High School Rock Stars!

Think abouts:

From Dave Van Loo: Lots worth paying attention to here…and deep ties into our work on improving grading. In addition to the NAEP Fast Facts data, I attached a study from 2020 referenced in one of the links below on the impact of teacher expectations, as expressed through grading, and student achievement.

• Across the U.S., HS students are supposedly taking more rigorous classes and GPA’s are increasing, but achievement is declining or flat.
• I thought ‘The 74’ article was particularly good. One quote here–

“The findings, based on a sample of 14,300 graduates from 1,400 public and private schools, follow a series of NAEP results that point to sagging academic performance for the nation’s students. Data released last fall showed disturbing declines among 13-year-olds in both reading and math between 2012 and 2020. And the gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students have grown over time. More students, however, are taking tougher courses in high school. The percentage taking “mid-level” or rigorous courses, including Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses, has climbed since 2000 from 46 percent to 63 percent.

Some say the mismatch between students’ grades and NAEP performance reflects that students earn credit for tasks that don’t necessarily reflect learning. Others argue the traditional A-F grading system is outdated and that grade inflation is rampant: Higher grades might boost students’ confidence and increase graduation rates, some experts say, but leave them less prepared for college.”

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To Do:

Please take note of these important due dates:

Please submit your mitigation plan for your PROM by April 4. We will review them at our April 7 COVID meeting.

Please submit your safety plan AND indoor contingency plan for Graduation by May 2. We will review them at our May 5 COVID meeting. There are two circumstances that will require us to move graduation indoors and therefore need a contingency plan: unsafe smoke levels and lighting/thunder.

Be sure to allow a time during your ceremony in which Dr. Cook accepts the class. He is also planning to do a 20 min speech during each graduation. Plan accordingly.

22-23 HS School design plans are due by May 13.   Here is the link to the School Design folder. HERE is a link to the essential questions Dave Van Loo prepared to guide thinking about plan design.

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Instructional Materials Purchasing Process: At our HS Admin work session this week, Austin shared the process for instructional materials selection and purchasing to be implemented the spring. Remember that your role in this process is communication! Clearly communicate this information to your teachers and designated curriculum lead (for most of you, your Librarian).

Below is a quick summary of that presentation as well as a link to the slide deck:

This year the process has three phases:

• Inventory – Confirming which digital tools are used by high school teachers in the current year (April)
• Review and Request – Teachers review what they currently use and make requests for next year (Late April through May)
• Evaluate and Authorize – Teams collaborate with requesters to evaluate and authorize purchases (May and June)

We will begin the first phase of validating inventory in high schools after Spring Break.  High school teachers should expect to receive an email from ‘BLP Instructional Technology’ during the week of March 28.  This email will show their current year classes and have links to update the inventory for the current year.  This email is not a phishing attempt. Please ensure your staff is aware of the process and is watching for the email by March 30.  We promise to not send the email on April 1!  We are targeting the third week of April to begin the Review and Request phase for both middle and high school classes. We will again notify you ahead of these emails so that you can prepare the teachers for the Review and Request phase.

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Process for requesting a field trip from TLC:

We are actively looking for the best way to support teachers who are looking to take field trips during a time of limited subs and limited transportation.  We keep working to find the way to make it as simple and effective that we can.  Submitting a transportation request does not mean the field trip is approved.  There are three steps to having a field trip approved

• Teachers submit a field trip request form to their principal (approval pending)
• Submit a transportation request to Transportation (approval pending)
• TLC will cross reference with any substitute needs for that day via Absence Management System in Frontline
• Level leads will meet once a week (Thursdays) to approve the field trip and communicate approval.  (Approved!)

Transportation will need to begin routing buses at least 3 weeks ahead of time.  We recommend that you get any transportation requests at least 4 weeks before the field trip. Please communicate to your teachers that they should anticipate a month lead time when requesting a field trip

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Information:

Staffing Plans – Level leaders have received staffing allocations from Brad and April will soon be putting together the templates for the staffing plans.  This will take several days to do so expect your staffing plan template sometime after spring break.  I have reviewed the allocations and have a few questions for Brad. I intend to send you the allocation worksheets tomorrow. Again, actual staffing plans will be coming after spring break.

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From Kinsey: Thank you for the recent and ongoing conversation around bias incidents, and for ensuring that all staff in your building have access to the reporting tool.  

Here are tips for managing the reporting logistics.  

Here are sentence frames staff can use to interrupt when bias happens.  If you would like partnership on a quick training/calibration conversation at your upcoming staff meeting, please reach out.  

Here is the DEI Department newsletter from a few weeks ago, with additional resources for having difficult conversations.  Feel free to share these with your staff.

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A request from Maintenance – Can you please talk to the principals about feminine hygiene products not being flushed down the toilets? We are getting sewer backups daily, sometimes multiple the same day. We are pulling tampons out of the drain lines. Their wrappers, and the “flushable wipes” which should never be flushed either. Our maintenance team members estimate they pulled over 1500 tampons/pads out of the drain lines last month. Let’s be kind to our maintenance workers.

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Just a reminder –  here is the link to some frequently asked RSSL Questions.  This is not for public consumption so please don’t send it out to families. There are new questions and answers being added weekly.

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Calendar:

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.

SIW schedule

March 21-15: Spring Break

March 29: YouthTruth survey training – 8:00-9:30 virtual, link TBD

March 29: Katie at Portland Job Fair

March 31: Learning Walk WL and CTE 1:00-3:00@BTA@MHS

April 4: Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools–Principals only.  3:30-5:00 Board Room

April 5: Principal Work Session 8:00-9:30@ Realms HS

April 7: Learning Walk LA and SS 1:00-3:00@BSHS

April 12: HS Admin Work Session 8:00-9:30 @ MVHS

April 14: Learning Walk LA and SS 1:00-3:00@ CHS

April 18, 19, 20 – Katie at a conference in Virginia

To Do:

Masks move to “strongly recommended March 12. Thank you to Jennifer Hauth for putting together these resources for families, students and staff  for Friday, March 11th and Monday, March 14th. 

