To Do

Message to Counseling Admins: Please communicate the following to your counselors:
We will only be conducting in-person 8th grade forecasting visits at middle schools that serve as large feeder schools to our high schools.

If a middle school does not feed into a high school attendance area, staff from that school will not be sent for in-person forecasting. Instead, they can provide support virtually and participate in 8th Grade Parent Night events.

Additionally, we will not be visiting private schools in person for forecasting this year.

There will be more discussion on this topic December 9th in an admin/counseling meeting.

From Departments

From TLC:

We have made an adjustment to the ACR/Forecasting timeline.

Change:

Enrollment for the 26-27 school year will still open on December 10.  The change is that the ACR/Choice HS timeline will open Monday, Jan 5. The deadline for submission remains Jan 23.

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From Jenn in Student Services:

College and Career Day 

It’s that time of year again. November 20th is College and Career Day in Bend-La Pine Schools. As with last year, we are looking to draw attention to the multitude of pathways available to students after they graduate high school. This is a K-12 day! We want all students to be dreaming about what options they have after they leave our schools.  

Here are a few things you could do at your site to make the day a success.  It would be great if classrooms or advisories could look to do something for just 10-15 minutes this day.

• Dress as a professional
  • Encourage students and staff to dress up as someone from a career they are interested in.  Remember there are a lot of great careers out there!
• Wear college colors
  • Encourage students to wear the colors of a favorite college.  Remember, college can mean community college, trade school, 4-year university, etc.  Be careful with wording here as college brand clothing can be expensive and prevent students from feeling like they can participate.  Colors are more inclusionary.  
• Consider incorporating videos or lessons bringing awareness to careers and colleges. 
  • Our 6-12 sites could lean into some of the activities in SchooLinks.  All secondary students have required activities to complete through BLS School Counseling curriculum and to complete their Educational Plan and Profile, so this would be a perfect opportunity to complete one of these required activities.  Consider onboarding 6th and 9th grade students on this day if you haven’t already done so.  Students are required to take a “Find your Path” assessment when first logging in that will jumpstart the college and career exploration process.
  • Comprehensive School Counseling Program and Lessons could be completed this week: High School and Middle School 
  • Wayfinder also has some great resources, especially their integration with Roadtrip Nation and their Future Ready Collection K-12. For middle school, these have been added for the week of November 17th as potential advisory lessons in our scope and sequence.
  • Here is a great website from the State of Oregon called Career Journeys.  There are amazing short videos, lesson plans and other activities any teacher could do.
  • Also available is the Career Connected Learning Central Oregon website which allows exploration of career paths close to home.
• Consider inviting parents from the community in to talk about their careers.
  • This could be done in a variety of ways from advisory to lunch opportunities.  You could also ask parents to submit a short video of them talking about their jobs and stitch them together for students.  Remember our visitor and volunteer requirements if you decide to invite parents into schools.

We hope you’ll join in the celebration.  Please send pictures of your participation to Becca Burda.  

Wayfinder data Available:

Wayfinder Waypoints data from the summative assessment is now available for your MTSS meetings. I will work with elementary admin on Tuesday, November 4th to go over how to use it. High and middle school admin leads, I will meet with you all in our smaller teams in the next two weeks. Reach out with any questions. Elementary and Middle school Counselors will be trained on Wednesday, November 5th during shared SIW. We are still working to schedule time with high school counselors.

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From Paul in Operations:

Work Order Submission Best Practices

When submitting a work order that requires greater visibility at your site, please include @[insert principal’s email], @[insert custodian’s email], and @[insert office manager’s email] in the comment section of the request. Doing so will:

• Ensure that key staff are aware of the request, helping to reduce duplicate work orders.
• Allow all recipients to receive automatic updates as the work order progresses.

To help our maintenance staff be better prepared and efficient:

• Provide as much detail as possible in the Description/Summary section. This information helps staff bring the right tools and materials and may prevent multiple trips.
• When possible, attach photos showing the repair issue. Photos help clarify the request and document the condition of the area needing repair.

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From Kinsey – Office of Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:

SNAP Benefits and our Community – FYI: 

As you may have seen, the anticipated federal shutdown is expected to disrupt SNAP benefits beginning in November. Many families in our community may experience reduced access to food for an unknown period of time. Local food banks are already reporting strain as they prepare to absorb the increased need.

We will share resources and reminders of local food services in the next Family Spotlight.  In the meantime, please feel free to 1) print, distribute, and share these bilingual food resource lists with all families and with your staff (Bend, South County, Redmond), 2) if you feel moved, consider donating time, funds, or other support to any of these local services (you can easily google any of their websites and find the Donation button 🙂), and 3) if your PTA or Booster Club wants to support food access, encourage them to support these local services.  

For those who visited the Giving Plate for our Community Engagement Bingo activity this week, thank you.  Your presence meant a lot to their over-stretched team, now more than ever.  (Missed it but want to visit and count that Bingo square?  Contact me!) 

