We hope you had a great first week!
To Do
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.
Waypoints Assessment for grades 3-12:
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
o Overview of resources. One pager for new Admin.
o 6-12 Implementation Guide and 6-12 Teacher Directions
The assessment takes 15 to 20 minutes and can be completed on a student’s Ipad, using Clever and then selecting Wayfinder. Here are instructions for how it will appear in Student View.
- 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.
Finally, we don’t need to get parent permission for Waypoints. However, there is a letter that you can make a copy of to use for your newsletter if you would like.
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 this document.
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 time periods 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 1st-5th, 2025 – Weekly SMORE
Check out this Recognition and Appreciation Calendar that Robi Cole put together.
Calendar
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.
Here is the image for this week:
