This and That:

• I don’t think I’m going out on too much a limb by assuming you have been asked at least once about: “How many more snow days before we have to start adding days at the end of the year in June.”  Earlier this week Jay sent out an email responding to this question that I hope you were able to read.  To paraphrase what Jay communicated, there is not “magic number” per se number of snow days that automatically results in adding days.  But, if there were, we are getting close.  These are discussions that are starting and each snow day will get us closer to the reality of adding back an instructional day.

• The math leadership meeting on January 13th (next Friday!) from 8:00-11:00 is of special interest to principals and assistants from each and every middle school. Our professional learning focuses on analyzing school-wide trends in math instruction collaboratively and supporting the pilot implementation of Eureka Math. Our essential question is: How does instruction using the materials align to our Core Beliefs and with the Standards for Mathematical Practices?  We will rehearse the data-snap protocol and consider how and what data to analyze to evaluate the pilot materials. Later in the process, this learning will position us to determine the support that is needed for successful materials implementation at middle schools.

  The location will be at CMS. Please sign-up in PDPlace so we can expect you.

• A common experience that I’ve had as a building leader when coming out of the holiday break and into a new calendar year is the reminder that the experiences of those I worked with vary greatly.  Because we are in the “people business” I could not assume that we could simply “pick up where we left off” because we had not shared a common experience the past two weeks – which was plenty of time to throw even the best navigators off course.  And I’m talking both students and staff here.  I wasn’t always the most thoughtful or effective at providing the vision or roadmap of how to get everyone back on the same page after this break, but am more and more convinced of how important it is to do so.  With that in mind, I wanted to share a short article with you that was recently shared with me.  Five Leadership Lessons reminded me of the importance of people and how I (we) treat them as a leader.  Although none of these are rocket science – likely you have thought about each as a leader before – and yet I found them to be a good reminder and reason to pause and personally reflect.  How are you doing with each of these five… and what can I do to support you?
• The end of term dates for the 2017-18 calendar were recently agreed upon so I wanted to pass these along.  You likely will need these dates soon when you go to set up your schedule for next year and begin the forecasting process. Here are the quarter/semester dates: 1st Q – 11/3/17; 2nd Q – 2/1/18; 3rd Q – 4/11/18; 4th Q – 6/14/18.  Robi, here are your trimester dates: 1st Tri – 12/8/17; 2nd Tri – 3/23/18; 3rd Tri – 6/14/18.  Let me know if you’d be interested in knowing the number of dates in each of these grading terms.

Reminders:

• Your nomination for a student to serve on the Student Advisory Team with Shay closes next Monday.  If you haven’t already, see the Dec. 16 TRIBE post for additional information and nomination process. This would be a great opportunity for one of your students to share her/his voice and ideas directly with Shay.
• We have an Admin Leadership meeting on Monday at 3:15 in the Board Room.
• Wednesday is the third of our four District SIWs.  All math teachers will meet at HDMS beginning at 1:45.  Matea sent out an email yesterday with specifics to you and your building math rep (who was asked to share with others in their department). Your ELA teachers are invited to attend a training/discussion on this day as well, beginning at 1:15 with place to be determined.  Please review the flyer Alex sent out and encourage any interested teachers to sign up in PD Place.
• Looking ahead a bit, there is no school on Monday, Jan. 16, for MLK Day.

To Do:

• Check your calendar for Tuesday, Jan. 31.  This day will be our second of three trainings with our school counselors and a facilitator from American School Counseling Association (ASCA).  You are not required, but definitely encouraged, to have an administrator come with your counselor(s) to learn more about the work they are currently doing around designing a Comprehensive School Counseling Program. I know that your counselor would appreciate your presence, thinking, and to better understand the work he/she does.
• Consider nominating one of your students for the Student Advisory Team that Shay is putting together.  Read the following brief description about what the Student Advisory Team is all about, then click on the hot link above if you have a student you’d like to nominate!

