TO DO:

Don’t forget to have your Staffing Plan 2.0 completed by next Friday at the latest. ________________________________________________________

Please make one more update into the Disconnected Student document next Thursday. I’ll share these numbers with Shay and Lora prior to their Friday morning Board Leadership meeting. ________________________________________________________

I’ll admit that sometimes I’m the last to know something, so this may be old news to you by now. Yesterday I stumbled across an article about students at Ridgeview High School rallying around the making of a video in order to show appreciation for their school staff. If you haven’t seen the video, it is definitely worth watching. Here is the video, and here is the article that that provides the background to its creation. What creative kids! _________________________________________________________

As we’ve discussed, this week ODE sent out some guidance for students in grades K-8. This new guidance (Section 6) is part of the larger Distance Learning for All document they’ve published. This would be a good section to review, if you haven’t already. There is a pretty large section on grading (we are staying with P/NG for all of our MS spring marks), Safeguarding Student Opportunity (6C), and Promising Practices (6E). I think pages 83-85 might be a good place to start – as there may be potential language here you’d like to share with your staff. _________________________________________________________

Hot spots have arrived and the first round has been delivered to your schools. Skip provided this resource page for additional information, how to request more, the form needed to be completed by a parent who is borrowing one, and a video (or written instructions) on how to set one up at home. Please take a look at this page and be ready to share this resource for any that may need it. You can also find this resource page within our COVID 19 folder. __________________________________________________________

THIS and THAT:

There is a group of folks who have rallied some local churches around volunteer or donation needs in our BLS schools. This group of churches is wondering about adopting specific schools, purchasing gift cards for teachers who may have needs, or even doing more landscaping projects (with proper social distancing, of course), among other things.  If you have an idea that a group of volunteers could help with please let me know. [Last year this group worked on updating a space at HDMS – and I think it turned out pretty well!] ________________________________________________________

A week or so ago Wendy communicated that she will be willing to share her room clean out schedule with everyone as an example. Well, I think there is not need to start from scratch – this schedule should give you some ideas of how to set up your own! Props to Nole for creating it! ________________________________________________________

Dr. Bruce Perry is a neuroscientist that knows a thing or two about stress and how it plays out in people. During this COVID-19 Pandemic he is providing a number of resources (office hours and videos) free of charge. Some of these topics look great – and may be a resource for you and/or your school community. Thanks to Hayley for passing this along. ___________________________________________________________

Here is some information from Jackie Wilson, our district’s Sustainability Coordinator, regarding ways to save energy and be sustainable during our school shutdown. ________________________________________________________

You did some thinking and sharing regarding one of the following topics this week. All of these can be referred to with the link, or found in the Covid-19 folder in TRIBE: NJHS, 8th Grade Celebration, and Disconnected Students. __________________________________________________________

One of my favorite comedians is Jim Gaffigan. (Anyone else read his book: Dad is Fat) His stand-up is funny, and his book I found simply hilarious (I was literally crying/laughing out loud at times – which Christie openly pointed out to me). This clip isn’t so much funny as it is a purely honest look from a parent during this time of remote learning. _________________________________________________________

REMINDERS:

We will not meet on Monday, but will next Thursday, April 30, as a MS Horizontal. Go to my Personal Room and I’ll meet you there! For this meeting, please be ready to share any Netflix (or other) shows you’ve been watching/catching up on. (I’ve got a great suggestion for y’all!)

TO DO:

Please read (and share as appropriate with your staff) this Equity and Access Considerations page. This is part update, part don’t forget, and part new information. Thank you for continuing to be the voice for those that may not have any other advocate right now. This, and every other pandemic-related document I’ve shared you’ll be able to find in the Covid folder in TRIBE. _______________________________________________________

Please make a note, and share with your staff, that we have a change in our OSS office. Ellen Jones, recently hired to replace Jody McBride, resigned last week and will be pursuing openings in a school (she would be an excellent addition to any school office)! Therefore, principals, please send your monthly Leave Sheet to me, and have all of your translation requests go to Joanne Kienzle until further notice. _________________________________________________________

This is a “please don’t do” rather than a “to do.” Please do NOT conduct any mini observations of a teacher directly teaching as part of your year-end observation roundup with your teachers. You may do a “check-in” with a teacher to inquire how they are doing with planning and instruction, but do not plan on conducting any direct observations of teaching.

