This and That:

• Dean Richards, a sought after statewide EBISS trainer – and BLS employee, will be available next year to support the work you are doing around analyzing and strengthening your school EBISS systems. Although on paper Dean does not have a lot of time to do this work (only two hours a week), he is up to the challenge!The minimum expectation that I have of all buildings is to coordinate a time for Dean to come visit with you about what your current EBISS systems/structure looks like and the process in place to identify and support students who need it. Preferred, but not required, is to have Dean also observe an EBISS meeting at your site as part of this process. This step could occur as soon as this spring, but should be completed no later than Thanksgiving break next fall. Feel free to reach out to Dean in order to schedule a time at any point prior to then.  He can be reached through district email or through his office extension (x 1078).Once the initial consultation with each middle school has been completed, Dean will spend the remainder of his MS EBISS time next year consulting and supporting one or two schools where there is interest and need. What Dean’s EBISS role will look like with a specific school will be further developed once the initial analysis has taken place.I am thrilled to have Dean made available to you as an EBISS resource and trust his expertise will be invaluable to you no matter where you are in the process of this work. Please let me know if you have any questions at this point regarding this.
• We have just finalized the certified 2016-17 work calendar for the week prior to school starting.  You can find the calendar and corresponding explanation for these days here or in the BLS Docs folder in TRIBE.  Let me know if you have any questions regarding this. (I see that Lora just sent this out via email to you as well – so now you have it in two spots!)
• I was recently made aware (wearing my district student discipline hat) of a half dozen instances where a student within our district was suspended out of school at the end of the 2014-15 school year.  The days of suspension continued on into the start of the 2015-16 school year.  In most of these instances the student did not serve the suspension at the start of this year.  There are a variety of reasons for this (student transferred to a different HS, the student went from MS to HS, etc.).  My point in bringing it up now is to communicate that if a student has committed an offense that warrants an OSS during the last days of school this year, please make a note to follow-up with this again in the fall – especially if the student does not return to your school.  Hopefully incidents of students receiving OSS in the waning days of the school year are very rare.

Reminders:

• I am on the road Friday to PDX and back to pick up our daughter as she returns home for the summer from college.  If you need to reach me please feel free to call or text my cell phone.

This and That:

• On Friday (May 27) Christie and I will be driving to Portland to pick up our daughter from the airport as she returns home from college for the summer.  And just in time too!  She begins her summer job of patrolling the Sunriver paths Therefore, I will not be officially on the clock at work, but if you need anything feel free to call my cell phone.
• Here is a Math Best Practices flyer announcing some PD opportunities that will occur in August.  Please feel free to share with your staff.
• In case you haven’t heard, here are the new VP hires at the following four elementary schools:

  Joan Warburg- Bear Creek- Joan is currently the principal at Hendrick Ranch Elementary School in Moreno Valley California.

  Tom Lence-High Lakes- Tom currently teaches fifth grade at High Lakes.

  Lybe Crumpton-Lava Ridge- Lybe currently teaches fourth grade core subjects in the morning and fulfills the duties of student services in the afternoon at Ensworth.

  Jesse Rasmussen-RE Jewell- Jesse currently teaches third grade at Jewell.

Reminders:

• PBMS principal interviews will be occurring on Monday.  You are all invited to attend the community forum that evening beginning at 6:00pm in the PBMS library.

This and That:

• As I mentioned in a previous post, you have received your SIF and MS Alternative Fund balances for the 2016-17 school year.  (These can be found in the corresponding tabs at the bottom of your Staffing Allocations in Google Docs.)  What I didn’t tell you is that you may combine these two accounts into one lump sum if that would help you in your planning for next year.  In other words, you are not required to keep these two as separate accounts, used only for different purposes.  Let me know if you have any questions regarding this.
• Please plan on printing and mailing home report cards at the end of this school year.  I have heard a few questions/rumblings about not doing this due to parent access on ParentVue, but I do not see this as an equitable option for all our families.  If you’d like to talk more about my reasons behind this decision please let me know.
• You may now begin to advertise any ICCL positions you have open with your certified staff.  The “posting” for this position can be found on the staff Portal.  (Simply direct interested certified staff to go to the Portal and type in “ICCL” in the search box in the top right of the page.  The posting will be the only item displayed.)  Once HR has received both the short essay and the confidential peer recommendation then you will be notified of the completed application and be able to interview that employee.
• Just to keep you updated, the PBMS principal position closes today.  Screening will take place next week and interviews will be held on Monday, May 23.
• The TELL Survey results are now public.  Earlier this week a group of admin, teachers and classified employees (including both BEA and OSEA presidents) reviewed the district results.  Next month we will also review the Classified survey results (see bullet below).  Here is a link to the TELL Survey site where you can quickly/easily review state, state by level, district and school feedback – as well as compare the 2014 and 2016 district results.  There are many ways in which you could process these responses at your building (e.g. ICCL or building review building vs. district vs. state, or building 2014 vs. 2016 results, etc.) and I would encourage you to take a look at this information to see what should be celebrated and possible areas for future focus.
• This Wednesday is a district SIW.  However, if you haven’t heard, math will not be meeting.  Feel free to pass this along to your math teachers if they are not aware of this yet.

