The Case Against Zeros in Grading from Edutopia
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To Do:
Vaccine Mandate deadline: You have received emails from Human Resources and Paul Dean related to the Vaccine Mandate which kicks in on Monday, October 18. Please read these carefully and ensure your staff understands the ramifications on not submitting documentation related to the mandate. We have been in conversation about this and some of you have more than one person on the “list.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Family-Teacher Conferences
Thank you for partnering with us to improve and focus our family-teacher conferences. We think the tweaks to the process offer a stronger equity lens and maximize access for the students and families we most struggle to support.
Updates/Agreements:
- Teachers still have 4 hours of conferencing outside of contract hours. An occasional conference (to offer morning or afternoon appointments) might overlap with contracted work/prep time if that is mutually agreeable for the teacher and family (ex: an 8:00am or 3:45pm appointment), but there must be ample evening time available for families who need later appointments.
- First priority will be multilingual families who need interpreters: families of ELL students who your staff recommend for a conference, and/or multilingual families who would like one.
- After those have been scheduled, the next priority are students with special needs.
- The 4 hours of meeting time with families should occur approximately between November 8-19.
Suggested Process:
- Oct 18-19: Work with your ELL/Language Specialist and SPED/Learning Specialist to generate a list of students they see as highest-concern.
- Oct 19-20: Have your MTSS team and/or staff add their recommendations to that list (within the priority populations: Multilingual and SPED students of concern).
- Oct 20-25: ELL and SPED Specialists can reach out to all their families to see which families would like a conference, and add them to the list.
- Oct 25th: Specialists and counselors can then work on scheduling team appointments for priority students, and including all relevant teachers in each student’s appointment.
- By Oct 29th: ELL/Language Specialist submits the schedule to Linguist Link for interpreters.
- Nov 1: Gen Ed teachers can then advertise WebEx “office hours” to the rest of their families, for any remaining time to fulfill their 4 hours beyond the pre-scheduled priority appointments.
- Here is a tool that might help with those steps (start with Tab 1 and work right–if this is useful please make a COPY before editing).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Family Workshop:
We will be offering our families a workshop in preparation for conferences. This workshop (designed and delivered in partnership with our Latino Family Advisory, with input from our Equity Coalition) will cover family rights and responsibilities, how to prepare for upcoming conferences, and in particular how to navigate our high school systems.
Spanish-language event: Thurs, Oct 21Chinese-language event: Wed, Oct 20
Please see the invitation for details (the middle page is English for your convenience). Language Dept staff are promoting this event with our multilingual families, but please share with them from your office as well!
‘Ask’ for each high school: At your earliest convenience, please identify here one counselor (and ideally one administrator, too) who can attend and support (we will time-sheet!).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Leave sheets are due on Monday, October 18th. The dates we are recording for this period are 09/20/21 – 10/17/2021. Those with electronic calendars (administrators) can fill in their calendar and let April know when they are done. Everyone else (paper leave sheets) can send April their leave sheets or email me with their dates of leave and she can fill them out for you. If you did not take any leave during this period (09/20 – 10/17) just let me know and I will note it. We are required to turn in a leave sheets whether we have taken leave or not.
Information:
Our district Dress Code update was approved by the Board this week, and is now our official policy, effective immediately. We know many of you have already transitioned into the updated version–thank you for ensuring your communication with students, staff, and families aligns with this version moving forward.
We understand that changes to policies like this one have an impact on your leadership team and school culture–alignment and enforcement of new expectations take time. We will work on this together via some scenario examples and discussion in our team meetings this year.
In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns about enforcement of the new policy or the values underlying the shift, please reach out to me (Katie/Juan), Eric Powell, or Kinsey Martin. If you would like some student representatives to talk with your staff about the ‘why’ behind this shift, feel free to reach out to Kinsey.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mask Mandates at Public Events: We understand that enforcing the mask mandate at public events continues to be a challenge. Here is some support for enforcement and notification compiled by Julianne.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From Tami Pike: If you receive information about a COVID positive student or staff on the weekends, please complete the COVID Positive, Primary Symptom, Exposure Reporting Form AND CALL THE CONTACT TRACER LINE AT 541-355-6930 to report the case. Calling the Contact Tracer Line alerts the contact tracer that a new case has been reported. (We don’t want to miss any!)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We are hiring! Our Nutrition Services is in need of applicants for food service. Please include this flier in correspondence to your families.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please do not do this – how often do you hear that!!: BEA continues to hear from our members that one of the strategies being used and/or considered in secondary schools when a sub cannot be obtained is to cancel or collapse classes and have educators take double classes. BEA has confirmed this is being requested of multiple secondary BEA members from buildings across the District. Please discontinue this practice if this is something you have been doing.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sub Reminder: Here is a reminder about our sub process. Please do not try to prearrange a district sub. They are to be used the on day-of for unfilled positions. Educational assistants can supervise students for a brief period of time. They may not teach.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From Lora Nordquist: District administrators will be meeting with BEA leaders next week to discuss temporarily reducing the number of required observations of certified staff, as well as identifying “focus standards” for observation and evaluation.
Also, while the media headlines about emergency sub licenses sound great, the change is not helpful for us. The district must manage the subs (not the HDESD), sub licenses are taking approximately 7 weeks to process (so that would be January), and they expire March 31.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From Lora Nordquist: I recognize we’re all desperate for substitute teachers, but TSPC has sent a directive to all teacher prep programs in the state reminding them of their liability if they allow their student teachers without substitute licenses to sub in schools. As a result, at least one of our program partners has directed their student teachers to LEAVE THE BUILDING if they are asked to cover a class without a certified teacher present in the room. Student teachers CAN be asked to present a lesson if there is a certified teacher in the room, as well.
After we finish the intense process of verifying vaccinations, HR can move forward on requesting emergency sub licenses for all our student teachers. Once that process is complete, (and we will notify you when that is done), student teachers CAN sub in their cooperating teachers’ classes without anyone else present. They should not be asked to sub in other classrooms.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From Dean Richards: All secondary teachers have access to Newsela this year, with a broad range of applications in every subject area. With it, you have the ability to provide information – especially current events information – on a variety of nonfiction subjects to your students. What makes Newsela unique is the content scaffolding, so that the same material can be delivered in a variety of difficulty levels. You can utilize one version of an article for your younger classes, and a more sophisticated version for your older students. Similarly, within a class, you can access one version for your struggling readers, one version for your grade-level readers, and one version for your strong readers. It has myriad applications and is pleasingly user-friendly. Teachers that are using it have been impressed.
Check out the blog post: Curious about Newsela? Here is a Great Place to Start!
An additional opportunity: If you would like to take a 1-hour *paid* training after school hours, take this survey here!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Student project Honoring Veterans: Please forward this information to your teachers. It explains a project designed to honor our War Veterans: MAIL CALL REQUEST – PSSST IT’S A SECRET!
Honor Flight of Central Oregon is a local non-profit organization designed to fly our WWII, Korean and Vietnam War Veterans to see their memorial in Washington DC, which was not completed until 2004. Nearly sixty years after the end of the war.
Honor Flight of Central Oregon needs your help preparing for “Mail Call”. Each of the Veterans will receive a package full of cards and letters to open on the flight back home from Washington DC. “Mail Call” is a very personal and touching way to let our Veterans know their sacrifices have not been forgotten. We need YOUR HELP to make it a reality.
Veteran’s Day is around the corner and we ask you to please participate in our “Mail Call Program” by having your student create cards, letters, drawings, etc. for our Veterans Mail Call Package. Be as creative as you’d like!!! You are encouraged to enlist others in this effort –family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and school children. We rely on YOU to help ensure that every Veteran receives letters and knows they are deeply valued. Included are example phrases that might be incorporated into a card, letter, drawings, and notes:
“Thank you for your service”, “Thank you for your sacrifices”, “Welcome Home Veteran”,“Our Veterans are the greatest American Heroes”, “We love our Veterans”, “We Appreciate all that you’ve done for us”, “You guys are the greatest generation of American’s”, “Where would we be without our Servicemen and Women”, “We should thank our Veterans daily, but today is a special day for you”, “Congratulations on a job well done”. We honor Americans by honoring our Veterans”.
After finishing your letters, cards, and pictures can either be picked up by our Honor Flight Mail Call volunteers, Georgea Edwards or Kylie Cross, or mailed to Honor Flight of Central Oregon, PO Box 7963, Bend, Oregon 97708.
Please remember that this is a total SURPRISE for our Veterans! When requesting cards and letters from your family and friends, please let them know to keep the secret! Please email:
[email protected] with inquiries, questions and or concerns or you may call Georgea Edwards @ 503.913.8483. Here is a video from the organization:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wty1-U3ieak
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Calendar:
HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year: You will notice we will be in schools on Thursday afternoons for learning walks. Lora and Dean, as well as our secondary TOSA’s may be joining us on those days. The goal is to get into schools/classrooms most Tuesdays and Thursdays. Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.
October 18 – Mandatory Vaccination Due Date
October 19 – Principal Breakfast 7:30-8:30 @ Original Pancake House (SW Donovan Ave)
October 21 – Learning Walk 12:45-2:00 @ BTA@MHS
October 31 – Civil Rights Training completed with staff and recorded here
October 31 – Standard Response Protocol videos viewed by staff and students.
Reminder: complete your work calendars. If you need assistance please contact April Jorgenson.
Mark your calendars for June 20 and 21, 2022 for our Leadership Training Academy.