  The team will meet with me three times a year to help keep me connected to student life and the issues students care about. I am looking for a diverse group of students. The only requirements are the students must be enrolled in one of our middle or high schools and the students must feel comfortable sharing their opinions and insights.

  The deadline for applications or to nominate students is January 9, with the hopes of having our first meeting in February.

This and That:

• I encourage you to take the less than 4 minutes to watch this video on John Hattie’s eight mind frames for educators (teachers and administrators) – taken from his book Visible Learning. It is a great reminder of the importance of teacher moves in evaluating student learning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WSTcVDwH3s

Reminders:

• The only reminder this week is to have a wonderful Christmas and New Year with your family and friends!  Take some time to relax and refresh – you’ve definitely deserve it!

To Do:

• If you have the date for your incoming (fall of 2017) 6th grade Parent Night, will you please send that to me?  If you don’t have it scheduled yet, will you let me know that as well?

This and That:

• In conversations that I’ve had over the past week I have learned that our Literacy Coach(es) will be asking for volunteer(s) from middle schools to come together and do some work around Units of Study.  Specifically,  this group will be tasked with creating a one-page overview document of each lesson in Units of Study.  This work is in response to the often heard concern regarding the amount of reading (and wading through material) needed of teachers when preparing a lesson.  TLC is planning on paying the sub costs to pull small groups of teachers together to accomplish this work, which should begin very soon. I think this is a great response of support for one of the common concerns that has been voiced.
• An article from the Cult of Pedagogy website, “Five Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Unmotivated Students” caught my attention.  Certainly we all have students who have been categorized as “unmotivated” and have all types of reasons for this.  However, this article isn’t about these students – it is about the adults who work in the school and have contact with these kids.  Here is a small section of this article to wet your appetite:…what the most current studies say about what motivates students. This is what I found:
  1. Students are more motivated academically when they have a positive relationship with their teacher.
  2. Choice is a powerful motivator in most educational contexts.
  3. For complex tasks that require creativity and persistence, extrinsic rewards and consequences actually hamper motivation.
  4. To stay motivated to persist at any task, students must believe they can improve in that task.
  5. Students are motivated to learn things that have relevance to their lives.
• It is definitely flu (and other illnesses) season.  There should be a spray bottle and microfiber cloths in every classroom (Walt is working to replace any missing) that can be used to wipe down doorknobs, desks, counters or other commonly shared spaces.  As you know, this practice will help prevent the spread of germs.

• The ASIST training (suicide intervention) that was scheduled earlier this fall (and then canceled due to lack of sign-ups) has been rescheduled for January.  This flyer has additional information.  This same information has been shared with your counselor(s), but you may have interest for someone else on staff to attend as well.  One thing to note is that this training is free to school employees – even though there appears to be a cost for participants.  If you are interested in attending then you will need to click on the “enter a promotional code” link within the flyer and then type in “school” in the box.  This will waive the fee.  Here is the direct link to register: 

  https://asist-training-january-2017.eventbrite.com

Reminders:

• Snow is here for likely the next few months!  This means removing snow will happen, but likely not within the time frame that works for everyone.  Now would be a good time to remind your staff, students and possibly parents about the snow removal priority areas. Here is a district look at these priorities from 30,000 feet, and your building engineer should have a photo map of your site’s first and second snow removal priority areas.  Please post/share as you see necessary to remind those who come on your campus.
• Here are the next few admin meetings – just to make sure you have them on your calendar:
  • Leadership – Jan. 9 @ 3:15 (Ed Center)
  • MS Horizontal – Jan. 23 @ 3:15 (HDMS)

To Do:

• If you haven’t already, this would be a great time to review, with your staff, the process/procedures for late start and school cancellation due to weather conditions.  Remember that you will receive a text alert notifying you of any delay or cancellation – which will trigger your established school communication to staff and parents (e.g. sandwich board at entrance of school for those who may have missed hearing the delay/closure news).
• One more “if you haven’t already” thought to consider is that if you are not currently convinced all of your certified staff members will be recommended (by you) for contract renewal for next year, please give Jon a call and have a conversation about any you have reservations about.