MAC Survey – Action Needed: 

With the SNAP food assistance program being frozen and our students being impacted, this is a great time to remember just how critical our FAN Advocates are for our community.  Your participation in the MAC Survey process (completing your training ASAP, claiming time on the survey day in mid-November) brings in funds that pay for FAN Advocate positions, so that we have folks on staff who can help families navigate.  Thank you for prioritizing this!  Contact your FAN Advocate if you have questions.  

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From Gabe Pagano, Director of Activities and Athletics:

Here is the weekly for Athletics.  October 27th-October 31st, 2025  Please remember, you can forward this to any coach, program, group of coaches, or folks you feel might benefit from the information in the Weekly Agenda.  I am doing my best to title information blocks for high school or middle school to save you time in reading or sending out.

HS Only

High School Only: School-Based Health Center Access – Action Needed:

As we discussed in August, students at CHS, SHS, Realms, and BTA will now have access during the school day to the School-Based Health Centers at BSHS and MVHS. District transportation will be provided at no cost to students, families, or your school.

Students who need to visit a SBHC should connect with your FAN Advocate (or nurse as the back-up). That staff member will coordinate the appointment with Mosaic, arrange transportation, handle permission slip and attendance documents, and collect basic demographic information for the pilot.

Early next week, we will send your families this parent letter and a permission slip (Spanish and Chinese versions, too), so you don’t have to worry about that.  

One action item for you:  Please share this advisory lesson with teachers to deliver anytime between now and fall break (if possible).  Advocacy Coaches are available to support.  BSHS and MVHS: your students already have SBHC access, but the lesson is still a helpful reminder of available services — your teachers can simply skip slide 8.

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Attention HS leaders:  This information will be shared in our next spotlight. 

Did you know that veterans of the Armed Forces may receive a high school diploma if they attended high school before their military service and were honorably discharged?

Under Oregon law, a school district shall award a diploma to a veteran who resides in the district or to a veteran who attended school in the district and lives elsewhere in the state. Diplomas also may be issued on behalf of deceased veterans at the request of a family representative.

These diplomas may be issued to veterans who served during specified wars and military operations or in designated combat zones over the past century.

The intent of this program is to help veterans obtain high school diplomas when veterans do not graduate because they left school early for military service, or if they need educational credentials to qualify for jobs and promotions.

Calendar

Weeks of October 26-November 3: HS Fall Conferences

November 4: HS Learning Walk @ Caldera HS 8:30-11:30

November 4: MS Learning Walk @ PBMS 8:30

November 5: Early Adopter teams – optional Q and A for Early Adopters! Weekly every Wednesday!!

November 6: Course Proposals Due!

November 7: HS Principals connection: Cell Phone Policy implementation 9:00am @ Caldera

November 12: All Admin Meeting @ BSH 3:00-4:30

November 24-28: Thanksgiving Break

Where in the World

Congrats to to Becky Aylor who correctly identified the image from last week as Rosa Parks!

Rosa Parks is famous for her courageous refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, which helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement. Her action sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, a pivotal, 381-day protest that ultimately led to the desegregation of Montgomery buses. Parks is often called the “mother of the civil rights movement” and is recognized as a symbol of nonviolent protest against racial segregation.

This week, it’s Where in the World. Check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image 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.

To Do

From Triz in Human Resources:

Reminder: DUE tomorrow, October 24: Earlier this week, you were sent a list of your PROB 2 staff. By Friday, review your Probationary 2 staff list and reach out to Triz if you have any performance concerns. Ensure that any performance concerns are being addressed and that you’ve identified anyone who may be a potential non-renewal.  With the passage of HB 2900—effective January 1, 2026—we must also evaluate any Probationary 2 staff who may have already achieved contract status in another Oregon district. These individuals should be considered like a Probationary 3.

If you have staff on the list with performance issues, please reach out so we can discuss next steps, and I can provide support.

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From Dave Van Loo:

Be ready to show ISR’s in Synergy or print student reports when requested: ODE requires schools to report OSAS results to parents annually. Individual student reports (ISR) with ELA, Math, and Science scores from spring 2025 testing have been loaded into Synergy.  Here is a folder with brief instructions for staff, parents, and students to access OSAS state test scores in a variety of ways in Synergy.

All users can view and download the one-page ISR that ODE creates each year. Teachers also can view lists of prior year OSAS scores for their classes in TeacherVue. Whether Spanish ISRs are loaded for a student is based on the ‘resolved’ language in Synergy. Schools should be prepared to print an ISR for any parent who requests it and may continue to print ISRs as makes sense. Teachers who want to use ISRs at conferences can quickly pull them up in real time and display them on any screens that are available to them.

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HS END Session on Wednesday:

Here is the plan for administrator assignments for the END sessions this year. Just a reminder that this is a HS Only END session because K-8 is involved in parent conferences. Here is the information about the END sessions next week as well as admin assignments and HERE is the attendance QR code. Please copy and ask teachers to check in.

From Departments

From Ryan in Human Resources:

To support consistency across schools and ensure appropriate use of substitute coverage, guidelines outlining expectations by role classification for the 2025–26 school year have been developed.

These guidelines can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X5QnwsfOyZIeS2UlkhPjl3EbIDWMXSPvkg_mPJUYIgA/edit?usp=sharing

Please review and share with office staff and others responsible for approving or entering substitute requests.

