To Do:

From Jennifer:

Join us in celebrating our incredible Student Success Coordinators, Clinicians, Instructors and Educational Assistants the week of March 3rd – March 7th! This coincides with School Social Work Week & Classified Appreciation week.

Student success staff are instrumental in supporting students with significant social, emotional and mental health needs. These amazing humans work tirelessly to provide intensive care coordination, family engagement, academic support and emotional support.  

Our student success staff serve as vital members of a school’s education team, playing a central role in creating partnerships between the home, school, and community to improve student well-being and academic success. 

Please take a moment during this week to celebrate and acknowledge the student success staff in your building! Thank you. 

From Departments

From Scott in Communications:

ALL-STAFF MEETINGS MARCH 13 WITH DR. COOK: Please remind all your building staff of the virtual meetings with Dr. Cook on Thursday, March 13. These 30-minute virtual meetings are open to all District employees, with two afternoon time slots to accommodate different work schedules. 

Dr. Cook will provide updates on bills making their way through the state Legislature and how they could impact our work to build a budget for next school year. He also will touch on directives related to public education coming out of Washington, D.C. Dr. Cook will leave time to answer a few staff questions. PICK YOUR TIME!

• 3:05 to 3:35 p.m. (best for elementary schedules)
• 3:50 to 4:20 p.m. (best for secondary schedules)

We will provide meeting links closer to the date. Attendance is optional, and we will provide recordings of both meetings afterward.

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Regarding administrator professional development March 5:

In preparation of our next admin PD meeting, please be sure to complete the Leadership Intention activity from Chapter 1 of Thriving Leaders.  Here is the document in case you want a digital copy.

We will also be talking about Chapter 2, so please read that prior to attending on Wednesday!

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From Ryan in HR:

Submittals are now being accepted for our Excellence in Education awards. This honor is designed to recognize BLS employees who have distinguished themselves during the 2024-25 school year with their leadership, innovation, outstanding professional practice, and positive contributions at work and in the community. 

We invite you to recognize and celebrate the outstanding contributions of our staff by submitting individuals who exemplify “service above self.”

Depending on your role, you may have the opportunity to recognize either a Certified Staff Member, a Support Staff Member, or both from your school or department.

• Certified Staff honorees should stand out for their dedication and excellence in areas such as character and leadership, innovation and creativity in their field, outstanding instructional practices and student outcomes, inspiring all students to succeed, community engagement, and contributions to the betterment of the district, school, students, and colleagues.
• Support Staff honorees should distinguish themselves through exceptional character and leadership, innovation and creativity in their role, exemplary customer service, mastery in their profession, inspiring all students to succeed, community engagement, and/or contributions to the betterment of the district, school, students, and colleagues.

Please select one Certified Staff Member and/or one Support Staff Member who embodies these qualities and makes a meaningful impact in your school or department.

The Certified Staff Nomination form is here: https://forms.gle/AhPovVCDaxD1Z6k89

The Support Staff Nomination form is here: https://forms.gle/n4MvEAz6KGEXt53r6

Please submit your honorees by Friday, March 21^st.

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From Jennifer in Student Services:

Bend-La Pine Schools and Wayfinder team up to celebrate #SELday in our schools, March 3-7.

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From Scott in IT:

We need to talk once again about security and keeping our organization and personal data safe.  Email phishing and scams continues to be our number one threat.  And lately, the bad guys have been busy.  Fortunately, there are actions both we in IT and you can do to protect our data:

Report any suspicious email message– Use the “Phish Alert” button in Microsoft Outlook to flag any suspicious message.  Of course, do not click any links in the email before reporting!

Note External Messages– Along with the yellow banner, you will now see the label “External” beside any message that is not from a Bend-La Pine user. In some cases, you may  also see additional information about the sender.

Only use Microsoft Outlook!- The security features that we invest in and maintain as a district are only available on Microsoft Outlook mail clients and tools.  Please do not add your work email to any other mail application (examples include Apple Mail, Gmail, etc.).

Soon, we will be disabling the ability for users to view their work email on third party applications.  There will be additional messaging to support users who will be impacted by this change.

Finally, you might have noticed our email phishing campaign has become a lot harder lately.  That is because the bad guys are also getting trickier as well.  Do not be afraid to over report when you are suspicious of a message!

HS Only

Principals: At our upcoming one on one meetings, we will discuss your school’s YouthTruth Data. Be prepared to discuss themes and next steps.

AP training requests are  DUE on this sheet by March 18. Even if you do not know the teacher who will need the training, submit a request.

MS Only

March Meetings: Time to sign up for a March visit with Stephen. Please choose a date this month for a 60 minute check in. Here is my Calendly link or you can use Outlook directly.

Calendar

• March 3: CTE and Elective Exploration Fly Up Day!
• March 5: Administrator PD – 3:00-4:30 @ Bend High
• March 10: TAG Admin/ICCL 3:45-5:45 @ Ed Center – Board Room
• March 10: Incoming 9th grade orientation night 6:00 @ BSHS, CHS, LPHS, MVHS, SHS
• March 12: Life and Career Readiness Night 5:00-7:00 @ Caldera HS
• March 13: 3:05 or 3:50—Take 30 minutes to participate in the All Staff Update with Dr. Cook
• March 13: Incoming 6th grade family night
• March 18: HS AP Requests DUE on this sheet – HS ONLY!
• March 21: Certified and Support Staff Excellence in Education nominations due
• March 21: EVE Survey completion DUE
• March 24-28: Spring Break
• April 14th: Personal Finance Training (required for HS teachers teaching the course) @Ed Center, Room 203 8-4.

Where in the World

In this week’s Where in the World, we are highlighting Jennifer Hauth! Here she is with her family before the December Chiefs game against the Texans. Her husband is from KC, MO so they have been long time Chief fans, even before Mahomes and Kelce😊

To Do:

Read and share this information with your staff by February 21:

From Paul in Operations:

Field Trip/Athletic/Club Transportation

All district staff are required to communicate with their administrators and the Transportation Department prior to scheduling an off campus trip. Below are reminders to keep everything moving smoothly and in compliance. 

• Submit ALL trip requests through BusHive as early as possible (months ahead). You may not arrange transportation for any school sponsored trip without first requesting through BusHive. Transportation staff will assist you with arranging ANY transportation for your trip.
• Questions about your trip? Call Daniel Lopez X5706 (Bend) Call Scott Steinhauer X5753 (La Pine)
• Don’t have a BusHive log in- Call Daniel Lopez X5706 (Bend) Call Scott Steinhauer X5753 (La Pine)
• Charter Buses- We do NOT use these unless we have no other options.
  • Schools cannot book these trips directly. You must contact Daniel Lopez X5706 (Bend) Call Scott Steinhauer (La Pine)
  • We are required to document use of any charter plus, plus a copy of the parent notification letter. ODE requires we maintain a documentation file for charters.
  • We have not used charters for several years. We have drivers & school buses available. 
• Drivers of students must hold an ODE certificate (Bus, Type 20, Type 10) for school sponsored event transportation.
• Student transportation must be provided in an ODE approved vehicle. (Bus, Type 20, Type 10).  
• Rental vehicles- contact Transportation prior to renting any vehicle being used to transport students.
• What about after a game? A student wants to go home with another family, but came to the game on a bus? This is between the student and the parent. The teacher, AD, coach should not be involved in this conversation, other than you know the student has permission from their parent to go home another way. If the teacher/AD arranges or organizes transportation for a student, the liability is on the school district- meaning we use ODE approved transportation. This area can be “grey”. Be very careful not to organize transportation outside of ODE approved transportation. 
• We understand that trips have been taken in the past that do not follow these protocols- we are working to clarify policies and procedures.
• Staff members who fail to follow these requirements may be subject to disciplinary action. 
• Questions?? Give us a call- we are here to help!  541-355-5702 

March Leadership Team Meeting

COO Ops leaders from Transportation, Facilities/Maintenance, Safety, IT and Custodial/Sustainability will be facilitating the Please submit at least one question, concern, curiosity or comment that you have for one or more of our departments at this link.

Network Outages

Be prepared for power/internet outages by printing a copy of Power & Internet Outage Emergency Protocols

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From Ryan in Human Resources:

Administrators and supervisors,

As we move through the school year, it’s important to ensure that we are handling employee resignations in a timely and compliant manner. If you receive a resignation—whether verbal or written—it is critical that you notify HR immediately.

