I know you are wondering who your Liaison and FAN Advocate will be this year. We had some August changes with staff on those teams, so I am still completing hiring. After hiring, I will finalize school placements but those will likely not be confirmed for another two weeks.
In the meantime: If your school has August family events, please invite the Liaison and Advocate who have been serving your school most recently, and assume they’ll be with you again until/unless you hear otherwise. (My goal is to make minimal changes to placements this year, so hopefully you’ll experience consistency within those roles.) Liaisons and FAN are not back on contract until the last week in August, but some might be available for your earlier family events. In addition to inviting those roles, don’t forget to request interpreters via Linguist Link.
If you have questions or an urgent need related to family engagement or family support, reach out!
For your launch on Climate and Culture & for presentation on Aug 13
There is work that needs to be done to get the 2024/25 UKG evaluation process up and running; in the meantime, schools may begin their SLGG process by copying/filling out the Google Form template and keeping a copy of it until the process launches in October.
Here are useful links:
SLGG Google Form – Staff can either make a digital copy to complete or they can print and fill out a hard copy. These can be uploaded into UKG (instructions to follow)
Staff can then attach a pdf of their completed form when the goal-setting task appears in their UKG To Do list.
Coordination of the entire the entire Certified Evaluation process and managing the Performance module within UKG will take up a significant part of the yet-to-be-hired HR Director’s first 60 days, so more communication will be shared once that vacancy is filled.
This and That
From Katie Legace
Just a heads up that because of the reduction in the HSS allocation from the state, we may not be able to allocate HSS money to our MS’s. We are checking to see if an allocation is required because we are not sure.
Just so you know, I would like to be able to allocate something but don’t know what (or if) we will be able to. I will keep you posted.
Happy last Friday of the school year!! I hope all 8th promotions/celebrations have gone well. I am hearing that they have and there has been a lot of excitement. Nicely done!
Please review this calendar. Stephen Duval will be sending an email related to it. Let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great weekend. ~Juan
To Do
As the last day of school approaches, ensure you have your check-out system ready for teachers. Please communicate your system with your staff.
Ensure all evaluations are complete.
Ensure main schedules are complete.
From Becca Burda
We know you’re counting down the days left in the school year but we are already hard at work on the Welcome Back program on Tuesday, August 27. This year’s virtual presentation will have a direct feed to every building! That means your school community will have a moment to stand out and shine. Throughout the program, we’ll go live to each school for 20 seconds. Find a unique way to say HELLO to all of Bend-La Pine Schools across the district. There will be prizes to the most creative greetings. Let the idea buzz around your head this summer and be ready to offer ideas to your school when you return in August.
With the great news about our schools moving to CEP status (and school-wide free lunch), we need a thoughtful game plan for supporting families in accessing the district and community benefits that come with the traditional Free and Reduced Lunch application/status specific to their family. Our first step in this process is to identify every possible component of our system that requires a FRL application in order to access/benefit (AP exam discounts, fee waivers, etc).
Can you please do two things: 1) Add any items here that you are aware of that are directly connected to a student’s qualification for Free/Reduced Lunch, and 2) Share this with your staff so they can contribute to creating a comprehensive list. We will use this information to coordinate alternative ways to access these benefits, and/or to enhance supports for families in submitting applications even in CEP settings. Thank you!
Upcoming professional learning opportunities:
Please see Kinsey’s June 11th email about professional learning opportunities. CFEE and Taking It Up are district priorities for professional learning, so please review and register for those as applicable. Also, encourage your ICCL team or whole staff to attend Taking It Up. Hearing that this matters to you as their building supervisor is a big motivator in increasing participation!
From Jackie Mueller
Summer Energy Conservation and SOP
Here is the Holiday SOP as a reminder about shutting down the schools when the last of the staff and students depart for the summer holiday. Completing building walk-throughs, we have seen high participation in closing schools over the breaks which is translating into savings. Here is an alternative reminder for staff and a checklist that can be shared.
Schools are going into unoccupied mode on June 24th. The morning purge is still active to try and get the schools down to 70 but the AC will be off. Please try to be cognizant of lighting and open windows and doors in schools to try and keep it cool.
Stephen Duval
Please take the time to fill out this survey regarding your school’s plans for grading and grade books next year. To support MTSS data systems, we need to ensure each school has a plan for grades to be accurate and readily available in Synergy. This will also help us support the beginning of the year gradebook setup for staff. Please contact Stephen with any questions.
This and That
From Nick Shien
As we approach the end of the year, we wanted to get some quick accounting information and reminders out to you all. Please review, and reach out to Nick Shein ([email protected]) if you have any questions or concerns.
Budgets: A recap of the typical funds available to you can be found here in case you are looking for other budgets to charge expenses too. It is perfectly acceptable to move allowable expenses out of your discretionary budgets and into some of these other funds as a way to balance your budgets or to preserve the spending flexibility that your discretionary budgets provide (ie discretionary can be spent on the widest variety of items).