These guidelines reinforce responsible staffing decisions while maintaining operational continuity and student support.

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From Gabe Pagano, Director of Activities and Athletics:

Here is the agenda for the week.  Please remember, you can forward this to any coach, program, group of coaches, or folks you feel might benefit from the information in the Weekly Agenda.  I am doing my best to title information blocks for high school or middle school to save you time in reading or sending out.
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Here is the K-12 ACR/Forecasting/Timeline for 26-27. 

HS Only

Due Nov 7: Principal input on cell phone implementation. To Do’s and link to doc in link to agenda.

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College Articulations in CTE: Lisa Keown and Katie are working with COCC to increase our CTE Dual Credit opportunities for our students taking CTE classes. Lisa will begin this discussion with CTE teachers next week during the HS ONLY END session. Let us know how we can better support efforts to increase college dual credit for our families and students!

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Ranking in High School: We have had a few questions about why we do not rank in Bend La Pine Schools. Here are the talking points we have shared with administrators and counselors in the past. Please reach out to Jenn if you have questions.

Calendar

October 29: HS ONLY END Session – K-8 has parent conferences

October 29-30: MS Fall Conferences

October 30: HS Principal Breakfast @ 7:00am

Weeks of October 26-November 3: HS Fall Conferences

November 4: HS Learning Walk @ Caldera HS 8:30-11:30

November 5: Early Adopter teams – optional Q and A for Early Adopters! Weekly!

November 6: Course Proposals Due!

November 7: HS Principals connection: Cell Phone Policy implementation 9:00am @ Caldera

Who in the World

Congrats to Heather Bailey, Principal at HDMS, for correctly guessing Notre Dame, Paris France! The decorative demon was created by architect Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, who was responsible for the cathedral’s restoration during the 19th century. Contrary to popular belief, Le Stryge is technically a grotesque and not a gargoyle, as it does not act as a waterspout.

We’re back with Who in the World. Check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image 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.

To Do

Share info with World Language teachers: On November 17th from 8-11:30 we will examining our middle school and high school credit offerings. This conversation is optional, but World Language teachers are encouraged to attend. If interested, please arrange a half day sub and use the note “MS/HS World Language Alignment per April Jorgenson”

From Departments

From Scott in IT:

Synergy Mail Delivery Issue-

It has come to our attention that on occasion, certain Synergy (ParentVUE) messages are currently being marked as “spam” and are not able to be viewed by families with a TDS email address.  We have already engaged both Synergy support and TDS to identify the cause and resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, please be aware that teachers using Synergy mail may occasionally receive a  “bounce back” message from families who are unable to view their message.   We will provide an update as soon as normal delivery is restored.

Looking for a few administrator iPads-
As we transition students over the next two years to the iPad 11, we will be lean on older device inventory.   If you are an administrator and you rarely use your iPad for your position.  We hope you will “volunteer” to turn in your iPad to your IT Client Service representative.   Thank you in advance for your help. 

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From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:

Advisory lessons:

As discussed in August, we have an Advisory Lesson on the new cell phone policy coming your way soon.  The lesson will be included in the blog on Nov 13, and all high schools will need to teach the lesson before winter break.  

Additionally, we have a student-facing Advisory Lesson on school-based health centers as well.  While it has great information for students at all high schools (and middle schools!), it is particularly important for CHS, SHS, BTA, and Realms, because it includes details on the expanded access options for your students to get to the BSHS or MVHS health centers during the school day.  That lesson will be shared with you in blogs Oct 23, to be taught as soon as you can, before winter break.

Student organizing: clubs, petitions, etc:

Students have the right to gather and organize–examples include forming new clubs, circulating petitions, etc.  However, we can put certain limitations on these activities, when done thoughtfully.

Here is the relevant policy with guidance for you.  A couple reminders: No new student clubs should be forming without principal approval.  If you believe a club, petition, or other student-organized activity is going to cause a disruption and should be prohibited, please contact me so we can discuss specific considerations.

Please remind staff about this policy and ask that they contact you if they are hearing about clubs or other student organizing that would require procedural considerations under this policy. 

Family engagement calendar: 

We now have an Outlook calendar to communicate and coordinate district-wide family engagement events and key dates!  It includes district-wide events where families are the audience, such as Financial Aid night or Latino Family Night, as well as the “do not schedule” dates for religious observances.  

This is a staff-facing tool, for awareness, access, and coordination of school, district, and program-specific family events.  Please work with your office staff to add this calendar to your school Outlook calendar—instructions here.  

If you are planning a district-wide event and would like it added to this calendar, please contact Dalia Juárez or email [email protected].  

