WELCOME
It was so great to get into your sites these past couple of weeks. I am very excited to see all the planning you are doing come to fruition in the coming weeks and months. There is a clear vibe (as the kids say) out there regarding the coming year. I hope you can continue to lean into that positive energy as we welcome staff and students back in the next two weeks.
As a reminder, I will be out of the office Friday and Monday. Please reach out via cell for any emergencies.
To Dos
1. Sign up for visits in September: I would like to have each school sign up for TWO one-hour time slots for visits in September. It would be great to have them spaced into the first half of the month and the back half. Here is my Calendly link or you can use Outlook directly.
2. Flex Time: If you are a school using Flex Time this year, please schedule a time with Rachel Mavis for your leads to get trained.
3. YouTube and Curriculum: Please forward this to staff from Scott in IT.
We are beginning to hear from staff who are concerned about students’ losing access to certain resources previously available on YouTube.
Please be aware that this change impacts only K-8 students. High School students’ access to YouTube content remains unaffected, and staff access across all grade levels is also unchanged.
Our goal with this email is to collect a list of YouTube resources that are linked to approved curriculum in grades K-8. In other words, a resource that is embedded in curriculum that no longer opens when a student clicks on the link. Supplemental videos linked from Canvas or teacher-maintained sources should not be included on this list as they may be shared by the teacher.
Please use the form linked here to alert us of broken links in your curriculum. We will use this information to influence our decisions as we research alternatives.
We realize that this change impacts some teachers more than others, specifically those who teach subjects where resources are limited. We have included an opportunity for anyone to share thoughts, opinions, and possible solutions. Impacted staff are also welcome to respond to Scott directly.
4. Safety Info: The District Safety Team has put together a “need to know” safety refresher presentation for you to share with your staff. It includes all key expectations for staff accessing the building, in their classrooms, etc. We hopes this helps support communication with safety expectations for all!
5. TAG at MS: Please look at the message below in the FYI from Ryan in HR and prioritize adding this new TAG ICCL position to your building. It will be essential to have a person in this role for this school year.
6. Upshift Roles: (REPEAT) Please take time to fill out this document listing your building’s Upshift roles. This needs to be complete by 8/31. Let Heather Tang or myself know if you have any questions.
7. Part Time Schedules: (REPEAT) Ensure you have written schedules down to the minute for your part time staff and share them with me. You can reference the document from Paul Dean if you need some formatting ideas. The key is you need to use YOUR actual schedule, not the example when it comes to what we share. In Pauls example, for instance, he uses 32 minute periods on Wednesdays and I know many of you have 37 minute classes. Here is an example of this communication from Julie at Sky View. If you have any questions about what this should look like, please let me know.
8. New Synergy Gradebook: (REPEAT) As you may remember, we have transitioned to the newest version of the Synergy Gradebook this year. Consider it like a software update for your phone. The functionality remains mostly the same but there are some new bells and whistles and they may have moved where you find something. Laura Clark has put together a slideshow for staff that shouldn’t take too long. Please find a way to go over this with teachers. Leaning on a staff member who gets tech may be a good approach. Laura has already shared the slideshow, “Synergy New Gradebook Highlights,” with last year’s Canvas Support Team.
FYI
Questions about the new CBA?: Please direct all questions about the new CBA including scheduling and supervision questions directly to me or to HR. We want to ensure uniform messaging and practice.
Lunch Coverage: (UPDATE) HR is currently reviewing options for lunch supervision relating to our extra duty positions. This includes shifting lunch to a nearby prep so a certified employee could use their extra duty time at lunch. This is still an unknown and there could be a situation where these extra duty positions will not meet that State statute. I will update you as soon as we hear. In the meantime, know that classified folks can take on these positions if there is interest.
Lunch Coverage (part II): I received word on how we compensate counselors for supervision if we assign them over the 50 minutes a week. As a reminder, this is allowed for up to one hour a day this year. In talking with Dan Emerson (our new CFO), we can allow for each MS counselor to supervise up to TWO additional hours a WEEK. Anything over this would need to be covered by your budget. There is an existing drop down in UKG for this. Please let me know if you have any questions.
District Org Chart: The team down here has updated the district organization chart you received at the launch.
