Reminders:
- Monday @ 3 is our Horizontal meeting. Dave will be presenting. Prior to the meeting please watch this video and contribute to this jamboard.
- Please take the time to read the TLC Update
- If you have not shared your Safety plan with your staff be sure to do so or maybe share it again. There was feedback that not all staff were aware of their building’s safety plan.
- Reminder – please provide your feedback on the SOP for admins document – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gMq2m2x7mwvfI1vCPaqQ2OZTEjYQ1Ky7dULIVBsuHDg/edit#
This and That…
Something to pass onto your staff – teachers/staff getting charged overages on their home internet? Bend Broadband’s parent company, TDS is willing to credit back any overage charges for BLP teachers as long as they email TDS from their school email address. Any teacher that’s been impacted should send an email to [email protected], from their school email address with their name and account number, requesting credit for their “data usage allowance overage charge.
Please take action on this – Bend-La Pine Staff providing academic support for childcare – Bend Park and Rec, Boys and Girls Club, Camp Fire, High Desert Museum, and La Pine Park and Rec are community partners providing childcare for our students. At each site Bend-La Pine Schools has assigned one or more staff members to provide academic support. Recently, concerns have surfaced about how this academic support is being provided and who these staff members work with.
To address the concerns, staff members assigned to assist our community partners with academic support should follow a schedule that details which students they will work with and the times they will work with them. Additionally, the staff member should have a designated space to work with these students. This space doesn’t need to be in a completely different room or location of the school. It can be a space or section off to the side in the space being used by our childcare providers.
Principals, if you could work with your childcare leads and academic support staff to design schedules and identify locations when working with groups that would be very helpful. Additionally remember the following:
- Cohorts limited to 10 students or less
- Students are limited to 2 cohorts per week (including transportation)
- Staff cannot interact with more than 3 LIPI cohorts per day or 5 per week
Students cannot spend more than 2 hours with BLS staff in LIPI support during childcare academic time.
For new kids to your building – Many of us will have new kids to our building this year that unfortunately have not had the opportunity to walk through the building. That means our first day back will be their first day of setting foot in the building. To help out these kids and families High Lakes created a tour of their school. Nice job Lynx team! (does anyone else think Tom has a bit of Mr. Rogers in him?)
Let’s be careful – as we start hearing rumors of coming back it is important that your teachers are careful not to get their students’ hopes up too much. Let the parents do the bulk of the communication about this.
Masks Message To Parents – as we start bringing students into our building, communicating the policy on masks might be needed. The following was stolen from Pine Ridge:
A cloth, paper, or disposable face mask (without valves) that covers the nose and the mouth is the requirement for all BLS students and staff with some exceptions. Your child may not want to wear a mask and have a hard time keeping it on. Your child may be extra sensitive to the way the mask feels on their face, head, and ears. Some children may even feel panicked when a mask is put on them. Some kids won’t like the way the mask looks on themselves or others and might feel scared. Other children just won’t like it because it is different and doing something different is hard for them.
It will be important to set your child up for success before your child needs to wear their mask. Although this varies by child, it may take repeated prep and practice. Here are some tips:
Consider the type of mask you get and how your child wears it. Your child may be more likely to wear a mask if:
- The mask has their favorite color, sports team, character or special interest on it.
- Your child finds the mask more comfortable
- Face mask extenders or ear savers
- Using a headband with buttons that the mask attaches on.
- Face masks with around-the-head-tie straps.
- You give your child choices and help them try on masks
- Over the ear straps vs Around-the-head straps
- Do they like extenders and/or ear savers?
Explanations: Explain to your child why it is important to wear a mask. Some children really like to know the reason why they have to do something. Try to make this explanation positive, so your child doesn’t get scared. For example, you could tell your child “We wear a mask to keep ourselves and other people safe. When we wear a mask, germs can’t jump from person to person. Masks stop the germs from moving.”
Practicing At Home: One of the first things you may do is show your child how you wear your own mask. Have a daily “Mask On!” moment. Make a plan to wear masks around the house at certain times of day, like from 10-11 am, or during certain activities, like setting the table for meals. Have your child help you decide when. Spend time reading a book, listening to a podcast, or watching a movie together with masks on. Work masks into video lessons with the teacher or on other video chat opportunities.
Thank you and please notify your school at least a week before in-person education is set to begin if your child is having difficulty wearing a mask so we can assist you.
Departmental News…
Instructional Tech News from Amy – a recent WebEx update is causing issues for elementary teachers because they can no longer just unmute students to ask them to share, students have to allow themselves to be unmuted. Of course, upper grade teachers are stoked because they can lock students in mute. You may want to share the blog posted linked below with all your teachers. https://blogs.bend.k12.or.us/instructionaltechnology/2020/10/27/webex-added-functionality-for-mute-controls/
From Becky Rehwalt – The student support line, 541-355-8700 has been successful with helping students with their iPads, thanks to your staff, instructional coaches, site technicians and helpdesk folks.
The calls coming to the x8700 line have reduced to 15 or less per day and are now specific to school sites. Beginning November 2, 2020 we will return to the typical model where these calls will go directly to the schools for support. The helpdesk will no longer receive the calls or voice mails. The phone number, 355-8700 will still be used by families. If needed, your tier 1 support staff member can continue to reach out to your site technician or the helpdesk for support.
