SBHC lesson (MVHS and BSHS – skip slide 8). AND send home the SBHC family letter and permission form.
From Departments
Kudos to our HS counseling team!
Jennifer Hauth, Jess Calbreath and Amberlee Solito presented at the Oregon State School Counseling Meeting this week on Bend La Pine’s journey to implementing a Comprehensive School Counseling Program. Please take a look at the slide deck that outlines our implementation journey over the last four years. Also, check out our elementary school counseling video (2 Minutes) that was shared at the Board meeting. For the first time in BLS history, we have an elementary school counselor at every school!
Here are the slides from the HS administrator and counselor Meeting from 12/9. Slide Deck
From Sean Reinhart, Executive Director of Student Services:
25-26 Child Count Data
Please click the link below to look at this year’s child count data, as well as our historical trends. Overall, we are up about 40 students total with IEPs. With the overall decrease in enrollment, that puts the district at 12.5% of students receiving special education services.
As a reminder, December 1 of each school year is the day that we report the total number of students with IEPs in BLS. This is the number that ODE uses to base our funding for the following year. School districts get a “second ADM weight” for each student with and IEP up to 11% of the district population. BLS is currently at 12.5%.
Kudos to our student services team members!
Student Services is introducing a new process we are going to be using to boost morale and include more positivity and celebration in our weekly Special EDge Blog.
We will be starting Campus Kudos, a section of the blog highlighting two schools per week and celebrating ways that the school’s Student Services team has been working to promote inclusion, belonging for students, and working as a team to support each other. We will NOT be celebrating individual staff members in this process but really would like to make the focus be upon the entire team. Everyone deserves to be celebrated because they are doing hard work!
So here is our ask: Please fill out the linked form when you feel you have seen something from your school team that is worthy of celebration, particularly things around inclusion, belonging, and teamwork. This can be a running record, and does not need to be filled out ONLY when it is time in the schedule for a particular school to be celebrated.
As we approach the policy shift that prohibits personal devices effective January, please remind teachers to review the IEPs, 504s, and Individual Health Plans of students in their class, and/or check in with Learning Specialists, to be clear on which students have documented permission to use their personal devices. This info should also be noted in Substitute Folders.
This will help reduce 1) the number of false claims by students saying they have a medical ‘need’ for their phone, and 2) repeated corrections or consequences for students who do need them but who frequently get reprimanded for usage that is actually permissible.
Immigration:
Check that you have the ICE guidance (linked and highlighted in this document) printed and posted near your front-entry/reception window for the staff who greet visitors. This is also a good point to refresh yourself on the procedures expected of you and your team.
If you become aware of immigration activity in the community that has impacted a student or family, please: 1) be extremely mindful of confidentiality, privacy, and professional boundaries—do not share this information unless absolutely necessary, 2) take care of yourself and your emotions so you can take care of others , 3) refer the student or family to appropriate resources (your family liaison, our newcomer counselor specialist George, school counselor, FAN, etc), 4) let me know if you have a need I can support, resource- or policy-wise. Thank you for your calm, compassionate, and steady leadership as these tough things continue impacting our community.
December 16: HS Administrator Work Session 9:00-11:00 @ CHS (come early for breakfast!)
December 17: Optional Early Adopter Drop in @ 8:00
December 17: Admin PD Session – 3:00 @ Aspen Hall (please carpool)
December 18: MS Horizontal 3-5 @ High Desert
December 19: Principal connection @ 7:00
December 20-January 5: Winter Break
What in the World
Congratulations to Darla Brandon at La Pine Middle for correctly identifying our Where in the World image as Hobbiton, the set from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies that is now a tourist attraction in New Zealand.
This week, it’s What in the World? What celebration does this week’s image below represent? Any admin who correctly identifies this location 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.
Congratulations to our colleague Chris Boyd for being selected as the Administrator of the Year! Chris has been with Bend-La Pine Schools for 11 years and is in his fifth year as principal at Caldera High School, the district’s newest school. He has been Caldera principal since the doors opened in the fall of 2021.
