To Do
Parent Nights:
Reinforce our Standards Based Instruction and Grading parent nights with your families. The events are for anyone in the community, not just the host school families.
Wed Nov 19 @ Summit High – 5:30
Monday Dec 1 @ La Pine High – 5:30
Wed Dec 3 @ Mountain View High – 5:30
College and Career Day K-12
Don’t forget to promote College and Career day on November 20th is College and Career Day!.
- Dress as a professional
- Wear college colors
- Consider incorporating videos or lessons bringing awareness to careers and colleges.
- Consider inviting parents from the community in to talk about their careers.
We hope you’ll join in the celebration. Please send pictures of your participation to Becca Burda.
From Departments
Dr. Cook and Dr. Birk to provide all-staff virtual updates Nov. 18
Superintendent Steven Cook and Deputy Superintendent Lisa Birk will host an update for all District staff on Tuesday, November 18, with two 30-minute virtual sessions:
Session 1 – 3:05 – 3:35 p.m. (LINK to join Session 1)
Session 2 – 3:50 – 4:20 p.m. (LINK to join Session 2)
They will begin by recognizing several major accomplishments and celebrations from this school year. Other updates include:
- State and federal funding
- Long-term enrollment projections
- Facility updates
- Elementary and secondary priorities
They will provide the same update at the beginning of both meetings, then answer questions sent in from staff. Attendance is optional. If you can’t join either meeting live, we plan to share recordings with you afterward.
HAVE A QUESTION FOR DR. COOK?
Use THIS LINK to submit a question for the first meeting (3:05-3:35 PM)
Use THIS LINK to submit a question for the second meeting (3:50-4:20 PM)
From Dean in TLC:
Interested in having your leadership team attend a virtual SBG conference? Here is a LINK to the same group who put on the previous one many attended.
From Eric in Student Services:
We had a Community Justice Officer from Deschutes County reach out to a school this week with the following request:
Hello,
I am _____, (Student’s) Community Justice Officer. I was wondering if I can get a copy of (Student’s) Attendance, grades, and credits. I am not sure if this is the correct email to request all three. If there is someone else, I should reach out to or if you have any questions, please let me know.
Thank you.
For this specific student, we did not yet have a record of the student being on probation or an ROI to communicate with outside providers. After communicating with district legal counsel, the following was recommended as the reply to be sent to the CJO:
“We need you to provide us with a release of information or legal basis for releasing this information, such as a health or safety emergency as defined by ORS 336.187.”
If you ever get a request like this, you can also forward the requestor to me and I can work with them directly to get them needed information (as I am allowed).
From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:
Advisory Lessons:
Here is the final version of the Cellphone lesson, to teach before winter break. Here is the SBHC lesson again as well (for at least CHS, SHS, BTA, and Realms, although it’s applicable to MVHS and BSHS too if you skip slide 8). SBHC family letter and permission form to send home.
Student Voice Council:
We will be reaching out to a couple schools to meet with you and your SVC representatives soon (areas where we’d like the principal looped in on student issues). If you don’t hear from us but would like a meeting to check in on communication with your students, our facilitator team, and your admin team, please let me know.
From TLC:
Course Recoding: Clarifying Guidelines and Approvals
As we continue working to ensure accuracy and consistency in how courses are coded across our district, it’s important that everyone follows the same expectations around course recoding. Recoding should occur only in very limited instances and must always be pre-approved to maintain alignment with state standards, diploma requirements, and teacher endorsements.
When Recoding Is (and Isn’t) Appropriate
A course may only fulfill a subject area (“bucket”) if:
- It truly meets the standards of that subject area, and
- The teacher holds the appropriate endorsement in that subject area.
Recoding should not be used to make a course fit where it doesn’t belong. Even if a class seems related, it may not meet the academic standards required for a different subject credit.
Examples:
- First Aid/CPR ≠ Health
- While both are Social Studies, World History ≠ U.S. History – (World Studies = WS | U.S. History = US)
- Sources of Strength ≠ Health
Courses with Pre-Approved Recode Options
Some courses have been reviewed and approved to count toward either a Science (SC) credit or a Career & Technical Education (CTE/FA) credit — depending on the student’s needs and the teacher’s endorsement.
However, each course may only count toward one area at a time, not both.
| Course | May Count As | Notes |
| Human Anatomy / Physiology | Science (SC) or CTE (FA) | May count as Science credit only if teacher is endorsed and student needs the credit |
| Biotechnology | Science (SC) or CTE (FA) | May count as Science credit only if teacher is endorsed and student needs the credit |
| Intro to Animal Science / Plant Science / Pre-Vet Medicine (MVHS) | Science (SC) or CTE (FA) | May count as Science credit only if teacher is endorsed and student needs the credit |
| Natural Resources Science | Science (SC) or CTE (FA) | May count as Science credit only if teacher is endorsed and student needs the credit |
These courses do not replace the district’s three-year science pathway required for all BLS students (Physics, Chemistry, Biology).
Approval Process
To ensure consistency and compliance:
All course recode requests must be vetted and approved by the Director of Curriculum & Instruction and team.
Please Submit requests via the Google Form
Why This Matters
Accurate course coding protects transcript integrity, ensures students receive the correct credits toward graduation, and supports clear communication with families and postsecondary institutions. By following these guidelines, we maintain equitable and consistent academic standards across the district.
From Gabe, Director of Activities and Athletics:
The highlights of this week: November 10th-14th, 2025
From Sara Young, Director of Student Services:
We are excited to introduce the new Special EDge Student Services Blog.
Calendar
November 18: HS Administrator work session @BSHS 9:00-11:00
November 19: Optional Early Adopter Drop in 8:00-8:30 (virtual)
November 19: SBG Parent Night @ SHS 5:30
November 20: MS Horizontal @ CMS 3:00 to 5:00
November 24-28: Thanksgiving Break
December 1: SBG Parent Night @ LPHS 5:30
December 3: Optional Early Adopter Drop in 8:00-8:30 (virtual)
December 3: SBG Parent Night @ MVHS 5:30
When in the World
Congrats to Sarah Huddart who won the recent Who in the World competition!
Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019. Omar is the first Somali American in the United States Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota. She is also one of the first two Muslim women (along with Rashida Tlaib) to serve in Congress.
This week, it’s When in the World. Check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image AND THE YEAR 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.
