Add these important Dates for forecasting 26-27 to your calendars:
November 6 (TH) *New Course proposals due
December 1 (M): Curriculum Guide content completed at each school
January 23 (F) 1-12 ACRs Due to Ed Center by 3:00 pm (online or hard copy)
January 23 (F) Choice Option Schools Deadline (grades 1- 12) OR remain open if no lottery needed
March 6 (F) *CTE/Elective Day at high schools
March 9 (M)Incoming 9th grade Orientation Nights:
BSHS: 6 pm in the Main Gym
CHS: 6 pm in the Commons
LPHS: 6 pm in the Auditorium
MVHS: 6 pm in the Auditorium
SHS: 6pm in the Main Gym
March 10 (T) Incoming 6th grade parent night
Dates for choice option schools family nights coming soon…
From Departments
From Dean in Teaching and Learning:
The district ICCLs have been hired! These staff members support the content area TOSAs and where no TOSA is hired, they work to lead advocacy, curriculum, END and professional learning for their content areas.
If you see your staff member on this list, please congratulate them. You may feel free to reach out to any of them if there is a question from one of your staff regarding curriculum or other areas of support
Please see the updated Outside Behavioral Health Memo that discusses our approved behavioral health and case management providers, as well as, attendance codes.
The required Waypoints summative assessment is open for 3-12!
Great job Pacific Crest, Bend High, Highland and Three Rivers for the highest completion rates so far!!
If you want to see the classroom/advisory completion rates for your school, you can follow these steps to view Waypoints completions rates by class:
Switch to your School Admin role (see How to Change Your Role). If you do not see a System Admin role, please email Austin James to have this setup for you.
Click on “Waypoints” from the left-hand navigation menu
On the Waypoints page, select “Summative” on the left-hand side
In the Completion Rate box, you can view the overall completion percentage across the whole school
To view the completion percentage by class, click on the “View Details” button in the Completion Rate box
Please share this policy with your staff. I recommend asking your staff to review and following up in particular with your Music teachers and those planning holiday events.
Here is the “Do Not Schedule” document of cultural and holidays, updated with 25-26, 26-27, and now the 27-28 dates. Be sure your office staff and those who plan events and activities have this updated version.
Here (scroll down to October) are student-facing materials on Halloween and costumes.
Just a reminder that you should not be scheduling drills back to back (for example, a fire drill then a lock down drill). Please run them each as separate drills. Reach out to Scott or Kayla if you have questions.
STAS/SIRC Training
All new admin and counselors have been asked to attend one of the 8-hour sessions. REGISTER HERE.
Training dates are:
Thursday, October 2 -Mountain View High School
Monday, October 6- Pacific Crest Middle School
If you have any questions reach out to Lillah Lehner ([email protected])
CALL FOR RAPTOR PHOTOS & SUCCESS STORIES
The Safety Team has been asked to present at a national conference on best practices for visitor management. If you have any success stories of using Raptor (custom alerts, large events, etc), please share them with us. We would really appreciate the opportunity to highlight our schools’ amazing work. So far, we have only had two schools share with us!
Here is the counseling BLOG for this week. Email Katie the answer to this question correctly before Friday at 5:00 and get your name entered into next week’s drawing: Of all of the students who submitted an application to a four or two year degree last year, what percentage received an offer?
Reminder: Transportation staff are allowed to enter the building to use the bathroom. They are not required to walk around to the front of the building and “check in”. Please direct them to the nearest staff bathroom by the bus entrance. Thank you!!
We’d ask that schools submit work order for keys, locks or any other maintenance issues at a school. You can find a link to it on the Staff Portal>right hand column> toward the bottom>Hero HQ.
The benefit to the person who submits the request (it can be any staff member), is that they get to see the updates as maintenance staff addresses it. In addition, it allows our maintenance department to track and analyze the work being performed by our staff.
As an FYI, here is our Maintenance Department Structure and staff responsibilities
Calendar
September 29: LA Book Club Training 8-1@ Ed Center Board Room- Admin overseeing LA required to attend
September 30: Secondary Admin/ICCL 4:15-6:15 @ Bend High
October 1: All Admin Training 3:00-4:30 @ Perseverance Hall, Bend Senior High; read Chapters 1 and 2
October 7: Secondary Admin Tier 1/UpShift work group – 9-11 @ CMS
What in the World??