To Do
Reminders for HS: teach these two lessons before winter break:
SBHC lesson (MVHS and BSHS – skip slide 8). AND send home the SBHC family letter and permission form.
From Tami Pike:
Please ensure that your school’s first aid kits: classroom fanny packs, front office orange first aid bags, and gym wall first aid kits are regularly reviewed and restocked. This task can be completed by non-nursing staff.
From Sean Reinhart, Jennifer Hauth, and Jamie Gunter
The Student Services Team is reaching out with yearly reminders of our protocols and procedures around suicide risk and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), as required byAdi’s Act (Senate Bill 52). We will be providing a series of updates to ensure that administrators have information on updated protocols.
Reminder: Safe Oregon
Safe Oregon tips involving suicidal ideation or non-suicidal self-injury require follow up with your school based mental health staff (follow up screening and entry into Student Safe each time).Refer to the student services slide deck or reach out to Sean, Jamie, Scott, or Kayla.
Reminder: Screening Staff
As per our Adi’s Act plan, staff who can risk screen and safety plan with students include school counselors, school psychologists, and student success clinicians. ASIST trained school nurses and student success staff can collaborate with their school based mental health professionals after screening on next steps in safety planning and lethal means calls home. Policy requires that a student is screened and parent/caregivers are notified the same day that a concern is noted. Same day notification to administrators is also a requirement, as is the entry of all screening information and contact details intoStudent Safe. All administrators have access to the Student Safe system, and if anyone would like a 1:1walkthrough, please reach out.
Here’s a quick reminder about the Tobacco Quit Kits. These kits are a valuable resource to support students in their journey to quit smoking, vaping, or using chewing tobacco.
The kits include:
Distraction tools to help resist the urge to use tobacco.
Resource information to support students through the quitting process.
How to Distribute Quit Kits
Quit Kits are intended to be distributed during the second nicotine module of the Teen Intervene program by UpShift Specialists.
In special cases, they may be distributed outside of Teen Intervene, but only if a student demonstrates a strong commitment to quitting.
Schools and staff can request kits using our request form:
Order up to 5-10 kits at a time.
Delivery will be confirmed within 5-7 business days.
To streamline the process, we recommend designating one UpShift team member to handle all kit requests for your school.
Ready to request your kits? Please complete this form.
If you have any questions or need additional support, please reach out. We’re here to help!
Additional Resource:
The CDC has a quick, one-page guide to help school staff understand youth vaping and tobacco use.It includes tips for how you can support young people and key health facts. Download it in English or Spanish. Please feel free to pass along to staff.
This is open to Oregon students enrolled in grades 9 – 12 for the 2025-2026 school year. Leif Méndez, who was a 12th grader at Caldera High School last school year, served on the inaugural ODOT SRTS High School Task Force. I’m hoping another BLS high school student will apply and be selected for this opportunity.
I invite your recommendations on where and how else to promote this. I have already asked BLS Communications to include it in the December Family Newsletter.
Calendar
November 24-28: Thanksgiving Break
December 1: SBG Parent Night @ LPHS 5:30
December 2: Learning Walk session @ MVHS 9:15 room D1
December 3: Optional Early Adopter Drop in 8:00-8:30 (virtual)
December 3: SBG Parent Night @ MVHS 5:30
December 5: HS Principal Connection @ BTA 9:00
December 5: Transcript process training for HS admin who have not been trained 10:00 @ BTA
What in the World Happened Here?
Congratulations to Leah Boon for winning last week! The image was of Ruby Bridges being escorted to school by federal marshals on November 14th 1960.
This week, it’s What in the WorldHappened Here? Check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies what historical even happened here by Monday morning (Dec 1) 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.
This is National School Psychologist Week! Did you show appreciation for your School Psych? Link to org chart.