Carry Overs: With the reductions planned for next year, we are allowing a carry over of 20% in your school discretionary and athletics budgets this year. That is up from the typical 10%.
Petty cash: If you have petty cash, please make sure it is counted and reconciled before you close your school for the summer.
Guidance on Gift Cards:
For Staff: Gift cards for staff CANNOT be purchased with District funds at any time or for any reason. You may, however, purchase gift cards with your personal funds (your own pocket) and give them to staff so long as the value is less than the gift threshold of $50
For Students: Gift cards CAN be purchased with District funds for students as prizes or incentives. The value must be $10 or less, and the cards must only be valid for stores that do not sell alcohol, tobacco or other items inappropriate for students. You must keep an inventory of the cards if purchasing in bulk. The exception is Title–please do not buy any gift cards with Title funds.
For FAN: Your FAN advocates cannot accept gift cards to be used for FAN families, so your school should not solicit gift cards for FAN. Your PTOs are separate entities and, though inadvisable, CAN do a gift card drive for FAN if they really want too. However, the PTO must maintain ownership of the cards and will ultimately have to donate the cards to the FAN Foundation instead of your advocate ( https://familyaccessnetwork.org/).
Be sure to check out the bottom of the blog. There are important dates and calendars for the fall. 😱 Have a great weekend, and stay hydrated with this warm weather! ~Juan
To Do
As the last day of school approaches, ensure you have your check-out system ready for teachers. Please communicate your system with your staff.
From Paul Dean
HR Update
Thank you for meeting with Sarah and I on Thursday. We have confirmed that the numeric calculations on the spreadsheet are correct. We have determined that averaging minutes across the week is not an acceptable practice so please confine your calculations to daily prorations.
As we approach the end of the year, we wanted to get some quick accounting information and reminders out to you all. Please review, and reach out to Nick Shein ([email protected]) if you have any questions or concerns.
Budgets: A recap of the typical funds available to you can be found here in case you are looking for other budgets to charge expenses too. It is perfectly acceptable to move allowable expenses out of your discretionary budgets and into some of these other funds as a way to balance your budgets or to preserve the spending flexibility that your discretionary budgets provide (ie discretionary can be spent on the widest variety of items).
Carry Overs: With the reductions planned for next year, we are allowing a carry over of 20% in your school discretionary and athletics budgets this year. That is up from the typical 10%.
Petty cash: If you have petty cash, please make sure it is counted and reconciled before you close your school for the summer.
Guidance on Gift Cards:
For Staff: Gift cards for staff CANNOT be purchased with District funds at any time or for any reason. You may, however, purchase gift cards with your personal funds (your own pocket) and give them to staff so long as the value is less than the gift threshold of $50
For Students: Gift cards CAN be purchased with District funds for students as prizes or incentives. The value must be $10 or less, and the cards must only be valid for stores that do not sell alcohol, tobacco or other items inappropriate for students. You must keep an inventory of the cards if purchasing in bulk. The exception is Title–please do not buy any gift cards with Title funds.
For FAN: Your FAN advocates cannot accept gift cards to be used for FAN families, so your school should not solicit gift cards for FAN. Your PTOs are separate entities and, though inadvisable, CAN do a gift card drive for FAN if they really want too. However, the PTO must maintain ownership of the cards and will ultimately have to donate the cards to the FAN Foundation instead of your advocate ( https://familyaccessnetwork.org/).
Please take the time to fill out this survey regarding your school’s plans for grading and grade books next year. To support MTSS data systems, we need to ensure each school has a plan for grades to be accurate and readily available in Synergy. This will also help us support the beginning of the year gradebook setup for staff. Please contact Stephen with any questions.
I’d like to give a special shout-out to Jennifer and Jess for their efforts in recognizing and celebrating counselors today. Thanks to everyone who joined us to see the great work being done across middle schools to support students, teachers, and families. ~Juan
To Do
From Stephen Duval
Please take the time to fill out this survey regarding your school’s plans for grading and gradebooks next year. In order to support MTSS data systems, we need to ensure each school has a plan for grades to be accurate and readily available in Synergy. This will also help us support the beginning of the year gradebook setup for staff. Please contact Stephen with any questions.
Certified Evaluations System for 2023-2024
Middle school admin teams, Please ensure you are using the below Modified Evaluation System for Certified Staff, 2023-24 Here is the doc
From Stephen Duval
Please take the time to fill out this survey regarding your school’s plans for grading and gradebooks next year. In order to support MTSS data systems, we need to ensure each school has a plan for grades to be accurate and readily available in Synergy. This will also help us support the beginning of the year gradebook setup for staff. Please contact Stephen with any questions.
This and That
From Nick Shien (Reminder)
As we approach the end of the year, we wanted to get some quick accounting information and reminders out to you all. Please review, and reach out to Nick Shein ([email protected]) if you have any questions or concerns.
Budgets: A recap of the typical funds available to you can be found here in case you are looking for other budgets to charge expenses too. It is perfectly acceptable to move allowable expenses out of your discretionary budgets and into some of these other funds as a way to balance your budgets or to preserve the spending flexibility that your discretionary budgets provide (ie discretionary can be spent on the widest variety of items).
Carry Overs: With the reductions planned for next year, we are allowing a carry over of 20% in your school discretionary and athletics budgets this year. That is up from the typical 10%.
Petty cash: If you have petty cash, please make sure it is counted and reconciled before you close your school for the summer.
Guidance on Gift Cards:
For Staff: Gift cards for staff CANNOT be purchased with District funds at any time or for any reason. You may, however, purchase gift cards with your personal funds (your own pocket) and give them to staff so long as the value is less than the gift threshold of $50
For Students: Gift cards CAN be purchased with District funds for students as prizes or incentives. The value must be $10 or less, and the cards must only be valid for stores that do not sell alcohol, tobacco or other items inappropriate for students. You must keep an inventory of the cards if purchasing in bulk. The exception is Title–please do not buy any gift cards with Title funds.
For FAN: Your FAN advocates cannot accept gift cards to be used for FAN families, so your school should not solicit gift cards for FAN. Your PTOs are separate entities and, though inadvisable, CAN do a gift card drive for FAN if they really want too. However, the PTO must maintain ownership of the cards and will ultimately have to donate the cards to the FAN Foundation instead of your advocate ( https://familyaccessnetwork.org/).
Please process your YouthTruth data with your staff and share key positives and areas for growth, as well as next steps, with your families and students by the end of the school year. Principals, you are strongly encouraged to additionally process your school’s data with your families and students, particularly, with your principal’s student advisory team, with the intention of setting school improvement and student learning growth goals (SLGGS). However, processing with these groups is not required this year.
From Scott McDonald (Reminder)
Greetings,
You are receiving this email because a majority of schools were slated for either a complete swap of their student iPads or were going to be receiving replacements for 6th and 7th gen iPads. This swap is currently on hold. A purchase is still anticipated, but the timeline has changed. The determining factors for this delay are:
• Moving to the next generation of iPad involves investment in peripheral technology that is greater than anticipated – namely keyboard and headphone adaptors.
• Logistical and instructional considerations that may impact school locations that actually need to swap devices.
At this time, plan on your roll-in to continue as planned outside of any devices being retired. iPads will need to be stored like in years past by student last name, next year’s teacher, etc. The Tier 1 website will reflect these changes as soon as possible. Please reach out to your building’s IT Client Services tech, a fellow Tier 1 or Roy Fuller for help or idea’s for rolling in. For a quick reference see below:
Middle School iPads
6th-7th grade iPads will stay with the current student
8th grade iPads will roll down to incoming 6th graders
We will continue to remove any 6th gen iPads that have issues or swap any 6th or 7th gen iPad for a student who needs a newer device for OCR support as we’ve always done. High Schools will continue to receive 9th gens as replacements to keep device types consistent. If any student in K-8th grade needs to have an iPad over the summer (summer school or family request), please have the family fill out the attached form to be given to you before the iPad is taken home.
It was great to see all of you yesterday. I left inspired by all of you. You are thoughtful, deeply caring, and highly skilled educational leaders. I know the news around the levy was a downer but feel encouraged and supported by each other to get through this challenging time. We are stronger together! Be sure to read Superintendent’s Cooks message from earlier this week. Check out this video: HERE It will give you an understanding of how important state funding needs to change for districts across the state.
I want to wish you a restful and well-deserved three-day weekend! I hope you get out and do something for yourself. Peace~Juan
School Administrator Performance Evaluation Bug–Self Reflection
Please refer to Tammy Doties email sent on Friday, May 24th for correction on this task.
Youth Truth Data
Please process your YouthTruth data with your staff and share key positives and areas for growth, as well as next steps, with your families and students by the end of the school year. Principals, you are strongly encouraged to additionally process your school’s data with your families and students, particularly, with your principal’s student advisory team, with the intention of setting school improvement and student learning growth goals (SLGGS). However, processing with these groups is not required this year.
This or That
From Nick Shein in the Business Office
As we approach the end of the year, we wanted to get some quick accounting information and reminders out to you all. Please review, and reach out to Nick Shein ([email protected]) if you have any questions or concerns.
Budgets: A recap of the typical funds available to you can be found here in case you are looking for other budgets to charge expenses too. It is perfectly acceptable to move allowable expenses out of your discretionary budgets and into some of these other funds as a way to balance your budgets or to preserve the spending flexibility that your discretionary budgets provide (ie discretionary can be spent on the widest variety of items).
Carry Overs: With the reductions planned for next year, we are allowing a carry over of 20% in your school discretionary and athletics budgets this year. That is up from the typical 10%.
Petty cash: If you have petty cash, please make sure it is counted and reconciled before you close your school for the summer.
Guidance on Gift Cards:
For Staff: Gift cards for staff CANNOT be purchased with District funds at any time or for any reason. You may, however, purchase gift cards with your personal funds (your own pocket) and give them to staff so long as the value is less than the gift threshold of $50
For Students: Gift cards CAN be purchased with District funds for students as prizes or incentives. The value must be $10 or less, and the cards must only be valid for stores that do not sell alcohol, tobacco or other items inappropriate for students. You must keep an inventory of the cards if purchasing in bulk. The exception is Title–please do not buy any gift cards with Title funds.
For FAN: Your FAN advocates cannot accept gift cards to be used for FAN families, so your school should not solicit gift cards for FAN. Your PTOs are separate entities and, though inadvisable, CAN do a gift card drive for FAN if they really want too. However, the PTO must maintain ownership of the cards and will ultimately have to donate the cards to the FAN Foundation instead of your advocate ( https://familyaccessnetwork.org/).
You are receiving this email because a majority of schools were slated for either a complete swap of their student iPads or were going to be receiving replacements for 6th and 7th gen iPads. This swap is currently on hold. A purchase is still anticipated, but the timeline has changed. The determining factors for this delay are:
• Moving to the next generation of iPad involves investment in peripheral technology that is greater than anticipated – namely keyboard and headphone adaptors.
• Logistical and instructional considerations that may impact school locations that actually need to swap devices.
At this time, plan on your roll-in to continue as planned outside of any devices being retired. iPads will need to be stored like in years past by student last name, next year’s teacher, etc. The Tier 1 website will reflect these changes as soon as possible. Please reach out to your building’s IT Client Services tech, a fellow Tier 1 or Roy Fuller for help or idea’s for rolling in. For a quick reference see below:
Elementary iPads
K-4th grade iPads will stay with the current student
5th grade will roll down to incoming KG
Middle School iPads
6th-7th grade iPads will stay with the current student
8th grade iPads will roll down to incoming 6th graders
High School iPads
9th-11th grade students will keep their device over summer
12th grade iPads will roll down to incoming 9th graders
We will continue to remove any 6th gen iPads that have issues or swap any 6th or 7th gen iPad for a student who needs a newer device for OCR support as we’ve always done. High Schools will continue to receive 9th gens as replacements to keep device types consistent. If any student in K-8th grade needs to have an iPad over the summer (summer school or family request), please have the family fill out the attached form to be given to you before the iPad is taken home.
Please ensure your staffing plans are up to date-and accurate. I have checked in with a few of you and it was helpful to fully understand your thinking for your school. Let me know if you have any questions.
Have a wonderful weekend. ~Juan
To Do
From Kinsey Martin
Can you please take a moment to share here your feedback related to our Admin PD session this week? Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective!
Here are the policies referenced during our scenario work at the Admin PD session this week, in case any of them piqued your interest:
Have a suggestion for a policy update or revision? Share it here!
Regarding your team’s bias incident data analysis: I’d recommend saving somewhere the link to your level/school’s data, for use next fall as you prepare staff to teach the bias lessons. If your team would like to further discuss your data (or your response or record-keeping processes), please reach out.
From Josh Marks
Administrators and Supervisors, Good News our pool posting(s) for our Inclusion EA positions for 24-25 school year are now posted on our website. Please direct any interested candidates to these postings (this would include any temporary Inclusion EA’s who are interested in returning). There are three postings, one for Bend Area, one for South County, and one temporary.
From Paul Dean
Snow Days & Time Off Approvals
Please remind your staff whose snow make-up day(s) time off was approved to enter them into UKG
We’ve encountered some problems with Domain 9, Standard 6 populating correctly. If that domain/standard appears on your self-reflection or summative evaluation, please skip it for 2023/24.
This and That
From Scott McDonald
Bend-La Pine Schools IT is rolling out a security change to staff Macs that you may need to be aware of if you have installed personal software on your Mac.
If you run into any issues with this process, you can contact the IT Help Desk at ext. 1200 or open an IT support ticket at https://help.bend.k12.or.us.
Youth Truth Reminder from last week
Please process your YouthTruth data with your staff and share key positives and areas for growth, as well as next steps, with your families and students by the end of the school year. Principals, you are strongly encouraged to additionally process your school’s data with your families and students, particularly, with your principal’s student advisory team, with the intention of setting school improvement and student learning growth goals (SLGGS). However, processing with these groups is not required this year.
Lewis and Clark Admin Cohort
If you know of anyone who is interested in starting their administrative (Principal) licensure program this next fall in an all in-person, small cohort, central Oregon focused program, please share the flyer below with them. All instructors are central Oregon leaders. Please also share with your principals or other leaders who would know teachers who might be interested. Flier for more information.
We will be holding an information session: Thursday, May 23, 2024, 4:30-5:30 at the HDESD in the Cascades Conference Room
Please let Lora, Lisa or Paul Andrews at the ESD know if you have any questions.
I hope you get out and enjoy the wonderful sunshine! I hope it keeps rolling for a while! ~Juan
To Do
Excellence in Education and Admin PD:
Please note that there is a location change for our all admin PD next Wednesday from 3:00-5:00. It has been moved from Perseverance Hall at BSH to the Mountain View High School cafeteria. Our Excellence in Education Awards ceremony is from 5:00-6:00 in the MVHS auditorium
Mini Observations and Summative Evals:
Keep up the good work inputting observation data and start planning for your end of the year evaluations.
Just a quick reminder that the deadline for staff to submit their “Extended School Days Request for Absences” to building-level leaders is today.
As you start collecting these requests, please add them to the Google sheet, here. All requests must be submitted to HR by Monday, May 13th so HR Leadership can begin the review process.
You will find that the spreadsheet includes a space for administrative notes. Please provide HR with any constraints or other information to be considered when reviewing requests.
HR aims to respond to staff by Friday, May 17th. Once the approval decisions are made, staff will need to enter their leave into UKG before the payroll cut-off (Sunday, June 16th) with first and second-level approvals to properly process payroll for the end of the year. Note, if UKG leave requests are not approved before the submission of the employee’s timesheet, the leave will not be properly recorded on their June check. This will require a “Time/Leave Change Request (Prior Period)” submission. Additionally, for those staff members requesting time off as Personal Leave, if the staff member does not have sufficient leave banks (personal leave and personal carryover), the time off may result in Unpaid Time Off.
Youth Truth Reminder:
Please process your YouthTruth data with your staff and share key positives and areas for growth, as well as next steps, with your families and students by the end of the school year. Principals, you are strongly encouraged to additionally process your school’s data with your families and students, particularly, with your principal’s student advisory team, with the intention of setting school improvement and student learning growth goals (SLGGS). However, processing with these groups is not required this year.
This and That
From Aimee Snyder: Congratulations to BTA, LPMS, LPHS and MVHS!!
The message below was sent to the BLS Board of Directors directly from Matchstick Consulting, Oregon Health Authority’s contractor leading Sources of Strength statewide. It is announcing Bend-La Pine Schools’ Sources of Strength award recipients.
Student Winners:
Gunther Karle, La Pine High School
Peyton Thrasher, La Pine High School
Jay Beagles, Mountain View High School
Staff Winners:
Kelly Peters, Bend Tech Academy
Stuart Johnson, La Pine Middle School
Lani McQuilkin, Amanda Armstrong, and Lindsay Seibel, Deschutes County Health Services
Team Winners:
La Pine Middle School Sources of Strength Team
These are nomination-based awards for outstanding students, staff, and teams, out of the ~100 Oregon schools implementing Sources of Strength this year. The email also includes an invite to the state’s annual Sources of Strength virtual Showcase to celebrate these awards and the Sources work that’s happened across the state.
We plan to share the news of these awards, and other Sources of Strength successes from our schools, with the district and families over the coming weeks as the school year wraps up. There’s three particularly good stories about campaigns out of BTA, MVHS, and LPMS that we plan to share. Reach out to Aimee if you have questions!
Levy information on your reader boards
Here is messaging you can add to your reader boards leading up to May 21st.
From Colleen Funderburg
We wanted to extend an invitation to administrators and teams to join a virtual 504 Training sponsored by the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE). This Section 504 legal conference features Julie Weatherly, Esq., and is designed to provide learning opportunities to strengthen and grow the leaders in the field. There are opportunities for basic and advanced sessions. Buildings to cover cost, group rates available.
Having attended multiple conference sessions featuring Julie Weatherly, Esq., our administrative team can attest to her engaging and informative presentations. This is an opportunity not to be missed for administrators seeking to deepen their knowledge and expertise in Section 504 compliance. LINK HERE!
Basics Training: Foundational review of anticipated new 504 regulations
Advanced Training: New hot topics and hypotheticals! Scenario-based…what would you do?
Basics Training
Advanced Training
June 10, 2024
June 11, 2024
1:00 pm-4:00 pm (CT) 11-2 pm (PST)
9:00 am-4:00 pm (CT) 7-2 pm (PST)
$250 CASE Member
$350 CASE Member
$350 Non-CASE Member
$450 Non-CASE Member
$225 Group Rate (per person for 3 or more)
$315 Group Rate (per person for 3 or more)
*NOTE: Central Time Zone, two hours ahead.
Lewis and Clark Admin Cohort:
If you know of anyone who is interested in starting their administrative (Principal) licensure program this next fall in an all in-person, small cohort, central Oregon focused program, please share the flyer below with them. All instructors are central Oregon leaders. Please also share with your principals or other leaders who would know teachers who might be interested. Flier for more information.
We will be holding an information session: Thursday, May 23, 2024, 4:30-5:30 at the HDESD in the Cascades Conference Room
Please let Lora, Lisa or Paul Andrews at the ESD know if you have any questions.
Calendar
May 10: Leave requests by school DUE to HR by today
May 15: Admin professional development @MVHS Cafeteria, 3:00-4:30
May 15: Excellence in EducationCelebration! @ MVHS Auditorium, 5:00-7:00
Did you know that each school has a unique schedule setup? To equip your scheduling staff with the necessary assistance and training for this critical task, it’s essential they attend all required group sessions as well as individualized one-on-one sessions.
The required group sessions are scheduled for May 1st, May 8th, and May 15th. You can find the agenda for these sessions here. All sessions will take place on the IT floor of the Education Center at 2 PM.
From Dana Pederson
FAN Advocate Evaluations: If your FAN Advocate is due for a summative evaluation this spring, you received an email from Dana Pedersen earlier this week. Please provide her with the requested information by May 10. All feedback will be summarized, and Dana will complete the evaluation conference with the Advocate later in May. Thank you-
From Kim Crabtree
Just a reminder that students can NOT bring scooters, bikes, long boards, skateboards (unless attached to a backpack) onto the school bus.
Thank you for your help in getting this message out to your families!
From Brad Henry
Principals, feel free to share with all staff.
Pace, more than just insurance
Many of you are aware that our property, liability, auto, cyber and other insurance is provided by an insurance pool, Pace. Pace was formed in 2006 by the Oregon School Boards Assoc and Special Districts Assoc of Oregon. With the exception of three large school districts, all school districts and community colleges in Oregon are members of the pool. This unique insurance structure not only provides for great coverage when there are claims but also allows Pace and these two organizations to provide many risk prevention strategies, trainings and tools across risks like cybersecurity, playground safety, athletics, and CTE classrooms. One area that cannot receive enough attention and resources is the prevention of abuse, including sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse prevention education is crucial for all students and staff, despite its discomfort. Empowering district employees with the knowledge and skills to protect students’ physical and mental well-being is paramount. Understanding signs of potential abuse, recognizing grooming behaviors, and responding effectively are critical roles employees play in fostering a safe learning environment. When employees are well-informed about prevention strategies, it promotes transparency, communication, and collaboration, strengthening relationships within the school community and enhancing overall safeguarding measures.
If you would like more information, please visit the Pace website for lots of information and tools regarding sexual abuse prevention and reporting requirements. While on the website, check out the other items available on the “resources” tab at the top of the page. You can find District policy GBNAB/JHFE-BP on Suspected Abuse of a Child Reporting Requirements here and District Administrative Regulation GBNAB/JHFE-AR on Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse here.
Thanks for all you do to help create an environment where students and staff can thrive!
From Jess Calbreath
Hi everyone,
I hope this message finds you well. As the academic year comes to a close, we’d like to share some important reminders and updates regarding our MS school counseling program agreements.
**MS School Links Lessons**
This year, one of the BLS District-wide School Counseling goals revolved around SchooLinks. Utilizing SchooLinks for your three ‘franchised’ lessons was meant to be straightforward, aligned across middle schools, foundational for high school programs, and will help generate data to support students’ post-secondary planning. Remember, our aim is to provide guaranteed learning opportunities for ALL middle school students, regardless of their school.
Below are the three lessons that were agreed to be implemented and attempted this year:
Additionally, we would like to gently remind everyone to proactively ensure that all students in grades 6-8 are onboarded to SchooLinks. As we prepare for the next school year, facilitating students’ awareness and utilization of this platform now will assist them in the post-secondary exploration and planning process. Moving forward, SchooLinks integration is outlined in our MS Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) Agreements, where the SchooLinks Scope Sequence is embedded along with a plan for student’s to complete and their required Educational Plan and Profile in SchooLinks. This means that all students are expected to utilize SchooLinks as part of our MS CSCP.
Remember, you all have access to review and track any SchooLinks analytics for your school to see where you are in the process and to plan/ follow up with students who have not completed the onboarding process.
Your commitment to guiding our students through their post-secondary exploration journey is not going unnoticed. If you have any questions or require further clarification, please feel free to contact Jennifer, Stephen, or me.
This and That
From Sean Reinhart
SB 283 and CPI De-escalation Training Plan:
SB 283 sets forth that for every 50 students in a building, there needs to be at least 1 trained CPI staff. This is for the de-escalation ONLY training which meets requirements to be in compliance with the senate bill. Anyone who needs to be trained on holds will need to attend the full sessions (dates and separate info coming soon). The awesome team of Student Services coaches has put together a training program for secondary staff starting for the fall of 2024. The good news is that we received a grant for this work, so all costs associated with having folks attend this training will be covered! We have 5 opportunities for secondary folks to be trained in the fall. Staff only need to attend one of the training options below. Each session will be limited to 40 participants.
The session titles in UKG are CPI: De-escalation. Click on Links above to register in UKG (UKG Learning Module directions)
What do I do Now?
Determine how many people need to be trained and who will be trained. Please review thisspreadsheet with each buildings’ trained staff requirement (based on next year’s projections) and their current number of CPI trained staff.
Staff attending this training will also need time provided within their day to complete the online portion of this training (2.5 hours) or they also have the option to timesheet to complete this portion outside of their workday.
Please Contact Sean Reinhart with any questions.
From Tami Pike
NATIONAL SCHOOL NURSE DAY IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2024!!!
Nurses practicing in the school setting play such a crucial role in keeping students healthy and safe. Please take a moment to honor the nurse in your school for their dedication and hard work with supporting students, staff, and families.
I am excited to share some architecture and design related resources and opportunities with you, in hopes that you will spread the word to your network of families, students, educators and more!
Virtual Architects in SchoolsSummerCamp (designed for youth ages 8-12)
Please help us in sharing our Architects in Schools Summer Camp information (see attached English and Spanish flyer). Our virtual camp held from June 24-28 is free and designed for youth ages 8-12. During this camp, students will learn about the benefits of adaptive reuse and how the built environment must evolve with cultural, societal, and environmental changes. They will take on the role of an architect and builder to redesign a structure for their community. Learn more here or through the link in the attached flyer. Register by June 14 to participate (Oregon residents can request a free supply box by June 7).
2024SummerCampCatalog (for students K-College)
There are several great camps for Oregon students to explore design this summer (including our Architects in Schools Camp, NOMA PDX’s Project Pipeline, ELSO’s Wayfinders and more) and we have compiled those opportunities into our 2024 Summer Camp Catalog (please see PDF attachments, English and Spanish version). Registration deadlines are approaching soon. Here are the weblinks in case those are easier for you to share: English Catalog, Spanish Catalog.
Oregon Student Opportunities Hub (for students K-College)
Our Hub is a resource for students, Kindergarten through Post-Secondary, to explore architecture, engineering, construction, and design opportunities across Oregon. This includes programs, camps, internships, scholarships, events, and more. Check it out and share with a student!
Please let me know if I can supply you with anything else to help spread the word.
Thank you and have a great rest of the school year!
The number of views of yesterday’s Spotlight newsletter, which contains important levy news and lots of other good content, are on the low side: under 2,500 views so far. Anything you can do to help us reach staff and families with this communication (your school newsletters, blogs) will be greatly appreciated.
May is upon us and I feel like there is so much left to do, but without placing too much emphasis on the end, let’s take it one day at a time. This week’s blog is a short one but there are many details to attend to. Don’t hesitate to reach out for support where needed. Therefore, we are at the last leg and we need to dig deep for the “big kick” to finish strong. Thank you to those of you who have signed up for your “1-1 calibration meeting with Juan.” Here is the doc.
Have a wonderful weekend, ~Juan
To Do
YouthTruth Data
Please ensure to follow your plan for sharing your school’s YouthTruth data with stakeholder groups. At a minimum, your plan should include sharing the data with your staff.
First Aid/CPR
If your school is under the ratio needed for CPR/First Aid shared by Stephanie Bent this week, please make a plan to meet this before we leave for the year. It will help you be prepared for next year without a question. If you need help or ideas, please reach out.
We’ve developed school reader board messages on our levy that can be used now through Election Day, May 21. This is one more tool for sharing information about the Learning Levy with our community. Please take a look at this document and incorporate some messages into your schedule. Thanks!
Please communicate with families the ability to take the bypass test. Here is the link to FAQs about the bypass test. Requests to take the bypass may come from families, students or teachers.
Possible newsletter text:
Does your child excel and excited by mathematics? If your child is interested in bypassing a grade level in math, we will be hosting a bypass test that could allow your child to skip a grade of Math. This test is available to 6th and 7th grade students who may want to bypass a grade. Here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the bypass assessment
From Paul Dean (repeat from last week)
Paul created more charts for tracking certified evaluations. When you visit a site, log in to UKG, go to their Performance & Evaluation Hub tab, scroll down a bit and all of these charts will be visible. This will provide you with the necessary information about your school’s progress.