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From Triz in HR:

Calendar for the Certified Evaluation Process

	Contract – On Cycle	Probationary/Temp
October	Goal Setting form sent to certified staff (upload due by Oct 15)Your in-person goal-setting meeting counts as Mini #1
November		Formal Observation #1 Cycle completed (due Nov 15)Last chance to begin Focused Performance Review (Nov 1)
December	Administrator informs HR of contract non-extension	Last chance to begin Support Strategies (Dec 5)
January 15	Submit 1st Mini Observation	Formal Observation #2 cycle completed (Jan 15)
January 30	Notify the certified staff member of contract non-extension	Notify the certified staff member of non-renewal
April 15	Please initiate Self-Evaluations for your staff.  Since all certified staff are required to provide an update to their goals, staff on a non-evaluation cycle need only to log their goal update at the bottom of the self-reflection form and are not required to submit ratings. (Due May 15)
May 15	All Mini-Observations Are Due
June 15	Summative Evaluations are complete and all documentation have been submitted to the HR provided folders/spreadsheet.

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From TLC:

As a reminder, with grades now managed in Synergy, Grade Guardian will no longer be purchased at the district level. Individual schools may continue their subscriptions this year (at their own expense); however, once assignments and grades are fully transitioned into our standards-based system, many of Grade Guardian’s features will become obsolete.

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From Dave in TLC

OSAS Testing Annual Notices and Opt-Out Forms

The Bend-La Pine website has been updated with the 2025-26 fillable PDF annual notice and opt-out forms that we are required to share with families. There are separate notices and opt-out forms for ELA/Math testing (grades 3-8 & 11) and the SEED survey (grades 3-11). Please share our website with links to the required forms using whatever methods you typically communicate with families and have copies available for parents to pick up in the office by ODE’s dates and timelines below. 

Bend-La Pine Schools :: Oregon Department of Education Resources 

ODE English Language Arts and Math State Testing

Consistent with the requirements of ORS 329.479, ODE has developed an annual notice (available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage) that describes these assessments, identifies the timeframe when the assessment will most likely be administered, and identifies an adult student’s or parent’s right to excuse the student from testing. Districts and public charter schools must provide parents with the ODE-developed annual notice at the beginning of each school year. In addition, districts and public charter schools must provide parents with separate notice at least 30 days prior to administering the statewide summative assessments in Math and ELA using the ODE-provided 30-day notice and opt-out form (also available through ODE’s Test Administrationwebpage), or a district-created form that exactly reproduces the language of the ODE-provided form. School districts and public charter schools must use the language of the 30-day notice and opt-out form provided by ODE to communicate with all parents about state testing requirements and their right to opt out for high school students by January 4, 2026, and for students in Grades 3-8 by March 1, 2026. 

ODE SEED Survey

Oregon law (House Bill 2656) requires each school district to make the SEED Survey available to students in grades 3-11. Parents or guardians may decline, either verbally or in writing, to have their student participate in the SEED Survey. Schools will provide parents with notice of administration and the process for declining participation at least 5 days prior to administering the SEED Survey. Students may also decline, at any time, either verbally or in writing to participate. Students may also decline to answer individual questions on the SEED survey.

Please contact Dave with any questions.

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From Sean Reinhart, Jennifer Hauth, and Jamie Gunter

The Student Services Team is reaching out with a yearly reminder of protocols and procedures around suicide risk and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), as required by Adi’s Act (Senate Bill 52).  We will be providing a series of updates to ensure that administrators are informed on updated protocols. 

Reminder: Postvention

Please review the updated protocols in the BLS Sudden Death Response Procedures For Building Admin & Staff. We will review this information at the December 3, 2025, Safety Cadre. 

Action Item:

• View the updated sudden death response procedures.

• Review with all of your building staff on these procedures.
  • Ask all staff to contact their building administrator if they become aware of any information on the death of a staff member, student, or parent in your school community. 
• If a Staff member reaches out to an administrator:
  • Thank the reporter and ask that they don’t contact other individuals and share the news they have heard. Oftentimes the information is inaccurate or incomplete and unknowingly propagating rumors can cause harm.
  • The building administrator reaches out to Sean, Jennifer, Scott, or their Level Leader (in that order until the first person is reached).
  • Student Services will walk you through next steps. 

Best-practice postvention around notification helps to prevent further harm or contagion, ensures accuracy and consistency, protects and respects the family, supports emotional safety, and lays the foundation for healing and recovery. If you have questions or concerns around this process, please reach out.

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From Lillah in Safety:

All STAS/SIRC Teams:

After completing a Level 1 STAS or SIRC assessment, please upload the 2 page Outcome and Safety Plan into Synergy>Student>Documents tab>STAS/SIRC is a new Doc Category tab. The Doc Comment will be Outcome and Safety Plan.

The following people will have access to this document:

1. Principals and Assistant Principals
2. Counselors
3. Student Success
4. Athletic Directors
5. SPED specialist such as Pych’s
6. District Directors/Executive Directors

Please call Lillah Lehner in Safety with questions: 541-355-8854

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From Tracy in Ed Tech:

From Educational Technology 

We have technology tools for iPad behavior management! There are simple ways to monitor student screens, limit access to only the apps and websites needed, and give parents control of iPads outside of school hours. Check out Five Technology Tools for iPad Behavior Management. If you’re interested in a quick 10-minute tour of these tools during an SIW or drop-in time, please reach out to [email protected] 

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From Jennifer in Student Services

3- 12 Waypoints open until Friday October 24th end of day. Thank you to all of you that have had your students complete the assessment. School-wide student data will be ready for review on Monday, October 27th.

Some of you have staff in your Featured Content view in Wayfinder Usage Data that do not teach at your school. We are working on that issue with Synergy/Clever. For now, please use these instructions if you want to clean up your dashboard: How to Edit User Data on Admin Dashboards

From Gabe, Director of Activities and Athletics

Here is the weekly agenda. 

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From Jess Calbreath, Lead Counselor

School Counseling Update

MS ONLY

Please make sure you have communicated the fall conference schedule with families and the structure you intend to use for signing up. Additionally, please create a system to collect information on how many families attend.

Calendar

October 21: HS Administrator work session 9-11 @ MVHS

October 22: First District Safety Cadre Meeting 8-9:30 @ PBMS

October 23: MS Horizontal – 3-5 pm @ LPMS

October 29: HS ONLY END Session 3-4, K-8 is in parent conferences

October 29-30: MS Fall Conferences

Weeks of October 26-November 3: HS Fall Conferences

Where in the world?

Congratulations to our winner from last week: Kelly Beaudry (AP at BSH). The image is The Mapparium, which is a three-story, stained-glass globe located in Mary Baker Eddy Library in Boston, Massachusetts.  It is designed to showcase the world as it was in 1935 for the purpose of providing a unique, inside- out perspective of Earth, promoting global awareness. 

We’re back with Where in the World. Check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image 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.

To Do

Principals: By now, all students who have classes with SBIG early adopters should have reviewed the student-friendly slides shared last month.  If this has not happened yet, please prioritize this.

Student SBIG Slides

MS SBIG Explainer

HS SBIG Explainer

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Implementing important changes to the Grades and Credit AR:

*If you have not already done so, review the important bargained change about the timeline for teachers to update grades in Synergy.

*Also, send communication to families about mid term grades: Note that schools are required to send communication to families about checking ParentVue mid way between each trimester and semester, as well as at the end of each term:

*6 weeks for trimesters (week of October 13)

*9 weeks for semesters (week of November 3)

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Share this with Early Adopters: Beginning Wednesday, November 5^th and every Wednesday after, secondary leadership will be offering an OPTIONAL SBIG drop in for early adopters via Microsoft Teams.  The 30 minute drop in will be from 8:00 to 8:30 and will be a Q and A format.  Please share this news with early adopters at your site.  The invite will be shared next week.  Cascade and Realms are also welcome to attend even though they are not technically early adopters.

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From Kinsey – Office of Policy, Advocacy, and Equity: 

Election Season and Political Topics – Action Item:

Please share this principal/supervisor message with your staff:

Dear staff — As election season approaches, this is a good time to revisit our expectations around political topics in our school and workplace. While this November may not bring the same intensity as a presidential election year, maintaining neutrality in our professional capacity remains essential.

Here is our policy around staff engaging in political activities.  This is a great tool outlining boundaries and appropriate use of district equipment, time, and resources in relation to election topics.  District leadership asks that each employee read the information in those links carefully. Let me know if you have any questions or need clarification.

In addition, we know students may initiate conversations about politics, candidates, or ballot measures. To help navigate these moments: Here are 10 steps for teachers to prepare, navigate, and respond to sensitive discourse.  Our district Advocacy Coaches are also available to support you in facilitating respectful and balanced discussions.

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From Ryan in Human Resources:

Quick Reminder: Check Your UKG To-Do List

Please take a moment this week to log into UKG and check your To-Do list.
Pending Personnel Actions (PAs) can hold up key processes like pay changes and assignment updates if they’re not approved in a timely manner.

Regularly reviewing your To-Do list,  even when you don’t expect anything pending, helps keep workflows moving smoothly and ensures your employees are set up for success without delay.

This should be done regularly, but is particularly important on and around the Payroll cutoff dates, which can be found on the Portal on the Payroll page. 

If you have any questions about what’s showing in your queue or how to clear an item, reach out to [email protected] for support.

Thank you for helping us keep things running efficiently.

From Departments

From Triz in Human Resources: Thought I would take a moment to remind you that the due date for SLGG’s is quickly approaching.  (October 15, 2025)

Probationary and temporary certified staff and Contact staff ON & OFF the evaluation cycle should be completing this task. 

Goal Setting & Evaluation Tools:

Student Learning Growth Goals (SLGGs) (ONLY Teacher, SPED Teachers, and Teacher Librarians- all other specialists use alternate goal-setting plan):

• SLGG google form – Staff can either make a digital copy to complete or they can print and fill out a hard copy.  These will need to be uploaded to your site’s certified folder in the Google Drive.
• SLG Goals for Social Emotional Learning & Engagement is a great resource for those creating school wide or team SLGGs for non-academic areas
• State SLGG Guidance
• Teacher and Administrator Evaluation & Support Systems: Frequently Asked Questions
• Elementary SLGGs tool.  

Please let Jessica Lamay (HR Tech) and I know if you need any assistance with your evaluation google doc.  We are here to support you.