This year’s theme, “Finding Your Path,” reflects the ways that school psychologists help students, families, and school communities set and achieve their goals. Join us by taking this week to chart your course to explore how each person can celebrate the work of school psychologists and learn how school psychologists make a difference every day.
November 13-19 is Transgender Awareness Week. Next week your building will receive a kit with ideas and supplies for simple ways to support your transgender students or colleagues.
Please connect with your Advocacy ICCL representative (or watch your mailbox) for those kits, and encourage your staff to participate.
HS Administrators only: With the new cell phone policy being implemented in January, we know there have been some concerns about students’ access to college applications, FAFSA, and similar platforms that may require authenticator or password retrieval.
After meeting with IT, we confirmed that students in grades 11 and 12 do have access to their personal email accounts on their iPads. This means they can retrieve verification codes or reset passwords as needed without relying on their school email or phone.
Students in grades 11 and 12 can access their personal email through logging into Safari.
This ensures students can continue accessing essential college and financial aid tools while allowing us to uphold the new “off and away, bell to bell” cell phone policy and maintain focus during class time. It might be worth a quick advisory lesson to walk students through accessing their personal email on their iPad before January—especially since they won’t be able to use their phones for password retrieval when they add their personal email.
Please work with your counselors to support students to access their personal emails prior to the January cell phone implementation.
Please make sure employees at your site are aware of this important payroll update.
For the November and December payrolls, all employees will receive a paper paystub (or a live check if not enrolled in direct deposit) mailed directly to their home address on file. Payday remains the last business day of each month.
This change ensures every employee can easily access their pay information during school breaks when most staff are off-site or not connected to the district network. From now on, paystubs and paychecks will no longer be routed to school sites for pickup or distribution.
What to Know
All employees will automatically receive mailed paystubs in November, December, June, July, and August.
Employees who want paper paystubs in additional months can email Payroll to opt in. (This election resets each year.)
Employees can update their home address in UKG.
Those who need help setting up direct deposit can review the “How To” guide on the Payroll Portal or reach out to Payroll.
Substitute and extra-duty employees will continue to receive paper paystubs automatically every month.
Employees can still view electronic paystubs through Employee Online when using a district device or network connection.
Thank you for sharing this information with your teams and helping ensure every employee has consistent access to their pay details.
From Departments
From Eric Powell in Student Services
Moving forward, when documenting a Child Abuse Report that your school is making, will you please store the Child Abuse Form in the following ways:
Building Principal or Department Supervisor maintains a copy of the report
Send (Email is fine) a copy to Eric Powell in Student Services
Family Engagement: -For your review (share as applicable)-
Family Liaisons: Here are our Spanish-speaking liaisons, and here are reminders on how to use their services. We also have part-time Black/African American, Asian, and Youth Partnerships Liaisons–if you’d like to connect with one of them, let me know.
FAN Advocates: Here are reminders on their role. Remind your staff: FAN does not coordinate Christmas gifts for families and hasn’t for over 10 years. FAN resources are maxed out prioritizing basic needs (food, utilities, etc). There are many community-based organizations that do support religious or holiday-based requests like Christmas gifts: Here, here, and here are a few resources.
Concerns/celebrations: If you have concerns about your liaison or advocate (inconsistent attendance, lack of responsiveness, etc), I need to know right away. Of course, if you have a note of appreciation or celebration about them, send me those too!
Translation/interpretation: Remember, CAFE members are not your primary resource for language services. Also, please don’t ask them to “quickly review” your AI/Google-translated communication. Use Linguist Link for translation/interpretation requests. Here are reminders on differences between these services.
Food Access and Your Parent Groups: -For your review (share as applicable)-
In the absence of SNAP benefits for families in need, some of you have parent groups organizing to gather food and distribute it to families. This is great, if/when boundaries are respected. Share these talking points with your parent group, as applicable.