This and That:

• As you are all fully aware, we are heading into what is often a difficult time of year for students and staff alike.  Reasons for this abound – and may be different for all – but there are common similarities in terms of the exhibited emotional and behavioral responses.  Years of student discipline data demonstrate a spike in numbers of inappropriate behaviors, peaking in the month of February.  What is also often seen is a spike just prior to and immediately following holiday breaks.  Although the stressors may be different, students and staff share “emotional lulls” at approximately the same time in the year – which likely contributes to the spike in written office referrals.  One chart that Michele Oakes shared in her first Mentor Memo this year I thought did a nice job of providing a visual (with notes below) of the emotional course our new teachers experience during the course of a school year.  However, I also felt this was often true of our students and more veteran teachers and other staff as well.  I share it not because I think this is new information for you – but because I want to encourage you to consider how you might lead in your building to create “bright spots” or other positive moments amongst and with your students and staff, knowing that these coming few months are often below-the-surface difficult and not-often talked about.
• You may be familiar with the website Cult of Pedagogy, but if not, let me introduce you! It is an online magazine for teachers of all types because, in the words of the author, “you don’t have time to study the craft as carefully as you’d like, to try out new tech tools, read books on methodology, stay on top of current research, or explore opportunities for professional development. I dig through those things for you, weed out the crap, and show you the good stuff — resources and information that will help you do your job better.” That is the site in a nutshell.  I may be sharing articles or other resources from this site with you in the future – but feel free to do some exploring on your own if you’d like!
• Shay recently shared a “spark” (short video to encourage thinking/change) about education today from the website “Most Likely to Succeed.”  There are a number of “sparks” hosted on this site, but I wanted to pass along one to you this week related to “what skills are essential to students.”  One of the themes of this short (less than 5:00 min.) video is that today’s students need to be prepared to do, not just know. This is a marked shift from the needed “assembly line” education of the past century – which was much easier to teach and evaluate.  Those that work in K-12 education have no small task in educating our youth today, but it is very rewarding and fulfilling work!  Thank you for leading in this time of educational change.
• And speaking of some of your work, here is a link to a radio spot that Steph and one of her students recently did with a local radio show.  It is great for Steph to be able to highlight some of the great things happening at CMS that help create a positive school environment.
• In addition to attending an AdvancED Advisory Council meeting all day on Monday, I will be traveling with the AdvancEd State Director to do a site visit next Thursday (12/8) for most of the day.  I will have my cell phone with me and should have cell service both days if you need to reach me.

Reminders:

• Don’t forget to be in the board room at 3:00 on Monday (12/5) for a meeting with Josh & Colleen regarding student discipline/expulsion system, followed by Leadership at 3:45. Note these are changes in times.  Again, I am sorry I won’t be there with you.

To Do:

• Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!  If you are traveling, do so safely.  If you are hosting, do so graciously.  When you are eating, don’t overdue it!  Truly, I trust you will take advantage in the break in your crazy schedule and take a breath to enjoy those things most important to you.

This and That:

• I know I keep telling you that the videos I send to you are “worth watching”… but have no idea if you believe me anymore or not!  So, let me start by saying that this video is definitely worth watching!  It is called The Adaptable Mind (letitripple.org).  In it the narrator provides their version of “the 4 C’s” – namely Curiosity, Creativity, Initiative, Multi-Disciplinary Thinking, and Empathy.  A quote from this video supports the “Student B” concept when it is said that “human skills are just as important as knowledge.” One other quote taken from this clip that resonated with me is the assertion that we, as humans, need to “connect deeply, not just broadly.” The narrator goes on to claim that as a society we are not as good at connecting deeply with one another as we once were. My hope in sharing this (and other) videos with you is not for you to watch and enjoy only, but also to think about how you might make a link between what you hear/see in the video and your work as a leader in your building and our district.  Make some time this next week to connect deeply with someone (or many)!