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From Ryan in Human Resources:

Extra Duty Procedures for 2025–26

We have a number of new Extra Duty positions this year and want to make sure everyone understands the procedures for tracking, and maintaining these roles. The details below outline how schools should handle placements for the new positions, updates to existing roles, and ongoing expectations for managing extra duty assignments.

Newly Bargained Positions (Effective 25/26)

• K–12 Green Team Advisor – Range F
• Elementary Music Director – Range E
• Elementary Yearbook Coordinator – Range E
• Elementary Battle of the Books Coordinator – Range E
• High School Link Crew

Placement Process for 25/26

• If someone is already performing the duties of one of these new positions, please email [email protected] to have the stipend assigned no application needed this year.
  • If no one is currently performing the duties of these positions, they must be filled through a competitive process – posting, interviewing, and hiring.
• Future changes will follow the standard extra duty process: the current person resigns, the school requests a posting, and HR processes the hire.
• Each school is allocated 1 FTE per position.

Ongoing Procedures and Reminders

• Start Date: All year-round extra duty positions begin on September 1; complete hires before this date to avoid prorating.
• Automatic Roll-Forward: Positions continue year to year unless HR is notified that duties have ended.
• Annual Verification: Each August, HR will request confirmation of who will continue in each role.
• Step Advancement: Each year an employee holds the same position, they move one step on the extra duty salary schedule.

Google Docs Tracking

• All MS and HS Extra Duty positions are tracked on a view-only shared Google Doc so schools can see current assignments.
• The Elementary Extra Duty Google Doc is currently under construction.
• If someone is missing or incorrectly listed, email [email protected]; payment accuracy depends on these records.

Updates to Existing Positions

• High School Musical Directors: Formerly offered every other year, this stipend is now available annually when a musical is produced. Total FTE remains 2.0 per school.
• HS/MS Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Drama: Stipends are no longer tied to certified FTE. Staff offering the full complement of after-hours performances receive the full 1.0 FTE stipend per school.

Questions? Reach out to [email protected]

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Educator Network Day Success for Counselors and Student Success:

We had a great turnout yesterday at HDMS. Here is the slide deck with outcomes for our trainings this year:

• Formalize and implement a clear framework for Tier 2 & Tier 3 mental health/social emotional interventions. 
• Establish a clear process to Identify, Match + Fit, Provide + Monitor, and Evaluate.

Waypoints open until Friday October 24th end of day. Thank you to all of you that have had your students complete the assessment. 

Great job Summit (75%), La Pine Middle (84%), Westside Village (56%) and Buckingham (52%) for the highest completion rates for this week. Elementary will have lower completion rates as they do not have k-2 completing the assessments until October 15th. The K-2 formative assessment will be live for teachers on October 15th and will be open until November 21st. The assessment is only 3-4 priority standards and nine questions total. For K-2, the custom Waypoints will appear in the teachers’ to-do lists on the dashboard when they log in (starting 10/15). They will be labeled Kinder Beginning of Year, 1st Beginning of Year, etc. Instructions.

Here is the Educator-Observed Waypoints overview page (the 1 1/2 minute video gives a quick visual overview).

Class of 2025 Results are in!

From thousands of college applications to exciting post-grad plans, the Class of 2025 kept busy shaping their futures last year. Using SchooLinks data, we are excited to share a snapshot of their accomplishments and next steps. 💙 

Check out the full story here by Jess Calbreath: secure.smore.com/n/f3z05

Referrals to Alternate Programs

We reviewed the new process with all high school counselors and the admin over counseling about the new referral form. PPT slide 12. 

Sagebrush (Day treatment -Partial Hospitalization) Referrals

All referrals to this level of treatment need to come from a therapist or physician in the community. Some misinformation was shared with school teams over the last month that our counselors/clinicians can make direct referrals. There has been no change in practice.

Ranking Messaging for Schools

Just a reminder that we do not rank students. Here is the messaging from three years ago that was developed. Please reach out to me and Katie if you have any questions.

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First Aid/CPR tracking:

Your school’s online First Aid/CPR tracker has been updated through October 7, 2025.  Here is the data by school. 

As a reminder, staff are allowed to be trained outside of the BLS trainings with the exception being online trainings are not allowed.  If you have staff who have taken a class outside of the district trainings, please make sure to send Michelle Spetic a copy of their First Aid/CPR card with expiration date so the information can be added to Business Plus (thus adding it to your report).   

According to EBC-AP, all employees are expected to know where first-aid supplies and equipment are kept in their work areas. Each school shall have, at a minimum, at least one staff member with a current first aid card for every 60 students enrolled and in attendance for school-sponsored activities where students are present. Names of the first aid cardholders need to be posted. 

Nurse Oliver Tatom is responsible for the first aid/CPR training classes.  Nurse Michelle Spetic enters all First Aid certifications in BusinessPlus, and I will continue to run the reports. 

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Cyber October IT update- 

Just who is Bend-La Pine IT and what is the best way to get a hold of them?

There are 30 people who work in the basement of the Education Center who represent our IT team.

The document linked here shows you a little bit about what each person does and how best to reach them.