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Anne Marie Schmidt, Assistant Principal at Pacific Crest Middle School! The image was of the Dutch Windmill in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
We are mixing things up this week! Instead of an image of a location, we are highlighting an unusual animal. Any admin who correctly identifies the animal (be specific!) by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.
Inform your admin and ICCL team about our first training 9/30 from 4:15 to 6:15 at Bend High. We will be looking into instructional strategies that align well in a Standards-Based Instruction and Grading classroom.
Action Needed: Tier I Start-of-Year Check-In
Please take some time with your ICCL team to complete the survey below before the end of the day on October 3rd. The survey should be done together as a team (one survey per school) and will help the Task Force understand the roll-out of Tier I processes across the district. The Task Force will use this information in our first meeting together to recognize bright spots across the district, share trends back to our educator groups, understand consistency, and identify areas that may need more support as we move forward. You can access the survey using THIS LINK. We are finalizing as we speak and this link will go live at 1:00 pm tomorrow.
Please confirm with your level leader that this newly bargained language in the Grades and Credit AR has been shared and discussed with teachers:
Communication with families regarding student progress in Secondary:
1. At the beginning of the reporting period, students and parents will be informed by the teacher regarding the basis of the grades and the methods to be used in determining them.
2. All schools will provide families notification communication regarding student grades at these key times during the school year: a. For schools on trimesters: i. Progress reports six (6) weeks into each trimester ii. Final grades at the end of each trimester b. For schools on semesters: i. Progress reports nine (9) weeks into each semester ii. Final grades at the end of each semester
3. Student work will be graded and posted in the student information system within three (3) weeks of the due date in secondary sites. Students submitted as assignment after the due date must inform their teacher of the submission, and work submitted after the due date will be graded and posted within three (3) weeks of notification by the student of the submission.
4. Graded feedback will be provided throughout the term at regular intervals
Please share the following from Laura clark with teachers:
Subject: Hiding Overall Grades in Canvas
As a reminder, overall course grades in Canvas have been turned off by default this school year through Canvas school templates. This decision was made to help ensure that students and families use Synergy as the official record for course grades and to begin transitioning them ahead of our planned move to Standards-Based Grading.
Canvas continues to be a valuable tool for communicating assignments and assignment-level grades, providing feedback, and supporting student learning. However, by directing families to Synergy for overall grades, we avoid confusion that can occur when two systems display grades differently and help build consistent practices in preparation for next year.
Thank you for your continued support in keeping our grading practices clear and consistent for students and families.
Please go into your Complaints Dashboard and ensure you have either resolved the incidents submitted to date or are actively working on them. (Looking for your Dashboard? See my email titled “Complaints” sent Aug 14.)
Take time with your admin team to notice trends so far: what is and isn’t showing up in your dashboard? How is complaint response going for your team? What feedback or opportunities are showing up there? If you have questions about complaint process, timelines, etc, reach out.
Please make sure that all teachers understand the “Why” behind the assessment and that the student results will help us to identify intervention skill building groups. Teachers need to read the instructions from the implementation guides to the students. This will ensure that we get quality data to inform interventions. Wayfinder will also recommend additional skill building activities based on what students in their specific classroom need.
This week, an invitation to attend a training about Student Threat Assessment went to all new hires who are likely to be involved in this process at your site (Admin, Counselors, Psychs, etc.). Participants can choose one of two training days (October 2 or October 6). Training will be from 8-4 and lunch will be provided. If you yourself, or you have a staff member who you believe should participate, please simply sign up using THIS LINK. Questions? Contact Scott or Kayla in Safety.
Welcome back to the new school year! We hope the start of 2025–26 is going well for you and your teams.
Action Needed: We’re asking admin teams to collaborate and identify staff best suited to serve in this year’s UpShift roles. This information helps us track returning team members and identify who may need training in the coming weeks. Please review and update the BLS UpShift Roles & Responsibilities document with your anticipated staff assignments by end-of-day Wednesday, Sept 24th.
What’s New for 2025–26: UpShift is now an “Opt-Out” program.
As of this school year, UpShift is automatically initiated following a first-time substance-related violation—unless a parent/guardian opts out within 24 hours of notification. Verbal or written parent authorization is no longer required to start the protocol.
The Student Code of Conduct was edited to remove any references to requiring parent/guardian consent and now links to an editable, public-facing UpShift Protocol.
See the “Response to Substances” page (page 12) in the published Student Code of Conduct. Click the link to the UpShift Protocol which is where it includes the opt out language.
SAVE THE DATE:Tuesday, October 7th 9:00am-11:00 we will convene secondary VP Admin (Principals optional) to discuss changes to UpShift, go over any questions/challenges, share any communication expectations and next steps.
Resources
Please visit the UpShift FAQ document for ongoing updates to questions that may arise.
From Aimee Snyder:
Last Call: Registrations for Monday’s Sources Adult Advisor (AA) Training
This is a last call for registrations for Monday’s Sources of Strength Adult Advisor (AA) REFRESHER training. We’ll accept registrations until the training starts at 12:30pm.
This is the link to register for the training. The training is Mon, Sept 22, from 12:30-4pm, at Bend Senior High School’s Perseverance Hall.
Click hereto see who is registered for your school.
We recommend for each school to send 2-3 Adult Advisors* to the refresher in order to maintain the Adult Advisor to Peer Leader ratio required for program effectiveness:
1:7 for middle schools and
1:10 for high schools.
*The minimum number of trained AAs for a school to maintain (“refresh”) depends on the size of their Peer Leader group, which is based on your school size. New AAs can attend the refresher, but they should meet briefly with your Public Health Specialist before to make sure they’re ready.
Sub coverage for your teachers will come from your school’s $5,000 Sources budgets. Sources budgets are for meeting Sources fidelity criteria, including trainings.
Contact your Public Health Specialist or Aimee Snyder with questions about this training or Sources fidelity criteria.
From Educational Technology:
We’re excited to share the new Guide for Bend-La Pine Students: AI in Your Learning. This 20-minute advisory or classroom lesson introduces students to AI use and academic integrity in a way that supports discussion and reflection. The guide is also available on our AI in BLS website. Many thanks to those of you who sparked the idea and collaborated with our team on this project.
From Kayla in Safety:
STAS & SIRC Training
All new admin and counselors have been asked to attend one of the 8-hour sessions. REGISTER HERE.
Training dates are:
Thursday, October 2 -location TBD
Monday, October 6- Pacific Crest Middle School
Safety Cadre Invites have been sent out. Reach out if you have been missed.
Dates are October 22, December 3, March 11, April 29
Secondary will be 8:00-9:30am, Elementary will be 1:30pm-3:00pm
*8888 Extension Reminder
When schools have an incident, we want to send a friendly reminder to use the *8888 voicemail. See handout attached you can share with any admin and front office staff. Handout here.
MS Only
We’re circling back to the summer email you received from Stephanie Bent, which included a list of students at your school who scored at or above the 97th percentile.
Next Steps: Please begin reaching out to parents/guardians of these students to obtain permission to move forward with the TAG identification process. Do not proceed beyond parent contact and permission at this time.
We will be introducing a new TAG form during our first district PD on October 16, so it’s important to pause further steps in the identification process until then.
HS Only
New course proposals will be due to Dean on Nov 6.
The secondary team will review them the following week and send notices to schools notifying you if they have been approved.
Calendar
September 23: Complaint Process Meeting – Invite Only 12:30 – 2:00 in Board Room
September 25: MS Horizontal @ PCMS 3-5
September 29: LA Book Club Training 8-1@ Ed Center Board Room- Admin overseeing LA required to attend
September 30: Secondary Admin/ICCL 4:15-6:15 @ Bend High
October 7: Secondary Admin Tier 1/UpShift work group – 9-11 @ CMS
Where in the World
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Dan Curfew, Assistant Principal at Pacific Crest!Potala Palace: Lhasa, Tibet was the answer. This iconic symbol of Tibetan Buddhism is the highest palace in the world. The Potala Palace complex, comprising the Red Palace and White Palace, is nestled on top of Red Hill. This landmark overlooks the Lhasa Valley at 12,100-plus feet above sea level and houses more than 1,000 rooms. The Potala Palace – which was originally constructed in the seventh century and substantially expanded by a dalai lama in the 17th century – once served as the winter home of the dalai lama.
Each week there will be an image of a landmark from someplace in the world. Any admin who responds with the correct location (be specific!) by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.
Reminder: TheWaypoints Assessment for grades 3-12 is open NOW:
This required assessmentopens September 18th and closes October 25th for grades 3-12. Student results will become available for all admin/counselors on the Wayfinder MTSS dashboard once all schools have completed the assessment, or October 27th. If all schools are done before October 24th, we will close the assessment so the data is available sooner.
This is a good data point to include in your School Improvement Plan under your Climate and Culture goal.
End of the year assessment is scheduled for: April 28th – May 30th
From Departments
From Educational Technology
We have some exciting things to share! The first one is an especially big deal. Please pass these onto your staff.
New Resource: Swank 🎥
Swank is our district’s new streaming service for feature films, offering a library of 215 titles, with the option to request additional films when needed. It provides a simple, legal way for teachers and administrators to use movies in the classroom and for school events, while replacing personal streaming services and hardwiring devices. Learn more in our Introducing Swank blog post.
Getting Started with typing.com
With keyboards now in the hands of high school students, typing.com is available through Clever to help build typing skills. Learn more in our Getting Started with typing.com blog post. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:
1. Student Anti-Bias Lessons:
The 25-26 anti-bias student lessons are here! As a reminder, this is an annual lesson for all students K-12, required to be completed before Oct 31. While there is a sequence of suggested lessons, there is only one required lesson. For self-contained classes or longer advisory periods, you can fit it into one session; for shorter periods, plan on two sessions to complete it.
The lessons have been refreshed with improved slides, updated content, and new activities. For 6th-12th grades, there is a new video featuring the voices and experiences of our very own students! (Fun fact: it was filmed and produced by a recent BLS graduate.)
Principals, please be sure to:
review the materials yourself (watch the student video!),
consider adding in your own message to personalize the lesson (see Slide #3 on the HS slide show for an example of a principal’s message to the school)
ideally, provide planning time for teachers to review the updated materials,
make a copy of the Family Letter, hyperlink your level’s slides, edit any of the message as you see fit, and send to your families at least a few days before the lesson is taught,
contact the Advocacy Coaches if you’d like prep or co-teaching support for your teachers,
be in classes and participate in the lesson with students if possible,
send any feedback from your teachers or families afterward, if applicable.
2. Policy note on requests to distribute information from community members:
If you have local community partners or external groups requesting to share information with families or students, please direct them to the Community Bulletin Boards in your lobby area. Some select partners and organizations can distribute materials more directly, but those are limited:
Here is policy guidance on those levels of distribution, and here is a reference chart. Principal or designee needs to approve, and all materials should support our values. Related: Here is our Advertising policy on what businesses or groups can be displayed for donation/advertising-related purposes.
We have gotten some questions on the application of Article 15.4 of the BEA/BLS CBA should apply to itinerant staff – that is, those employees who work at more than one site – and are asking for some input on current practice. The contract language outlines expectations for Certified Employees to attend a set number of after-school/evening events each year. For itinerant staff, however, the application of this requirement is less clear and may require collaboration between sites.
To help us determine a standard practice moving forward, we’ve created a short Google Form with background information and a request for feedback. Please take a few minutes to review the form and share your perspective.https://forms.gle/4yqAkmMwbYLSMqKNA
Only administrators who currently supervise itinerant staff need to respond. Your input will be important as we work to establish clear and consistent expectations for these situations. Please fill this out by Wedensday, September 17, so that we can review and offer guidance.
We’ve received several questions regarding peripheral purchases (keyboards, headphones) for iPads—specifically whether IT will be providing anything further to support the new devices at both middle and high schools.
Keyboards
IT purchased 5,900 keyboards for high schools and 1,500 lightning dongles for middle schools so existing keyboards can continue to be used.
In the coming weeks, keyboards no longer needed at the high school level should begin trickling down to middle schools.
This should allow all keyboard needs for grades 6–12 to be covered at no additional cost to schools.
Reminder: Last spring, we communicated that the replacement cost of lost bricks and cords would be forgiven for all families and schools. This normally represents a significant expense, so schools should not incur these charges this year.
Headphones
Headphone replacements will need to be handled by schools. Many of you have already placed orders through IT—thank you. Melissa is expediting these as they come in.
Pricing:
Headphone adaptors (USB-C to 3.5): $9
USB-C headphones (without mic): $16
For middle schools purchasing new keyboards, an updated option is now available that includes an additional USB-C port. Pricing is very similar to what schools have paid in the past.
Special Programs Many special programs are providing headphones for their students (e.g., Read180, ROAR). Students may also use their own headphones if permitted by the school.
Please share this information with your staff, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
From: Dave Van Loo, Director of School Improvement:
Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR)
What is ROAR?