Earlier this week, all Classified staff received an email announcing the opening of applications for the 2025 cohort of Bend-La Pine’s Alternative Pathways Program (APP), a district-supported opportunity for Classified employees to pursue licensure for Certified roles that offers tuition reimbursement, paid student teaching/practicum leave, and other supports as needed as they pursue their license. The announcement was also shared in the most recent edition of this week’s Staff Spotlight.
The APP focuses on hard-to-fill positions and places a particular emphasis on supporting multilingual and bilingual staff, helping us strengthen our connection to students and families while developing our future educators and leaders.
I’m asking that you all take a moment to think about who in your building or department might be a great candidate for this program, both those who have already expressed an interest in becoming licensed educators and those who may not yet see their own potential. A shoulder tap from you might be the spark that helps someone find the confidence they need to take this step.
Applications are open through December 2, 2025. If you’d like more info on the program, you can email Ryan Kelling or visit the Employee Portal.
We will pay for the subs of teachers who attended the COCC articulation meeting on September 10. Request the account code from April J.
Calendar
November 12: Optional Early Adopter Drop in 8:00-8:30 (virtual)
November 12: Review slides for SBG Parent Night @BSHS 2:15 in classroom next to PH
November 12: All Admin Meeting @ BSHS 3:00-4:30
November 13: Tier 2 Academic Intervention Team @ BSHS 2:30-4:00
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 24-28: Thanksgiving Break
Where in the World
Congrats (and Happy Birthday) to Reno Holler for winning the “where in the world” image last week. The image was of center field at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. Wrigley was built in 1914 and the original vines were purchased and planted in September 1937.
This week, it’s 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.
Reminder: DUE tomorrow, October24: 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.
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.
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.
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. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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!
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!
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.
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.
*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:
Share this with Early Adopters: Beginning Wednesday, November 5th 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 💙
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.
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.
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:
· 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
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.
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.
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.
Thank you for an amazing welcome back week! We are so impressed by the number of teachers choosing to be early adopters! That is a testament to your leadership and hard work!
Thank you all for your attendance at the Standards Based Grading Mini Conference. Below is an electronic version of the 1-page handout. On page 2 is a link to the folder of all of the slides from the mini sessions. Handout from Mini Conference
To Do
MS and HS Principals: plan on sending out this SBGI letter: Family letter to your families by next week. Scroll down for the Spanish version and be sure to remove the MS/HS grade chart based on your level
HS Principals only: Please send this letter as well, regarding College Dual Credit: Family Letter – College Dual Credit (Spanish Translation should be ready within the week and will be added)
Feel free to add your school logo and your signature, but do not change the contents of the either letter.
MS/HS Principals: Teachers who are Early Adopters need to send this letter to the families for every class in which SBGI will be implemented. Scroll for the Spanish version.
Chris and I shared the SBGI district communication plan in our session Wednesday morning which includes letters, graphics and templates that may be helpful for schools and teachers. Here are the slides. We also included screenshots that may be helpful to share with families and students.
From Departments
Grades and Credit AR changes approved by School Board:
During a bargaining session with BEA, it was determined the amount of time a teacher must have feedback in the gradebook (SYNERGY) from the time in which an assignment was due.
Teachers are required to update their gradebook 3 weeks after an assignment was due to them. Thank you for reviewing this change with your teachers.
Each school has the opportunity to receive $5,000 for operating Sources of Strength-Secondary for the 2025-2026 school year.
Work with your Healthy Schools Public Health Specialist to develop a plan and budget that will aim to meet Sources fidelity by the end of the school year. See the BLS Sources of Strength Budgets and Fidelity document with more details.
Once schools have a plan/budget that will meet Sources fidelity, remaining funds can be used for other evidence-based/-informed suicide prevention efforts, such as timesheeting for coordinating school-wide Wayfinder lessons or school health teams that coordinate multiple positive, inclusive school climate activities over a 4-8 week time period.
This is a two-year grant, specific to suicide prevention. Funds will not rollover. Unspent funds will be reallocated across Sources schools in the 2026-2027 school year and must be spent by the end of that school year.
As we start the 2025-26 school year, we want to share important updates regarding our Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) and how you, as administrators, can be a support to the implementation of CSCP at your school. On August 27, BLS School Counselors gathered for a productive day of planning and collaboration. You can view their slide deck here to see the impressive work being done.
We are pleased to introduce the BLS School Counseling Handbook, a comprehensive resource designed for school counselors, administrators, and educational leaders. Inside, you’ll find:
The mission, vision, and beliefs of our program
District priorities and goals
Roles of counselors and administrators
Program design, implementation, policy and aligned practices
Tools, templates, and practices for effective support
Here are the key expectations for this year:
Complete School-Level CSCP Planning Template – due May 2026, outlining:
Student Outcome Goals (Tier 1 & 2) – due Nov. 2025 (these can be used as SLGGs)
Use of Time Study – by Apr. 2026
Tiered Program Supports (by domain & tier) – by Apr. 2026
Annual Data Review – by May 2026
End of Year Results Presentation – May/June 2026
Additionally, counselors will now track student interactions using Synergy’s MTSS Activity Tracker Module, moving away from Student Conference, to enhance access to school counseling data as we continue to develop our MTSS dashboard.
We are hopeful to have the Wayfinder admin dashboards have more accurate data but Synergy is currently sending too much data through Clever to Wayfinder. I have put in a help desk ticket but in the meantime, you can edit your teacher list using the following steps:
If you select “unclick content views” and only have “content completions,” then make sure to assign the workbooks or a collection as the featured content.
For counselors and support staff, please mark them as “content views,” not “content completion.”
If there are people in the app that do NOT use Wayfinder, unclick both “content views” and “content collections.”
Student Success Coordinators/Instructors(Not Clinicians) will now track student interactions using Synergy’s MTSS Activity Tracker Module, moving away from the Synergy Intervention tab to enhance access in all interventions that students are receiving in one place as we continue to develop our MTSS dashboard. Here are the training slides from their PD day on the 27th.
We are excited to be moving forward with our Student Success Clinicians embarking on the Medicaid Billing endeavor! They were all trained on the SEAS Medicaid billing platform and here are the slides from yesterday. As a result of documenting the important clinical work that they are doing, our district can be eligible to be reimbursed for most of the vital services that they are providing.
In light of these changes, it is essential that our Student Success Coordinators and Clinicians are receiving their weekly prep andcase management time to ensure that they can engage in their documentation and provide care coordination for their students and families that they work with.
For Full-time Elementary Student Success Certified Staff
Case Management Minutes: An elementary specialist has a scheduled total of no fewer than 215 minutes per week for case management responsibilities. This time is set aside in blocks of no less than 30 minutes for these responsibilities.
Prep Time: An elementary Student Success Clinician is scheduled for a minimum of 385 minutes of preparation time per week. This time includes a period of at least 30 minutes per day, uninterrupted, within the student day for grades K-5.
For Full-time Secondary Student Success Certified Staff:
Case Management Minutes: A secondary specialist has a scheduled total of no fewer than 215 minutes per week for case management responsibilities. This time is set aside in blocks of no less than 30 minutes for these responsibilities.
Prep Time: A secondary Student Success Clinician is scheduled for no fewer than 300 minutes of preparation time per week. Preparation time shall include at least one daily preparation period equal in length to a normal class period.
Animals on school grounds: We want to take a moment to remind school about our district practices with regards to animals on school grounds. We do not have any district policy that prohibits dogs outside of school hours on our property. ING-AR: Animal Visitors under Owner Responsibility reads:
Owners walking animals on school grounds must follow city or county ordinances regarding leashing and sanitation.
Principals and their designees have the authority to exclude persons and their animals from play fields when he/she determines that there are associated health and/or safety concerns.
Last year, we created and distributed one of the signs below to your school.
We have created this Community Use Violation Notice [and here is a Spanish Version] that you may copy, edit, print, laminate and zip tie to your gate(s) when you are restricting public access by locking your gates.
If you would like to order additional signs ($65 each), please submit a work order request along with a budget code. Maintenance will collaborate with you regarding where to place your additional signs. Please reach out to Dan Dummitt for further assistance with signs.
SafeOregon has been updated and the entire admin team at each secondary school will receive emails and calls. Our new AD/APs at the comprehensive high schools have been added to callout list for SafeOregon. Additionally, now that all Deans are listed as APs they have been added to the callout list.
Linked here are the Safe Oregon Protocols. All new admin were briefed at the New Administrator orientation. Reach out to Kayla with questions.
September 4: 6th-12th grade students back to school!
September 11: HS Tier 2 Academic Intervention Team meeting 2:30 @ SHS
September 16: HS Administrator WS 9-11@ LPHS
Where in the World
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Paul Hutter. The answer was La Forchette, Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
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.
Submit 2025-26 BLAST Non Contract calendarto Stephen and Katie (VPs, submit to your principal.
A new website and ParentSquare are coming! Complete this SURVEY for communications by August 1.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Please share this information with your teachers regarding August 27:
We are excited to invite all secondary teachers and administrators to a special Standards-Based Instruction and Grading Mini-Conference at Pacific Crest Middle School on August 27 from 8:30 to 12:15, for the District Directed Professional Development Day.
This engaging professional development event will begin with our keynote, “Instructional Pillars and What’s in the Box?”, followed by almost 20 choices repeated over three interactive sessions selected designed to deepen understanding of the SBIG framework. Participants will explore how proficiency in district standards—not behavior—drives grading, how feedback via rubrics empowers student learning, and how practices like the decaying average and reassessment opportunities support growth. Sessions will highlight practical strategies, technology tools, communication approaches, and ways to design assessments that truly measure learning. Join us to connect with colleagues, learn from expert presenters, and prepare for a smooth, impactful shift to Standards-Based Grading.
Due to parking concerns, buses will run from Bend Senior High School, Caldera High School, La Pine High School and Mountain View High School. Buses will leave Bend schools at 8:00, and La Pine High School at 7:45. We encourage you to ride the bus or carpool to the site.
After the morning sessions, please provide PLC/Department time for teachers to debrief their sessions. Here are some guiding questions you can use, or develop some of your own.
SSC, SSI, School Counselors, School Psychologists will not participate as they will be in training at Caldera HS all day!
From Departments
From Ryan in Human Resources:
Our New Certified Administrator Orientation will be held on Thursday, August 21 at North Star.
Breakfast: 7:00 AM – Bend Breakfast Burrito will be catering; enjoy a burrito, muffin, coffee, and connection time with our new hires.
Program Start: 8:00 AM
Any school or department that hired a new Certified employee is required to send a representative so that you can connect with that person/people, but all are welcome to attend, and we encourage you to join us in welcoming our new staff.
If you’re unsure whether your school needs to send a representative, please email me directly.
This was sent to all student services staff members today:
Welcome back to the 25-26 school year!
Please see the attached schedules for in-service week for returning certified and classified staff and new certified and classified staff.
New staff (certified and classified), you have additional onboarding, so please make sure you are looking at the new certified or new classified schedules.
ALL certified staff, the schedule for the District PD day is embedded in the calendar on August 27th with a link labeled District PD Day.
Our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for student device use was updated during the 24-25 school year. The new version is what our families are receiving in their enrollment materials. I have linked the updated AUP here. Sections that you may want to be familiar with include:
• Grade 6-12 Insurance Device Damage and Loss Guidelines
If you are interested in participating in a discussion, review, and feedback session regarding district policy for the new cell phone requirements, please contact Katie and I by Thursday the 21st. We would love to see at least one administrator from each high school. We’ll reach out to folks after that to schedule the conversation.
In the meantime, here are talking points you can use with your staff.
Policy Notes:
Updated Attendance policy (updated per conversations and feedback throughout last year). Please be familiar with the changes to procedures and responsibilities, share with your office and MTSS staff, and bring any questions to the September horizontal admin meeting. Related: Employee Attendance policy–good reminders for all of us!
Updated Grades and Credits policy final version. Feel free to share this directly with your teachers and counselors (secondary in particular), if helpful.
Here are the reference slides from the policy training last April. Topics/Guidance includes:
-controversial subjects (share the policy with your teachers),
-parent requests for teachers, etc.
Please share those reference slides with applicable staff, print, and/or bookmark as needed–you don’t want to be looking for these in a time-sensitive situation.
Updated transportation policy: We updated the series of policies related to transportation. One important change for you (and ADs/coaches):
Either we provide the bus, or students/families need to coordinate their own rides—employees, including coaches, should not coordinate groups of students with drivers of private vehicles. Parent volunteers or team parents are welcome to coordinate with other volunteers, but district employees are not involved in non-district transportation arrangements.
Related: field trip permission forms have been updated (all languages available on the Portal): please share with teachers and office staff.
Have a recommendation regarding a policy issue? Please use this form to suggest updates, request changes, identify gaps in policy language, etc.
Looking for the policy that covers a particular topic? Need help interpreting a policy for a particular situation? Contact me!
Here is follow-up from the complaint training this week. Please save, file, or bookmark as needed (also sent via email):
Flowchart for navigating complaints, policies, and timelines.
Your Dashboard–put this in your Bookmarks Bar! The link leads to your personal school-specific view (Smartsheet is magic).
Form for reporting a complaint or a bias incident.
Available on the district website: ‘Engage with Us’ blue rectange –> Complaints
Available as an app/icon on student and staff iPads
Poster with QR code, for community spaces on campus (lobby, staff lounge, gym, stadium).
Reach out to me if I can support any investigations or responses to complaints, bias incidents, or policy interpretation or decisions. Triz is your go-to for employee issues that your admin team identifies directly (not a complaint brought to you by a third party), or for determining personnel actions if your complaint investigation has confirmed there was employee misconduct, policy violation, or performance issues.
Appreciate your (competitive) engagement in the training. I learned a lot about how to play Jeopardy! I hope you learned a bit about complaint navigation. I’d love any feedback on the training or this topic as it arises.
Thank you~
MS Only
UPDATE: Part Time Schedules done by 8/22
Send staff-facing Admin team responsibility document to Stephen by 8/31
August 18, 2025Counselor and HS admin meeting: Counselors and the admin who oversee the counseling department should attend this virtual meeting from 10-11. We’ll be reviewing key aligned practices that are especially important as we launch into the busy start-of-year season, including:
August 22: Middle School Advisory Meeting – Ed Center Rm 312 – 11-1
August 25: Certified return to work
August 26: District Welcome Back – Virtual – 8:30-10:00
August 27: District PD Day
September 3: 6th/9th grade only days!
September 4: 6th-12th grade students back to school!
Where in the World
Congratulations to MacKenzie Groshong who won our first drawing last week!!!
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.
You may have questions about the time for staff to complete the mandatory safe schools trainings. This time is already accounted for so you do not need to designate more time for the completion of these trainings.
Evening events for certified staff:
Beginning with the 25-26 school year, certified staff may be required to attend three evening events. However, they must be notified 60 days prior to the event.
Here is the relevant language in the CBA:
15.4. Certified Employees may be required to attend up to one after-school/evening event in the remainder of the 2023-24 school year, up to two (2) after-school/evening events in the 2024-25 school year, and up to three after-school/evening events per year in the 2025-26 school year, such as graduation, family engagement events, open house, etc., and use the remaining time towards Safe Schools training, as contracted “Day 190”. Site administrators will communicate required dates to all Certified Employees no less than sixty (60) days in advance.
To Do
AI PD & Resources in One Place
Everything you need for the Artificial Intelligence PD is on the new AI in BLS website, including the full slide deck for your upcoming staff training, and the AI syllabus statement and Acceptable Use Scale, to be included in course syllabi.
The training takes about 90 minutes. We’ve scheduled it during August in-service so staff can explore AI early, with the hope that leveraging it can help lighten their workload as the year gets rolling.
There’s no need to be an AI expert. Just open the deck and guide your staff through it. The goal is to share accurate, useful, and timely information as we navigate the meaningful use of AI across the district.
I’m excited to share that we are building our new websites this summer, with a planned “go live” date of November 1. At the same time, we are starting to plan the launch of our new communications and engagement platform, ParentSquare, in the coming school year. We will share updates with you on both projects at our admin retreat in August.
To help us now, we need each school (Principal or designee) to complete the following form no later than August 1:
For ParentSquare, our goal is to complete all necessary training, onboarding and user orientation in the next six months, and go live with in January 2026 when we return from winter break.
To meet this timeline, we will need to provide basic training in use of ParentSquare for all staff members who have a role in communicating directly with families. This includes administrators, office staff, teachers, counselors, specialists, and family engagement roles. After discussion with level leaders, it was determined that SIW time will not be an option for this training, we will develop a series of four short (20-minute) presentations that you can provide during staff meetings this fall. Every school will need to make time for these staff trainings in October, November and December to ensure everyone is prepared to make the switch to our new platform in January.
ParentSquare will be our approved platform for all communications – at the District, school, classroom and program levels. Several platforms (such as School Messenger and BLConnect) will be discontinued immediately, while others will be phased out over time. The strength of ParentSquare depends on consistent use and fidelity to the platform, and it will be critical for staff to refrain from using other apps or tools outside the suite of services we will have within ParentSquare.
From Eric (Student Services):
IMPORTANT RESOURCE GUIDE: Here is a direct link to the 1-page Student Management Resource Guide: LINK HERE
From Tami Pike (Student Health):
To ensure a safe and successful field trip experience, review the Field Trip Checklist in advance.
It is essential to notify your school nurse at least two weeks prior to any field trip.
If a student requires direct nursing support during the trip, please complete the updated Request for Direct Care Nursing Services form at least two weeks prior to any field trip.
From Kim Crabtree (Transportation):
Your school principal may receive an invite from Commute Options to meet. Commute Options partners with us to help deliver education regarding safe walking/rolling to school. Commute Options has a great bike safety program (they provide the bikes/helmets). We work closely with them to create safe walking paths to schools for our non-bus riders. Our department has hired an Active Transportation Coordinator (Michelle Rhoads) through a 2 year grant. The grant is very specific on where Michelle’s work must be directed (5 Title 1 schools).
We hope to build a robust program district wide to support those that do not ride a bus. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me. If you are looking for education for your students- Commute Options is your go-to at this time (we are happy to coordinate that for you also through them).
Have a great safe start to the year!
From Kinsey Martin (Policy/Advocacy/Equity):
Can you please share here the contact information for your school’s parent organization(s)?
I would like to be sure your school’s parent/family perspectives are included in work like the re-design of fundraising policies, the development of a district family engagement calendar, and any trainings or activities they might want to participate in. I don’t intend to spam them with lots of messages, and I’ll copy a member of your team in any messages I send, so you’re looped in.
Feel free to forward this to colleagues who have relevant info to provide for your school as well. Let me know what questions you have.
MS Only
Deliverables
Part Time Schedules done by first day of school – Try to give Stephen a copy by inservice if possible
Send staff-facing Admin team responsibility document to Stephen by 8/31
Deliver TAG presentation information to staff inservice week (TAG admin and ICCL)
August 14: MS/HS Horizontal – Caldera High School – 8-12
August 21: New Teacher Work Day
August 22: Middle School Advisory Meeting – Ed Center Rm 312 – 11-1
August 25: Certified return
August 26: District Welcome Back – Virtual – 8:30-10:00
August 27: District PD Day
Where in the World
This year we will have a twist on where in the world. 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.