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UpShift Update from Heather:

Thank you for updating the BLS UpShift Roles & Responsibilities document with your anticipated staff assignments. Based on this information we are scheduling 2 trainings, one for Coordinators and one for Specialists. If you or identified staff need trained, please complete the Strawpoll(s) below or pass along as needed: 

• BLS Training for UpShift Coordinators (Screening Tool & Referral Process)
• BLS Training for UpShift Specialists (Teen Intervene Curriculum)

Additional Resources:

·         UpShift Protocol: Please revisit the “Response to Substances” section in the Student Code of Conduct (page 12) for updates. The linked protocol includes detailed opt-out information.

·         Please visit the UpShift FAQ document for ongoing updates to questions that may arise

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From Gabe, Director of Activities and Athletics

Here is the weekly agenda. 

Calendar

October 14: HS LA Learning Walk: 8:30-11:30 @ BSHS

October 16: Climate and Culture Task Force 8-12@ Ed Center

October 16: Tier 2 Academic Intervention team meeting 2:30 @ MVHS

October 16: TAG Admin/ICCL training (MS only) – 3:30 – 5:30 in the boardroom

October 21: HS Administrator work session 9-11 @ MVHS

October 22: First District Safety Cadre Meeting 8-9:30 @ PBMS

October 23: MS Horizontal – 3-5 pm @ LPMS

October 29: HS ONLY END Session 3-4 K-8 is in parent conferences

October 29-30: MS Fall Conferences

Weeks of October 26-November 3: HS Fall Conferences

What in the world?

Congratulations to our winner from last week: Sean Keating for guessing the Who in the World image correctly! It was of Thurgood Marshall, who was sworn in as the first Black Supreme Court Justice on October 2nd, 1967!

To continue with the What in the World theme from two weeks ago, check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image 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.

To Do

Yearly Evaluation Notification (more info below as well): All staff members should be notified annually as to what evaluation cycle they are on and what they can expect to experience regarding eval process. We believe most of you, as site administrators, already have this practice in place but if you don’t and you need some templates, please feel free to use the e-mail templates listed below. This is also a good time to notify the member if you plan to address any standard that is not part of the abbreviated list in their End-of-Year evaluation. Questions on your list of staff? Reach out to Triz and Jessica Lamay- they have been coming to sites to walk admin through the tools as needed. Annual Evaluation Notification Templates

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Admin ALL PD: Take a moment and complete the feedback form for our Admin PD yesterday. Go ahead and list me ([email protected]) as the facilitator and call it Admin ALL PD 10/1.

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The first Educator Network Day is Wednesday October 8. Here is the info for sessions and admin assignments for Oct 8.

Your support is key to the success of this day. This is what support looks like for our teacher leaders:

• Arrive on time to the session
• Support the teachers leading the session – assist with whatever they need 
• Make sure teachers sign in and are accounted for – use the attendance QR code. Probably easiest to print and bring a copy yourself.
• Actively participate the entire time of the session (model what we expect of staff and you will learn along the way, as well).

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Mark Your Calendars: 8th grade CTE Fly Up will be Tuesday, March 3rd.

From Departments

From Operations:

Annual school fire inspections start next week

Bend Fire & Rescue will begin its annual fire inspections October 9 for all schools in the city’s coverage area – everything but our Sunriver and La Pine schools. The Bend city fire inspections are scheduled to run through November 7. Jim Scott, Building Services Manager for Bend-La Pine Schools, will notify each school’s principal and office manager of its inspection date the week prior.

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From Ryan in HR:

We are excited to announce the first iteration of mid-year orientation and onboarding for new hires, beginning Thursday, October 23 and continuing every other Thursday for the remainder of the year.

These sessions are designed to ensure our new employees enter their roles feeling confident, connected, and supported. Each orientation will include:

• Payroll, Human Resources, and Policy: An overview of organizational practices and role-specific information.
• IT Support: Small group time to set up single sign-on and other key systems.
• Union Introductions: Opportunities to hear from OSEA or BEA, if their position is represented.
• Role-Specific Training: A half-day dedicated to job-specific skills and expectations.
  • For school-based staff, Level Leaders will take the lead on this portion.
  • For non-school-based staff, HR has collaborated with Directors, Assistant Directors, and Supervisors to develop tailored plans.

Important Note: All candidates who accept a position after Friday, October 10 will not be permitted to start work until they have attended one of these orientations.

This new process reflects our shared goal of ensuring that every employee starts their journey with Bend-La Pine Schools on strong footing, well-prepared to contribute and thrive.

Thank you for supporting this important step in welcoming our newest colleagues.

Please connect with Ryan with any questions.

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From Eric in Student Services:

If an Administrator at your site does not have Synergy discipline access (to enter Minor or Major incidents into the discipline module), would you please Email Eric Powell to let them know who needs access to the discipline module in Synergy? 

We are working with IT to schedule a discipline module training for any administrator who needs this access and want to determine whom to invite to this potential training.

If you don’t know what the “discipline module” in Synergy is, then you probably need this training! 

If you can create Student Incidents via this screen, you are good to go:

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From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:

Dignity and Belonging: Community Engagement 

Here is the Bingo card from our leadership meeting.  Please keep a copy throughout the year that you cross out as you go.  