Reminders:

• We will be having our last Horizontal meeting of the year on Monday at 3:15 at REALMS.  As a reminder, Roger has offered to give a tour of his facility for anyone interested beginning at 2:30.  You can find the agenda here.
• Tuesday evening is the Excellence in Education event at Silver Rail beginning at 4:00 (program starts at 4:30).  You will be introducing your classified and certified staff whom have been nominated for this recognition.  You’ll have 30 seconds to introduce each (1 min. total) so plan on providing a couple of highlights of why each are representing your school this year would be excellent.
• On Tuesday (May 10) a survey was sent to your classified staff.  The idea behind this survey is to give this group of professionals an opportunity to provide feedback similar to what certified employees were given with the TELL Survey a few months ago.  The results of both of these surveys will be shared with buildings (see bullet above re: TELL results) and looked at from a district lens in terms of what is working and areas for growth.  This survey is open through Sunday, May 22.

This and That:

• I am happy to announce that we have determined four dates to be set aside as “District SIW” for next school year.  These dates should be the only ones in which core, SPED, or other certified (e.g. ELL) teachers will be pulled from your building.  Additionally, these will be the dates on which other departments could meet either vertically or horizontally (e.g. music, second language, etc.).  I’ve included content areas that have already made plans for PD on those days:  9/14 (ELA and math), 10/5 (ELA and math), 1/11 (math), 3/8 (math).  I am fairly certain that science will also plan to meet on these dates as it is an instructional materials adoption year.  Additionally, counselors will likely be pulled these dates in order to create a district Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling Program next year.
• Grant Wiggins, maybe best known as co-author of the book Understanding by Design, wrote an blog post entitled: “Everything you know about curriculum may be wrong.  Really.”  Wiggins asks the question: “… what results if we think of action, not knowledge, as the essence of an education…” Here is another excerpt from that post that may wet your appetite enough for you to read it in its entirety:”So, suppose knowledge is not the goal of education. Rather, suppose today’s content knowledge is an offshoot of successful ongoing learning in a changing world – in which ‘learning’ means ‘learning to perform in the world.’As odd as that might sound for academics, it makes perfect sense in our everyday lives. The point of child-rearing, cooking, teaching, soccer, music, business, or architecture is not ‘knowledge’; rather, knowledge is the growing (and ever-changing) residue of the main activity of trying to perform well for real.”
• There is a free evening STEM event for the public (including MS and HS students) on May 20 at Ridgeview HS.  Here is the flyer for additional information.  Feel free to share this information with anyone interested.

Reminders:

• Don’t forget to thank your mom this Sunday!  You wouldn’t be where you are (or around at all!) if it weren’t for her.
• Budget and School Board meeting this Tuesday evening beginning at 5:00pm – no RSVP required!
• There will be an Oregon Rising event held this coming Thursday at Summit HS beginning at 6:00pm.

This and That:

• Would you please send me a hard copy (or electronic if that is all you have) of your student handbook?  I would love to use this to better familiarize myself with each of our middle schools.  Thank you in advance!
• This past Tuesday evening Shay rolled out his proposed 2016-17 budget to a combined group of Budget and Board members.  It is not anticipated that there will be a large increase in funds available (close to $600,000), but it is proposed that the majority of these dollars be spent on high school FTE (connected to change in schedule), counseling support, behavior and school psych staffing.  Let me know if you have any specific questions regarding next year’s budget.
• If you look in your Staffing Plan you will now find your next year’s SIF and MS Alternative funds in the corresponding tabs at the bottom of the sheet.  As you make plans for spending these funds please use these pages to document how you’ll be allocating these dollars and the amount for each expenditure.  This is a new process (in the sense that I am not asking for a static, snapshot in time view of how you are thinking of spending these funds) and would love your feedback on advantages/disadvantages as you use these forms.

Reminders:

• If you haven’t already, please have your Evaluation Self-Reflection completed by next Friday (May 6).  Again, I’ll be using my May site visit with you to discuss your goals, SDP progress this year and summative eval (with principal).
• Monday afternoon there is a New Admin Academy beginning at 2:00 and all Leadership meeting following at 3:15.
• It is Teacher Appreciation week!