• I am sending this week’s TRIBE update early because I will be conferencing Friday and Saturday with a group from our District at the NW TURN Conference.  I look forward to the time we will have to collaborate, strategize and plan on how to deepen the relationships between district and union (BEA, OSEA) leadership – which will translate into more enhances working relationships at all levels within our district.  I’ll be visiting schools most of Thursday morning, then leaving in the afternoon, so feel free to call or text me on my cell if you need anything.

Reminders:

• Our Horizontal meeting on Monday, Nov. 28 is cancelled.  I trust that your small group meetings with another building’s leadership team is not only useful, but you are also finding expertise among us as we continue to build our connections as a “Tribe.”

To Do:

• Add to your calendar: On December 5 we have a Leadership meeting that begins at 3:15.  The planned agenda is to talk about a possible district bond and then walk across the street for our holiday social.  I’d like for all MS building administrators to come to the board room at 2:30 on Dec. 5 for a informational meeting with Josh Marks and Colleen Funderburg regarding a draft system for processing discipline/expulsion students between home school and alternative options.  Josh will present the draft system flowchart and ask for your feedback on how to improve it. Please plan on having at least one administrator from each building attend – but all admin would even be better!

This and That:

• No matter where your vote landed, we now know who will be our 45th President.  To be honest, I am not very politically motivated – but the path leading up to this election caught my attention.  Unfortunately, what drew me in was the ugliness within the process leading up to the Nov. 8th vote.  Although the candidates have since communicated a collaborative voice, not all in our country have – which again is very disappointing.  It is truly time to pull together no matter what our political views are and it is up to us, as leaders and fellow workers in our district, to model this stance.  I am proud to know you and work with you in great degree because I know your heart.  You love working with kids and are passionate about their ability to learn; preparing each for her/his future.  I know that you care and will advocate for every student at your school – regardless of race, gender, sex, socio-economic status, or any other subgroup title that can be thought of.  If there is tension in your building I encourage you to address it head-on and clearly communicate what your expectations are around how all people will be treated at school.  Thank you for what you do day in and day out as a building leader! [I wrote this prior to Shay sending out a “message to staff” email earlier today.  I appreciate his words and echo his communication around what many of you and your staff members are experiencing right now.]
• I know some of you may have already had a meeting with your MS Horizontal “sister school” and begun conversations around progress monitoring – and that is great.  Whether you have had a first meeting yet or not, I committed to providing you with some resources and items to consider around this topic.  And thankfully, because of Lora’s work, you are now receiving those resources!  I’ve loaded all of the documents in Google Drive for you to access (Instruction/PD tab – then Progress Monitoring folder), but want to specifically link to one document (How do we Know if we are Growing) I recommend you start with.  It is a combination of things to consider and recommended action steps for ultimately creating progress monitoring assessments.  Additionally, there are a number of excellent readings that will be a good resource for you to review and potentially discuss.
• Next Friday and Saturday I’ll be in Portland for a TURN Conference.  This is one in which we’ll have district, classified, building, and certified leadership attending in order to continue our efforts around working collaboratively on issues that benefit the district as a whole.  I’ll be leaving Thursday afternoon, but please call or text my cell phone if you need me for any reason that evening or Friday.
• You have probably all watched a “Kid President” video before, but maybe you haven’t watched one recently!  They are all pretty good, but here is one he did honoring teachers and students that I thought was worth another look.

• Thank you to all who were able to attend the admin technology training on Monday afternoon at PCMS.  I trust you were both encouraged to think about the current use of technology for instruction – as well as challenged to think of ways in which you might lead in how technology could be used in teaching/learning.  If you weren’t able to attend this training I encourage you to consider if someone from your building could participate in the future.