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22-23 HS School design plans are due by May 13.   Here is the link to the School Design folder.

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A TO DO reminder from April Jorgenson – Leave sheets are due to the business office on Monday, March 14th.  The period we are recording for this time is 02/14/2022 – 03/13/22.  Please record your leave on your Google leave record and let me know when you are done.  If you do not have any leave to report this period, please email me and let me know.  If you have any questions, please let me know. 

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Information:

Summer School Update: We will continue to offer BLPO summer school classes this year. We will not charge for credits. Contact Amy if you have questions.

We are able to offer Base Camp to 9th and 10th grade students at all of our high schools this summer. We will also offer GED. We will be working with Kevin Milner to get our postings up for the necessary positions. More details to follow.

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COVID Updates:

• Here is an update around some frequently asked RSSL Questions.  This is not for public consumption, but for your reference to assist in answering questions.
• RSSL update – here is the complete March 2 update to the RSSL
• From Tami Pike – Here’s some updated COVID-19 information from the the Health Service Team

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From Instructional Technology: This month is all about digital citizenship. We all know it’s important but hardly have time to fit it in. Check out Digital Citizenship Made Simple.  This week we’re looking at social media. Our latest post, Instagram Ready, includes a quick social media Kahoot all ready to go. As always, visit our blog for more bright ideas.💡 (And to our subscribers: please pardon the broken link this morning. This email will get you where you need to go.) 

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OSTA is in the process of inviting schools in Oregon to recognize outstanding substitute teachers. Since 2000, Oregon has honored the valuable contributions of substitute teachers with the selection of the Oregon Substitute Teacher of the Year. This year, however, we have discovered that our e-mailed invitations to make nominations have been sent directly to spam. Therefore, OSTA is requesting your assistance to ensure that each school in your district receives this opportunity to make nominations by sending this informational nomination form to each of your schools. https://forms.gle/LxwyuGha7vm7oVxt5

Calendar:

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.

SIW schedule

March 15 – HS Admin Work Session 8:00-9:30 @ CHS

March 16 – HS VP Interviews (BSHS, LPHS, MVHS)

March 18 – Principal Breakfast @ Original Pancake House 7:30-8:30

March 21-25 – Spring Break

March 29 – YouthTruth survey training – 8:00-9:30 virtual, link TBD

March 31: Learning Walk WL and CTE 1:00-3:00@BTA@MHS

April 4 – Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools–Principals only.  3:30-5:00 location TBD

April 18, 19, 20 – Katie at a AASA conference

To Do:

Submit your budget to Kristi Scheiderman by March 8!

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Information:

From Lora: Presenting YouthTruth data to your staff: In the next few weeks, all our principals will receive training in accessing information from this year’s YouthTruth surveys. We believe that when people participate in surveys, they should also have access to the findings. So, it will be a district expectation that you share important information.

By the end of this month, we will share tools and templates as resources for building leaders to help you plan staff activities and family communication regarding your school’s themes, as well as themes that emerge at the district level.

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Secondary blog from Dean and our TOSA’s: Teachers generally think of rubrics as a tool for assessing student products for grading; however,  this tool can also work to advance student learning. One way is to give students feedback on how to improve their work by examining how well they have addressed the performance criteria in the rubric and, if given an opportunity, students can see how to revise their work and improve their performance. If the rubric is written with giving feedback in mind, the student can use this tool to identify and improve areas of weakness. Teachers need not spend so much time giving each student specific feedback on their work. This works especially well when teachers are giving much the same feedback to all students. 

Check out a couple of ideas around using rubrics for feedback in this blog from Mathematics TOSA Linda Adams.

Rubrics for Feedback: Getting Students to Work Harder Than You

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Conferences – Conferences are in person.

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In addition to bringing back volunteers at the end of March, we will bring back visitors beginning Monday, April 4. Visitors do not need to go through the volunteer background process, but will continue to use Raptor to check in.

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This note about masking updates was sent to our families today:

Guidance for Schools After March 12

The Oregon Department of Education recently released new guidance for schools following the Governor’s announcement that lifted the state’s indoor mask mandate as of March 12.

Key updates include: face masks will be recommended and no longer required for students and staff in schools and on buses, sunsetting current quarantine protocols, and the continuation of isolation for those positive with COVID-19.

Masking becomes strongly recommended

Beginning March 12, Bend-La Pine Schools will continue to strongly recommend masks as a precautionary measure for students and staff, especially for those at high risk of contracting COVID-19, as well as during times when COVID-19 cases are at a high level in the community. The ultimate decision will rest with families and individuals.

Our staff will work to reinforce an environment of respect and inclusion for all members of our district, regardless of their personal health decisions.

Additionally, masks will no longer be required on buses after March 12.

No more quarantine after March 12
Effective March 12, 2022, Oregon will pause contact tracing and quarantine for the general population, including K-12 settings.

The Bend-La Pine Schools COVID-19 Response and Recovery Team will send exposure notifications at the classroom level at elementary schools and school wide at the middle and high school level. School-sanctioned teams, clubs, and activities will also be notified, as appropriate. 

Isolation continues
Individuals who have COVID-19 must isolate for at least 5 days. Isolation may end after 5 full days if the individual is fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and symptoms have improved.

Layered mitigation continues

The district will continue to have layered mitigation and safety measures in place to protect the health of the students and staff in our schools. High quality masks and diagnostic tests will be available to those that choose to utilize these tools. 

Maintaining a Sense of Community

Students may be feeling excited about the masking change, worried, nervous, anxious or even angry, especially if their choice is different from the majority of their peers. Staff members recognize that students will need opportunities to build empathy and understanding of the different choices/situations they will likely observe in their classrooms. Our responsibility is to honor individual choices and our goal is to create understanding, foster community and prevent divisiveness as much as possible. 

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This note was sent to our staff from Lora today:

Masking: After March 12, masking will become strongly recommended, rather than required, for students and staff. This means our hallways, classrooms, gyms, libraries and other school spaces will likely include students and staff who are wearing masks and those who are not. While this will create visible differences, it is key that we continue to honor all students and staff and help them feel like part of a rich community of learners.  Jennifer Hauth has put together activities for Friday, March 11th and Monday, March 14th to help with classroom conversations that honor individual choices.  This information is being sent directly to teachers but please include this in your own staff communication too.

Additionally, staff cannot require students or parents to mask, but staff members are welcome to utilize one-way masking for themselves. 

Bend-La Pine Schools will adopt new COVID-19 Return to Play guidance from the Oregon Schools Sports Association, effective Friday, March 4.

https://www.osaa.org/docs/osaainfo/ReturnToPlayFollowingCOVIDInfection.pdf

GUIDANCE FOR RETURN TO SPORTS FOLLOWING INFECTION WITH COVID-19 – Oregon School Activities AssociationTitle: Microsoft Word – GUIDANCE FOR RETURN TO SPORTS FOLLOWING INFECTION WITH COVID-19.docx Author: peterw Created Date: 2/18/2021 8:45:56 AMwww.osaa.org

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Calendar:

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.

SIW schedule

March 8: HS Principal Work Session with Human Resources 8:00-9:30 @ SHS.

March 10:  Learning Walk -WL and CTE 1:00-3:00@MVHS

March 15: HS Admin Work Session 8:00-9:30@ BSHS

March 21-25 Spring Break

March 29: HS Admin Youth Truth Presentation – 8:00-9:30 WebEx

 March 31: Learning Walk WL and CTE 1:00-3:00@BTA@MHS

April 4 – Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools–Principals only.  3:30-5:00 location Ed Center

Think abouts…

Check out this article on considering Trade Schools vs Traditional College.

To Do:

Be sure you are prepared for our all principals book study session this Monday, Feb. 28th in the Ed Center 3:30-5:00 .  We will be discussing Chapters 1-3 in Unconscious Bias in Schools as we begin our first session of “Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools.”

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Continue to work on classified evaluations!

Information:

A note from Ryan Kelling, our Director of Recruitment and Retention: I’m hoping you can pass this flyer and the information below (in italics) information along to your staff.

Lewis & Clark is offering an added endorsement in Special Education to teachers in the High Desert Regional District at a special, discounted rate. Classes will be held online to make them more practical and accessible to working teachers. This 10-month program begins July 2022 and there is an information session on March 9 from 5:30 – 6:30 that will be held via Zoom. To register for the information session, please click this link.

SpEd teachers continue to be in short supply, and this is a good opportunity for already-endorsed certified staff to add a SpEd endorsement at a discounted rate. The Special Education Generalist endorsement gives candidates an extensive overview of special education as it pertains to students with high- and low-incidence disabilities. You will learn how to assess student knowledge, as well as to identify and implement evidence-based practices to increase the success of students with different academic and behavioral disabilities. Reach out to Ryan if you have questions.

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From Dean and the secondary TOSA’s: This week’s post reminds us all of those who lived on this continent before Europeans arrived.  Oregon has nine federally recognized tribes which many Oregonians know little about.  In 2017, the introduction of the Tribal History/Shared history legislation was a first step to increase knowledge of those who have been here since time immemorial.

Tribal History/Shared History

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From Instructional Tech – Digital Citizenship Made Simple For the month of March, you will be seeing several posts here on the topic of Digital Citizenship. This is a topic that we all know is important, yet many of us have a hard time finding time to fit it in. Here is a quick video showing you how easy it is to sign into Common Sense Media and how to access their quick activities. Their material is fantastic and will offer opportunities for rich discussions.

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Please don’t forget that our School District offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help staff navigate life stressors and/or manage life changing events.  The EAP program is administered by UpriseHealth.  The services they offer at no cost to Bend La-Pine School district staff members (minus substitute teachers) are outlined below.  For the 21/22 school year, each covered member can receive up to six EAP visits per year which is an increase from the three allowed in the 20/21 school year. 

Counseling Resources

·          Short-Term Counseling

·          24-hour Crisis Help

·          Tess Chatbot

·          Online Peer Support

Work-Life Resources

• Childcare Resources
• Adult/Eldercare Resources
• Financial Services
• Legal Services
• Mediation Services
• Online Legal Forms
• Home Ownership Programs
• Identity Theft Services

Digitally Enabled EAP

·          Wellbeing Assessment

·          Self-Guided Mental Health

·          Skills Training

·          Coaching

To find out more about your EAP, schedule a counseling appointment, or access services call UpriseHealth at 866-750-1327 or visit uprisehealth.com/members to find out more.  Access Code is OEBB.    

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Spring Conferences –  Plan on offering in-person and virtual spring conferences.  

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Volunteers – More information is coming about bringing in volunteers.

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Masking  “strongly recommended” after March 19 – By now, you may have heard that when we come back from spring break, masking will be strongly recommended vs required. 

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Lauren Mallett, of the Oregon Poetry Association, sent this information about the 2022 Cascadia Student Poetry Contest. Please forward this email to your Language Arts teachers, who may incorporate the contest into their lesson plans (e.g., for April’s National Poetry Month).

Cascadia, the Oregon Student Poetry Contest, serves to nurture the talent of young Oregon poets by providing an opportunity for their poems to be widely shared, published, and celebrated.

Please contact Lauren Mallett, Cascadia Student Contest Chair, Oregon Poetry Association, MFA in Creative Writing – Poetry, laurenmallett.com with questions.

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Calendar:

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.