Resources on The Balcony: Adding new links daily, still a few pages to go. Please let me know if there is anything specific you would like to see posted on the blog.
FYI From Other Departments
From Scott/Communications
Here is a link to a folder with visuals for our cell phone policy
From Ryan/Human Resources
We are excited to announce the creation of two new extra duty positions, a new ICCL position within our elementary and middle school buildings, specifically focused on Talent and Gifted (TAG) efforts and a Green Team Advisor for all sites.
Please request to post both jobs in UKG.
The ICCL (TAG) role will be integral in enhancing our support for TAG students and ensuring that our practices are in line with our district’s high standards.
The responsibilities of this new position will mirror the existing ICCL efforts, but with a targeted emphasis on TAG professional development and systems. This means that the individual in this role will be dedicated to fostering growth and improvement in our approach to identifying and servicing TAG students.
Key responsibilities include:
- Attending monthly meetings with district TAG leadership to strengthen existing systems and stay informed on best practices.
- Gaining deeper insights into identifying and servicing TAG students.
- Developing strategies for differentiation in the classroom to better cater to the needs of gifted learners.
Additionally, the person in this role will serve as a crucial conduit for TAG processes and services, ensuring that all staff within our building are well-informed and equipped to support TAG students effectively.
We believe this new position will significantly enhance our ability to provide exceptional educational experiences for all students by adding enrichment to our classrooms.
Reach out to Stephen DuVal for more information about the specifics of the role.
24/25 Green Team Advisor – New position
The Green Team Advisor has been added to the extra duty schedule. Each high school and middle school will find this added to their list of year round extra duty positions on the Extra Duty Google Doc. Each elementary school will be added to the Extra Duty Google Doc as they complete their hire.
The Green Team Advisor will serve at each school to educate and engage the school community with the knowledge and influence to be leaders in a sustainable society, use resources wisely and support the district’s efforts to make the school’s operations and activities more environmentally sustainable. Additionally, this position will support compost efforts at schools where programs are in place.
- This new position will be paid on level F of the extra duty salary schedule.
- There will be 1 FTE at each school site.
- This new position should be posted and hired through UKG.
- This position will be for one year only and if funds allow can be hired again the following year.
If you currently have someone who has filled this role in the past, they will need to apply for the position for this year.
From Nutrition Services
Did you hear the good news? ALL Bend-La Pine Schools qualify for the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. That means every student is eligible to receive one free breakfast and one free lunch each school day. No application needed!
From Sean/Student Services
Here is the agenda for our student services folks on 8/28.
From Anne/Facilities
The Maintenance Department is transitioning the work order software to HeroHQ. This will go live tomorrow (August 22nd). Please see the letter from Dan Dummitt in regard to this change along with a Power Point presentation that shows how to create a work order in the new system. The link to the new software is included in Dan’s letter.
This new software gives all staff the opportunity to submit a work order, however, all work orders will first be routed to the site’s head custodian for review. If it is something that can be resolved at the site level it will be completed by the custodial staff if appropriate. If not, the custodian will approve the work order to be routed to Maintenance. We feel this is a very user-friendly software and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to me (x4700) or Becky Taylor-Negus (x4701).
We are working closely with the Custodial department on this change to make it as smooth as possible.
Upcoming Schedule
Inservice Week Certified work calendar for the week of August 26.
August 26: New Teacher training–all admin attend! Time/place TBD (it will be first thing in the morning)
August 27: District Welcome Back! An interactive whole school event. 8:30-10:00
August 28: District Training Day – Pacific Crest from 8:00 to 11:30. There will be an opening from Lisa and then PD from Katie Lyons and Chris Burghardt from Synergy. The topics will center around backwards design with priority standards and equitable grading. Afternoon can be used for Tier 1 climate and culture or that PD time can be shifted to another time in the week.
September 4th: First day with 6th grades
September 5th: First day with 7th/8th graders
September 10th: MS/HS Principal horizontal – Mountain View 8:00 – 9:30
Where in the World
This week’s “Where in the World” photo comes from Sean Keating over at PCMS. Sean states, “My special place is being outside with people I care about. Here’s a mountain bike ride I took with some teachers.”
Trivia for you Bendites. What’s the name of that landmark behind Sean?
Please send me a photo of some place important to you with a short description of why and I’ll highlight it in an upcoming blog.