This year ROAR is a new assessment tool to screen students for potential reading difficulties. ROAR consists of a suite of measures that have been validated K-12 in over 20,000 students across 20 states; each measure is delivered through an online platform, is fully automated, and does not require a test administrator. ROAR rapidly provides precise indices of reading ability with greater precision than many standardized, individually-administered reading assessments. easyCBM is not required or recommended as a screening tool. Our plan is to give ROAR to all 6th-8th graders this fall, by the end of September or early October. Two key purposes this will serve are (1) Universal screening for potential reading difficulties and (2) To provide us with data on the adequacy of currently available curriculum and intervention supports to meet student needs in our middle schools. ROAR is available to use with individual students in grades 9-12 as is helpful. Contact Dave VanLoo with any questions or to find a time to meet about ROAR.
Information for middle schools to share with families via newsletters or other communication methods. (Please note that opting out of ROAR applies only to research happening at Stanford University. This does not opt the student out of taking ROAR at their school.) Feel free to edit this text to meet your school’s needs.
Our school is using a new tool to help meet students’ learning needs. The Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR) is a set of student-friendly, game-like activities that assesses important reading skills and provides valuable information to teachers. More detailed information and resources for families are available at this link ROAR Family Guide.pdf.
ROAR comes from Stanford University and results are used in research to improve teaching, learning, and assessment in schools. If you wish to have your child’s performance on ROAR excluded from this research, complete the form linked in this letter ROAR Research Information Sheet – English and Spanish.pdf. Submitting this form does not exclude your child from participating in our school’s universal screening assessment systems. It simply means that their results will not be included in Stanford’s research studies.
2025-26 District Assessment, Testing, & Surveys
Here are two updated documents summarizing common standardized tests and surveys for the current school year. One is a schedule showing when different assessment activities occur. The other is a general overview of the purpose and logistics of these assessments. Both of these documents will continue to be updated throughout the year as is beneficial. Please reach out with any questions.
We are initiating a districtwide enrollment forecasting study in partnership with FLO Analytics, a firm specializing in K–12 demographic and facility planning. Their work will support our ongoing efforts to align resources, programs, and facilities with student needs.
FLO will be analyzing:
Historical and current enrollment trends
Housing development and land use data
Grade progression and demographic patterns
Heat maps identifying where students live, what school they attend and how this is expected to change in the next 10 years
The forecast will be completed in the first quarter of 2026 and is designed to inform future planning conversations. We will share the findings in a way that supports transparency and collaboration as next steps emerge. Please direct any questions about the process to me
From Transportation:
Thank you for your patience as we continue to work through our backlog of requests from families. If you have an immediate need don’t email [email protected]. Instead, please contact our office directly via phone.
From: Aimee Snyder, DrPH | Adolescent and School Health Supervisor
Sources Adult Advisor (AA) Refresher Training, Sept 22 12:30-4pm, Bend High Perseverance Hall
All existing Sources of Strength Adult Advisors (AA) working with your school’s Peer Leaders are expected to take a refresher training this year.
We’re offering a district-wide AA Refresher training on Sept 22 from 12:30-4pm in Bend High’s Perseverance Hall. Direct AAs to register for the Refresher Training using this link.
Sub costs will come out of your school’s $5,000 Sources budgets. Direct staff who need subs to include “Sources AA Refresher” as the reason for their sub requests in lieu of an account code. Contact Kristan Shobe with any questions about Sources budgets and account codes.
Each school should have 2-3+ AAs to meet fidelity criteria: usually one Lead AA and 2+ supporting AAs. The 1:7 adult-to-student ratio is how the program works using social networks to connect students to supportive adults for help and mentorship.
The district is working on making extra duty stipends available for AA supporting and mentoring Sources Peer Leaders. To qualify, the AAs will need to have taken a new AA or refresher training in the past year or this year. More details to come on the stipends, which are pending formal agreement with BEA and processing from HR.
A new AA training will be offered in Spring. If you have new AAs who will need to be trained, talk to your Public Health Specialist about whether the new AA could attend the Fall Refresher training or if they would need to wait until Spring for the new AA training.
As you may know, COREN and Culture of Care will be merging. While we are still determining the structure of this consolidation, we want to ensure you have access to our ongoing services and the data for the work Culture of Care completed with your district last year.
Pay for ACT and PSAT Proctors: We will pay for the cost of proctors for both tests. Staff earn curriculum rate ($37.86 per hour) and it’s usually for about 3 hours. Please send the timesheets to April J.
Please remember to add this to your newsletters/socials this week and next for senior families. Please include the flyer link, the time and the location. We really want to make sure we have a good turn out as this is the only college night for seniors.
We are excited to announce our upcoming College Application Kickoff Night! This event will take place on Wednesday September 17th from 6-7:30 pm at Caldera High School. This event is designed to support our 12th grade students and their families as they begin the college application process.
During the evening, families will:
Receive an overview of the college application process
Learn how to navigate the College Application Manager in SchooLinks
Gain awareness of the many postsecondary planning supports available at our schools
Connect directly with school counselors and STCs from each high school
📎 Please see the attached communication that can be shared directly with families. We encourage you to include and highlight this event in your schoolwide communications and post it on your school’s social media channels.
Calendar
September 16: HS Administrator WS 9-11@ LPHS
September 18: HS Counselor/Administrator PLC 8-10 @ BSHS/ Perseverance Hall – Admin overseeing counseling departments required to attend
September 25: MS Horizontal @ PCMS 3-5
September 29: LA Book Club Training 8-1@ Ed Center Board Room- Admin overseeing LA required to attend
Coming mid November: Course Requests DUE! We will share more info soon.
Where in the World
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Ashley Cooper, Assistant Principal at Summit High School! The picture was of Lime Kiln Lighthouse on San Juan Island. A must see if you’ve never been!
Each week there will be an image of a landmark from someplace in the world. Any admin who responds with the correct location (be specific!) by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.
MS/HS Principals: Please fill out this form with your final list of early adopters. CMS and Realms, please fill out if your folks meet the criteria listed in the survey even if they’re not technically early adopters.
Student SBG Slides
Please find a way to have your early adopters share the following slides (or the same content) with their students.
This required assessment opens September 18th and closes October 25th for grades 3-12. Student results will become available for all admin/counselors on the Wayfinder MTSS dashboard once all schools have completed the assessment, or October 27th. If all schools are done before October 24th, I will close the assessment so the data is available sooner. End of the year assessment is scheduled for: April 28th – May 30th
For students in grades 3–5: When they log in to the Wayfinder platform, the Waypoints assessment will be clearly visible at the top of their dashboard. It will appear as a box containing the assessment’s name with a “Start” button next to it.
For students in grades 6–12: When students log in, the Waypoints assessment will be displayed in their “To-Do List,” which is typically located on the right side of the page. On a smaller screen like an iPad, the To-Do List may appear at the top of the screen. Students will see the name of the assessment and a “Start” button.
Students can leave and return to the assessment at any time, as their progress is automatically saved.
Please make sure that all teachers understand the “Why” behind the assessment and that the student results will help to identify students in need of additional skill building groups. They need to read the instructions to the students so that we get quality data to inform interventions. Wayfinder will also recommend additional skill building activities based on what students in their specific classroom need.
This was information was shared with all school counselors:
For the 2025–26 school year, we recommend not completing a school-wide needs assessment by school counselors. Between Synergy’s Early Warning System (EWS), Wayfinder’s Waypoints Assessment, and your school’s Request for Assistance (RFA) process, we should have sufficient data to identify students who may need additional targeted support. If, after consultation with your administrative team, you determine that an additional needs assessment is still necessary, please connect with Jennifer Hauth and Jess Calbreath before moving forward.
If your school chooses to administer a needs assessment, please follow the guidelines and best practices listed on thisdocument.
From Departments
From Ryan in HR:
UKG To-Do’s You may have outstanding Personnel Action (PA) items in your To-Do section in UKG that require your approval for employees, whether they are new hires or returning staff. Please take a few moments this week to review and approve these items. Timely approval ensures that employees are correctly rolled over in the system, properly credited for their service, and paid without delay.
If you have any questions or need assistance with the process, please reach out to HR-Tech ([email protected])
From Jess in TLC:
Dear Counselors and Administrators,
We are excited to announce our upcoming College Application Kickoff Night! This event will take place on Wednesday September 17th from 6-7:30 pm at Caldera High School. This event is designed to support our 12th grade students and their families as they begin the college application process.
During the evening, families will:
Receive an overview of the college application process
Learn how to navigate the College Application Manager in SchooLinks
Gain awareness of the many postsecondary planning supports available at our schools
Connect directly with school counselors and STCs from each high school
📎 Please see the attached communication that can be shared directly with families. We encourage you to include and highlight this event in your schoolwide communications and post it on your school’s social media channels.
This is a wonderful opportunity to launch an exciting season for our seniors, and we hope to see strong family participation.
Thank you for your partnership in supporting students through this important next step!
From Kinsey – Policy and Advocacy:
Cell phone policy:
As of Sept 9th, you’ll find here the updated policy draft related to cell phone use in schools. This is going out for community feedback on Sept 9; feedback will be incorporated as applicable into the final version for adoption October 14. Much of this language derives from state legislation and as such cannot be significantly modified. Secondary admin have also provided great input already. However, if you, your staff, or your students and families have feedback on these drafts, please share (see feedback form available on the webpage linked above). Engagement in our policy process is always valued and appreciated.
Office team trainings:
All Office Managers and Registrars will be out of your building for required trainings during afternoon SIW on the dates below. Please plan accordingly for alternative coverage or office closure on these afternoons. Thank you!
Sept 17, Oct 22, Dec 3, Jan 14, March 11, April 29, May 27
From Andrea in HR:
Certified Personal Leave Request Process Change
Human Resources is making a change to how certified employee personal leave requests are processed for the 2025-26 school year.
Historically, HR has been responsible for approval / denial of all certified employee personal leave requests. This created an unnecessary step for both sites and HR, especially since the BEA collective bargaining agreement does not require it.
Beginning this school year, HR review will only be required when a certified employee personal leave request falls within the restricted time frames outlined in the BEA contract.
Approval or denial of all personal leave requests that are outside of the restricted timeperiods will be the responsibility of building principals. Please familiarize yourself with the criteria outlined in Article 7.8 regarding Personal Leave and ensure these guidelines are followed when processing requests.
Personal Leave
7.8.1 The District recognizes that a Certified Employee may need time off for personal reasons. Two (2) working days paid leave of absence may be used as personal leave. If a bargaining unit Certified Employee works less than ninety-five (95) workdays (not including unpaid leave), the District shall provide only one (1) day of personal leave. Personal leave may be used for personal reasons if a qualified substitute is available. Personal leave may also be used for the employee’s illness/injury and the illness/injury of the employee’s immediate family. Personal leave shall be used in increments of at least four (4) hours when a substitute is required by the district. If a substitute is not required by the district or if the district approves internal coverage, personal leave shall be used in increments of one (1) hour. Certified employees scheduled for less than eight (8) hours in a particular workday will not have personal leave deducted more than the number of hours scheduled.
7.8.2 No more than five percent (5%) of the bargaining unit Certified Employees in a school or two (2) bargaining unit Certified Employees, whichever is greater, may take personal leave on a given day. The Superintendent or their designee may make exceptions due to unusual or highly extenuating circumstances. Exceptions made by the Superintendent, or their designee will not be revoked.
7.8.3 Leave shall not be taken during the first week of the students’ school year, the last week of the semester/trimester or the last two weeks of the school year. Leave shall not be taken during parent conference days. The Superintendent or their designee may make exceptions due to unusual or highly extenuating circumstances. Exceptions made by the Superintendent, or their designee will not be revoked.
7.8.4 The District will not rescind personal leave once approved by the Human Resources Department or Superintendent/designee.
7.8.5 The District will allow the following options for the use of personal leave:
7.8.5.1 Certified employees will be allowed to bank up to two (2) days of unused personal leave for future use, but no more than four (4) days of personal leave (two current year personal leave and two banked personal leave) will be available in any given year.
7.8.5.2 Reimburse Certified employees for unused personal leave up to two (2) days at the daily sub rate of pay. The District shall provide Certified employees payment within thirty (30) days of the last workday of the contract year.
We will be sharing this information with Office Managers on Friday, September 5, along with some more detailed instructions. In the meantime, please reach out with any questions. We hope this change will help make the process easier and more efficient for everyone!
From Sara in Student Services:
Please pay close attention to #4
From Gabe Pagano Director of Activities and Athletics:
September 11: HS Tier 2 Academic Intervention Team meeting 2:30 @ SHS
September 16: HS Administrator WS 9-11@ LPHS
September 25th: MS Horizontal @ PCMS 3-5
Where in the World
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Jamie Brock. Isak Heartstone, a large wooden troll sculpture located in Breckenridge, Colorado, along the Trollstigen Trail. Isak was created by the Danish artist Thomas Dambo who has created several trolls around the world. Check out this map to see where else you can find Dambo’s work!
Each week there will be an image of a landmark from someplace in the world. Any admin who responds with the correct location (be specific!) by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.