Reminders:

• Next Tuesday, 11/15, is a MAC Survey day.  You are aware that this is a major funding source for our FAN advocates, so please take the time to review which of your, if any, activities are considered “claimable” time.
• Next Tuesday is also Principal for the Day, sponsored by the Education Foundation.  Not all of our schools will participate this year – but all of our middle schools are!  By now you should be aware of whom is coming to your building as “principal.”
• Next Thursday is College Day in all of our schools across the district.  Encourage your staff to wear college gear and make sure you take a photo to send to Andrea and Alandra.
• Don’t forget to complete your SLGGs in Talent Ed by next Friday, Nov. 18.  Let me know if you have any questions about the process or specifics around goals.  More than anything, please make your goals meaningful to you and student learning.
• Per his email sent out on 11/8, Skip has opened up the BrightBytes survey and it will remain open through Dec. 2. Here is the link for logging in. As a reminder, this survey is one measure of Future Ready that the district has identified.

To Do:

• If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up in PD Place for the Units of Study PD being offered to administrators on the morning of Nov. 10.  This is not a required training, but if you need/want to find out more about this curriculum (what you should look for in the classroom or see in student’s writing) this PD is a great way to become better informed.
• Begin planning on when/how you will administer the BrightBytes survey – if you haven’t already. The window for having all of your students take this (approximately 10 min.) survey is Nov. 14 – Dec. 2; providing two school weeks for completion.
• One of our two MAC survey days will be during the week of Nov. 14.  The specific date will be announced as soon as we are informed.

This and That:

• Just as an FYI, I will be leaving for Portland on Thursday early afternoon for a series of meetings.  Thursday and Friday (Nov. 10,11) I will be attending the annual OSBA conference with the school board and a number of folks from the Ed Center.  Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 12, 13) I will be participating in an IB (MYP) Professional Development workshop with Steve and a team from PBMS.  I will have my cell phone with me during this time so please do not hesitate to text or call me if you need anything.  And oh, enjoy your Friday off!
• As you have likely heard by now, a small amount of above-recommended lead in a water source at both LPMS and Amity was identified late last week. In June one water source at each school was tested and no abnormalities were detected.  This fall every water source within all school buildings built prior to 1980 was tested and we received those results last week.  That round of testing resulted in 351 samples (all fountains and food prep locations) being taken and two coming back above the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended 20 parts per billion (ppb) threshold.  LPMS had an unused classroom faucet (it has been the FAN office for years) come back as 28 ppb and Amity had one faucet in a classroom come in at 31 ppb.  Last Wednesday afternoon bottled water was delivered to these two sites and water to all faucets (drinking and food prep) was turned off Thursday morning – right after another round of test samples were collected from these two schools.  Restrooms – including hand washing – remained on at these sites.  Tuesday afternoon of this week we received the results back (I guess paying an “expedited” cost can move the return time up months) from this latest round of testing and found the LPMS FAN classroom well under the EPA threshold (9 ppb).  All water was turned on at LPMS on Nov. 2 and the one faucet in the FAN room removed.  The results at Amity were again above threshold and the issue has been traced to the faucets and under sink valves.  All of this hardware will be replaced over Thanksgiving break and water retested to assure safe levels have been realized before turning the water back on for student/staff drinking at Amity.  All drinking and food prep faucets in buildings built after 1980 have also been tested earlier this fall and we expect those results to be returned around mid November.  If you have any questions regarding this please ask Julianne or I.  All past water test results can be found within our district’s web site.
  

  This was a photo from LPMS conference room this week – where the bottle water was stored.  Looks like they have a bit extra. Hopefully it can be used at Amity!

   

• Shay recently shared this article with some of us and I thought it was definitely worth passing along – even though this particular game occurred nearly two weeks ago.  No matter who your favorite NFL team is (or if you even like the NFL) I thought the lesson on leadership’s reaction to personal frustration and staff miscue was right on.  A great reminder that our reaction to people (staff, students, parents, community) in times of disappointment tell a lot about not only our character, but also provides some insight into the type of leader that we are.

Reminders:

• Hard to believe, but I don’t have a volunteer yet to represent our level on the Safety Team that meets (no more than) monthly in the morning at the Ed Center.  No other commitments or small print agreements involved!  Next will be me “volunteer selecting” someone!
• This Sunday it is time to “fall back” with your clocks as Daylight Savings Time ends.
• I probably don’t need to remind you to vote.  No matter where your political alliances stand, I encourage you to make your voice heard by returning your ballots or going to the polls on Tuesday.
• I also probably don’t need to remind you that next Friday is Veteran’s Day and there is no school.  No students, no staff, no you reporting to work.  Enjoy your three-day weekend and thank a veteran!

To Do:

• By now you have spoken with or received SLGGs from your certified teachers.  So, it is time to begin (if you haven’t already) thinking about your SLGGs for this year.  Please have those in Talent Ed no later than Friday, November 18.
• There is a small group that meets monthly to discuss district safety issues.  Discussed are both big picture, district-wide topics as well as level and building questions/concerns.  Mr. Hecker was the MS rep for the past number of years.  Obviously, we are in need of a new rep for middle schools.  The meetings generally fall on the third or fourth Thursday of the month and start at 7:30am.  Please let me know if you might be interested.

This and That:

• Last Friday when I was in Salem as part of the ODE Advisory Panel for Counseling we watched a video called The Science of Character.  In a nutshell, it talks about focusing and growing those character traits that are good within us, as opposed to focusing on those characteristics that are not as good within us and trying to fix those. This reminded me of Dan and Chip Heath’s concepts of “bright spot” recognition and “cloning” those things that we want to see more of (from their book SWITCH), as well as your work around the “Student B” bucket of Thriving Citizens.  The video is just over eight minutes long, but worth your time I believe!

• The first of six Digital Leadership Academy PD sessions will take place on Nov. 7 from 2:00 – 5:00 at PCMS.  This sessions specific topic is titled: Leading a Culture of Innovation.  Sign up for this session and the other five in PD Place.  If you are wanting CAL credit for your involvement in these trainings then you need to email Skip your name.
• As you know, some of our classified positions are difficult to fill, or remain open (e.g. bus drivers, custodial, etc.) indefinitely.  Because of this our district is going to hold a Classified Job Fair at Bend High on Saturday, Nov. 5. If you know someone who might be interested in filling one of these vital roles please point her/him to this opportunity to practice some of the skills that would be needed on the job (like driving a bus, bobcat, stand-up lawn mower, or Zamboni!).
• There are two math PD opportunities that were passed on to me to share.  Here are some highlights:

  Best Practices: How Math Teaching Matters (click on to see additional specifics regarding this training)

  o    Dates are December 2^nd, December 9^th, January 31^st – it is a 3-day seminar [There is a two-hour follow-up for those taking it for credit on February 9th]

  o    Buildings are responsible for substitute costs

  o    Teachers and Admins need to sign-up in PD Place

           Leadership Seminar with Fred Rectanus from Teachers Development Group

           o    Dates: January 13^th 8:00-11:00, March 8^th 8:00-11:00, and April 28^th 8:00-11:00 (NEW DATE!)

           o    Principals, Assistant Principals, Student Services, Deans, and ICCL Teacher Leaders are invited

           o    Schools are responsible for any substitute costs

           o    Sign-up in PD Place

• And lastly, buy certainly not least important, there is an upcoming Units of Study PD for K-8 building administrators coming up on Nov. 10.  This flyer has additional information.

To Do:

• If you have requested a translator for next week’s conferences, please review  the “ELL Parent/Teacher Conference Schedule” document that is accessible to you through your shared google drive docs.  (Jody also sent you an email on 10.20.16 at 10:30 with additional info.)

This and That:

• I know that you are starting to meet with each other for both your Leadership SDP and, coming soon, within your Horizontal group visits.  I trust that this time will be productive, valuable, and an opportunity to learn from and about each other.  Please let me know if I can offer any support to you in the months ahead as questions or concerns arise from these conversations.
• Our first “school start time” meeting will take place next Thursday evening.  Thanks to Steph for volunteering to be the MS liaison for this work! I hear that the entire group will number close to 20, with representatives from across the secondary level and community/parents.
• The article Mastering the Social-Emotional Side of School Leadership reminds me of not only the difficult job that you do every day, but also offers some insights and suggestions for being an effective social-emotional school leader.  One point that I’d like to make, that the author hinted at but didn’t explicitly state, is that you must take care of yourself in order to fully be able to take care of your staff and students at your school. Although I don’t agree with everything the author asserts in this short article, I do believe there are some key concepts about your job and how you can work to stay sane doing it, that are worth reading about.