Why This Matters

Oregon law requires final paychecks to be issued within strict timelines. Delays can result in statutory penalties and, if not processed on time, overpayments that require collection efforts. To avoid compliance issues, send all resignations to HR immediately (hr-certified@ for licensed employees; hr-classified@ for non-licensed employees).

What You Need to Do

1. Report Resignations Right Away – As soon as an employee notifies you of their intent to resign, ask them to deliver that information to you in writing via email and then forward that notification to HR. If the resignation is verbal and a written resignation will prove difficult to obtain, confirm the details with the employee and document the conversation before sending it to HR.
2. Do Not Hold Resignations – Even if an employee has given a long notice period, HR needs to process it immediately to ensure proper payroll and benefits adjustments.
3. Be Mindful of Final Paycheck Deadlines – Employees who resign with at least 48 hours’ notice (excluding weekends/holidays) must receive their final paycheck on their last day worked. Employees who resign without notice must be paid within five business days.

Failure to meet final paycheck deadlines can result in financial penalties for the district, as well as frustration for the departing employee. This is easily preventable by ensuring that all resignations are sent to HR as soon as they are received.

Your prompt attention to this process helps us maintain compliance, support smooth transitions for staff, and avoid unnecessary complications. If you have any questions, please reach out to the HR team for guidance.

Thank you for your diligence and partnership in this important process.

From Departments

From the Business Office:

Leave sheets only need to be submitted if you have used leave during the pay period. Please do not submit blank leave sheets.

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From Lisa:

1. Optional Admin PD Opportunities (sign up by clicking link and then clicking on the training of interest):
   1. SPED Law and Financial Management will be happening this Thursday. If you want to come this week, please sign up before tomorrow close of business!
   2. Other trainings available before Spring Break are related to SIOP, Evaluations and Feedback, Positive Behavioral Support Planning, and Instructional Frameworks. Click the link above to sign up.
   3. If you have an idea for a future training, let me know!

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From Paul in Operations:

Facilities Development Office 

The FDO project management team has been working on major construction projects.  For Bond Project Updates – visit: https://www.bend.k12.or.us/district/news-events/2022-bond.  And a recap of all the Bond Projects in this upcoming 2022 Bond Cycle – visit: https://www.bend.k12.or.us/application/files/3116/7407/4163/2022_Bond_Management_Plan.pdf

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From Jenn:

The First Step app, which includes important safety resources such as the Safe Oregon Tip Line and 988, is being removed from secondary student iPads due to technical issues. The BLS IT department will be pushing the two apps out individually to student iPads so that students may access help for school safety and/or mental health anytime they need it. 

Safe Oregon Tip Line

School Safety tip line to report and respond to student safety threats.

988

Talk or text for mental health struggles, emotional distress, drug or alcohol support, or if you just need someone to talk to; mental health counselors are here to support 24/7/365. 

This change will be effective Feb. 24, 2025.

Questions or need support? Reach out to Jamie Gunter, [email protected].

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From: Aimee Snyder, DrPH | Adolescent and School Health Supervisor

Communicating to Families about Sex Ed

A Head’s Up:  The newsletter content below about what to expect for Sexuality Education in Bend-La Pine Schools will be in the Feb 26 Family Spotlight.  If you’re concerned about any questions that may come your way from this district newsletter, here are the district’s talking points about sexuality education.  You can also contact Dean Richards and your Public Health Specialist for help with any questions you have.

An Option for You:  It is also an option to include this family communication about the district’s Sex Ed in general in your school newsletters.  Your Public Health Specialist will bring this ask to you so that you can decide when/if it goes out in your school newsletter.   This is an optional addition to what is required by law for family communications about Sex Ed.

Requirements for Sex Ed Family Communications:  Comprehensive Sexuality Education is required every year in 6-8th and at least twice in high school.  Per Oregon law, parents and guardians must be notified prior to the instruction, have the opportunity to review the learning materials, and can opt out their student in writing.  Unless your school has organized a different process, the default practice is to have secondary Health teachers email out one of these district family opt out letters and collect opt outs via email.  As admin, you don’t need to do anything to meet this requirement, other than checking in with your Health teachers to make sure they have what they need to email out their opt-out notifications and deliver their Sex Ed units.  

Calendar

• February 19: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
• February 25: HS Principal work session 8:00-10:00 @ Caldera HS
• February 27: MS Horizontal 3:00-5:00 @ High Desert
• March 3: CTE and Elective Exploration Fly Up Day!
• March 10: Incoming 9th grade orientation night 6:00 @ BSHS, CHS, LPHS, MVHS, SHS
• March 12: Life and Career Readiness Night – 6-12 @ Caldera HS 6-8pm
• March 13: Incoming 6th grade family night
• March 24-28: Spring Break

March 18: HS AP Requests DUE on this sheet

Where in the World?

We are highlighting our School Resource Officer’s and Deputies in this week’s Where in the World! They have been celebrated at schools this week and were honored at the school board meeting Tuesday night! We are so grateful for our partnerships with the Bend Police and Sheriff’s Departments and value these important relationships!

To Do

From Scott and Kayla in Safety:

Building leaders, please share this information with your staff next week:

In an effort to support our bus drivers and bus monitors, who sometimes are not able to access the main entrance of our schools because of where they have to park the buses, and because they are on a quick turnaround timeline, we have provided updated protocols for those employees to enter our schools during their duty hours to access staff restrooms. 

There are updated protocols for district bus driver’s and bus monitor’s access to school restrooms in our Culture of Safety document on the staff portal website here, and in the Safety Resources Google Drive (for administrators and office managers) here. The updated protocols are under the Access to Buildings Procedures section, paragraph (D), subsection (2) on pages 4 & 5 of the document.

Our transportation staff’s key card access will be limited between the hours of 7:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

Please reach out to the safety team with any questions.

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From Paul in Operations:

COO Ops leaders from Transportation, Facilities/Maintenance, Safety, IT and Custodial/Sustainability will be facilitating the March Leadership Team meeting.

Please submit at least one question, concern, curiosity or comment that you have for one or more of our departments at this link.

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Please share this with relevant staff:

Motivational Interviewing Training(s) 

Upcoming Opportunity for Staff involved with UpShift (those delivering the Teen Intervene Curriculum, screening students, or supporting administrators) 

Empower your staff with the tools they need to make meaningful connections with students and families.

Training Details

Join us for a 90-minute experiential training designed to strengthen motivational interviewing (MI) skills. Led by Heather Lynch, a seasoned Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) member, this session focuses on building confidence, fostering partnerships, and inspiring positive change with teens and caregivers.

Why Should Staff Attend? 

This interactive training will:

·        Provide practical MI tools and techniques.

·        Enhance communication strategies.

·        Support effective implementation of UpShift goals and outcomes.

Training Information and Registration Link(s):

Option 1:Wednesday, March 19th 2:30-4:15 pm at the Deschutes Public Library (507 NW Wall Street) Brooks Room 

Option 2:Wednesday, April 2nd 2:30-4:15 pm at the Bend – La Pine Schools Ed Center (520 Northwest Wall Street) Room 312

Encourage your team to take advantage of this unique professional development opportunity. Together, we can build stronger connections and foster lasting positive change in our schools!

Refreshments will be provided

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From the 1/17/25 post by Ryan in Human Resources:

Be sure your certified staff are aware of the timelines for finalizing grades/progress reports:

1. Progress Reports Submission Deadline:
   • Special Education Progress reports must be submitted by 4:00 PM on 1/31 this semester.
   • Middle/High School progress reports must be finalized in Synergy by 4:00 PM on 1/31.
   • Elementary progress reports must be finalized by 4:00 PM on 2/3.
2. Work Location for End-of-Term Days:
   • Employees who have met the deadlines in regards to grading and/or progress reports in previous semesters, and who have met other expectations surrounding the timely completion of professional responsibilities, will be permitted to work from an off-site location on end-of-term work days.
   • Employees who have not met these deadlines, and/or for whom their supervisor has further articulable concerns about the timely completion of professional responsibilities, will be required to work from their assigned school site.

From Departments

From Jennifer:

National Counseling Week is next week!

National School Counseling Week (NCSW) 2025 is Feb. 3-7, 2025, to focus attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within our schools. The theme this year is: School Counseling: Helping Students Thrive. The special week honoring school counselors provides recognition for school counselors who “implement comprehensive school counseling programs, a vital part of the educational process for all students as they meet the challenges of the 21st century”.

NCSW is always celebrated the first full week in February and there are multiple resources available below to help you celebrate school counselors next week at your school site. We will celebrate our student success staff the week of March 3rd during school social worker week.

Here is a “Certificate of Appreciation” that you can use for your counselors and click on slide below for some resources to help your school celebrate this week with your counselor(s)😊

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From Scott in IT:

Here is a good news sandwich from your IT department.

Top Bun- Beginning this week, our elementary report card is now available in 11 different languages! (Jason Schneider).

Bologna- Make sure your TV / projection system is off when you leave for the day! (Scott McDonald)

Bottom Bun- AirPlay functionality has returned to normal with the latest available OS update, (Chad Brewer)

Even if you prefer to not have Bologna in your “good news” sandwich, please try your best to choke it down today.  😊

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From Kinsey — Policy, Advocacy, & Office of DEI:

Taking It Up:

Great news: we have re-scheduled the Taking It Up workshop (postponed from August)!  It will be Tues-Wed, February 18-19 (full days).  

Substitute costs will be covered as applicable.  A notice will go out to staff early next week with instructions to sign up.  Space will be limited and this powerful workshop usually fills quickly, so encourage folks to sign up fast.  If you are a leader in our district who has not attended the week-long CFEE workshop or this two-day version that is Taking It Up, please consider arranging your schedule to attend.  

If you are a CFEE grad and willing to serve as a table facilitator, please email me ASAP.  Administrators, I am happy to cover the cost of a substitute for a teacher-leader in your building to serve as office support while you’re out (if you have an admin intern you could tap, etc).  

Linguist Link:

If you are experiencing issues with Linguist Link services (interpreters not showing up, no responses to your messages, poor quality of linguist services), please A) send a note via the “message all” feature of your project/request in the LL system, and/or B) shoot me an email to let me know. 

There are some transitions going on within those contracted services, but I have been reassured this should not impact the quality of service you receive.  As a reminder if you’re ever in a pinch, here are the various resources and levels of support available to you for translation/interpretation.  

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From Ryan in Human Resources:

We are very excited to be adding a Director of District Activities and Athletics to bring our secondary school athletic and activity programs together under one vision. This role is focused on ensuring that every student has access to consistent, high-quality extracurricular experiences, no matter which school they attend. By aligning programs across the district, we’re creating more opportunities for students to grow, connect, and succeed—academically, socially, and emotionally.

This will be a BLAST position and we’ll be posting this position on our site Monday and sharing it widely across the region to attract a strong pool of candidates. If you’d like to learn more about the role or have any questions, please connect with Ryan.

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From Paul in Operations:

We want to take a moment to clarify differing practices in our district with regards to animals on school grounds.  We have many playgrounds with this sign:

However, 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. 

In order to align our signage with our policy, we will be removing all fence signage pertaining to animals.  In place of those signs, our maintenance department will install one of the signs below.  They will communicate with the head engineer and building principal regarding where you want the new sign placed.

Building leaders have the authority to temporarily close school playgrounds in accordance with Facility, Playgrounds, Fields & Property Community Use Guidelines [here is a Spanish Version].   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.

HS Only

2025 Oregon Music Hall of Fame

College Scholarship Applications

OMHOF is pleased to announce that applications for our college scholarship program are available again with a deadline of February 14, 2025. Each applicant should be studying music and graduating spring 2025 from an Oregon High School and continuing to college in the fall of 2025 with a major or minor in music. We strive to inspire the continuing higher musical education by offering assistance with college expenses, so that these music students may aspire to a higher level of performance and success in their field of interest. Thanks to the generous contributions of EPB&B (11th year in a row), our scholarships rose from $1000 each to $2500 each (6 total) for 2024, including a special winner who will major in music education! ! In addition Oregon Music Hall of Fame is pleased to announce a new scholarship program, Gloria Johnson Scholarship for women studying Broadcasting, Teaching, Performance, Music Industry degrees. This $2500 yearly scholarship program is open to all women continuing their musical studies at the College/University level seeking a degree in these fields.

Any questions may be emailed to: [email protected]

An application form is available here: https://www.omhof.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/OMHOF-Scholarship-Form-2024-fillable.pdf

Women in Music Scholarship: https://www.omhof.org/music-education-scholarships/

All items must be mailed together, in order to qualify. All applications are fillable online, but must be printed, signed, and mailed (no digital copies accepted).

Oregon Music Hall of Fame

PO Box 82173,

 Portland, OR 97282

Here’s to creating the music of tomorrow through focused musical studies today,

J.M. Rundle

Janeen Rundle

Oregon Music Hall of Fame

Co-Founder & Director of Music Education

[email protected]

Calendar

• February 11: HS Administrator work session 8:00-10:00 @ Summit HS
• February 11: ICCL/Secondary Administrator 4:15-6:30 @ BSHS Perseverance Hall
• February 19: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
• February 25: HS Principal work session 8:00-10:00 @ Caldera HS

March 18: AP Requests DUE on this sheet

Where in the World

Keep those pictures coming!

This week, we are highlighting Mary Thomas her summer trip last year at the Kinderdijk Windmills in the Netherlands.

To Do

YouthTruth Survey window: The survey window is open until the end of January! The goal of each school is to get the highest participation from staff, students and families! Reach out to Dave if you have questions

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From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:

Immigration Guidance: 

Please read this information carefully, and reach out with any questions.

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Presidential Inauguration:

Reminder: Post-inauguration, some students will be walking into your building with big feelings.  The incoming administration has openly communicated upcoming changes intended to directly impact particular populations (immigrants, trans people, etc).  

Please ask your counselors to make themselves as available as possible for drop-ins if students need extra support next week.  If your team knows a particular student or colleague struggled after the election in November, make time on Tuesday to have a trusted adult or friend intentionally check in with them.  Thank you for your increased presence, vigilance, empathy, and grace next week. 

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Thank you to those principals who have submitted your SLGSS to your level leader. Please do so if you haven’t already.

From Departments

Mark your calendars! Our District Leadership Launch is scheduled for August 6 and 7. All administrators are expected to attend. Principals, please work with your deans to adjust their calendars accordingly.

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From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:

FAN Food Resource: 

The Giving Plate provides our families in need with weekend food through their Snack Bag program.  Recently, they let us know that their donations and volunteer resources are down, while the number of families they’re serving has been up: from 130 to 700 families weekly.  They are unable to meet demand and need to prioritize their core services, so the Snack Bag program is discontinued.  

While this is disappointing news, there are still many ways families can access food resources.  Please see the links at the bottom of this letter, with bilingual handouts listing current food resources in Bend and South County.  FAN Advocates have shared this letter with impacted families.  Feel free to print copies of the handouts linked there, to have available in your main office.

Want to help out?  One of the best ways you can support our families is to volunteer or donate to awesome programs like The Giving Plate or directly to FAN, so they can maintain their services and programs that benefit our families.  🙂

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From Ryan in Human Resources:

Remote work:

Per Article 15.8 of the CBA, Certified Employees are not required to report to their work site on end-of-term work days but must remain available by phone. Supervisors may require in-person attendance if there are articulable concerns about the timely completion of professional responsibilities.

To ensure clarity, we are setting the following expectations that will take effect for the second semester of 24-25 SY:

1. Progress Reports Submission Deadline:
   • Special Education Progress reports must be submitted by 4:00 PM on 1/31 this semester.
   • Middle/High School progress reports must be finalized in Synergy by 4:00 PM on 1/31.
   • Elementary progress reports must be finalized by 4:00 PM on 2/3.
2. Work Location for End-of-Term Days:
   • Employees who have met the deadlines in regards to grading and/or progress reports in previous semesters, and who have met other expectations surrounding the timely completion of professional responsibilities, will be permitted to work from an off-site location on end-of-term work days.
   • Employees who have not met these deadlines, and/or for whom their supervisor has further articulable concerns about the timely completion of professional responsibilities, will be required to work from their assigned school site.

Next Steps for Administrators:

• Notify employees with past concerns about timely completion of responsibilities – with detail regarding those concerns – as soon as possible (no later than 2 weeks before any potential end-of-term workday) if they will be required to work onsite on end-of-term work days. This communication will be followed up in writing with specific articulable concerns shared.

This practice encourages timely completion of professional responsibilities while maintaining flexibility for those employees meeting expectations.

Thank you for your attention to this process. 

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We are providing the following information from Article 14.1 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to ensure you are aware of the reimbursement policy for certified employees who use their personal vehicles for school or professionally related activities, including those staff who travel between sites in the course of a day due to split assignments:

• Certified employees approved to use their own automobiles for school or professionally related activities will be reimbursed at the current IRS mileage rate.
• Employees required to drive their own personal automobiles in the course of their work will also be reimbursed at the IRS mileage rate for the distance traveled between regular district work assignments.
• Certified employees who reside in La Pine and are required to attend meetings in Bend are eligible for mileage reimbursement.

The reimbursement process is consistent with IRS guidelines, which set the standard mileage rate and helps ensure that employees are not financially disadvantaged for using personal vehicles in the course of their work.

Reimbursement requests should be submitted using the AP-106 form and will be charged to your building’s discretionary funds. For staff who work at multiple sites, a good way to balance the budgetary implications across schools may be for the involved schools to rotate responsibility for these payments on a monthly or quarterly basis.

This information is shared so you can address any questions or reimbursement requests that may arise from employees. While there’s no need to proactively disseminate this information, we encourage you to refer to this information if you have questions or require clarification as to our practice.

Thank you for your attention to this and for your support in ensuring consistent understanding of contract provisions.

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From Andrea in Human Resources:

A reminder that employees and students should not bring pets with them to work or school. ING-AR: Animals in the Classroom or on School Property reviews the conditions and process for by which animals can visit classrooms or be on school property. If you have any questions regarding staff who identify a need for service animals, please reach out to the Human Resources Benefits team at hr-benefits@bend.k12.or.us

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From Culture of Care Team:

Happy 2025 from HDESD’s Culture of Care Team!

We still have space available for our upcoming Restorative Conferencing training on 1/30/25 (8:30am-12:30pm at COCC Redmond). This is the tier 3 formal, scripted circle used to repair specific and significant harm between individuals. This session is free and open to educators and our partners.

Register for all RP Opportunities here!

Culture of Care has also been updating our Restorative Practices resources:

·  New and improved RP Overview

·  Comparison of the different Types of Circles

·  Fair Process Guide

·  Consultation/facilitation Request Form

These resources can also be found on our website: cultureofcareoregon.org 

From Communications:

Grammy MUSIC teacher nominations! Nominate a teacher by March 15, 2025 for this prestigious award. Teachers do not need to be nominated to apply – they simply need to complete our application form by March 31, 2025. 

If you have any questions or need any additional information, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you for helping us recognize the contributions of our outstanding music educators!

Calendar

• January 6-31: Schools implement YouthTruth survey!
• January 23: BLPS Family Academic Night @ Summit HS
• January 24: Probationary Letters due to HR
• January 28: HS Administrator work session 8-10 @ Mountain View HS
• January 28: HS Principal meeting on careers class 10:00 -10:30 @ Mountain View HS
• January 29: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
• January 30: MS Horizontal – Pacific Crest – 3:00 – 5:00
• February 11: HS Administrator work session 8:00-10:00 @ Summit HS
• February 11: ICCL/Secondary Administrator 4:15-6:30 @ BSHS Perseverance Hall
• February 19: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
• February 25: HS Principal work session 8:00-10:00 @ Caldera HS

March 18: AP Requests DUE on this sheet

Where in the World

Keep the entries coming!

This week we are highlighting Reno Holler’s happy place! “47 years ago (that’s right folks… I’m talking the 1970’s) I spent my high school Summer’s with my then girlfriend/now wife (the lovely Cindy) and my band playing music in the bars of Canada. Back then you could be under the age of 18 and play music in the pubs.  We played primarily in Alberta and British Columbia. I still recall very vividly the first time we explored Banff & Jasper.  The color of the water, the glaciers and the 18,000,000 ravenous mosquitoes are what impressed me the most.  I have told many people that, in my opinion, the Canadian Rockies are the most beautiful spot in North America. A few years back Cindy and I returned and took our two sons (Logan & Devon) to see their first glaciers, eat their first helping of Poutine, and experience Canada’s two seasons (Winter &  Almost Winter). These pictures are from the restaurant on top of the Jasper Skyline Tram,  A must see for those that do not suffer from a fear of heights.  I would show you a picture of Cindy and I in our rock n’ roll regalia, but it involves me with a Mullet and the firewall is blocking that image at the moment. (it really is for the best. Once you’ve seen a Mullet, you can’t unsee it).

To Do:

From Lisa:

Reminders to complete professional development feedback form AND have ALL staff to complete COREN survey by January 10.

Remember to continue to use the PD tool for PD feedback during your SIWs. The information gathered from this tool will be reviewed in January in a joint Admin/BEA meeting regarding professional development based on the latest agreement. 

From Lisa’s email this week: In our efforts to continue to improve, please take a moment to give feedback on our December Admin PD time. In case you need a memory jog, we spent our time together with the goals of learning, reflecting, and connecting. We reflected on our leadership journeys, team needs, personal strengths and strengths of your colleagues, and the variety or roles you play as a leader. We also gave some awards to very deserving folks! Thank you in advance for giving your perspective. 

Secondly, another survey I would like you to share with your team is from one of our partners, COREN. This will give an opportunity for all staff to describe professional development interests. COREN supports many learning opportunities within BLP, and this information benefits both their organization and ours in the sense that it gives us access to supports for our current needs. Right now, participation has been limited so any encouragement you can do to give feedback is helpful. This survey ends on January 10th.

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From Jen: “BLS Academic Information Night” January 23rd

Please share this information with your families and students in beginning the second week in January

BLS School Counselors will be hosting our “BLS Academic Information Night” on Thursday January 23rd at Summit High School. This event is essential to our CSCP and district goals, as we aim to provide families with valuable resources for academic planning. Forecasting and the SchooLinks Course Planner are integral parts of our CSCP programming, aligning with our responsibility to support students with their Educational Plan and Profile, which we update annually. While forecasting might differ slightly across schools, the information and resources leading up to class selections and course planner are quite similar.  

We will have a general presentation followed by breakout opportunities for families to ask questions about their specific school site curriculum pathways and forecasting processes. You can utilize ASPIRE funds to compensate for your time, as this aligns perfectly with future planning efforts. We hope to have at least 1-2 representatives from each high school. Please refer to the sign-up sheet for various needs for the night.

We will promote this event at the district level and would love for each school to share the information through their communications as well. More details will follow!

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From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Office of DEI:

Upcoming events/dates:

Spanish-language FAFSA Night: Mon, Jan 13th.  Here is the flyer.  Thanks for distributing to your families and promoting through your channels!  The primary audience is high school, but staff or families from any grade level are welcome if they just want to get a sense of the process.   

Asian Family Night: Friday, January 31st.  Food, cultural performances and crafts, and a drawing contest.  More details to come—for now, save the date!  (Yes, I know this is grading day 🙂 )

Black History Month Door-Decorating Contest: Submissions due Wed, Feb 19, and winners will be announced Fri, Feb 21.  Prizes and recognition for the winners will be a little special this year.  Complete information will be shared with your staff via your DEI-ICCL rep in early January—for now, add these key dates to your calendar!  

From Departments:

From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Office of DEI:

Presidential inauguration:

This year’s presidential inauguration falls on the same day as Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.  It is a No-School day, but some priority-population advisory groups have indicated worry for the student experience and respectful interactions on Tuesday, Jan 21st.  

Our community has been relatively respectful post-election (which is great!), and we certainly don’t want to assume negative intent.  That said, continued preventive efforts can’t hurt.  In early Jan, make sure your teachers review norms and expectations regarding the dignity and belonging of everyone in your learning community, and the expected reporting procedures if these norms are violated (i.e. bias incident form submissions).  As you welcome students back from break, a family communication/reminder regarding these school-wide expectations is helpful too.

Please ask your counselors to make themselves as available as possible for drop-ins if students need extra support on/around Tues, Jan 21.  If your team knows a particular student or colleague struggled after the election in November, make a note on your calendar to have a trusted adult or friend intentionally check in with them that day.  

Complaints:

Your teams are doing really great with the complaint system—thank you for your visible and thoughtful efforts to respond, investigate, support, document, and communicate for each one you receive in your Dashboard.  Those take substantial time and energy, but they are investments in the trust and safety of your school culture, and your students, families, and staff notice and appreciate that.      

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From Dean: This email went out to your social studies teachers this week:

Dear Social Studies Teachers,

I hope this message finds you well and that you are looking forward to the upcoming break, which I hope brings you the opportunity to rejuvenate and refresh.

As we prepare to return to work in 2025, I want to inform you that we will be hiring a Social Studies TOSA for the remainder of the year. This position will start at the beginning of the second semester, February 3^rd, and will last through the end of the school year. This is a TEMPORARY position for the duration of the 24-25 school year. 

The specific tasks for this role include:

• Supporting peers on standards work
• Preparing for the Social Science adoption process for the 25-26 school year with implementation in 26-27
• Continuing the work on Tribal History/Shared History requirements from ODE
• Continuing work on Personal Finance requirements from ODE

There are two positions posted in UKG for flexibility. This role can be a full-time position for one individual, a part-time position for one individual, or a part-time position for two individuals with specializations. If you are interested, please apply for the amount of time you wish to work in support of your peers. There is no need to apply for both positions.

I understand that this is a unique position that may lead to some questions, so please reach out to me and I’ll get you answers.

Thank you for your dedication and hard work. Enjoy your break!

Best regards, Dean Richards

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From Sean and Sarah Barclay:

BEA Members and Colleagues, 

Many of you have reached out with questions about special education programming and expectations within Bend-La Pine Schools. First and foremost, we want to acknowledge the wide-spread concerns and confusion within our District regarding this topic. Over the last five years the Bend-La Pine Schools Student Services Department, previously known as Special Education, has made changes within their department that were well intentioned, but not communicated to the larger system of employees and this has led to uncertainty and misunderstanding. The purpose of today’s communication is to provide all staff with a shared base of information that we can use to build our future decisions upon as we move toward a shared goal of better supporting all students, including those who require specially designed instruction and services.

During the 2018-2019 school year a project known as Excellence in Education gathered feedback from staff, students, and families about their experiences in our schools. After receiving and processing that feedback, the Student Services Department set out on a journey to improve the inclusion of students experiencing disability into the general education setting. The BLS vision for special education is, “Bend-La Pine Schools strive to create an inclusive culture and environment for all learners, particularly for those that experience disability. We believe, to the greatest extent possible, that all students should maximize time spent in the general education classroom regardless of their special education services or related services. To this end, it is imperative that the educational planning process begins with services in the general education setting and ends with the need for specialized services in more segregated settings.” For more detailed information about this process click here.

We are reaching out today to share answers to frequently asked questions about our model for delivering special education services in Bend-La Pine Schools and to provide clarity on how we provide Special Education services in our schools. The Special Education Inclusion Questions and Answers (click link) will be updated as more questions arise.

Are we there yet? Inclusive practices and the improvement of those practices are a process. This work will not be achieved overnight, it will take time and training, it will take collaboration and conversation. All of which are precious in the public education system. As we continue this journey the Student Services Department is committed to listening to all employees, answering questions as they arise, and working with BEA to increase learning opportunities and continued clarity on this topic. The work we do with students is complex and working together to ensure all students have access to the support they need will lead to thriving community members in the future. 

In partnership, 

Sarah Barclay, President, Bend Education Association

Sean Reinhart, Executive Director of Student Services, Bend-La Pine Schools

Calendar

• December 23-January 3. Winter Break
• January 6-31: Schools implement YouthTruth survey!
• January 2: HS Curriculum Guides on district website
• January 6: First Day back from break
• January 7: HS Administrator and Counselor work session (rescheduled from Dec 10) 8-10 @Mountain View HS
• January 10: COREN survey deadline
• January 13: Spanish-language FAFSA Night 5:30-7:30 @ Education Center boardroom
• January 14: MS and HS Administrator work session 8-10 @Caldera HS
• January 15: Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30 @ PBMS (Safety admin leads should attend)
• January 15: SIW Educator Network Day
• January 23: BLPS Family Academic Night @ Summit HS
• January 28: HS Administrator work session 8-10 @ Mountain View HS
• January 29: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall

Where in the World

Thank you for all the entries! Keep ’em coming.

This week we are highlighting Kristy Knoll’s happy place! One of my happy places is coming down from the top of Black Butte. My oldest daughter and I hike it every summer, usually on Labor Day, as a way to mark the end of summer and get ready for the school year. We were able to find a “no smoke” window in this picture, and it was a perfect hike. The picture is on the way DOWN from the top because the hard work is done and it’s easier to enjoy the view.

To Do

Principals: Please verify that all of your Language Arts teachers have attended a required Book Club training. Our Secondary LA TOSA, Torie Withers, can confirm who has attended, if that is helpful. The next training is Tuesday:

Language Arts Book Club Training

Date: Tuesday, December 17

Time: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Location: The Big Room, Environmental Center 16 NW Kansas Avenue, Bend

Who Should Attend:

• Required for new hires or teachers who haven’t previously attended
• Those who have previously attended and are seeking collaboration with colleagues and planning time 

Training Focus: Learn how to structure and plan book club units, including:

• How to approach and plan a unit
• Selecting unit themes
• Teaching reading skills and discussion strategies
• Choosing mentor texts and book club offerings 
• Unit planning time

Language arts teachers are encouraged to attend this professional development opportunity. Please direct questions and RSVPs to Torie Withers. Thank you! 

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From Ryan in HR: Green Team administrator leads

As we continue to advance sustainability initiatives across our schools, we are asking each building administration team to designate one member to act as the first level of support for your site’s Green Team. Please fill out your admin in the MS lead or HS lead spreadsheets under the Green Team tab.

This role is not about leading the Green Team but simply being available as a point of contact and support for the individuals spearheading sustainability efforts in your building.

Each site has a 1.0 FTE Green Team Advisor, which is on the Extra Duty schedule. This is a new role this year and must be filled via the recruitment process.

What was formerly our Custodial department is now Custodial and Sustainability, led by Walt Norris, Director of Custodial and Sustainability. Walt is actively recruiting a Sustainability Coordinator, who will soon serve as the direct liaison for all Green Team Advisors. Once this position is filled and up to speed, they will provide additional guidance and support for sustainability efforts across the district.

From Departments

From Dean: Science curriculum adoption update

Middle School:

Teachers from CMS, HDMS, PBMS, PCMS, SVMS, 3 Rivers and LPMS are currently field testing LabAids in grades 6, 7 and 8.

The following teachers are participating:

• 6^th grade: Valerie Overely, Kelly Houston, Laruen McKeehan, Dean Pru’domme, Katie, Lyons, Jake Slodki and Matt Killebrew
• 7^th grade: Sarah Durfee, Jane Shein, Mark Alvarado, Stacy Welsh, Madison Hargett, Hannah Perkins, Jake Slodki and Matt Killebrew
• 8^th grade: Melody Craig, Tara Termes, Jackson Blackburn, Mark Segesta, Deidre Crabtree & Stephanie Kimbrell

This field test will wrap up by the end of January 2025.     

High School:

A big thanks to Colleen Behrens and the Science Curriculum Adoption Team for their dedication during the science instructional materials vetting meeting on December 5th. The team members included:

• BSHS: Ron Crawford, Heidi Friesen
• BTA: Missie Wikler
• CHS: Sarah Trakselis, Case Bateman, Kathleen Glogau
• MVHS: Jon Nichols, Gillian Kellock
• LPHS: Suzanne Jones
• SHS: Greg Lampard, Lisa Lamb

During the meeting, the team reviewed four curricula for the NGSS Physics program to be implemented next year: OpenSciEd, PEER Physics, Patterns, and BioZone. PEER Physics emerged as the top choice and will move forward for field testing in the second semester/trimester. The team will continue to explore curriculum options for Chemistry and Biology in the coming months.

Roll out of new Science Pathway:

25-26: NGSS Physics for all Freshman

26-27: NGSS Physics continues and NGSS Chemistry for all Sophomores

27-28: NGSS Physics, NGSS Chemistry and NGSS Biology for all Juniors.

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From Dean:

Next week an email will go out to Social Science teachers about a temporary SS TOSA position for the rest of this year. We will be posting an internal only SS TOSA that will help lead standards, professional development and begin the adoption process. This position will be temporary until the end of the year and begin second semester (2/3.) It is posted in the range of .5 to 1.0.  It will be available for both middle and high school social studies teachers to apply. We understand that this may cause some stress to your system with needing to hire a new teacher for second semester. Please reach out to Dean if there are any questions or concerns.

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From Eric: RE: Reviewing your “Incident Approval Queue”

If you don’t do this regularly, please remember to view your “Incident Approval Queue” in Synergy to Approve/Deny any Incident your school enters into Synergy. Any incident we enter as Administrators needs to be “Approved” this way as well, so many schools may have Incidents waiting to be posted that they believe were posted already. Here is a screenshot of what the screen looks like and what to search for in Quick Launch (we currently have 153 incidents district-wide waiting to be Approved/Denied!).

If you want to discuss this process, please call me at 4810.

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From Human Resources:

The HR office will have sporadic coverage over winter break,  from December 21 through January 5. To ensure a smooth workflow, please complete and submit any hiring requests by Friday, December 20. New hiring requests should be held until the office resumes regular operations on Monday, January 6.

If you are in the process of making an offer that will take place between December 21 and January 5, please contact Ryan Kelling as soon as possible to develop a plan for completing the process during this period.

Thank you for helping us maintain a seamless hiring process.

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We are launching an Administrator Assignment Preferences Survey to give licensed administrators an opportunity to share their preferences regarding assignments. This survey is designed to:

1. Gather insights into your preferences for school level, region, and program involvement.
2. Help district leadership evaluate potential reassignments that align individual strengths with district needs and to refresh school cultures where needed.

What the Survey Will Ask:
The survey will ask for detailed input on:

• School Level: Indicate your preferences for working at the elementary, middle, or high school levels, or in district-wide roles.
• Region: Specify any regional preferences across the district.
• Program Involvement: Share your interest in specific programs or focus areas, such as Special Education, STEM, Advanced Placement, Social-Emotional Learning, or others.
• Additional Considerations: You’ll have space to share any other factors or context you’d like us to keep in mind, including professional goals or areas for growth.

Why This Matters:
This survey is part of a broader effort to ensure our schools remain vibrant, innovative, and engaging places for students and staff alike. 

While we will make every effort to honor individual preferences, it’s important to note that some decisions may need to prioritize district-wide goals, ensuring the best outcomes for our school communities.

Next Steps:
To provide additional clarity and answer questions, this topic will be included in the agenda for the January horizontal meetings. These discussions will allow for deeper engagement and dialogue about the process and its purpose.

We understand that this may prompt reflection and questions, and we are committed to approaching this process thoughtfully, transparently, and with collaboration at the center. If you have any immediate concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Level Leader, Ryan Kelling, or Lisa Birk.

Thank you for your openness and engagement as we work to create the strongest possible learning environments for our students and staff.

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From Dave:

YouthTruth

Here is a one-page document to help with our YouthTruth survey in January. Our goal is 90% completion for students, 95% from staff and 50% from families. The window is January 6-31. Reach out to Laura Clark if you have question about the Canvas module or Dave with any questions about YouthTruth.

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From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Office of DEI:

Save the date:

Our district-wide Spanish-language FAFSA Night will tentatively be Mon, Jan 13th 5:30-7:30pm.  More details and flyers to follow, but for now please reserve this date (avoid scheduling school-based events that evening, if possible) and share with applicable staff like counselors, ELL, etc.

Complaints: 

Please see Kinsey’s recent email about complaint management.  Thank you for checking your Dashboards to be sure all complaints there are addressed (or more recent ones are at least in process) prior to heading into winter break.  Reach out if you would like support on them!

Just for fun

From Mr. Snowflake in IT

Greetings,

Watching everyone attempt to create a “six-pointed snowflake” was a special moment taking me back to my first year of teaching at Three Rivers Elementary 26.5 years ago.  

Before the winter holiday, a Sunriver resident named Jerry Sawyer would volunteer in my class to teach art lessons, one of which was how to create a true six-pointed snowflake.  He would talk about how every snowflake was unique, forged around a central piece of dust, and always started its journey from the sky as a crystal with six points.  Shout out to Pat McClain who is now teaching at Bend High and was a student in that class.  Most year’s since then I have done my best to channel “Mr. Snowflake” in the other schools where I have worked.  The “assessment data” on the floor yesterday demonstrated that many of you have yet to master the six-pointed snowflake.  This video will share the steps to create your own six-pointed snowflake.  Share with your staff if you wish. At the very least, you will have the answer key in the case you are tested again next year.  Thank you for reading.  And remember-dimple, snow cone, coyote head, torch!

Calendar

• December 17: HS Principal Breakfast @ 7:30
• December 19: Middle School Horizontal – 3:00 @ Cascade MS
• December 23-January 3. Winter Break
• January 6-31: Schools implement YouthTruth survey!
• January 2: HS Curriculum Guides on district website
• January 6: First Day back from break
• January 7: HS Administrator and Counselor work session (rescheduled from Dec 10) 8-10 @Mountain View HS
• January 14: MS and HS Administrator work session 8-10 @Caldera HS
• January 15: Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30 @ PBMS (Safety admin leads should attend)
• January 15: SIW Educator Network Day
• January 28: HS Administrator work session 8-10 @ Mountain View HS
• January 29: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall

Where in the World

Thank you for all the entries! Keep ’em coming.

This week we are highlighting Lindsey Warner’s happy place! Congratulations to Lindsey, who got married in November!! Lindsey wrote: My happy place is anywhere with my husband, Charles.  However, if I had to choose a place it would always be the beach!  We honeymooned on Kauai and Maui in November; the weather was amazing, the beaches were beautiful, and the trip was perfect. We saw whales, dolphins, and turtles while on Maui.  In Kauai we saw a lot of chickens and a monk seal.

We also attended a 49ers vs Seahawks game in San Francisco on our way to Hawaii. Go Hawks!

To Do

Due by today:

Principals, please submit your Calendar of non-contract days to Stephen or Katie TODAY (or when you first read this). Assistant principals and deans will submit one to their building leader. All admin will also start completing time cards for your leave (these are due by Sunday). There is information about the timesheet on the Staff Portal in the Payroll page.

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First Aid Reports from Stephanie Bent. Please check this document to see if you need staff trained in First Aid. Schools listed in red are required to train more staff.

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Due by 12/13:

Green Team Admin (From HR): We need each site to identify an administrator point person for Green Team related matters. Please fill out your admin in the MS lead or HS lead spreadsheets under the Green Team tab.

From Departments

From Lisa Keown (CTE TOSA):

The annual CTE Fly-Up Day is just around the corner on March 3rd! This exciting event gives 8th-grade students a firsthand look at high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and electives through ~20-minute rotations featuring fun hands-on activities. The format will be the same as in years past, with students bussed to their area high schools, arriving between 9:45–10:00 and leaving at 12:00. It’s a great opportunity for students to explore technical skills, creative pursuits, and other options to spark their curiosity and excitement as they plan for their high school experience.

Event Details

• Date: March, 3rd, 2025
• Time: 9:45/10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: The high school 8th graders will attend next year.

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From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Office of DEI:

FAN and the Holidays:

Just a reminder that FAN does not coordinate Christmas/holiday gift needs for families.  This has been the case for over 10 years.  FAN resources are maxed out prioritizing basic needs (utilities/heat, rent, clothing, hygiene supplies, food, etc).  There are many community-based organizations that do support religious or holiday-based requests like Christmas gifts, such as Salvation Army, Giving Plate, etc.  Here, here, and here are a few sample resources.  

What is the ask of you and your staff: 

• If you have a family seeking support with Christmas gifts or holiday resources: Please refer them to those community-based agencies, not your FAN Advocate. 
• If you have individuals wanting to donate holiday gifts and toys to families in need: Please refer them to those organizations, who are collecting and distributing toys and holiday donations.
• If your students/staff want to be directly involved in supporting FAN’s work: Organize a “Winter Weather Drive” to gather desperately-needed winter clothes for our students and families in need, not just for those who celebrate Christmas.  Thank you!

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From Lisa, the Deputy Superintendent. We look forward to seeing everyone at Perseverance Hall on Wednesday (12/11) from 3-4:30. During our time, we will be dropping into little snippets of the book, Thriving Leaders, while also eating and being merry. Please don your best/worst ugly/creative sweater too. Yes, it’s a competition- prizes await.

You do not need to bring your book this time, but please:

• Wear your sweater to the meeting
• Think about an object that represents your leadership journey (before the meeting)
• Think about all of the teams/groups you supervise and their differing needs (before the meeting)

Middle School only

Please share this linked message with your staff regarding our middle school schedule work. Note: there is one piece of info highlighted in yellow you need to edit.

Calendar

12/10: High School Horizontal – 8:00 – Mountain View

12/11: Administrator Professional Development – 3:00 – Bend High (Wear a sweater!)

12/19: Middle School Horizontal – 3:00 – Cascade

Where in the World

Thank you for all the entries! Keep ’em coming.

This week we are highlighting Monica Hanson’s happy place! Monica wrote: My happy place is Sand Harbor Beach in North Lake Tahoe. It is so beautiful and my family would go up there every summer. It’s where I feel most at peace and truly euphoric.

To Do

To be completed by December 6th:

Please send the following communication out regarding parent contacting staff in your next parent communication.

Emailing Your Student’s Teachers

Dear Families,

We know how important communication is for supporting your student’s success. We encourage you to reach out to your student’s teachers anytime you have questions, need updates, or want to share information. For a quick and easy way to contact your student’s teachers, follow these steps in ParentVUE:

1. Log in to ParentVUE.
2. Click on the “Class Schedule” button within your student’s account.
3. Look to the right side of the screen, where you’ll see your student’s teachers listed in blue.
4. Click on a teacher’s name, and an email form will open, allowing you to initiate a direct message to that teacher.

This tool makes it easy to stay connected, and our teachers are here to support you. Whether you have questions, feedback, or just want to touch base, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

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Watch the webinar by January 5:

From Dave:

YouthTruth Survey

This year we will be giving the YouthTruth survey to staff, families, and secondary students. The survey window is January 6 – January 31. Please find a few minutes to watch this short kick off webinar (you can watch it on 1.25 or 1.5 speed).

Elissa, our YouthTruth representative will be emailing school on Monday, November 18 with instruction for accessing the Survey Implementation Guide. I will follow up with additional information and resources as we get closer to the survey window. Thank you.

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Notification sent to families by December 6:

From Dave:

OSAS Testing Annual Notices and Opt-Out Forms

The Bend-La Pine website has been updated with the 2024-25 fillable PDF annual notice and opt-out forms that we are required to share with families. There are separate notices and opt-out forms for ELA/Math testing (grades 3-8 & 11) and the SEED survey (grades 3-11). Please share these resources through your commonly used channels (e.g., School newsletters, parent emails) and have copies available for parents to pick up in the office by the applicable dates listed below. 

https://www.bend.k12.or.us/district/academics/academics-overview/oregon-department-education-resources

ODE English Language Arts and Math State Testing

Consistent with the requirements of ORS 329.479, ODE has developed an annual notice (available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage) that describes these assessments, identifies the timeframe when the assessment will most likely be administered, and identifies an adult student’s or parent’s right to excuse the student from testing. Districts and public charter schools must provide parents with the ODE-developed annual notice at the beginning of each school year. In addition, districts and public charter schools must provide parents with separate notice at least 30 days prior to administering the statewide summative assessments in Math and ELA using the ODE-provided 30-day notice and opt-out form (also available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage), or a district-created form that exactly reproduces the language of the ODE-provided form. School districts and public charter schools must use the language of the 30-day notice and opt-out form provided by ODE to communicate with all parents about state testing requirements and their right to opt out for high school students by January 5, 2025, and for students in Grades 3-8 by March 2, 2025. 

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Notification sent to families at least 5 days prior to administering the SEED survey:

From Dave:

ODE SEED Survey

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

From Departments

From Scott in IT

Synergy Mail Issue and Resolution

The latest update to our student information system included a change in Synergy Mail, which removed the ability for recipients (families) to reply directly to the sender (teacher). This change was intentional by the vendor but was not communicated to any IT teams or any of their 6,500 school customers nationwide. As a result, we were delayed in communicating the issue and providing a solution.

As of today, November 14th, our BLS IT team has implemented an in-house fix that restores the direct reply functionality for recipients of messages sent via Synergy Mail. We understand that this issue may have disrupted important communication between teachers and families. Please let me know if there is anything my team or I can do to support you in reestablishing communication.

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From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Office of DEI:

Bias Incidents and Hate Speech:

When does a student’s comment to a peer or text on a t-shirt invoke our policies around sexual harassment, bias, bullying or intimidation, and when is it something permissible or protected?  What if a student is using a hand gesture that is known to be a communication of hate or oppression?  How do you balance intent vs impact, political speech, and a culture of dignity and belonging focused on learning?  If you have a tricky situation, need some policy guidance, or just want a thought partner, please reach out!  If you’d be interested in a collaborative conversation with other building administrators on how to navigate these incidents right now, please email me so I can gauge interest and need.  

As a reminder, please respond promptly to any complaints or bias incidents reported, including circling back with the reporter at the conclusion of your response.  This is a powerful way to show your commitment to the wellbeing and dignity of each member of your school community.

Latino Family Night:

Please drop by our 7^th annual district-wide Latino Family Night if you are able (invitation here–feel free to share).  The Woodburn High School mariachi band will perform (pictured here), and there will be dinner, partners, games, and fun! 

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From Jen:

It’s that time of year again.  November 21^st is College and Career Day in Bend-La Pine Schools.  As with last year, we are looking to draw attention to the multitude of pathways available to students after they graduate high school.  This is a K-12 day!  We want all students to be dreaming about what options they have after they leave our schools.  

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

• Dress as a professional
  • Encourage students and staff to dress up as someone from a career they are interested in.  Remember there are a lot of great careers out there!
• Wear college colors
  • Encourage students to wear the colors of a favorite college.  Remember, college can mean community college, trade school, 4-year university, etc.  Be careful with wording here as college brand clothing can be expensive and prevent students from feeling like they can participate.  Colors are more inclusionary.  
• Consider incorporating videos or lessons bringing awareness to careers and colleges. 
  • Our 6-12 sites could lean into some of the activities in SchooLinks.  All secondary students have required activities to complete through BLS School Counseling curriculum and to complete their Educational Plan and Profile, so this would be a perfect opportunity to complete one of these required activities.  Consider onboarding all your students if you haven’t already done so.  Students are required to take a “Find your Path” assessment when first logging in that will jumpstart the college and career exploration process.
  • Wayfinder also has some great resources, especially their integration with Roadtrip Nation and their Future Ready Collection K-12. For middle school, these have been added for the week of November 18th as potential advisory lessons in our scope and sequence.
  • Here is a great website from the State of Oregon called Career Journeys.  There are amazing short videos, lesson plans and other activities any teacher could do.
  • Also available is the Career Connected Learning Central Oregon website which allows exploration of career paths close to home.
• Consider inviting parents from the community in to talk about their careers. 
  • This could be done in a variety of ways from assemblies, to advisory, to lunch.  You could also ask parents to submit a short video of them talking about their jobs and stitch them together for students.  Remember our visitor and volunteer requirements if you decide to invite parents in.

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

Calendar

November 19: HS Assistant Principals work session – 8:00-10:00 @ BTA

November 21: College and Career Day! Send pictures to Becca

November 21: MS Horizontal – 3:00-5:00 @ Pilot Butte MS

November 25-29: Thanksgiving Break

Where in the World

Didn’t have a submission this week, so I am sharing this celebratory picture of our Administrator of the Year, Scott Olszewski:

To Do

From Student Services Leadership

Check-in with Health Teachers, Counselors, Sources of Strength Teams, and School Newsletters – Coordinated Suicide Prevention Efforts in Nov and Dec

We are aiming to coordinate a multi-pronged approach to prevent student suicides over the holiday breaks.  Please check-in with these individuals or support your Public Health Specialist to organize a School Health Team meeting to coordinate these efforts. 

• Health Teachers – Deliver their suicide prevention lessons and present these Help Resources for Students slides before the holiday breaks, in coordination with their counselors to assure any students with follow up needs are identified, assessed, and connected with help resources before breaks.  See the full message here. 
• Sources of Strength Peer Leaders (by way of your buildings trained Adult Advisors) – Promote crisis helplines and engage peers in identifying who they can go to for help over breaks and what Strengths they can use to cope with challenges over breaks.  See the full message here. 
• Counselors – Coordinate with Health teachers so that there’s a clear way to identify, assess, and connect students who need mental health support to help resources.  Counselors may need your help to protect their time so that they’re able to follow up with students who need help before holiday breaks. 
• School Newsletters – Include two suicide prevention messages in your school newsletters: one in November before break and one in December before break.  These messages will also go out in the district Family Spotlight and will be forwarded from your Public Health Specialist to you (or the person you’ve designated to compile your school newsletters) with a request to publish them.  

From Departments

From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:

Post-Election Resources:

As the presidential elections wrap up, we should anticipate and prepare to support the strong reactions, emotions, and conversations our staff, students, and families will experience.  As leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure our staff are informed, equipped, and supported regarding 1) the expectations for navigating this significant moment in time in a professional manner, 2) the resources available to them as employees, and 3) the strategies for supporting students through their own processing.

Here is a message for staff—I highly recommended you send this to your staff soon.  You are welcome to copy and paste this message verbatim, modify it to reflect your voice/style, or send something else.  Just don’t be silent on this topic!

Equity Stance Brochures:

I am going to re-print the brochure versions of our district Equity Stance.  (You received one at our August administrator launch.)  If you would like some for your school (ICCL team? PTA? A stack for the staff lounge?), please let me know by Nov 8th how many you need.  

Holidays:

Here is our policy on religion and holidays in schools.  Here is our “Do not schedule” dates document.  Here is a team reflection and guidance tool on holidays.  Consider reviewing these at an ICCL meeting, and/or sharing with all staff.  

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From Becca in Communications:

Did you see the latest Family Spotlight? The newsletter is solely devoted to safety and includes a message from Dr. Cook, resources for safe firearm storage, information about SafeOregon, crisis and care resources, details about our latest safety improvements and more. It can be a go-to resource when families have questions about safety in our district. Bookmark the October 30 Family Spotlight and have it at the ready!

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From Triz delaRosa, our new Director of Human Resources – Workforce Relations:

Here is the updated certified evaluation document for 2024-25

Probationary and temporary certified staff: 6 observations (Goals, 2 formals and 3 minis)

Attached you will find two documents to help you initiate the process with your staff.  Staff should be receiving notifications regarding goal setting in UKG.  There will be an option for you to review their goals once they have been completed in UKG.  You should also be working toward completing one (1) formal observation by the end of November and a second formal observation by end of January (both to be completed in UKG).

Please note that you will also be completing your mini  (3) observations throughout the year in UKG.

Contract staff ON & OFF evaluation cycle year: 3 observations

• One goal setting (by December 1)
• Two instructional/non-instructional mini-observations (by May 15)

Contract staff ON evaluation cycle year (in addition to above):

• Self-Evaluation (by May 15)
• Summative Evaluation (by June 15)

There will be additional information coming to you, as we plan to have ongoing instruction on how to complete all the necessary steps timely, and how we can support you in UKG.

Again, I appreciate your grace and patience as we work through the development and refinement of the evaluation process.  I know this information is coming out late and creating a crunch, but we are focused on having this information out to you all much sooner next year.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

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From Paul in Operations:

Building leaders are to pause any program expansion proposals (academic, athletic and extra duty) that will impact your site/facility until further notice.  We are in the process of creating internal procedures that will identify that necessary steps that will need to be taken in order to ensure compliance with regulations (i.e. Title IX, permitting, accounting), district policies, contracts and address departmental impacts.

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From Scott and Kayla in Safety:

Scott and Kayla will be out of town next week, November 4^th through November 7^th at a conference. We will continue to monitor our emails, cell phones, and text messages to support as best as we can while out of the office. If you have any emergencies that require immediate attention, please reach out to our Chief Operations Officer, Paul Dean for immediate support.

We are happy to announce that we are not staffed at 8 School Resource Officers in the district. Our newest SRO is Officer James Ragland, who will be working out of Pilot Butte Middle School. Please use the updated SRO point of contact roster to see who your current SRO is for your school, and to reach out to any members of the SRO team for support.

Middle School Only

November Meetings: Time to sign up for a November visit. Just one time this month.  Please choose a date over the course of the month. FYI: Stephen will be out November 6-8 at a conference.  Here is my Calendly link or you can use Outlook directly.

High School Only

Thank you for welcoming our Internship Coordinators, Sarah, who serves LPHS and Renee, who serves our Bend schools, to your building! Please support them in onboarding our juniors and seniors into internship opportunities.

Calendar:

November 5: MS and HS Administrator work session – 8:00-10:00 @ Cascade MS

November 6-8: Katie and Stephen at Synergy Conference

November 7: New Course Proposals Due

November 11: Veterans Day

November 19: HS Assistant Principals work session – 8:00-10:00 @ BTA

November 21: MS Horizontal – 3:00-5:00 @ Pilot Butte MS

November 23-27: Thanksgiving Break

December 10: HS Administrators and Counselors work session – 8:00-10:00 @MVHS

December 23 – January 3: Winter Break

January 3 – Choice Options Schools/Area Change Requests open for 25-26 school year

Where in the World

This week we are highlighting Chris Boyd, Principal at Caldera High School. Chris shared, “while my normal happy place is disappearing in the woods on a remote hike, floating a river, or climbing a local volcano on skis in the snow, dancing with my Central Oregon Stars was so much fun. 

My dance crew is near and dear to my heart. Love my dance peeps! We helped raised 107K for the Sparrow Foundation in Central Oregon.” Check out the Fresh Funky Fly Girls and a Boy!

To Do

From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:

Attendance policy:

Last call for any feedback on content as we update the attendance policy.  Reminders from our conversation at your recent horizontal meeting:

• The draft linked above includes all language from both OSBA’s sample and our current version.  We’ll weave them into one coherent policy, but we left all the language from both in order for you to review and give input on preferences regarding any/all of it.  
• Please share with relevant office staff and ask for their insights.
• Feedback we’re looking for:
  • Anything in this language that contradicts our preferred practices, or anything missing that we should add to capture current processes working well in your buildings;
  • Requests for training or procedural support related to this policy topic;
  • Please don’t make specific red-line edits—I’m just looking for your general thoughts on what’s helpful for you to codify in policy.
• Send your team’s feedback to Kinsey via email or phone call, by October 25
• Related to attendance: We’ll be offering an admin PD group to dig into best practices for home visits.  More on that soon!

Upcoming events and key dates:

Please mark your calendars for these events:

• District-wide 7th annual Latino Family Night:
  • Thursday, November 21st  5:30-7:30pm at MVHS
  • The Woodburn High School student mariachi band will be performing!  Come grab some dinner, check out their performance, and connect with families, students, and staff for some games and fun!
  • Invitation here.  Family Liaisons and Latino Family Advisory members will provide you with some copies, but feel free to share in staff and family newsletters.
• MAC Survey Day: This will happen sometime the week of Nov 11.  Please make sure your FAN Advocate can get in front of staff ahead of that week, to introduce themselves and remind about procedures.  Also, thank you for prioritizing your own time to claim an activity that day if at all possible.  Without you doing that, we can’t afford to have FAN Advocates in our schools (eek).
• LGBTQIA2S+ Alliance principal conversation:
  • Our Alliance group would love to connect with principals (or an administrator from each school) for some conversation and to learn about what you’re proud of at your school, as far as LGBTQ student/family supports, resources, and experiences they can seek out.  
  • Please plan to join us Tuesday, January 21st.  (I’ll remind you later—just mark you calendar 🙂)
• Reminder: 3 years’ worth of Holidays/”Do Not Schedule” Dates 

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From Scott and Kayla in Safety:

Please review the updated  AQI protocols on our staff portal. We have updated the AQI map resources for administrators to use to make real-time decisions on AQI readings near your schools. We will now be using the EPA Air Now Smoke and Fire Map or the Watch Duty AQI Smoke and Fire Map applications that provide real-time AQI readings.

We will also be forming a stakeholder committee to review the AQI thresholds for cancellation of outdoor recess, sports, and activities. We will use the feedback from that committee to make future decisions and potential updates to our AQI threshold levels.

The public facing district website AQI page will be updated with this information in the next few days.

Departments

From Becca in Communications:

Celebrate a successful start to the school year at Educators’ Night Out at the High Desert Museum!

Thursday, October 24, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

• New this year – join us for a special presentation for school administrators! We’ll share about upcoming grant opportunities and projects. Administrators will also have their own opportunity to win a raffle (we’ll even give you more tickets for each educator from your school you bring with you!)
• Delicious snacks from the one of the best chefs in Central Oregon – Luckey’s Woodsman
• Fabulous door prizes from local businesses like Bar Rio, Bend Pet Express, Greg’s Grill, Mountain Supply, and so many more!
• Register by October 22 here!

Middle School only

Horizontals: Based on your feedback we will be moving to one two-hour meeting a month on a Thursday from 3-5 starting in November. Additionally, the majority preferred walkthroughs for our additional time together. Stephen will be updating calendars and reaching out with details soon.

High School only

Upshift: Just a reminder to enter your data!

Calendar

October 22: HS Principal work session – 8:00-10:00 @ Summit HS

October 23: All Administrators Training – EWS training @ 3:00-4:30 BSHS Perseverance Hall

October 24: MS Horizontal – 3:00 @ Pacific Crest

October 29-31: Middle School Conferences

November 5: MS and HS Administrator work session – 8:00-10:00 @ Cascade MS

November 7: New Course Proposals Due

November 19: HS Assistant Principals work session – 8:00-10:00 @ BTA

Where in the world

This week we are highlighting Matt Kitchen, Assistant Principal at Mountain View High School and his Happy Place! Matt shared:  my happy place is on the water.  Fishing, boating, or just watching.  But the honest answer is that my happy place is who I am with.  This is a picture of me and my girls at a camp this past spring.  Being with people that I love and enjoy is my happy place.