This and That
From Instructional Technology
Just a heads up that AirDrop was enabled at the middle school level last Monday, April 15th. We are hopeful that the new default setting “Everyone for 10 Minutes” will be beneficial in preventing some of the student AirDrop behaviors we’ve seen in the past. Keep in mind that the setting must be manually changed each time AirDrop is needed and will only remain open for 10 minutes before defaulting off. If teachers have trouble with students AirDropping items other than requested schoolwork, they can change their MacBook AirDrop setting to “Contacts Only” and they will no longer appear on the student screen (MacBooks do not have the mobile “Everyone for 10 Minutes” option). AirDrop has been requested several times this year by middle school teachers; it is especially handy in classes that share media between devices (yearbook, journalism, design, CS) but many teachers might find ways to benefit from it. Your media managers and client services are aware of this change.
From Tracy Howk
Apple Classroom is a great tool for teachers of all grade levels. When using Apple Classroom, teachers can manage student iPads from their teacher device, launch and/or lock iPads into a specific app or website, lock iPad screens, seamlessly AirPlay, and more. Check out our blog post on Apple Classroom, which includes a set up guide and short video highlighting its features. Our team would be happy to visit your school during a staff meeting or optional session to walk through Apple Classroom and aid with set up in person.
From Jennifer Hauth (Repeat from last week)
We wanted to share an exciting opportunity for our Student Success staff coming up on Wednesday, May 1st. Our Bryt partners from Boston are coming out to visit Bend La Pine that week, and we have a chance to meet with them Wednesday afternoon in elementary and secondary focus groups. We understand this is a building-discretion SIW. If you are able to release your SSC/SSI and SSEA to join us, we’d be so appreciative. The coaches sent a separate to communication directly to your student success staff as well.
Calendar
April 26 & 29: Juan out of office. Limited email but available by text & phone
April 30: All goals, formal observations, and most mini-observations finalized in UKG
May 6,7, & 8: Juan is out of the office. I will be at the MYP conference. Text or email with questions.
May 1: BRYT partners visit from Boston
May 9: Middle School Horizontal @PBMS at 3:00-4:30
May 15: All Admin Professional Development @BSHS perseverance hall at 3:00-4:30
Please ensure to have your staffing plans completed today. I have checked in with all of you and I appreciate your thoughtfulness and hard work on your plans. Let me know if you have any doubts or questions. Remember-No BSJ!! ~Juan
To Do
From Dean Richards
Please communicate with families the ability to take the bypass test. Here is the link to FAQs about the bypass test. Requests to take the bypass may come from families, students or teachers.
Possible newsletter text:
Does your child excel and excited by mathematics? If your child is interested in bypassing a grade level in math, we will be hosting a bypass test that could allow your child to skip a grade of Math. This test is available to 6th and 7th grade students who may want to bypass a grade. Here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the bypass assessment
More Dean Richards
Here are the assignments for next week’s Educator Network. Remember that not all of you have an assignment. School teams are assigned to an END.
Please be sure to print a copy of the link to the attendance sheet. We have had issues with teachers saying that no administrator ever took attendance. It is your role to connect with each teacher in the room and present them the attendance sheet.
From Scott Maben
LEVY MATERIALS FOR PUBLIC – Please be sure to have your interior levy sign displayed in your entryway, and the larger exterior sign displayed outside, as soon as possible. Your interior signs were scheduled to be delivered on Friday. Also, be sure to have your levy rack cards displayed in a prominent spot near your office window. If you need more cards, let Scott Maben know. Spanish-language versions of these cards are being printed and should be ready for delivery by Monday. Additional rack card holders are coming as well.
From Paul Dean, Human Resources
Paul created more charts for tracking certified evaluations. When you visit a site, log in to UKG, go to their Performance & Evaluation Hub tab, scroll down a bit and all of these charts will be visible. This will provide you with the necessary information about your school’s progress.
This and That
Here are the slides from 4/18 professional development. Let me know if you have any questions.
From Jennifer Hauth
From Jenn: BRYT Focus Groups on May 1st for SIW:
We wanted to share an exciting opportunity for our Student Success staff coming up on Wednesday, May 1st. Our Bryt partners from Boston are coming out to visit Bend La Pine that week, and we have a chance to meet with them Wednesday afternoon in elementary and secondary focus groups. We understand this is a building-discretion SIW. If you are able to release your SSC/SSI and SSEA to join us, we’d be so appreciative. The coaches sent a separate to communication directly to your student success staff as well.
Calendar
April 19: Have Staffing Plans completed
April 23: Middle School Horizontal (Via Teams) at 9:00 am
April 26 & 29: Juan out of office. Limited email but available by text & phone
April 30: All goals, formal observations, and most mini-observations finalized in UKG
May 6,7, & 8: Juan is out of the office. I will be at the MYP conference. Text or email with questions.
May 9: Middle School Horizontal @PBMS at 3:00-4:30
May 15: All Admin Professional Development @BSHS perseverance hall at 3:00-4:30
