I asked each school to take just a few minutes to make a plug for United Way contributions. One possible strategy is to make this push alongside your FAN advocate, because we can all target our donations. 

Currently, we have fewer than 40 staff members who have committed to payroll deductions, down from 65 last year at this time. I am hoping each of you will try to make a pitch to staff if you haven’t done so already. This year’s campaign ends at the end of January. ________________________________________________________

The 2020 cycle of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is in full swing. Nominations can be submitted on our website, www.paemst.org. The nomination deadline is March 1, 2020. If you have one or more outstanding math or science teacher(s), please consider nominating them! ___________________________________________________________

If you or a staff member is working on implementing a Collaborative Problem Solving approach within the classroom (or building), these monthly (free) troubleshooting sessions might be of interest to you.

REMINDERS:

Our next Horizontal will be on Jan. 27, starting at 3:00pm, at Realms MS. Please have chapter 3 and the Excellence and Equity Report read.