SIW schedule

• February 28: Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools–Principals only.  3:30-5:00 @Ed Center – Board Room
• March 1: Principal Work Session 8:00-9:30 @ BTA@ MHS
• March 3: Learning Walk 1:00-3:00 WL and CTE @ Realms
• March 4: Learning Walk 8:00-10:00 WL and CTE @ LPHS
• March 4: VP Posting closes

To Do:

From HR: Classified Evaluations: It is that time of year again when HR sends out the list of classified employees who need to be evaluated this year. As a reminder, our classified staff are evaluated at least once every two years. COVID and the craziness of last year have resulted in quite a few evaluations getting bumped by a year or two, so some of you might see that your list is much bigger than usual.

Here are the three items you will need to complete the process:

1. The Classified Evaluation Rubric
2. A Classified goal setting form
   1. Using this form is your choice (optional)
   2. Please do not return the goal setting form to HR. Those are for your files only
3. 21/22 list of Classified employees who need evaluations from your site/department

We are making a change to the process of how you will submit your completed evaluations to HR.

We will be utilizing our Frontline software to capture the completed evaluations this year. Please do not send the hard copies to HR. Instead, watch this quick training video for instructions on how to upload your paperwork.  We would like to have all evaluations completed and uploaded in Frontline by May 13, 2022.

After review of the attached staff list, please let us know if you see any errors or have any questions. 

Thank you, Your HR Classified Team {Jessica Lamay (x1118) & Kelly Marty (x1115)}

[email protected]

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AP Training this summer: Please submit names of teachers who need AP training this summer to April by April 1. Be sure to include what specific training they need. We will give preference to teachers who are teaching AP for the first time OR teachers who content is under revision. We require teachers to be trained in AP prior to teaching an AP course, whenever possible.

Information:

From Dave VanLoo – Please see Dave’s email earlier this week titled “Important!! OSAS Security Training and Testing for 2021-22” it was dated 2/15.  It has important and timely information regarding state testing and training. 

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Math Pathways: This information about mathematics “pathways” in middle and high school is being shared with our fifth grade staff AND fifth grade families.  

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From Lora: We heard great disappointment from many administrators about the training with the Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) scheduled for June 27^th and 28^th, primarily because many of you will have completed your contractual days by those dates. SO, we are postponing the first two days of the training until the week of August 8^th. We will share the exact dates of those trainings, as well as the schedule for the entire school year’s work with CEL, as soon as they confirm the dates.

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Here are some follow-up resources for building administrators related to our recent workshop on February 4.

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This letter was sent to certified staff from Kinsey this week:

Dear certified teacher,
A key priority within our district’s equity efforts is to improve outcomes and experiences for our culturally- and linguistically-diverse students and families.
We know that teachers who have specialized skills and training through an ESOL endorsement are better able to: 

• understand multilingualism, 
• identify strengths and assets of emergent bilingual students, 
• support language acquisition during teaching, and 
• partner with families through culturally-sustaining practices.

Want to obtain your ESOL endorsement for free?!  Bend-La Pine Schools has partnered with OSU to provide a full scholarship to five certified teachers, to participate in the endorsement program.
To learn more about this opportunity; understand the timeline, application, and selection process; and ask questions, please join BLS and OSU:

• Informational session and Q-and-A
• Tues, March 8^th 4:30-5:15pm 
• WebEx meeting: join here 

Here are additional details about this opportunity, and here is the application (due April 1, 2022).   
Growing your toolbox of culturally- and linguistically-sustaining practices is incredibly valuable and relevant professional learning for educators, as our community grows and diversifies.  If you are interested in learning about other PD opportunities related to this topic, please reach out to your building’s Language Specialist, or to one of our district’s multilingual department instructional coaches.

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Updates from our COVID Team:

YES to Foreign Exchange Students: Schools are OK to welcome Foreign Exchange Students in our school for the 22-23. Schools must adhere to the guidelines in JECB-AP including only accepting students from programs that require a J1 Visa with local coordinators to ensure that students are supported. It is the responsibility of the exchange programs, not the school, to secure host families for the students.

YES to volunteers for field trips and after school activities beginning April 1: Volunteers must be cleared through our volunteer process AND staff must have a mitigation plan submitted and approved prior to the event.

FYI From Terry Cashman– water fountains are being turned back on.  Clearance was given by the health department.  Walt will coordinate with your building engineer on getting this done.

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Learn more about Project Wayfinder: We are excited to share with you our pilot of Wayfinder SEL + Beyond Curriculum.  By filling out the Interest Form you will gain access to the Wayfinder App and receive a 30-45 minute orientation.  

The Wayfinder program is designed specifically with middle and high school students in mind.  The focus of the program is to help students build connection and belonging so they can discover their purpose and live a life of meaning.   Check out their website if you’re interested in more information.  Or take a look at the 10 Lesson Scope + Sequence.

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From Nick in the Business office -Here is a handy link explaining the different budgets that you work with.  This may be helpful as we start to get ready to head into another budgeting season. 

Calendar:

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.

SIW schedule

• February 22-25: CTE Appreciation Week! Stephen and I will be visiting our CTE teachers. Stephen sent you a schedule so you can join!
• February 22: HS VP Work Session @ Ed Center in the Board Room 8:00-9:30
• February 22: HS LA work session with Mary Erenworth @ BSHS Perseverance Hall 4:00-6:00
• February 24: Learning Walk @ LPHS WL and CTE 1:00-3:00
• February 28: Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools–Principals only.  3:30-5:00 location TBD
• March 1: Principal Work Session 8:00-9:30 @ BTA@ MHS

Think abouts….

Linda Adams, our Math TOSA, shared with me this recent report on the role of Calculus in college admissions! It dives into:

• how high school completion of calculus is a better indicator of student family wealth than student success in college, even in STEM fields
• how the overemphasis on calculus in college admissions exacerbates inequities, 6-12 and beyond
• how calculus is not aligned well with many majors, including many popular STEM majors, and better reflects the math needs of the “space race” era over current STEM fields
• how college admissions are shifting around the country to recognize the value of other advanced math courses, such as statistics, data science, and new, creative math electives

A worthy read. Exciting how Oregon is repeatedly brought up as a state that is in alignment with needed reforms: Report on Calculus in the math pathway

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Information:

From Lora:  As you know, we are hosting three networking/professional learning/district information sessions for principals this spring. One component of each session will be dedicated time for small group discussions of Unconscious Bias in Schools. Here’s the reading schedule:

• Monday, February 28^th*: Chapters 1-3
• Monday, April 4^th: Chapters 4-6
• Monday, May 9^th: Chapters 7-10

Reminder:  It is still expected that all school leaders read the book, but the above sessions are for the building Principals only. If you didn’t get a copy of the book, last Friday, let us know and we will send you one. 

*All sessions will be in the board room from 3:30-5:00 PM. SNACKS WILL BE PROVIDED! 😊

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Classified Subs – it appears (knock on wood) that the Omicron surge is dwindling and on the way out.  We still might experience some shortages but things are looking as they were before the surge. This means that we will not be filling all your classified openings you have each day.  Please hold off on reaching out for help until you are at a tipping point.  This means that you need to try to cover duties within first before calling Scott Bojanowski for support.

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Culture of Care – Just a reminder that Culture of Care offers more than just PD! When it comes to our mission of building Trauma-Responsive, Restorative and Equity-Centered educational cultures, we are available for things like:

• Confidential consultation on leadership and culture challenges.
• Development support for school’s MTSS model (data review, service delivery & tiered supports)
• Thought partnering and brainstorming around Culture of Care related resources, action plans, staff support, and culture building.
• Coaching on classroom management & PBIS.
• Support with Restorative Practices implementation and Equity work.
• Building staff community and addressing team dynamics.
• Providing non-evaluative observations and feedback.
• Trauma-Informed & Equity-Centered policy review and guidance.
• Creation of needed resources (i.e. Classroom Check in Guide)

And as always, you can find a wealth of resources and opportunities on our Culture of Care website, such as the latest Drop-in Community Circles and Care Read Along.

You can use our team scheduling link to set up a 15, 30 or 60 minute zoom call with the HDESD team, or meet with one of the coaches individually:

• HDESD Culture of Care Team
• Erin Taylor
• Amy Yillik
• Amber McGill
• Sierra Jackson (Jefferson County)

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Vaccine Update –   Are you ‘up to date’ on your vaccine?  As we start to plan for making masks optional it is important that everyone reviews their vaccination status. The CDC is shifting away from the phrase “fully vaccinated” in favor of calling people “up to date” on their COVID-19 vaccines.

Up to date is defined as: 

• Ages 18 and older: Boosted or completed primary series of Pfizer or Moderna within the last 5 months or completed the primary series of J&J within last 2 months.
• Ages 5-17: Completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines

Not up to date is defined as: 

• Unvaccinated OR
• Has not completed the primary series of any COVID-19 vaccines OR
• (For individuals ages 18 and older) completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna more than 5 months ago and is not boosted

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Assembly Update: Beginning March 1, you can schedule indoor assemblies. Large high schools must limit the number of students to two grades!

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Field Trip Update: We will allow field trips if transportation is available and volunteers are not needed. Staff must submit a mitigation page/plan to level leaders. Requests from Realms HS /MS and CTE will be given priority. We are currently not allowing students or parents to transport. Check in with me if you are interested in a field trip. All trips need to be approved through level leaders.

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HS VP Positions: Thank you to Mackenzie Groshong, Leslie Reif and Becky Aylor for stepping up to serve as Interim Assistant Principals this year! The posting to hire permanent leaders in those positions went up this week. We will hire all three positions from that posting! Chris, Scott and Michael will be sharing more specifics about the process with staff this week. Interviews are scheduled for March 16.

Calendar:

SIW schedule 

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit. Bringing this back next week!

February 15 – Principal Breakfast 7:30@ Original Pancake House

February 17 – Learning Walk 1:00-3:00 WL and CTE@ CHS

February 22: VP Work Session 8:00-9:30 @ SHS

February 24: Learning Walk 1:00-3:00 WL and CTE@ LPHS

February 28 – Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools–Principals only.  3:30-5:00 location TBD

March 1: Principal Work Session 8:00-9:30- @BTA@MHS

To Do:

SLGG’s and your Self Reflection are due this Monday, February 7.

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Equitable Grading Work: As we continue to support our secondary teachers to implement equitable grading practices, your leadership voice is imperative in messaging clear expectations.

As you have seen, our Canvas and Synergy teams are responsive and willing to dig in with your teams to support and problem. You are not alone in leading this work! The week of February 14, our Canvas team will resume sending school reports detailing grade book setup issues between Synergy and Canvas. 

Here is a reminder of the expectations we have been pushing out this year. As several schools begin semester 2, this is a good time reinforce these with your teachers:

2021-22 Canvas and Synergy Grade Setup

Bend La Pine Canvas Expectations. Of special note here is that a course syllabus is required beginning semester 2 using the template selected by your school.

NEW TERM COURSE SHELLS:  Remember to apply course settings in each new course. 

*Enable nightly sync and synch every graded assignment. The intended outcome is that Canvas ALWAYS matches what is in Synergy. Parents and students should never wonder about their student’s grade.

*Apply 50% for missing submissions

*Assignment groups in Canvas match assignment categories in Synergy

*Grading scales (Canvas scheme and Synergy Grade Type) must match

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Science Safety information from our Secondary Science TOSA, Colleen Behrens: Scott Bojanowski, Marsha Baro and Colleen Behrens have been working to finalize science safety documents and procedures for the district. This information was reviewed with science teachers at the last Educator Network Day.

Please read through these two documents so you can support the management of science safety expectations in your schools. Science and Safety Update and Science and Chemistry Safety Library.

Science teachers must complete their Flinn training by June 4 2022. Here are their options:

Flinn Safety Training 

Choose 1 Option

Day 190: Seven hours Flinn High School Laboratory Safety Course. Email certificate of completion to Science TOSA

Paid Time: Seven hours Flinn High School Laboratory Safety Course pays curriculum rate. Email certificate of completion to Science TOSA and she will email the timesheet.

Credit Option: Seven hours Flinn High School Laboratory Safety Course and a project through Bend-LaPine Course Catalog- Spring Term. Credit through OSU, Cascade. Email certificate of completion  AND project for credit to Science TOSA.

Science Safety Support Team Members: SHS Callie Pfister; BSHS Casie Bullock; MVHS Andy Young; Realms Heidi Dixon; BTA@ MHS Missy Wikler; CHS Kathleen Glogau/Laura Gemignani; LPHS Suzanne Jones

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Information:

A note from Tami Pike about vaccination status: Remind staff that if they are not “up-to-date” with their COVID-19 vaccinations, they will be required to follow the quarantine protocol if they are identified as a close contact to a positive case (if they have not had confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis from a lab, health care provider, or health department). You do not need to quarantine, if you have had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis from a lab, health care provider, or health department in the last 90 days. Quarantine guidelines

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From Dean: I wanted to let you know about the continuation of the optional Educator Network Day on February 9^th.  The intent of these collaboration spaces is for you to meet with other teachers to discuss and plan the issues important to you.  These planning spaces are predominately run by teacher leaders and District ICCLs.   

Teachers who attend the Educator Networks will be time sheeted for lost prep time.   Again, these are voluntary meeting times with the agendas being set by BLS teachers. 

Agenda and schedules can be found here.

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Updates from HR: Bend – La Pine Schools (BLS) and our Associations have signed a Memorandum Of Agreement (MOA) regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on the workplace.  There is a provision for ten (10) paid COVID-19 hardship days and employees have the ability to request retroactive credit for absences that was applied against their sick leave.  This provision extends to Confidential/BLAST employees as well.

To determine if you are eligible for the retroactive credit, we’ve created a form for you to review and submit if one or more of the categories apply to past leave. 

The form is not necessary for leave that will be captured in the coming months as Office Managers have received instructions on how to code COVID-19 related leave moving forward

For staff submitting for retroactive COVID-19 credit, please do not send your school nurse the form for signature. The forms should be sent via district mail  (not via email) to Tami Pike. Please include a copy of your submitted leave sheet. 

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From Dean and our Secondary TOSA’s: As most of us move into a new semester and spend our time with report cards, it is also a time to think about all that students have worked on this year. Students have done analyzing, synthesizing, and processing.  As teachers, you have done the same thing with all of their evidence of learning. 

As we move the second half of the year, Science TOSA Colleen Behrens shares some ways to think about ways to think about how we provide students information beyond grades and what feedback is most beneficial for students. Feedback vs Feed Forward

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Alternative Credit Option: Our Grading and Credit in IKA- AR was recently updated by our board to include language that adds another option for alternative credit. Here is the added language:

*For the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, students may earn credit for a course in
which the student did not initially pass at semester / trimester, but did pass the following
semester / trimester. The original grade shall not be changed but course passage
denoted via alternative credit. A “P” for “pass” will be added to the transcript. This applies
to the courses in the same content area or sequence. For example, if a student did not
pass Semester 1 of Biology, but did pass Semester 2 of Biology; the student may earn 1
credit of Biology science credit. Or, if a student did not pass Health 1, but passes Health
2, the student may earn .5 credit for Health 1. Approval may be granted by the building
principal or designee.

This information has been shared with your grad coaches, counselors and curriculum secretaries. Dean and I can help with questions.

Calendar:

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.

SIW schedule

• February 7 – SLGG’s and your Self Reflection due (moved both back to account for the Canvas/Synergy clean up).
• February 8 – All HS Admin WS Cancelled
• February 8 – Principal Work Session; 8:00-9:30  @CHS

All admin retreat – June 27 and 28 (Monday and Tuesday). Let me know if you are not able to make those dates.

To Do:

Communicate to parents and students that the ACT will be hosted at Summit HS April 2: Reno sent out information to HS admin this week about the testing opportunity open to all juniors. The building administrator who oversees testing should attend a mandatory WebEx meeting in Katie’s room Monday, Jan 31 at 9:00am.

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The Removal of Appendix A and the new return to school policy – This week, the school board voted to remove Appendix A per the recommendation of Dr. Cook.  Please reach out if you have questions about implementation.

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Attend the State of Schools Retreat–February 4, from 9:00-12:00  The MS and HS teams will be meeting at Bend High School in Perseverance Hall (the new building in the back by the Tech Center).  The format will be similar to the work we did at SVMS last year:  meet in groups with facilitators, WebEx to all rooms/locations, have breakout activities to do together, etc. 

Please be sure to bring your leadership notebook to this meeting as there will be a few opportunities to reflect and write down your thinking, as well as your computer to look up information.  You will be leaving with a boxed lunch to take with you and enjoy.  For more information on future sessions, long term vision, plan and please refer to Lora’s email she sent earlier this week. 

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Information:

FROM BEA (SARAH BARCLAY) Equitable Grading Practices: As everyone knows Bend-La Pine Schools has been moving through a process, in collaboration with BEA, to examine best practices in grading at the secondary level. OEA has also been exploring this topic of discussion and we wanted to ensure that all BEA members were aware of some available resources.

Grading for Equity Book Study Flier: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J7d4MjAPOPuPsrQJRAvVc8ZfuIPzHMnj/view?usp=sharing (This is the same book the BLS Equitable Grading Think Tank has been using to guide their work!)

Rethinking Grading Webinar Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl3_0SNHqpE

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From Lora Nordquist: Please share the message with all staff:

Bend-La Pine Schools Staff: A number of you have reached out with questions about whether Bend-La Pine Schools will continue with summer programming for students this summer. The answer is “yes”! We are currently identifying an administrative lead for the program and hope to get out information soon about certified and classified positions available. The dates for this summer are August 1-19, Monday through Friday. Both part-time and full-time positions will be available.

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From Jennifer Hauth – National School Counseling Week 2022 is Feb. 7-11, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February. 

I have had posters and certificates made for each school counselor in your building, serving in a traditional school counseling role. Please take a moment on February 4^th-7^th  to present the certificates and posters to your school counselors, thanking them for all that they do. 

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Student Success Program Update from Jennifer Hauth: I have received a few questions regarding grades for students enrolled in the Student Success course.  While Student Success is designed as an intervention and not a course, I realize there were a few instances where this was needed. Since this intervention is not a course in most applications, please make sure when assigning grades for this semester that your SSC/SSIs use a P for Pass or NG for No Grade. We will discuss this process during our BRYT admin lead training on Tuesday, February 1^st. Please reach out with any questions.

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From Paul Dean: Classified Job Postings and Hiring Update for Temporary Positions

We are closely approaching the date when some temporary classified new hires will not be eligible for benefits and be excluded from the bargaining unit because their employment in 2021-22 will be less than 80 days.  HR will be editing temporary job postings to reflect when 80-day employment window ensues (see this link for the impacted jobs and dates).

It is very important for administrators/supervisors involved in offering jobs to new temporary hires after these dates that these prospective employees are aware of the non-benefited status of their position before they accept the offer of employment.

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Announcement from College Board regarding changes to the SAT:

The College Board recently made the announcement related to welcome changes to the SAT. The SAT will be delivered in an all-digital format starting in Spring of 2024 (Class of 2025) in the United States (and in Spring 2023 internationally). Testing will continue to be available via SAT School Day and at testing centers. At-home testing will not be available. Other changes include the following: 

• Adaptive test: Each test section will be divided into two parts called modules. The questions students are given in the second module depend on performance with the first module.
• Shorter test: The test will be shortened to two hours, with more time per question
• Shorter reading passages, with one question tied to each
• Calculators will be allowed on the entire math section
• Scores will be available in days instead of weeks
• Digital PSAT will be available in Fall of 2023 to give the Class of 2025 a chance to practice in the digital format before taking the SAT in the Spring.

Read the full story here. Additional information and an FAQ about the changes can be found here.  I’m most intrigued by the adaptive feature of the test, which allows a 3.5 hour test to drop down to 2 hours!

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Note from Jackie Wilson regarding sustainability efforts in your schools and the district.  Check out the most recent information here.  Hey Title schools–there is a great idea for a family engagement activity you could develop for your school! 

Calendar:

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.

SIW schedule

• January 31 – ACT WebEx for Testing Administrators – KT’s WebEx room @ 9:00am
• February 1 – MS and HS BRYT Admin Lead work session with BRYT partners @ Ed Center, Room 314 (Board Room) 8:00-10:00am – breakfast and coffee provided
• February 4 – State of Schools – 9-12, Perseverance Hall, Bend High School
• February 7 – SLGG’s and your Self Reflection due (moved both back to account for the Canvas/Synergy clean up).

Reminder: complete your work calendars.  If you need assistance please contact April Jorgenson.

To Do:

Thank you for continuing to ensure that all students and staff take our YouthTruth Survey! We have scheduled an all admin training on Friday, February 4 9-12 to review our YouthTruth data together.

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Thank you for ensuring your teachers have completed the required Canvas/Synergy Synch requirements prior to the end of the semester.

Information:

Here is the email from Dr. Steve to teachers regarding the February 4, Certified Work Day Expectations: In light of the continuing surge of COVID-19 cases in our community, we are looking for ways to limit spread that do not have a negative impact on instructional time for students. Based on this, we are offering some flexibility on Feb. 4, a non-student contact day, for you to complete grading. You (teachers) may complete your full workday at school or from home. 

Schools and offices will remain open and staffed for calls or walk-ins on Feb. 4 and there will be no change for extracurricular and club activities. The only change to this contracted work day is the flexibility for teacher grading to take place from school or home. 

Thank you all for your continued professionalism and care for our students during this challenging time. 

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From Kinsey – Just a reminder about some upcoming months and some resources for each.    Look for more resources from Christie Boen.

1. Black History Month: February. Resources here.

2. Women’s History Month: March. Resources here.

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From Julianne re: masks – A quick reminder that our nursing and office manager teams may order PPE from Distribution, as needed. Here is the form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccLCgyWa4kvGvT6sJGzdMbJnfUTCkD-gMnOJBmRFxhzXjjXg/viewform Please have your school nurse place the weekly PPE order to avoid any confusion. 

You are encouraged to make 3-ply and KN95 masks available to students and staff via self serve. The KN95s with black printing on the outside of the mask are smaller than the newer all white masks. Those with black imprints may be better suited for youth faces.  When you order additional KN95s you will receive the new, larger version. 

And remember, in an effort to extend the life of PPE during the pandemic, staff are reminded that KN95 masks can be reused when appropriate handling and storage is followed by following some simple storage and handling rules. Click here.

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Secondary Blog post from TLC: This week’s post comes from guest writer Tara Butler, Cascade Middle School Math Teacher and winner of the 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.  She has some great advice for teaching students executive functioning skills such as self-control and flexible thinking, something most students can use during these difficult times.  Fostering Executive Function Skills

Calendar:

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.

SIW schedule

Canvas/Synergy Clean up and Synch: Ongoing until Feb 2!

YouthTruth Survey: Ongoing until January 28!

