TO DO:
Valuable digital tools: Take a few minutes to review our district’s Remote Learning Tools web page. This page was in existence last spring – and continues to be updated. Please share this web page multiple times, in a variety of contexts with your teachers as well. The tools suggested in section 3 (Engage Students) of this document demonstrates how teachers can record lesson launches daily in Canvas! This will be a KEY TOOL in ensuring access for ALL students to daily lessons!
We have the opportunity to serve some students under the ODE guidelines for Limited Person Instruction IF we meet the metrics for the county. In the event we are able to do this, we want you to have plans in place approved and ready to go. We would not implement school plans prior to Oct 1. HERE are the guidelines. Be thinking in terms of two tiers: Tier I: students who need IEP evaluations, Life Skills, and students who have NO connectivity (even with a hot spot). For example, students who live in such remote areas that they can’t get internet service. Tier II: May include students in CTE classes. Letting the ODE guidelines inform your design, please create a plan for YOUR school, and be ready to share the with the high school team the week of August 31.
Contact Tracing requirements from Paul: Building leaders, please view this CDL Building Contact Tracing Protocols – Staff to Staff google doc. Our goal is to get these protocols up and running before Friday, August 28. Paul is hosting a webex at 2:30 pm on Monday to assist schools who have questions or need assistance. If the instructions are self-explanatory, you don’t need to attend the webex. https://bls.webex.com/meet/paul.dean | Paul is also available to answer questions during our HS Principal meeting on Wednesday, 8:00.
I realize you need to begin sharing items between school and home such as distributing yearbooks and iPads and collecting textbooks. We will discuss student pictures at our Monday meeting. Please develop a school plan that meets these guidelines and send it to me. After I approve your plan, you are ready to go!
Start building and/or rethinking your leadership teams for these areas: School Curriculum/Instruction Team; School Culture of Care/SEL Team; Family Connections Team, Return to School Team and School Safety Team*. These School-Based teams align with district teams and our work specific to starting school on September 14. Consider how your classified team members can serve students differently and assign them to these teams, on this google doc, as appropriate. We will talk and share more about the purpose and responsibilities of these teams.
*Here are the guidelines for the school safety teams. Be sure to include your school NURSE in your team meetings.
Please share out the Certified Work Calendar for Back to School with your staff. HERE is the calendar for this year. Note that we added three days, Sept 9 (district training/PD), 10 and 11 (both workdays) to the front of the school year to provide staff extra time for training and preparation. Comprehensive Distance Learning will launch on Monday, Sept 14.
New Teacher Training is Monday, August 31! We are planning a welcome back event for our new teachers to the district that will include a virtual district training in the morning and time with BEA in the afternoon. Your new teachers will receive a welcome letter from HR explaining this. If you hire a teacher next week, send Stephanie their name(s) so we can include them. You do not have a role in this year’s welcome back but you might consider organizing your own school welcome that includes providing some swag!
Information:
We have made a few staffing moves within the TLC team. You may have seen the announcement of our selection of Juan Cuadros as our Executive Director of Teaching and Learning. Juan has been an educator in Eugene and brings a strong background of experience as a building leader and teacher. He will help to lead us in moving towards more culturally competent teaching and equitable learning outcomes and experiences for ALL of our students. Juan has moved into his office in the TLC department and would appreciate the time to meet and get to know each of you. Reach out and welcome Juan!
We have also moved Dean Richards and Julie Walker into leadership positions within the TLC department. Julie will serve as the Assistant Director of Elementary (K-5) Curriculum, Instruction, and Systems. Dean will serve as the Assistant Director of Secondary (6-12) Curriculum, Instruction, and Systems. Many of you are aware of the stellar work Julie and Dean have led in our district over the years. We are thrilled that they will be helping to move our schools forward in these areas.
Here is a new tool that shows county metrics for opening schools to in-person learning. It will be updated every Wednesday. HERE is the timeline for decision making related to moving to Hybrind/Balanced Learning.
WebEx has some fabulous changes coming our way that we are hoping will be in effect Sept 1st. The biggest is the addition of breakout rooms. The instructional tech team will be putting together a list of the changes along with tutorials for them. Stay tuned!
Please read this message on students switching between Bend-La Pine Online and CDL (or hybrid). Ask me any questions you might have then share it with your staff. You and your staff need to know this information so you are better able to counsel students/parents, but also so your staff are aware that they may gain additional students in her/his classes at any point in the year (particularly when we move to hybrid).
Here is the link to the sample HS CDL schedule for our comprehensive high schools (this term refers to BSHS, LPHS, MVHS, and SHS who are all on the same semester schedule). Our choice high schools, BTA@ MHS, Realms, and Skyline , all on trimesters, have also completed their schedules. Principals, if you have not already done so, please customize (school colors and logo) your school’s schedule and post it to your website for parents to view. By the end of next week (August 28), I will ask you to post specific daily schedules and standards of practices (SOP’s) for high schools on your web pages. We will finalize these at our HS meeting on Monday.
The need for translation (and possibly interpretation) is going to kick into high gear here very soon. Translation requests should be requested at least 5 days before it is needed. Remember that communication with families at your school should be sent in both Spanish and English. Please spend a few moments reviewing this Language Access Plan – as well as sharing it again with your staff. The contact for interpreter and translation requests this year is Kelly Marty, our new receptionist at the Education Center. Also, here is a copy of the latest ELL Dept. Newsletter.
An important note from Becky in IT: Back in May we sent out a schedule showing many of the Synergy year end tasks related to ending the 2019-20 year and starting the 2020-21 year.
Things have changed a bit (an understatement, right?). The dates for the tasks that remain in August and September have been changed.
Below is the new information. Please share this information with your building staff. Let me know if you have questions.
| New Date | Task description |
| August 31, 2020 | Synergy TeacherVue Grade Book will be synced with student course schedules. NOTE: If your student class schedules are not set on or by this date, please let your teachers know. If student class schedules are not set, your teachers will not see class information on September 1, 2020. Beginning August 31, 2020 the Synergy TeacherVue Grade Book sync will run every day picking up additions and changes to classes. |
| September 1, 2020 | Teacher’s Synergy accounts will be turned on (enabled). On this date teachers will be able to login and see their classes and students. This includes our elementary, middle, high and SPED teachers. |
| September 9, 2020 | High Schools: The ATTENDANCE, GRADE, GRADE BOOK and SCHEDULE views in ParentVue/StudentVue will be turned on. If you would like these views turned on earlier, please submit a helpdesk ticket stating the date you would like. |
| September 15, 2020 | Middle and Elementary Schools: The ATTENDANCE, GRADE, GRADE BOOK and SCHEDULE (including homeroom assignment) views in ParentVue/StudentVue will be turned on. If you would like these views turned on earlier, please submit a helpdesk ticket stating the date you would like. |
UPS and Fed-Ex deliveries will continue to be delivered to our district warehouse. Any packages coming to your school will be delivered during your normal district mail routes.
Calendar:
Monday, August 24: HS meeting WebEx, 1:30
Wednesday, August 26: HS Meeting, Board Room 8:00