Here is the Tech Help Flow Chart that shows how a student can get help with their iPad.
Middle and high schools: Calls are currently going to your tier 1 support staff member’s phone line. We will continue to use this phone line.
Elementary schools: Please send an email to Melissa Eaton by October 30, 2020 with the phone line number you would like the calls to go to.
FYI – Families should continue to work with their internet provider to help with equipment, network or internet issues. These issues cannot be resolved by our tech support team.
From Juan Cuadros – The School Ambassador Fellowship Program now accepting applications.
Founded on the principles of partnership, collaboration and cooperation between the Federal Government and school-based educators, the U.S. Department of Education designed the School Ambassador Fellowship program to enable outstanding teachers, administrators and other school leaders, like school counselors, psychologists, social workers, and librarians to bring their school and classroom expertise to the Department and to expand their knowledge of the national dialogue about education. The School Ambassador Fellowship is a one-year professional learning community designed to improve educational outcomes for students by leveraging the expertise of school-based practitioners in the creation, evaluation, and dissemination of information around national education initiatives. Applications for the 2021-2022 cohort of the School Ambassador Fellowship applications are open through 11:59pm EST on January 11, 2020. Please visit the Applicant Information page and sign-up for updates to stay in contact with the program
From Nutrition Services – We will be offering meals over the holiday breaks. They will include breakfast, lunch and supper grab ‘n’ go from 12pm-1pm on the following days:
- Monday 11/23 – we will serve meals for 11/23, 11/24, 11/25, 11/26
- Monday 12/21 – we will serve meals for 12/21, 12/22, 12/23, 12/24
- Monday 12/28 – we will serve meals for 12/28, 12/29, 12/30, 12/31
We will be serving only at the sites below (No mobile routes). Meals are available to all kids 18 years of age or younger.
- Bend High
- Elk Meadow
- La Pine High
- Lava Ridge
- Pilot Butte
- Three Rivers
- Westside Village
If you have any questions or need clarification, contact Nutrition Services.
Great News from Nutrition Services – USDA has extended the waivers for summer meals until June 30, 2021. The waivers will allow us to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to kids 18 and under for the rest of the 20-21 school year.
A Section on LIPI…
LIPI cohorts and staff interactions
Question – Under LIPI, if a counselor meets with an individual student, does this count toward the staff members limit of 3 cohorts a day? If so, then the counselor can only meet with 3 individuals in a day or a total of five one-on-one sessions with students in a week?
ODE Answer: Ready Schools, Safe Learners defines a stable cohort as “a group of students that are consistently in contact with each other or in multiple cohort groups” (section 1a). One student working with a teacher, by definition, does not constitute a cohort. Teachers can be in three cohorts of no more than 10, OR a total of 30 interactions, each day. If teachers are involved in individual 1 to 1 interactions and not cohorts of multiple students, they can still only interact with no more than 30 total students a day.
It’s important to distinguish differences in the roles staff play within schools. Typically a specialist or counselor as you mentioned work with individual students, and not always cohorts. Given that, these interactions can be thought of more as total contacts.
LIPI and Transportation (From Kim)
Reminder: Here are the links to the LIPI forms, along with time offerings. Staff must use their BLPS google account for these links.
Elementary Form https://forms.gle/gHMoq4V16tyqdnXv6
MS/HS Form https://forms.gle/4kXkXqmMQft4QpQF6
Q: What time does the bus drop the student off at school?
A: The bus will arrive approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of class time- assuming we have not been held up by an accident, train, traffic, construction (ex. class time is 7:30-9:30, bus will arrive about 7:15). The driver will then take roll for contract tracing and be ready to send them into the school. We need staff available to take students at this time. Buses then need to be sanitized and drivers head to their next stop/school. This also gives students time to transition to class and be ready for school.
Q: What time does the bus pick up after school?
A: The bus will be there at the end of the school day. We give students 8 minutes to load prior to leaving.
Q: I know the bus stops at the corner of 3rd & Wilson, can I add students to that stop that live nearby?
A: No, you must complete a LIPI form and follow the time guidelines to add a student. Each student is assigned a specific seat on each bus. We are receiving forms daily and process them by the time stamp. Forms received by Friday, will be processed the following week and the student can start riding the week after that. Ex. You submit the form 10/21, we work on the routing the week of 10/26, the student can start riding the week of 11/2.
Q: How do families find out their bus stop times?
A: The driver will call each family on their route. Some students have different times each day (depending on who is riding that day). Families can expect a phone call the evening before their start date.
Changes in LIPI – As you are aware, there are all kinds of updates coming out of Salem today regarding reopening our schools to students. Paul sent you an email today regarding some items he wanted to make sure you were aware of. Also, here are some highlights around changes in LIPI that have been reflected in our district LIPI Plan… What is different:
- Cohort now defined as 20 students (not 10)
- Added “capacity” limitation based on new LIPI guidance
- 250 student per week limit is removed
- Updated the links to the ODE limited in person instruction guidance which provide further guidance on 1:1 instruction in LIPI.
- Removed the phased transition table and added the link to the ODE’s new metrics document which we will follow when determining out application of LIPI.
LIPI and After School Planning Guide – Here is a Useful document from BSHS tracking on campus student groups for LIPI and after school activities.
And Finally…