This spring: 

• completed copies will go into our raffle for some great prizes!  
• we will share the number of leaders from each school/dept who completed the full Bingo, and celebrate the creative ways your team engaged with the community in this process.  

Community Visit #1: The Giving Plate sign-up.  The dates for this tour/visit are coming up, so sign up soon!

Here is our home visit guidance.  Feel free to share with staff as applicable, and ask your Liaison or FAN Advocate if you can join their next visit.  

Animals on Campus

Thanks for the conversation on this topic at horizontals recently.  As a reminder, any animals on your campus must be approved by you.  Policy here.  Quick reference: 

• If service animal for staff: direct them to Benefits.  
• If service animal for student: contact Student Services.  
• Therapy animal, classroom pets, or other visitors: request form here, principal approves/denies. 
• Parent bringing animal at pick-up or school activities: this is prohibited.  

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From Triz in HR:

As we keep cruising through staffing updates, your Evaluation Rosters might not be perfectly up to date yet. If you spot anyone who shouldn’t be on your site list—or someone who’s missing—please email Jessica Lamay with the names to remove/add. Thank you!

What “ON-cycle” means

Contract staff marked ON-cycle were flagged because either:

• we do NOT have a finalized summative in UKG from last year (24-25), or
• they’re returning to the regular schedule from the 2023–24 cycle.

If something looks off, it’s often because last year’s steps weren’t fully finalized and the item is still pending in the system.

Quick checklist (2 minutes!)

1. Open UKG → To Do and complete/submit any evaluation steps sitting at your stage.
2. If an assignment still looks incorrect, reach out to Jessica Lamay and Triz so we can verify and update as appropriate. We appreciate you helping us keep everything clean and current—your attention here makes the whole process smoother for staff and students. 🙌

Linking Files:

Once you’ve dropped your files into the shared site folders  

Please be sure to link them into the correct column of your workbook. 

See steps in the samples below:

2. Click to select the file you are attaching in the workbook.
3. Click the ‘chain link’ icon to copy the link to that file -OR- Ctrl/Command+C.

2. Click on the ‘File Chip’ in the corresponding row and column for that employee/eval piece. Ctrl/Command+V -OR- Right mouse click, then click Paste, to attach the file.
3. Tab -OR- click on the file name pop-up (as above) to complete the attachment.
4. File is attached.

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From Scott in IT:

It is Cyber October once again!

Beginning next week look for tech info, tips and tricks both in the blog and in your email as we recognize Cyber October.

We will also be bringing back the “Phishing Derby” with some even bigger prizes for reporting suspicious emails.  

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From Gabe in Athletics and Activities:

Here is BLOG for this week: September 29th-October 3rd, 2025

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From Jess Calbreath:

Here is the counseling BLOG for this week.

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From Sara in Student Services (repeat):

MS Only

From Dean: We are now past the point in time where the iReady assessment can be used for bypassing a grade level.  We will open the window again in the spring for next year.

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We have our first round of admin walkthroughs 10/7 at 1:30 at Sky View. Team 1 is Anne Marie, Darla, Dave, and Julie.

HS Only

Here is the plan for the HS admin assignments for the END sessions. 

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Please remember to link the slides for each of your BD SIW sessions under the SIW planning tab in the HS Admin Handbook.

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Proposals for new courses are due November 6.  Proposals will be reviewed the following week and building leaders will be notified if they are approved and will be added to the district course catalog.  Use this link to submit a proposal.

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It is necessary for our students taking college dual credit courses through COCC to use DUO to access their accounts at COCC. DUO is the college’s multi-factor authentication tool and is required for students (both College Now and Concurrent) to access their COCC accounts and services.  

Once students are no longer able to use their cell phones in January, they will need to access DUO on their iPads.  Thanks to Tracy Howk, t is now available!  TO DO: Please share this with your college dual credit teachers.  Reach out to Katie or Tracy if you have questions. 

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Please review the important information about modified diploma processes and expectations highlighted in the Special Edge for this month.  If a student is approved to be on a modified diploma and is taking modified coursework, this must be reflected on the transcript using a particular course code. 

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Bonus question this week.  Email Katie the answer to this question correctly before Friday at 3:00 and get your name entered into next week’s drawing:  What are the six “to dos” that must be completed prior to getting an out of state trip approved?

Calendar

October 7: Secondary Admin Tier 1/UpShift work group – 9-11 @ CMS

October 7: MS Admin Walkthrough (Group 1) – 1:30-3:30 @ SVMS

October 8: Educator Network Day

October 16: TAG Admin/ICCL training (MS only) – 3:30 – 5:30 in the boardroom

October 23: MS Horizontal – 3-5 pm @ LPMS

October 29-30: MS Fall Conferences

WHO in the World??

Congratulations to our winner from last week: Becky Aylor for guessing the strange creature highlighted in the blog last week!  It was a hagfish! Did you know that the hagfish can make enough slime equal to 400 times their own volume!?  Ewww..! 

So Katie went rogue last week! I’m going to keep with the theme and mix it up with WHO in the world. Any admin who correctly identifies the person (bonus points if you can state what happened on October 2nd for this individual) 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: