Updates, Reminders, and Department Info…
From Scott McDonald – Greetings Google Users – If you are someone who frequently uses Google Workspace products (forms, docs, sheets, slides) then you should be aware of pending security changes. Beginning next Wednesday, anonymous public users will no longer be able to access your Google documents without first signing in with a Google account. Example: If you share a google sign-up form to your families, they would be prompted to sign into Google before signing up for the activity. Both district and non-district accounts would work just the same. A user who is already signed into a google product would see no change what-so-ever. Why? By simply signing into a document, a user has some accountability and responsibility for what they view or edit. If you feel that this change will negatively impact your work, please feel free to reach out. Our IT team will do our best to work with you to provide alternative solutions while also ensuring we keep our documents and data safe.
Something to Read – This article provides valuable insights and practical strategies for school principals as they navigate the end of the school year. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing and processing emotions, celebrating accomplishments beyond academics, building strong relationships with students, and supporting those who may struggle with transitions. It also highlights the role of stable connections in promoting students’ growth, resilience, and overall well-being.
Math Bypass Test Info – Here is an FAQ that you can provide to families. This is something you can give to individual families that you have contacted or that you can send to all 5th grade families as a general announcement of this opportunity. To administer the Bypass test you will use the math diagnostic test in iReady. If you need information on how to do this please reach out to Dave VanLoo. If there are any students nominated by teachers for this assessment please be sure to reach out to parents before the assessment to explain the assessment and the reason their child is being considered.
From Nick Shein in the Business Office: Navigating questions about money, especially related to fundraising, can be confusing. The team in the Business Office is willing to help. We are happy to be “thought partners” with you about scenarios and discuss events/ideas as well. Also, we are always willing to provide info to help folks either make decisions or come up with an articulate way to frame them. Our team would much rather be involved at the beginning and supportive in finding the right way to do something rather than finding out after the fact. Reach out if we can help!
The Red Zone – Things to definitely read, do, share, or put on your calendar
From our Friends in Human Resources – VERY IMPORTANT: Certified Temporary/Probationary 1 & 2 and Contract Staff of Concern
As you complete Summative Evaluations, it is imperative that you note any performance deficiencies in both the domain/standard rating AND in the summary section at the end.
You may use language like,
- “Teacher AB does not meet performance expectations in [insert any/all that apply]”
- “It is necessary that AB becomes effective in these domains”
- PROBATIONARY/TEMPORARY ONLY: “Failure to meet performance objectives will result in probationary non-renewal at the conclusion of the following school year or failure to move from probationary to contract status by March of year three”
- “Teacher AB will be placed on Focused Performance Evaluation at the beginning of the upcoming school year” [or insert Support Strategies if you’ve already completed the Focus Perf. step]
HR will be contacting administrators in August/September to identify probationary teachers of concern.
UKG and Hiring Season
Please reference UKG Job Requisition, Interview Prep, Applicant Screening and Hiring Tips as we enter into peak hiring season. We have important information about ICCL hiring in this document (cut/pasted below). Within the document is also access to a Veteran’s Preference report where you can easily view which external candidates are veterans.
ICCL Hiring
We have one posting for all ICCL openings where staff can choose the school/department that they want to serve as an ICCL. The posting went up on May 5th and we began to receive complaints from administrators about the frequency of emails that they were receiving each time someone submitted an application (HELPFUL HINT: CREATE AN OUTLOOK EMAIL RULE TO ROUTE UKG EMAILS TO A SPECIFIC FOLDER AND/OR TURN OFF EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS FROM UKG).
The notification feature is either a system turn on/off and cannot be designated to be disabled for one posting. Therefore, we temporarily removed all school-depart admin as hiring managers so you cannot view applications at this time. We will turn it back on Monday the 22nd and you can then begin interviewing/hiring from the posting (you will also begin receiving applicant notifications again ~sorry).
Here are instructions on how to see who applied for your ICCL openings:
- In the upper right search bar, type “recruit” and select “Recruitment Questionnaire Answers”
- Along the top of the table, click the down arrow next to Saved:[System] and select “ICCL Sorting View 22/23”. You will see each school/department listed with the name of the applicant(s) who have applied.
- To view their brief ICCL application and statement as to why they would be a good candidate, select the “View Questionnaire” icon left of an applicant’s name
REMINDER FROM APRIL 28TH BLOG – Here are some FAQs regarding the upcoming certified hiring season:
Which internal candidates are we required to interview? The CBA guarantees interviews to internal candidates to anyone who has contract status, meaning they have been employed with us for three years or longer. Because of the fact that the contract letters have already been issued for next year, this includes those who are probationary three this year. If an employee has contract status and is currently in a temporary position, they are still owed an interview.
If so, how do you find out which employees are in which category? Please click on this link to see the contract status of all certified staff. If someone does not appear on your list, please email [email protected] for assistance.
For those that we are required to offer an interview to, does it need to be a full interview, or can it be a phone screen or a shortened version? Asking as it will be a struggle to arrange for teachers etc. to participate in a large number of full interviews. You can run a tiered interview for any position you like, beginning with a screening round where ALL internal applicants are asked the same questions and you then decide which candidates to invite to subsequent rounds of interviews.
From Lora– Here is the 2023-24 Beginning of the Year Work Calendar. You may share this with staff.
From Lora to Principals and LLC Members – This is a follow up to my announcement yesterday about an additional principals’ meeting this spring on Monday, May 22, in the boardroom:
- 3:00-3:30 is OPTIONAL. Dave is going to share a strategy for schools interested in focusing more directly on instructional practices in their school design work next year. The goal is to get feedback and learn what resources schools may need if they want to participate.
- 3:30-4:00 (ish) is mandatory. Steve will share additional information about the budget and possible impacts on schools.
A Friendly Reminder – Remember that the Wednesday of the last week of school is a FULL school day! Schools will be on SIW schedules Friday, June 16th, the last day of school. A couple more end-of-year reminders:
- Monday, June 19th is Juneteenth. We recognize that some staff may choose to work on the holiday because of the time of year, but please do not schedule interviews for that day and make sure school offices are closed with signage: “Our offices are closed today in honor of Juneteenth. We will reopen Tuesday morning, June 20th.”
- We have an agreement with BEA that if certified staff have completed the check-out process, including administrative approval, they do not need to report June 20th.
Calendar
- May 22 – Principal and LLC meeting 3 pm (see post above)
- May 23 – Elementary AP interviews
- May 29 – Memorial Day, no school
- June 1 Excellence in Education Awards, 5:00 at Summit
- June 16 Last Day of Students
- June 20 Last Day of Staff (unless they officially sign off with you sooner)
- June 21 BLAST end of year lunch and celebration
- June 22 Last day of CEL–Leading Equitable Schools
And Finally…
Prioritizing self-care as a principal is anything but selfish. Take a minute to read this article and assess the self-care you are practicing. Thank you for all you do and all you sacrifice for our kids, our families, and our staff members.