THIS and THAT:

We have approximately 300 hot spots arriving soon. As you read in Lora’s message (first To Do item, above), we currently have 84 requests. Please be sure to notify your FAN advocate of any need for hot spots. ___________________________________________________________

Please review this guidance for materials distribution and pick up. This document is shared on behalf of your schools’ nurses and is an excerpt from a longer document produced by the National Association of School Nurses. Consider having EAs (or other available staff) help with the process of not only material distribution, but also summer room prep. There is a note at the bottom of the document from your Safety Team. I think you are all already following very similar protocols – thank you! _______________________________________________________

The Oregon CPS Project is offering a 2-hour Intro to Collaborative Problem Solving webinar on May 5^th from 12-2pm Pacific Standard Time. Funding is provided by the Oregon Health Authority; there is no cost to attend. This is a broad overview, and all are welcome! The training will take place via Zoom. Registration is required in order to receive the webinar link. _______________________________________________________

Please let Amy Tarnow know if you have any questions regarding the following: Our teaching and learning team is starting the curriculum ordering process for the 20-21 school year.  Principals, could you please let Amy Tarnow know who your site representative(s) will be?  Just like other years, these reps will gather orders from teachers and put them onto our master spreadsheet.  We need your names before Thursday, April 30th and will be scheduling a Webex with your reps to launch the process for the afternoon of Monday, May 4th. __________________________________________________________

We are asking that schools not produce their own COVID-19 materials… By video, electronic communication, paper, etc. The information around COVID-19 seems to change daily, and we want to utilize our county health partners and OHA, CDC, etc. for any information that is being shared out.  ___________________________________________________________

This came up at the end of our Webex this past Monday, but thought I’d pass along the official word regarding use of school logos that Sharon Smith has provided: The District does not allow use of its school logos or mascots for commercial purposes, absent an agreement. Use by PTOs and school groups for fundraising for school programs may be allowed pursuant to an agreement. The sale of signs for a profit that does not go to the school is not allowed. The use of logos/mascots gives the appearance that this project is undertaken on behalf of the district, which it is not. I caution against creating that impression.  ___________________________________________________________

A local family is looking to donate a 3-manual full pedal Yamaha Electone 415 organ. (I can send you a photo if you are interested.) ___________________________________________________________

You may have already seen this video regarding video conferencing. It is painful, in a funny way, because of the truth that it holds! ___________________________________________________________

REMINDERS:

MAC Survey is on Tuesday (4/21).

Our Horizontal on Monday will be focused on our updated budget/staffing plans. See you at 2:00!

TO DO:

Take a moment to think about this: “You have wonderful children who are resilient, work hard, and can figure out difficult things.” (Communicated in a parent message sent by one of your colleagues.) To me this touches on the anxiety parents are experiencing right now (“How do I figure this out?”) and the hope/reminder they they don’t have to (“Your child can do this!”). This is likely how your staff is also feeling right now… as well as us at times. Some things I know for sure are this: You’ve got this. I have faith in you and your leadership. I am proud to work along side and learn from you. __________________________________________________________

If you haven’t look at and dug in a bit at this Remote Learning Tools page (with lots of great links to dig further) that our district instructional team has created then I highly encourage you to do so soon. If you see something missing that you think would be helpful, please reach out to one of the members listed at the bottom of the page. __________________________________________________________

Please share the following reminders from Alandra with your teachers and counselors as appropriate:

1. SOCIAL MEDIA: We are seeing an uptick in digital communication and many schools and staff creating new social media accounts. Quick reminder that staff members who wish to create a professional social media account need to check in with Alandra Johnson. She has some important guidelines and tips to share about using social media while representing our schools. Send an email to [email protected] (She is also glad to hear from those who have already created accounts and now want to make them official.)
2. RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES: When sharing community resources with families, be sure to use our district pages, which are updated, vetted and approved (many are also translated): 

Families in Need also Familias necesitadas (Spanish)

Student Mental Health

COVID-19

Información (resources in Spanish) ________________________________________________________

Sean has recently sent out this letter to SPED families. If you have any questions about this please reach out to one of the SPED Directors.

THIS and THAT:

The business office has been in touch with your Office Manager regarding repayments to your families for spring sports fees. I am told that the reimbursement process has begun. __________________________________________________________

Here is a FAN Advocate update from Dana:

• Talk to your FAN Advocate about assigning a classified staff member to help with outreach.  Some schools have done this and it has helped lessen the load for the FAN Advocate. 
• We will be conducting our Spring MAC Survey the week of April 20.  Mara Stephens and the FAN Advocates will get information out to staff.  Mara has also recorded a training that can be viewed by staff members that need to complete the MAC training. 
• Please remind staff that if they hear of families that are now homeless, we need to get them counted.  Connect with your FAN Advocate so she can follow up.
• There is a district team that is working to identify locations where students are not able to access the Grab and Go lunches.  Look for information in the days to come about expanded food delivery locations.
• FAN Advocates are collecting names for the Hot Spots.  Dana, Ben and Skip continue to coordinate with Bend Broadband to get connectivity up for those that apply.  Hot Spots will be coming soon, and a plan for distribution will follow also.  
• Please take a minute to reach out and thank your Advocate.  They are all working incredibly hard and are doing everything they can to connect students and families to services.  
• If you feel there is an unmet need, please don’t hesitate to email or call Dana Pedersen.   _______________________________________________________

The following message was sent to HS ADs recently by Sal. Thought you might be interested in seeing it as well (I removed a few sentences regarding repayment to families because I already mentioned that above):

Well…the worst case scenario just became realty. School is officially closed through the end of the year and thus OSAA has officially canceled spring sports and all state competitions. The OSAA calendar governs through the end of May and resumes after moratorium week (this year early Aug). BLP is extending all current sports/activities closures through the end of our school year, June 14^th. There will be some gray area between June 14^th through early Aug. No decision has currently been made regarding this time frame however we hope to provide more clarity before the end of the 19/20 school year.  

BLP does not currently support any virtual sports competitions that involves BLP staff in any way.   ______________________________________________________

As you know, due to COVID-19, we have made a change to MS grading practices for this spring. If you need a PDF of the parent request form for letter grade(s), you can find it in the COVID folder in TRIBE. I’ve also emailed you a fillable PDF version that you can share electronically with any interested parents. Please share this change with parents in an upcoming (planned) communication (if you haven’t already). Please include some langauge around the reasons we are going with P/NG, as encouragement for folks to stick with this rather than request letter grade(s). __________________________________________________________

And speaking of grading for the spring term, I think it is wise to have your teachers assess and enter assignments with a letter grade (as much as would normally occur), even with a default of P/NG, because it is going to be much easier to turn letter grade averages into a Pass than it would be to turn a Pass into a letter grade at the end of the term. Connected to this, I do not advocate that assessment of learning should be “dumbed down” or “expectations lower” for students, but it should be obvious that the environment in which a student is currently learning (home vs. classroom) is less conducive for assuring equitable access to teaching. ___________________________________________________________

When the district guidance Google doc is updated, we’ll try and remember to share with you when those updates occur and what they deal with. Here is your first update:

• Under #5…A new document, an FAQ from Sean and his team about SPED, has been added as a separate document.
• Under # 1 and #2…We pulled docs out about high school grading and graduation.  Have not replaced those with updated content yet.
• Under #7…We added some content about how to access Google Voice when using your personal phone to mask your number and set up another number.  We included a link about that.
• Under #8… Athletics has been updated to indicate OSAA has cancelled all spring sports and refunds are being processed. ________________________________________________________

Hayley is passing this along, and it sounds like something you may find reason to share as well!

Our team of amazing Behavior Coaches have organized a user-friendly tool for parents. The tools in this resource- schedules, ready/not ready, and break routines- are tools that we use when coaching across the district (so students may/will be familiar). All the links are set for Anyone with the link can view.

Behavior Coaching Tools: For Parents & Families

__________________________________________________________

From Scott Bojanowski: During this morning’s safety meeting, we had some questions from school administrators about our SROs and if they will continue to service our schools now that school buildings are closed for the remainder of the school year. I talked with our SRO supervisors at Bend PD and Deschutes County Sheriff’s office today. 
The SROs will be on patrol duty during the weekdays, but they are still available to assist school administrators when needed.  As always if there is an emergency, please call 911 to get law enforcement assistance ASAP.
Jimmy Krauger (Summit HS) and Amy Ward (Bend HS) will be working patrol Monday – Thursday 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Scott Schaier (Middle Schools/Marshall HS) and Erik Ammon (MVHS) will be working Tuesday – Friday 8:00 – 6:00 pM on patrol.  I did not receive specific shift times for Deputy Bryan Morris is South County, but he will be working during the weekdays.
The SROs will continue to try and help serve meals at the designated school sites, and will be available for school administrators to call or email with support requests (i.e. welfare checks on students, vandalism reports, etc.). __________________________________________________________

I’ve also added this District Guidance document (the one with hot links) to our COVID folder so it is easy to find for future reference. Thank you for sharing this with your staff earlier this week. ___________________________________________________________

REMINDERS:

We have a MS admin Webex on Monday at 2:00. I’ll send out an agenda and link to our meeting by noon on Monday.

TO DO:

Here is an article by Lori Gottlieb that was published this week in the New York Times, entitled: Grieving the Losses of Coronavirus. I thought this was a good article that is pretty real about our current situation, as well as a reminder of how important our words are with others (holding the power to support and empathize, or to disregard… without intending to). ______________________________________________________

I heard from Cate Hill yesterday that Rosetta Stone is currently being offered for free. If you or your World Language teacher is interested in learning more, please reach out to Cate for more information. ______________________________________________________

There has been some media coverage around the potential for abuse of youth to increase during this time of stay at home isolation. Because students are not coming to school, the number of referrals for abuse has already seen a large drop in Deschutes County. In an effort to simplify the process for making a DHS/Law Enforcement referral, would you please remind your staff that they are still mandatory reporters, and share this link to the reporting form in the Portal, where a new fillable form can also be completed and sent to Ellen Jones (see below). ________________________________________________________

We have heard a few times from parents regarding a request for a bit more identification when receiving emails. As you can imagine, emails from school staff are coming fast and furious lately and parents are not always able to identify the school or course that the correspondence is coming from (especially if there are more than one secondary-aged child in the home). Would you please pass this request on to your teachers: When sending an email to family/student, please put school initials (e.g. CMS, HDMS) and course title (e.g. ELA 7, Math 8) in the subject line. It sounds like this would help alleviate some of the anxiety around learning from home. Thanks!

THIS and THAT:

I wanted to follow-up with you regarding a couple of questions that were asked about this week: 1) Are there Webex student guidelines? Answer: Yes. They can be found on this page, and they will be shared with you as part of the BLS Guidelines that you’ll receive later this afternoon. (They’ll be in folder #7 – Student Connectivity). 2) Are there any instructions for temporarily “expelling” a student from a Webex? Answer: Yes. This is in a few spots. Here are written instructions, here is a video, and here is a short video (54 sec.) mentioned again a bit later in today’s TRIBE. Seriously, probably a good idea to check out all of these links if you haven’t already seen them. 3) Courier to schools once a week? Answer: Yes. Actually, I learned/confirmed that there is still daily courier service continuing, so your mail is being picked up every day (even if you didn’t know it was). If you don’t believe this is happening, please let Terry Cashman know. __________________________________________________________

As you likely are aware, Jody McBride has resigned from her position in our office and will be moving to the LA area where her husband accepted a job. Just prior to school closures we had interviews to fill her position (and prior to our hiring freeze) and am thrilled to have Ellen Jones hired to fill this spot. Some of you “old-timers” may know this name as Ellen worked at CMS for five years, about ten years ago. It is a bit awkward to begin a new job that supports schools when there are no kids in them, but I wanted you to know Ellen’s name and know that you can reach out to her via email if you have any needs that she may be able to help with. __________________________________________________________

As I believe you are aware, spring conferences have been canceled and we will have school all that week (though it will obviously look a little different). Let me know if you have any questions related to this. ________________________________________________________

Here is a quick (54 sec.) tutorial on some things to know when getting started with Webex. It will likely answer some questions you’ve had, possibly inform you of a new trick or two, and likely worth sharing with your staff. __________________________________________________

As you know, directives from ODE changed on Monday evening around how instruction would be viewed and graded. Here is the ODE’s new language around Learning for All – full document, as well as Learning for All – Summary which contains the highlights. __________________________________________________________

We need to make a change to how we request translations–please share this important information with your staff.  (HDMS, the following message does not apply to you, as you are piloting the new software.) Currently, our protocol is to email Jody McBride with requests to translate written documents.  All status checks or updates to existing translator/interpreter requests also get emailed to Jody McBride.  

Effective immediately and for the remainder of the 19-20 school year, please send all document translation requests or status checks/updates to Ellen Jones: [email protected].  

As a reminder: documents for translation should be emailed in an editable file format (directly to Ellen Jones); requests for interpreters for meetings/events go through the Interpreter Request Form (link on the Portal).  This might be a good time to review our district’s Language Access Plan.   ______________________________________________________

The Print Shop staff is monitoring orders remotely and staff will come in and continue to print them as needed. Orders are delivered to sites as well as mail through our normal distribution system. If staff have any questions on particular print shop orders they can email Brian @  [email protected] __________________________________________________________

Here is a PD available online (occurring on April 14) that focuses on how schools might make SEL work at their site. More information can be found here. _______________________________________________________

REMINDERS:

Don’t forget to join the MS admin leadership meeting that will happen at 11:00 this coming Monday. Jay sent out an agenda and Webex invite earlier this week. _____________________________________________________

You can enroll new students with a starting date of March 13. Let me know if you’d like any additional information regarding this. __________________________________________________________

As appropriate, remind your staff about required social distancing – even when at school. Along with this, and if appropriate, please remind staff that if their child(ren) come to school with them that they should remain in a confined space (i.e. classroom) rather than roaming around.

TO DO:

I’ve mentioned a few times about wanting you to “meet” with your staff on March 30 – oftentimes alluding to the use of Webex as a platform for doing so. I want to make it clear that you do not have to use Webex, or another video-based platform to conduct this all-staff meeting. What you will be sharing in this initial meeting is very important for alleviating the stress that many on your staff have been feeling over this past week (or longer) and will set the tone for the days that follow. Feel free to consider other means to communicate (i.e. slide presentation, detailed email, a combination of written material followed by smaller group Webex meetings, etc.) at that initial meeting. One concern with using Webex with your entire staff at the initial meeting is the possibility of frustration and missed connection due to technological issues from first-time use from all (most) of your staff. Let me know prior to March 30 if you’d like to problem-solve this with me. ________________________________________________________

Please read over this teacher expectation page prior to March 30. Share with your staff as appropriate. _________________________________________________________

Here is a letter that you likely have (or will soon) receive from the district on Friday, March 20. This is another great one to read as it has up-to-date answers (as we know them today). ___________________________________________________________

Yesterday Stephen sent you a Google doc he created around the sharing of ideas for non-teacher position work task ideas. I see some great ideas in here already – thank you for those who have already added their thoughts. This link will also be shared with elementary and high school admin today, so look for the sharing of ideas to grow! _________________________________________________________

One thing you each need to have a plan for – and communicate to your families – is a process for them to come collect necessary materials (i.e. iPad, and/or other instructional materials) that are currently at school. Here is what we are asking: 1) Complete this document for your school no later than Monday, March 30. (MS are listed on the second tab at the bottom.) 2) Provide as much detail as necessary about what you want parents to hear about your process, as our Latino Liaisons will be recording a bi-lingual message for you using the information you provide. On Tuesday (3/31) your building’s message will be sent home to your parents (thanks to our Liaisons) via Synervoice.

THIS and THAT:

One of the resource pages we ask you to share with and go over with your staff on Monday, March 30 is this district Continuation of Learning Plan. Think of this document as the foundation on which we are building our instructional model for as long as our schools are closed. The first page provides a quick philosophical overview for teaching/learning during school closure, as well as a number of hot links to other sections of this document. (One of the embedded hotlinks takes you to a Remote Learning Tools page – please highlight this resource as well.) Please read and be familiar with this document and other embedded links found within its pages – as you will likely be asked questions about it from your staff. Please do not share this document to staff prior to your meeting on March 30. __________________________________________________________

I’ve started creating a “COVID 19” folder for you to find various documents related to this pandemic. You can access this folder from the hotlink at the top of the blog, or in the TRIBE folder in Google docs. One of the documents you’ll find here is a page of links. My thinking is that I’d like for you to have one spot where you will be able to find all pertinent web links (rather than having to search for them). Feel free to add to this list as you have need.

Here is a message that Sean sent out to SPED staff yesterday. I thought it was worth you seeing and being aware of it as well. _________________________________________________________

Between March 30-April 3, ELL Specialists will contact all multilingual families, to gauge who needs delivery of materials out to home/neighborhood. _________________________________________________________

As you know, you each have specific FTE allotted to you for the new “BRYT” program beginning next fall. Part of this new FTE is for a certified counselor/mental health or social worker, which we are calling the Secondary Student Success Clinician. Here is the job description for this position. (The job description for the classified position you’ve been allotted is still being finalized – but I’ll share it when it is complete.) _________________________________________________________

I’m hearing great stories of teachers videoing read alouds and the like. Please share these guidelines from publishers as some titles are off-limits._____________________________________________________

Updates regarding postings: For now, we are holding on posting any classified openings across the district. Also, if you believe your staffing plan is complete, please let me know and I’ll look it over prior to approving any certified postings (that you will submit to HR). __________________________________________________________

REMINDERS:

All staff (except possibly nutrition and transportation) will be reporting for work on Monday, March 30. Reminder, this does not mean they must come to your building – they may report in from home.

TO DO:

Please read and share the information that Shay sent to you earlier today. That should answer most of your questions. If you have any further questions or need some clarification, don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email.

Our MS Horizontal is canceled for Monday afternoon. However, I would like to meet with you for 30 min. or less after our Leadership on Monday morning, so please plan on remaining for a bit after that meeting.

Please let me know if you would NOT like for me to share the names of your performing arts teachers with Anna Higgins (see the explanation from Anna below) and Marilyn Magness. If I don’t hear from you then I will share names based on your staffing plan. From Anna: An energized community member (Marilyn Magness) who has recently retired after a long career with Disney. She has a vision to ignite/excite/inspire/resource the local performing arts educators (inside schools). We’d love to pull them together for a small event before the end of the school year. Here is Anna’s contact if you’d like more info… [email protected] 541.771.6886 (cell). ______________________________________________________

Principals, very soon you will be receiving an email from Erin Feeney, Placement Coordinator from OSU-Cascades, regarding teacher candidate placements for next year (2020-21). As you know, we often hire great student teachers in our district – and these next few years will be no exception. Please consider speaking with one or more of your many qualified teachers about hosting/mentoring a teacher candidate.

THIS and THAT:

Here is some information from Jackie Wilson, our district’s Sustainability Coordinator:

Please share this survey with the Admin Teams in your next update. We are trying to get feedback about the WE Reduce program.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9JZV67G

Here is the most recent information sent to the WE Reduce Advisors about the program and upcoming events like the Climate Optimism Summit this Saturday the 14th.https://mailchi.mp/bend.k12.or.us/wereduceupdatemarch

_________________________________________________________

REMINDERS:

Building administrators, see you Monday at 9:00am in the board room for further school operation updates.

Your Excellence in Education nominations are due next Friday, March 20.

TO DO:

If you have nothing to do on Tuesday night, and can’t stand the thought of being at home, this is the board meeting where we are hoping to have the SIA plan approved. If that happens, then you should receive your staffing plan next Friday.

THIS and THAT:

Thank you all for having your ACRs processed by end of day Friday (3.6.20). As you likely are aware, Synergy will update where students are pointed over the weekend and Brad will be spending time next week to create staffing plans based on your projected student enrollment. _______________________________________________________

Please be sure you are up to date on mini observations. You need to have 4 completed by spring break. I am hearing that some teachers are not having mini observations completed. Be sure to tell teachers after completing the post-conference that you just completed a mini observation and tell them what number it was. You have 72 hours after an observation to complete a post-conference. The handbook still says 24 hours and Jon is working on getting that revised. _________________________________________________________

If you have a reading intervention class (or support offered) at your middle school and would be interested in adding some Read 180 leveled texts to your collection, please let Wendy Reeves know. There are a number of these texts available to receive for the very low price of free. _________________________________________________________

There are a number of golden nuggets that I’ve picked up at the tech conference I’ve been attending this week. I’ll be sharing a few with you in these next couple of weeks that you might find (I hope) meaningful. Because I enjoy a good TED Talk, I was intrigued by this TED-Ed site, that was developed with both teachers and students in mind. If you have a teacher that might enjoy combining video into learning experiences (e.g. watch a 3 min. video that will provide context to an article that students will be reading) or a teacher that might want to provide real-world learning experiences by having students create and share their own TED-Talk, this might a site that you share for further exploration.

REMINDERS:

Daylight Savings Time “spring forward” is this Sunday, March 8.

Our next Horizontal will be at PBMS on March 16, starting at 3:00. Please have chapter 4 read and be ready to discuss.

TO DO:

Check out this opportunity to learn more about STEM at your school. The fine folks at Academy at Sisters (one of our district ALOs) is offering an Informational Session on March 6… and you need to RSVP by today(!) if you are interested in attending. Each of our middle schools may send one person. See the flyer for additional information. ______________________________________________________

 Please send Jody 2-hour blocks of time that you would like interpreters for conferences. (Bend-area spring conferences are April 8 & 9.) Please do your best to spread those times out a bit (day/evening). If everyone requests evening, we will not be able to fill them. Please have this to Jody by Friday, March 13 so that she can share with our coordinator at the ESD who knows all of the interpreters and will do all of the scheduling. _____________________________________________________

I’m sending this along for fun… Whether you are a basketball fan or not, if you have ever attended a small college hoops game between rivals then you’ve experienced the potential of something magical happening. That’s exactly what too place when Grace College and Taylor University met recently. Watch this in full screen mode so you can catch some of the details of this crazy finish. [To set the stage, Grace College – wearing white – has the ball and is down three points with seconds to go…]

THIS and THAT:

The DHS / Law Enforcement Interview  Protocol Checklist form on the portal and on our district website (it coincides with JFG-AR: Student Searches & Questioning) was missing an important step : providing notification to the person interviewing a child about the student’s disabling condition (if any). If you have copies already made, please either get rid of these, or update them to add this missing step.

I’m confident our schools are currently doing this, but our checklist form didn’t include that important (and required by law!) part of the process. Please share this with your front office staff as well! __________________________________________________________

These coming weeks, as you know, are a very busy time – when you are finishing up the current year and have begun planning for next year. In that vein of thought, below is a reminder from Kerry Morton of how we process math acceleration requests from parents or recommendations from teachers. Please read through this carefully and ask me any questions you might have.

Below are the recommendations for by-passing a year of mathematics for grades 6, 7, and 8:

• If parents or teachers are recommending students by-pass a year of mathematics, students need to meet the minimum scores for EasyCBM and the written portion. Here are the requirements.
• Do not ask the elementary schools to administer the by-pass assessment.
• Administer the assessment in August and/or September. To help with student schedules, it is recommended that you assess students in August before school starts. Parents and teachers probably know who would be interested in and capable of by-passing now. The few students who cannot make it to your August testing sessions, provide a time during the first week of school. Here is the link to the paper-pencil assessment.
• If your school decides to administer EasyCBM to every student in September, please call it a universal screener and administer the paper-pencil assessment to students who have parent and/or teacher recommendations.  
• Please do not send a message to all families about by-passing a year of mathematics. It causes stress on students and families. Some don’t want this and they don’t want their child taking unnecessary assessments.
• If students wish to take online math to progress quicker, they must pass with at least a B. This is intended to ensure students are successful in future mathematics. This is a link with some information from Amy Tarnow.

A couple key language shifts regarding this process:

• EasyCBM a universal screener – we are using it for this purpose because it is easy to administer.
• This is by-passing, not challenging up. Students are skipping a year of mathematics.
• The requirements are intended to be rigorous so we can be sure students do not struggle unnecessarily in future mathematics.

I recommend reviewing your data of your students who by-passed a grade level:

• Did each student achieve at least a B? If not, why?
  • Review the criteria and data used to by-pass that student, should the requirements be higher?
• How many of your Algebra 1 students are repeating Algebra 1 at High School? How can this be avoided next year? _______________________________________________________

A few of you have been asking me about the current progress of our district’s superintendent search. Here is an update from Lora:

While I am not officially facilitating the logistics of the superintendent search process, Andrea Wilson and I have been helping with some of the scheduling. A few of you have been asking about the process, so I will share what we know.

• The position closes March 1^st. The job posting has a nice summary of the most important qualities the district seeks: superintendent job description

• The board has created an interview committee with staff representatives who will participate in both rounds of interviews. The first round of interviews (semi-finalists) is scheduled for Friday, March 20^th.

• For the finalist interviews March 30^th and 31^st, there will be a series of forums, tours, etc. over the two days. In addition to the public forums the evening of March 30^th, there will be presentations and Q & A time especially for administrators and supervisors. As soon as these times are finalized, we will get dates, times, and locations out to everyone on the leadership team. In addition, the host(s) of these activities will be soliciting possible questions in advance, so stay tuned. ______________________________________________________

Some information regarding The Bulletin’s Spelling Bee was recently shared with me and I wanted to pass it along (thanks Skip for sharing!). Please refer to this docuement – or share as you’d like with staff – if interested in learning more. __________________________________________________________

As most of you are aware, I belong to the Sunriver Rotary Club. One of the main missions of Rotary is to serve/give to others in the community. For our Club, this means providing funds to local non-profits, including schools. Once a year we hold a dinner and wine auction as our major fundraiser. If you are interested in attending the dinner (May 8) or would like to purchase tickets for the wine raffle ($10 each, or 5 for $45) let me know. [I promise this will be the only time I ask!] __________________________________________________________

REMINDERS:

Remember, we do not have a Leadership meeting scheduled for March.

Daylight Savings time is Sunday, March 8.

Our next Horizontal is March 16 @ PBMS. Please read and be ready to discuss chapter 4.

TO DO:

Please take a look at a couple of changes that have been made to the school Office Referral Form. We’ve added a “Vaping” violation, as well as added “marijuana” under Drugs. These changes were made in an effort to collect better data connected to these two violations. An updated Office Referral Form can be found on the Portal now, and Synergy will be updated on Monday to reflect these changes.

THIS and THAT:

Hot off of the presses from Julianne… Please read and make adjustments in your visitor/volunteer processes, if any are warranted… We are hearing of unfortunate visitor/volunteer management inconsistencies between schools, which is causing great grief for some of our office managers/staff who are trying to enforce the rules with fidelity.
Scott and I really need your help to ensure that this policy is followed with integrity and consistency. Not only do we fall into possible profiling when we do not follow our policies consistency, but we also find ourselves set up for legal issues. ________________________________________________________

At one of our BRYT school visits (that Gary and I participated in) the facilitator took notes (find these below), which I received this week and thought worthy of passing along to you. Please continue having conversations in your building around prioritizing “internalizers” or “externalizers” with the mental health staffing for next year. So you know, “Transitions” is the name of the BRYT classroom at Sherwood School:

One thing that has been really helpful for the first year of the Transitions program has been clarity around the referral process and eligibility criteria. The Transitions team continues to go back to their program plan to refer back to the eligibility criteria as it relates to student referrals to be sure that they are following their agreed-upon criteria. It has also been really helpful to have high-functioning building leadership teams and instructional leadership teams to foster discussion around referral decisions. 
In terms of school buy-in, the Sherwood team found it helpful to let the faculty know about the program at the beginning of the year. Amy also led a PD for the paraprofessional team that involved a lot of Q+A and that they found very helpful. The next steps in program development are to create a staff survey for teachers supporting the program, and potentially host an open house. 
The Sherwood team mentioned that one unexpected challenge has been working with families to get additional supports. There is a great parent story about learning the difference between empowering anxiety and enabling it that you all can read here if interested.  ____________________________________________________

As many/most of you are aware, each year we have a wonderful opportunity to host teachers from China (to teach Chinese in our schools), as well as send some of our BLS teachers to China to teach English. One of the teachers we are hosting, William, is teaching at Bend Sr. High School and is in need of a host family between March and the end of this school year. The host family would get a $200 stipend per month to help with food costs.  BLS can provide a bus ticket for his transportation – the host family does not need to provide William with a car or transport him each day unless it works for them to do so.

If you know of someone – BLS employee or not, please have them get in touch with Louise Markland at [email protected] _____________________________________________________

REMINDERS:

Our next MAC Survey is Monday, Feb. 24. Work with your FAN advocate to communicate this with your staff.

TO DO:

Sean R. sent this out earlier this week to principals. Because there is a “to do” – I wanted to send it your way again just to make sure you were aware:

Your school’s Child and Youth Resilience Survey  (CYRM) administration day coming soon.

Please note that there are two important actions for you to do:

1. Choose your date
2. Send parent notification at least 1 week prior to administering the survey. 

Everything you need can be found in this link.  Please let me know if you have any questions. __________________________________________________________

Here is a copy of our 8th-grade celebration expectations in Spanish. Please share as you have (or plan on) communicating the English version.

THIS and THAT:

Here is an article that was published last week (that I hadn’t read until this week) regarding BRYT – the mental health program I discussed with principals on Monday. It takes a look at how this program is working with kids in two very different schools in Massachusetts. Here is a paragraph from the article that stood out to me: “Early intervention is much more effective than waiting until a kid is in a crisis, and that’s what happens in a lot of schools that don’t have these adequate members of mental health staff,” said Vaillancourt Strobach of the National Association of School Psychologists. “There is an entire population of students who really aren’t getting the care that they need, or it’s putting the responsibility on the community, where there is also a significant shortage.” _____________________________________________________

You may or may not be aware that we have a “Grow Our Own” incentive program here in our district, where support is given to current classified employees to pursue a credential/degree in a hard-to-fill position. This program is relatively new and we believe not everyone is aware of it. The attached documents were sent out to all classified staff, but if you know of any amazing classified staff in your building who would do great in a hard-to-fill certified role, it would be awesome to have you encourage these folks to attend the info session. (Thanks to Kinsey for promoting/highlighting this program!) ______________________________________________________

After a conversation we had this morning, I want to provide you with an update regarding this spring’s staffing/posting timeline, some of which is a repeat, and some new information. If the Board approves the budget at the March 10 meeting, then the plan is for you to receive your building staffing plan on Friday, March 13. Knowing you all, I suspect I will begin looking over and approving your submitted plans (to me) as soon as Monday, March 16. [Please make sure that any of your returning Leave of Absence staff appear on your plan, as I won’t be able to approve your plan if they are not.] By mid-week (around March 18), once I approve your plan, I will give you and HR the OK to begin posting positions. These will all be two-week postings. What you need to be aware of is that you could, theoretically, begin interviewing and offering positions prior to the Job Fair. There are some positive and not-so-positive potential outcomes of this that I’m sure you can think of. Please reach out to me if you’d like to discuss these, or otherwise strategize about your hiring plans. _______________________________________________________

Here is a statewide PD opportunity related to scoring test items from the Oregon Statewide Summative Assessment for your ELA and math teachers. Feel free to share this link with any/all that may be interested. ________________________________________________________

Bend International School will be having some parent informational nights over the course of the next few weeks. Feel free to advertise these with students/families as you normally would other district info.

REMINDERS:

Enjoy your President’s Day Holiday on Monday!

Our next Horizontal is March 16 @ PBMS.