Reminders:

• The COSA Principal’s Conference is coming to Bend this Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  Even if you are not attending, I appreciate everyone making the effort to send one or more from your building to Mary Ehernworth’s discussion around Units of Study on Monday afternoon.
• Just an FYI that I am meeting with your counselor(s) next Tuesday afternoon. If you’d ever like to see an agenda for these monthly meetings please let me know and I’ll get it to you.

To Do:

• If you haven’t yet, begin talking with your certified staff about SLGGs for this year.  The target for getting these set is the end of October, but you may allow until the first week or so of November if needed, due to the late start you had.

This and That:

• You will likely be getting a call soon (as soon as next week) from Nick Stevenson from Deschutes County Health regarding Positive Community Norms (PCN) – a health initiative aimed at lowering youth substance use through education and communication from a positive lens (e.g. In the past month 97.8% of 8th graders at SVMS report not smoking). As most of you may recall, Nick and Jessica Jacks came and spoke briefly about this at one of our last Horizontal meetings of the year last spring. There are a handful of pieces to this project if you elect to become involved – turning over an SIW for staff training/surveying, guest speakers in health classes, outside of school surveying of students/parents – to name a few.  LPMS piloted this program last year, so feel free to ask Robi about the impact it had with students (I believe it was positive), as well as the commitments she had to agree to as a building leader.  Overall, I believe it can be a program that can produce successful results, but it is up to you to decide if you’d like to be involved or not.  I do thank the county for reaching out and offering to be a partner with us to reduce youth substance use.
• There have been some articles regarding PERS in the media lately.  I’ve linked to one from the Oregonian (9-21-16) entitled: “‘This is becoming a moral issue’: Officials face truth behind Oregon’s soaring pension costs” that I think might shed some light on future costs for our district.  Without sugar coating it, it is not very sunny.  Here is one quote from the article that summed it up for me: “As it stands, pension payments cost government agencies and school district across the state about $2 billion every two years, and they’re panicking about the $885 million, or 44 percent jump, in required payments in the next two years.”  For Bend-La Pine, our projection at this time is that these PERS increases will cost us approximately another 4.5 million next year – not taking into account any ballot measures, which we’ll know more about after the November election (and could help or hurt this overall dollar figure).  The good news is that we have an outstanding team keeping track of these potential developments and they have weathered many financial storms for our district in the past – so there is no doubt we’ll get through this one as well.
• One other (very short) article I want to pass along came out of the publication School Leaders Now and is entitled “Principal’s Perspective: Elephant in the Room.”  It speaks of not only the difficult task you have of making decisions that are popular with some and not so popular with others, but also recognizes the fact that often people who are not pleased with your decision do not have the same perspective as you do.  Your job is not easy – but you are in a position of leadership at your school because we believe in who you are and your skills in making sound decisions.  I just wish the author would have called out the fact (in her last sentence) that when things “come into focus” for others, it is a rare occurrence that they come back and thank you for your insights and wisdom.

• Here is a contest where students can get some hands-on 4C’s experience: The Verizon Innovative App Challenge allows middle and high school students to develop concepts for mobile apps that solve a problem in their community.  Students compete to be one of eight teams named Best in Nation winners and receive a $20,000 award for their app idea, along with the chance to work with MIT engineers to bring it to life. I’m sure Scott and Brian can tell you all about students at Sky View Middle School winning Best in State last year! The deadline for entries is November 18.

Reminders:

• We’ll be meeting Monday afternoon at 3:15 at PBMS as a Horizontal group.  Thanks in advance to Steve and Teri for hosting us in their library!  Here is the agenda.