This and That:

• I wanted to pass along an article that was recently shared with me.  In 20 Tips to Help De-escalate Interactions With Anxious or Defiant Students, the author passes along tips and strategies that teachers can immediately employ that will help them work with students in crisis.  The premise of the article can be summed up in this quote taken from it: “…after teachers learn more about why kids are behaving badly there are some simple strategies to approach defiant behavior like avoiding work, fighting, and causing problems during transitions with more empathy.”  However, I believe this article – and the 20 tips it suggests – shouldn’t be limited to working with students who demonstrate negative or disruptive behaviors in the classroom.  As I read it I thought about working with high achieving kids who struggle with anxiety over the pressures around high academic achievement (see Tip #10 for example).  Additionally, I can think of adults (staff, parents, community members) who I have been “difficult” to work with – and how I might have made more inroads with (or quicker inroads with) had I shown more empathy through our interactions.
• There will be free PD available to teachers here in Bend (Summit HS) on August 5th that is definitely worth taking advantage of.  Please pass along these pre-AP workshop opportunities taught by College Board vetted instructors, focusing on teaching strategies, to your staff.  [This would be a great way to satisfy next year’s “Flex Day” for teachers.]  Workshops will include: pre-AP English and Social Studies, pre-AP English Comp, and pre-AP Science, Vertical Teams.  Alice DeWittie is working through the logistics of exact times and registration process, so stay tuned!

Remember:

• Principals, in the next two weeks please complete your evaluation Self Reflection document in Talent Ed.  As I mentioned in last week’s update, I need this completed by Friday, May 6.
• Monday is the deadline for submitting Classroom Grant applications through the Bend-La Pine Education Foundation.  As of mid-day today, there are only 15 applications turned in so far – which means there is still money left on the table for other requests.

This and That:

• Here is some information regarding the principal summative evaluation.  This document will also reside in the “BLS Docs” folder in TRIBE if you need to refer to it at a later date.  Please review this and let me know what/if you have questions.  This is for principals only.  Please note the May 6 deadline.
• Dylan Wiliam is an educational expert in the area of assessment.  If you have ever heard him speak or read any of his material I would encourage you to do so.  To wet your appetite here is an article that he wrote entitled “Feedback That Makes a Difference to Students.”  In this writing Dylan asserts: “The apparently simple process of looking at student work and then giving useful feedback turns out to be much more difficult than most people imagine,”  and I can’t disagree.  The three suggestions Mr. Wiliam has for teachers are useful, relevant, insightful and shifts the paradigm of who is doing the work (from teacher to student).
• Here is a STEM grant opportunity I was recently made aware of.  The deadline is not for a few months, but due to the winners being selected via “online votes through social media” I would guess that the sooner you submit the better.  Here is additional info:

  Northrop Grumman Foundation is on a mission to get students excited about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).  They are making five grants of up to $100,000 each available to public middle schools for a school lab makeover.  A previous competition attracted 200 applicants nationwide.  The application includes video and photos to help tell the story.  Semifinalists will receive online votes through social media.  Information about the grant can be found at:

  http://www.fabschoollabs.com/

   

Remember:

• We have a Horizontal meeting on Monday.  We’re meeting at PBMS beginning at 3:15.  Please check-in at the office to know for sure where we’ll be meeting.  We’ll have the four schools who didn’t have time last month to share one aspect of their School Design Plan do so, and Vicki VB will take a few minutes to talk about OSU-Cascades Teacher Candidate placements for next year.  Here is the agenda.

This and That:

• If you have any questions come your way regarding transfer students please refer those to Andrea Wilson.  There are a number of types and “rules” around student transfers and Andrea has become quite the expert at working through each situation.  Please pass this along to anyone else in your building that may have these questions come her/his way as well.
• There is a safety conference July 31 – August 3 that sounds outstanding if you are interested in learning more in this area.  It is sponsored by the Oregon School Resource Officer Association, with additional conference information located on their website.  Keynote speakers will be Kristina Anderson (student in Virginia Tech classroom when violence erupted), Karen Williams (focusing on Lincoln High in Walla Walla, she will be explaining the science behind why young people act the way they do), and Frank DeAngelis (retired Columbine High principal who served in that capacity from 1979 – 2014).  There is likely funds to help pay for three nights hotel, per diem, and registration.  That would only leave mileage for you to cover from your building.  If you are interested, please let me know.
• The spring time of the year is often a balance between wrapping up the current year and looking forward to next year.  This naturally brings about the opportunity to run your ideas/thoughts by your staff as you plan for the future.  In this vein of thought, I believe the short article “Questions Principals Might ask in the Hallway” is a worthy read.  The author also suggests using these questions with students in order to promote your school’s vision (or “story”), which I certainly could have been more explicit about with my students.
• Here is an update from our math adoption team:

On March 29th, the Materials Curriculum Review Team for Mathematics  (MCRT) examined and discussed two of the three sets of materials programs for adherence to the BLSD Core Beliefs: Connected Mathematics, edition 3 (CMP3), and College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM). We had the intention of reviewing Eureka/Engage NY (Eureka), but ran out time. Therefore, the MCRT will review it independently on their own time and bring the information back for a discussion on April 19th.

From April 4-13, teachers and community members can view the math materials at La Pine Middle School and Pilot Butte Middle School. If possible, please provide teachers an opportunity to travel to these locations. All the materials are available online as well. Here are the links for your teachers:

Eureka Math link: http://greatminds.net/

Username: bend123

password: bend123!

CPM link: http://textbooks.cpm.org/

Username: bendsd1#cpm

password: 951290

CMP3 link: http://dashweb.pearsoncmg.com/dash.html

Here is a feedback form that teachers can use: http://goo.gl/forms/YAsFOZSBIX. The MCRT will look at the complied data after April 14th. 

Concerns are arising over digital versus paper materials. We will purchase paper versions of all the materials and materials are available digitally as well. Depending on the program and purchase agreements, individual teachers and schools can make the choice of how much, if any, they want to utilize. 

Remember:

• Job Fair at the fairgrounds on Monday.  Be there as close to noon as you can.  You’ll begin interviews right at 1:00.  Thank you in advance for representing BLS well to these potential employees!
• If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign-up with Chris Huff for the Restorative Practices training on June 21 & 22.  If you have any questions about this training please address these to Sean Reinhart.
• Here are is an update for your current balance in SIF and School Discretionary funds as of March 31.  Remember, you are able to carry-over up to 10% of these funds if you have an approved (by me) plan for a big investment.  Things like paying for subs or stipends do not qualify for “big investments,” but replacing desktop computers in your lab does.

This and That:

• You have no doubt been thinking about and/or working on your staffing plans for next year.  A few ambitious principals have even turned theirs in!  My hope is that you will all be able to work on your plan this next week and at least have a draft in Google Docs by next Friday, April 8.  I am able to approve a few position postings now, but will not be able to approve all until we know that all current district employees are placed (like those returning from a Leave of Absence).  I need to have a better understanding of staffing plans before I am able to give the green light for all postings.  Let me know if you have any questions regarding completing your staffing plan or any other related questions.  Finally, if you’d like for me to come visit with you in order to work through some questions or scenarios I’d be happy to do that – just let me know.
• I have added 2016-17 Classified and Certified Staffing projection documents in the “BLS Docs” folder so they are easy to find if you need either of them.
• In the article: “Students Need Multiple Opportunities for Learning” the author makes a compelling case for allowing students to redo work.  At the conclusion of this short article there are seven “take aways you can share with folks at your school when they don’t want to give a redo” that answer just about every argument against allowing students multiple opportunities to learn more deeply through improving his/her work.  I know that there is plenty of my own new learning that I don’t get right the first time – and am thankful when I am provided another opportunity to perform at a higher level (because I know I can)!

Reminders:

• There is still a need for MS ELA teachers to become involved in the PASS Peer Review process.  If you think you can twist an arm of one of your outstanding ELA teachers to become involved then now might be the time to do this.  Please have anyone interested contact Michele Oakes right away.
• In the event of an emergency within your building (fire, evacuation, lockdown, lockout, roof collapse, flood, etc.) don’t forget to have someone call the district emergency number and leave a message regarding the emergency.  This number is 541-355-8888.
• If your school is administering the Student Wellness Survey this year, the deadline for having your 6th and 8th graders completing this is next Friday, April 8.

This and That:

• A heads-up that the plan for our New Admin Academy meeting on April 4  (at 2:00) will be to focus on the changes TSPC has recently made in certified licensure and hiring process best practices.  All, not just new admin, are invited and encouraged to attend.  Stay tuned for additional info!
• This past December at our Leadership Meeting Julianne discussed and handed out a document outlining the minimum things that all schools needed to be doing that represented a district-wide effort towards safety.  That Culture of Safety document is linked here and I ask that each of you take a few minutes to review it to ensure your building is complying with these things, and make adjustments if/when still needed.  This next month Julianne will be speaking with the School Board regarding the steps that have been taken district-wide around safety and we want to be sure your building is aligned with these measures.  At this presentation Julianne would love to share a few things that schools are doing to foster a climate of safety, so please let she or I know if there is something you’d like the Board to know about.  Let me know if you have any questions regarding this.

Reminders:

• Your SPED staffing is not included in your building staffing plan – so please do not include these folks when you complete your plan on Google Docs.
• As you continue to work on your staffing plan, please do not talk with anyone in your building by starting a sentence with: “You won’t be working here next year…” Obviously, many of you have people working in a temporary position (for a variety of reasons) and they should know that their current job is only guaranteed through the end of June.  However, whether these temporary positions will be filled (e.g. by someone returning from a LOA) or posted (e.g. a late hiring process so it was posted as temporary) is yet to be determined in some cases.  Let me know if you have any questions regarding this.