January 25 – work session rescheduled for Tuesday, April 19 at

January 27 – LW BTA@MHS rescheduled for Tuesday, March 29

February 1 – HS Admin BRYT leads – work session with BRYT – Ed Center

February 4 – Required all district and building leadership training 9-12. Location TBD

February 5 – SLGG’s and your Self Reflection due (moved both back to account for the Canvas/Synergy clean up).

Information:

From our HS LA TOSA, Michele Clements: Your Language Arts departments are starting to think about this year’s implementation of the Common District Assessments.  In an attempt to be sure everyone is working from a common understanding of procedural expectations and freedoms, below is a condensed version of an email LA teachers received this weeks.  If your teachers come to you with questions or concerns, we wanted you to have the same information.

What is expected:

1. #1 goal: to make this a learning opportunity for students.  Teach them the skills and access the content in such a way that will help them further develop their skills in crafting academic essays.  For some teachers, this may mean spending more time with sources and skill development; some teachers may spend less – both are fine.
2. Students should study 85% of the sources provided.  This means teachers should feel free exclude 1 or 2 provided sources of their choosing. Teachers can add in resources of their own choosing.  Note: Furthermore, this does not mean students must use all 85% of the sources in their essays.  The essays are multi-source essays, but there is not a minimum requirement of how many sources they must use.
3. Invest (a minimum of) three weeks – two weeks with sources, discussion, annotation, evidence preparation, etc; one week developing a strong final product.

What is not expected:

1. Teachers do not need to teach the CDA exactly as written. The development teams have tried, to the best of their ability, to provide a variety of sources from a variety of mediums, as well as support lessons for studying the sources AND writing the essays.  Teachers do not need to use these pieces beyond what will help them accomplish their first goal of furthering the development of the student’s composition skills.  A full teaching unit is present if they wish to use it.

If you are your teachers have questions, please reach out to me.  Thanks, Michele Clements

From your TLC team: In an effort to take things off the plate of teachers, the new hire disciplinary literacy training has been suspended for the rest of the year.

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From Tami Pike – All staff should be advised to contact their supervisor for any COVID related questions/concerns outside of school hours. It is important for nurses and contact tracers to have personal time during non-school hours. When supervisors/administrators are contacted by school staff, administrators should refer to the Staff COVID-19 Response and Recovery Newsletter to help answer questions. After reviewing the Staff COVID-19 Response and Recovery Newsletter,  if principals/administrators still have questions and it is an urgent matter,  please reach out to nurse Michelle Spetic AND Tami Pike via email.  

At this time, 1/10/22: If a fully vaccinated staff person is exposed to a positive case and they currently have no symptoms, they can work on site. (Fully vaccinated – received 2^nd dose of 2 dose vaccine series less than 6 months ago or has received the COVID-19 booster.) Tami highly encourages fully vaccinated, exposed individuals to test on day 5 and work remotely (if possible). 

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Return after 5 day – Read the email from Julianne again that discusses the ability for staff to come back on Day 6 of a quarantine. Pay particular attention to the type of mask to be worn and lunch protocols.  No need to take temperature on those that return.

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From Paul in Human Resources: Administrators and Supervisors: I’ve been hesitating to send this email ever since we returned from break knowing the strain you are under maintaining staffing levels during the Omicron variant.  My apologies for finally having to hit ‘send’ on it.
By the end of the month, you’ll be receiving information from HR identifying the classified employees who need to be evaluated this year.  As a reminder, we rotate staff so that they are only required to be evaluated every other year (after their first year probationary period).  Temporary employees are not required to be evaluated.  
Before we transition to next year, we need your assistance in cleaning up last year’s evaluations.  Here is a list of employees whom we did not receive a summative evaluation from their supervisory.  We imagine that in the craziness of the end-of-year tasks, the evaluation were completed but that the paperwork was not shared with HR.
The Ask

1. Please review the spreadsheet for your site
2. Upload paperwork for last year’s evals that HR doesn’t have a copy of by following this video for instructions on how to do that into Frontline
3. Use the Orange notes section to communicate the status of an employee’s eval 

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From Human Resources: Feel free to forward this email to anyone who is encountering difficulties in receiving weekly OHA COVID test kits.  It contains a phone number and email address:

Thank you for your interest in participating in weekly Covid testing for School Teachers and Staff. We understand how important it is to maintain a safe environment within Oregon schools, and we’re honored to be able to help with this process. In order to begin, please fill out our form located here: Opt-In FormWe will use the information provided to ship test kits weekly to your home or other address. If you ever wish to opt-out of this free service, please use the following link: Opt-Out Form We pride ourselves on a quick and easy testing process. This is made possible by using LabDash, our online portal, that enables digital collection and direct access to your results as soon as they are available. In order to get started:Visit LabDash.net and select ‘Patient’Fill out the form with your information then select ‘Submit’Once you verify your email, you will be ready to collect your sample as soon as your testing kit arrives LabDash saves your information for you, meaning you only have to enter it once. After you register, you can use the same profile every week you receive a kit. As soon as results are uploaded, you can access them from your account, under the ‘Samples’ section. If you have any questions, please call 541-368-3050 or email us at [email protected].

Sincerely, WVT Laboratory541.368.3050wvtlab.com

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Calendar:

HERE is the calendar for meetings for the year

Here is a sample Learning Walk schedule you can use as a guide to plan that visit.

SIW schedule

Canvas/Synergy Clean up and Synch: Ongoing until Feb 2!

YouthTruth Survey: Ongoing until January 28!

January 20 – LW at REALMS HS – Cancelled

January 25 – HS Admin work session @BTA@ MHS

February 1 – HS Admin BRYT leads – work session with BRYT – Ed Center

February 5 – SLGG’s and your Self Reflection due (moved both back to account for the Canvas/Synergy clean up).

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.

It may be “too soon” for this to be humorous, but I thought I would share this…