Nice job Michael Hicks who was on KBND this week! You can listen to his interview around the new Cell Phone directive here.
To Do
Please remind your ICCL team about our training on 1/6 at Bend High – We will have a number of schools and teachers presenting on SBIG strategies that work.
From Departments
From Dave VanLoo:
Here is a brief resource to help administrators with YouthTruth implementation. YouthTruth goes live on January 5. Contact Dave VanLoo with any questions about YouthTruth surveys.
Here is this week’s Special EDge Student Services Blog. Please pay close attention to the STAS and SIRC process update regarding school psychs.
From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:
Community Engagement:
Don’t forget about the chance to win a gift card ($25-$49.99) to places like El Sancho, Spork, downtown shops, and more! Just a little motivation and token of appreciation for getting outside your building/office and into the community we serve.
All you have to do: Join your colleagues for quick tours of local service providers, tag along with your family liaison or FAN advocate on a home visit to check on a student, and continue the school-specific efforts you’re already doing. (Bingo card here)
Thanks to all of you who visited The Giving Plate this fall! (If you missed that round, it’s not too late–reach out to me.) Our next community partner visit is in January, to the Bethlehem Inn. Sign up here to participate.
From Gabe Pagano, Director of Activities and Athletics:
Here is the weekly for Winter Break – December 13th-January 4th, 2026
Calendar
December 20-January 5: Winter Break
January 6: Secondary Admin/ICCL Training – 4:15 – 6:15 BSH Perseverance Hall
January 8: MS ONLY – TAG Admin/ICCL Meeting – 3:30 – 5:00 – Ed Center Board Room
January 20: MS and HS Admin Work Session – 9-11 Summit High School
Where in the World
Congrats to Susie at Caldera for correctly identifying the image as a celebration of Kwanzaa!
Kwanzaa is an annual, week-long celebration of African-American culture held from December 26 to January 1. Created in 1966 by activist Maulana Karenga, it is based on African harvest festival traditions and aims to reaffirm traditional communal values, foster unity, and provide a cultural foundation for people of African descent.
This week, it’s Where in the World? Any admin who correctly identifies this location by Monday morning (after break) 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.
Carpoolto the admin meeting December 17th at Aspen Hall. The parking is limited so please consider riding together as a team. Additionally, we will be covering chapters 6-8, so please review before the 17th.
Send in Leave Sheets:
Leave sheets are due on Monday, December 8th. The time period we are recording for is 11/10/2025-12/07/2025.
Principals, submit your leave sheets to Katie and Stephen. Send an email if you did not take any leave during this time period.
Assistants, please submit your leave sheets to your principal.
Please ensure you have the Student Health Survey wrapped up by 12/22. We have many sites with no results yet.
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 Departments
From Dave Van Loo:
Here are links to use for documenting OSAS testing opt-outs and exemptions in 2025-26. These forms are like what we have used in the past and are needed for cleaning up data at the end of the school year. Opt-outs apply only to ELA and Math testing; anything else follows ODE’s exemption process.
In addition, principals and VPs can view students added to the opt-out and exemption forms at these links. These links contain data for all schools, but schools can filter their own students to help plan and manage testing.
Let Dave VanLoo or Stephanie Bent know if you have any questions or need other staff added to the response spreadsheets.
From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:
Policy Training:
Here is the slide with links to the policies we discussed via scenarios at your recent horizontal meetings. Let me know if you have an issue related to one of these scenarios or policies that you’d like to discuss.
Bias/Complaint Response Template:
As a reminder, most of our complaint policies require that you communicate your investigation findings in writing. This can often be an informal email format (for a bias incident between students, or a straightforward complaint where you’ve been communicating frequently with the parent or employee already), and other times a more formal findings document.
In either case, there are certain points you need to include in that written conclusion of the investigation (ex: your conclusion, how to appeal, etc). Here is a template you can download and use. It’s geared toward bias incidents and a formal format, but you can adapt and use pieces as desired. If this is overwhelming or unhelpful, disregard. I’m always happy to review a draft email or findings document to check it against policy considerations before you send it, if helpful for you!
From Scott and Kayla in Safety:
Thank you all for your attendance and participation at our second cadre meeting!
Here is the link to the Cadre and Student Services slides.
A few pieces of information that were discussed:
Here is the Health & Safety POC Roster- The best place to start when fielding your safety concerns.
Health Services Support During School-Sponsored Activities
Please ensure that parents/guardians of students who require specialized health services (e.g., diabetes management, seizure support, adrenal insufficiency care) are informed that the school nurse must receive at least two weeks’ notice before any school-sponsored activity that occurs outside of regular school hours (such as dances, movie nights, or Robotics events). This advance notice is necessary to arrange appropriate health supports.
For overnight trips, a request should be submitted by the parent/guardian at least four weeks’ in advance of the event to allow sufficient time for planning and coordination.
Parents/guardians can submit a request for health services support here (English/Spanish).
This guideline does not apply to athletic events or classroom field trips, as those requests must be submitted by the coach or teacher using the Request for Direct Care Nursing Services form.
PPE
Our post-COVID PPE supply is running low, and we are currently out of medium-disposable gloves. Prior to COVID, schools were responsible for purchasing their own gloves for general use, and we will be returning to that practice. The remaining PPE items listed below will not be replenished once they are gone.
December 10: Optional Early Adopter Drop in @ 8:00
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 20-January 5: Winter Break
Where in the World?
Congratulations to Kelly Beaudry for identifying the image from the secondary blog!
The image was of the Edmund Pettus bridge. The bridge became a symbol of the momentous changes taking place in Alabama, America, and the world during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s and 70’s. It was here that voting rights marchers were violently confronted by law enforcement personnel on March 7, 1965. The day became known as Bloody Sunday.
This week, it’s Where in the World? Check out this week’s image below. 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.
Don’t forget to promote College and Career day on November 20th is College and Career Day!.
Dress as a professional
Wear college colors
Consider incorporating videos or lessons bringing awareness to careers and colleges.
Consider inviting parents from the community in to talk about their careers.
We hope you’ll join in the celebration. Please send pictures of your participation to Becca Burda.
From Departments
Dr. Cook and Dr. Birk to provide all-staff virtual updates Nov. 18
Superintendent Steven Cook and Deputy Superintendent Lisa Birk will host an update for all District staff on Tuesday, November 18, with two 30-minute virtual sessions:
They will begin by recognizing several major accomplishments and celebrations from this school year. Other updates include:
State and federal funding
Long-term enrollment projections
Facility updates
Elementary and secondary priorities
They will provide the same update at the beginning of both meetings, then answer questions sent in from staff. Attendance is optional. If you can’t join either meeting live, we plan to share recordings with you afterward.
HAVE A QUESTION FOR DR. COOK?
Use THIS LINK to submit a question for the first meeting (3:05-3:35 PM)
Use THIS LINK to submit a question for the second meeting (3:50-4:20 PM)
From Dean in TLC:
Interested in having your leadership team attend a virtual SBG conference? Here is a LINK to the same group who put on the previous one many attended.
From Eric in Student Services:
We had a Community Justice Officer from Deschutes County reach out to a school this week with the following request:
Hello,
I am _____, (Student’s) Community Justice Officer. I was wondering if I can get a copy of (Student’s) Attendance, grades, and credits. I am not sure if this is the correct email to request all three. If there is someone else, I should reach out to or if you have any questions, please let me know.
Thank you.
For this specific student, we did not yet have a record of the student being on probation or an ROI to communicate with outside providers. After communicating with district legal counsel, the following was recommended as the reply to be sent to the CJO:
“We need you to provide us with a release of information or legal basis for releasing this information, such as a health or safety emergency as defined by ORS 336.187.”
If you ever get a request like this, you can also forward the requestor to me and I can work with them directly to get them needed information (as I am allowed).
From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:
Advisory Lessons:
Here is the final version of the Cellphone lesson, to teach before winter break. Here is the SBHC lesson again as well (for at least CHS, SHS, BTA, and Realms, although it’s applicable to MVHS and BSHS too if you skip slide 8). SBHC family letter and permission form to send home.
Student Voice Council:
We will be reaching out to a couple schools to meet with you and your SVC representatives soon (areas where we’d like the principal looped in on student issues). If you don’t hear from us but would like a meeting to check in on communication with your students, our facilitator team, and your admin team, please let me know.
From TLC:
Course Recoding: Clarifying Guidelines and Approvals
As we continue working to ensure accuracy and consistency in how courses are coded across our district, it’s important that everyone follows the same expectations around course recoding. Recoding should occur only in very limited instances and must always be pre-approved to maintain alignment with state standards, diploma requirements, and teacher endorsements.
When Recoding Is (and Isn’t) Appropriate
A course may only fulfill a subject area (“bucket”) if:
It truly meets the standards of that subject area, and
The teacher holds the appropriate endorsement in that subject area.
Recoding should not be used to make a course fit where it doesn’t belong. Even if a class seems related, it may not meet the academic standards required for a different subject credit.
Examples:
First Aid/CPR ≠ Health
While both are Social Studies, World History ≠ U.S. History – (World Studies = WS | U.S. History = US)
Sources of Strength ≠ Health
Courses with Pre-Approved Recode Options
Some courses have been reviewed and approved to count toward either a Science (SC) credit or a Career & Technical Education (CTE/FA) credit — depending on the student’s needs and the teacher’s endorsement.
However, each course may only count toward one area at a time, not both.
Course
May Count As
Notes
Human Anatomy / Physiology
Science (SC) or CTE (FA)
May count as Science credit only if teacher is endorsed and student needs the credit
Biotechnology
Science (SC) or CTE (FA)
May count as Science credit only if teacher is endorsed and student needs the credit
Intro to Animal Science / Plant Science / Pre-Vet Medicine (MVHS)
Science (SC) or CTE (FA)
May count as Science credit only if teacher is endorsed and student needs the credit
Natural Resources Science
Science (SC) or CTE (FA)
May count as Science credit only if teacher is endorsed and student needs the credit
These courses do not replace the district’s three-year science pathway required for all BLS students (Physics, Chemistry, Biology).
Approval Process
To ensure consistency and compliance:
All course recode requests must be vetted and approved by the Director of Curriculum & Instruction and team.
Accurate course coding protects transcript integrity, ensures students receive the correct credits toward graduation, and supports clear communication with families and postsecondary institutions. By following these guidelines, we maintain equitable and consistent academic standards across the district.
November 18: HS Administrator work session @BSHS 9:00-11:00
November 19: Optional Early Adopter Drop in 8:00-8:30 (virtual)
November 19: SBG Parent Night @ SHS 5:30
November 20: MS Horizontal @ CMS 3:00 to 5:00
November 24-28: Thanksgiving Break
December 1: SBG Parent Night @ LPHS 5:30
December 3: Optional Early Adopter Drop in 8:00-8:30 (virtual)
December 3: SBG Parent Night @ MVHS 5:30
When in the World
Congrats to Sarah Huddart who won the recent Who in the World competition!
Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019. Omar is the first Somali American in the United States Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota. She is also one of the first two Muslim women (along with Rashida Tlaib) to serve in Congress.
This week, it’s When in the World. Check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image AND THE YEAR by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.
Message to Counseling Admins: Please communicate the following to your counselors: We will only be conducting in-person 8th grade forecasting visits at middle schools that serve as large feeder schools to our high schools.
If a middle school does not feed into a high school attendance area, staff from that school will not be sent for in-person forecasting. Instead, they can provide support virtually and participate in 8th Grade Parent Night events.
Additionally, we will not be visiting private schools in person for forecasting this year.
There will be more discussion on this topic December 9th in an admin/counseling meeting.
Enrollment for the 26-27 school year will still open on December 10. The change is that the ACR/Choice HS timeline will open Monday, Jan 5. The deadline for submission remains Jan 23.
From Jenn in Student Services:
College and Career Day
It’s that time of year again. November 20th is College and Career Day in Bend-La Pine Schools. As with last year, we are looking to draw attention to the multitude of pathways available to students after they graduate high school. This is a K-12 day! We want all students to be dreaming about what options they have after they leave our schools.
Here are a few things you could do at your site to make the day a success. It would be great if classrooms or advisories could look to do something for just 10-15 minutes this day.
Dress as a professional
Encourage students and staff to dress up as someone from a career they are interested in. Remember there are a lot of great careers out there!
Wear college colors
Encourage students to wear the colors of a favorite college. Remember, college can mean community college, trade school, 4-year university, etc. Be careful with wording here as college brand clothing can be expensive and prevent students from feeling like they can participate. Colors are more inclusionary.
Consider incorporating videos or lessons bringing awareness to careers and colleges.
Our 6-12 sites could lean into some of the activities in SchooLinks. All secondary students have required activities to complete through BLS School Counseling curriculum and to complete their Educational Plan and Profile, so this would be a perfect opportunity to complete one of these required activities. Consider onboarding 6th and 9th grade students on this day if you haven’t already done so. Students are required to take a “Find your Path” assessment when first logging in that will jumpstart the college and career exploration process.
Comprehensive School Counseling Program and Lessons could be completed this week: High School and Middle School
Wayfinder also has some great resources, especially their integration with Roadtrip Nation and their Future Ready Collection K-12. For middle school, these have been added for the week of November 17th as potential advisory lessons in ourscope 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.
Consider inviting parents from the community in to talk about their careers.
This could be done in a variety of ways from advisory to lunch opportunities. You could also ask parents to submit a short video of them talking about their jobs and stitch them together for students. Remember our visitor and volunteer requirements if you decide to invite parents into schools.
We hope you’ll join in the celebration. Please send pictures of your participation to Becca Burda.
Wayfinder data Available:
Wayfinder Waypoints data from the summative assessment is now available for your MTSS meetings. I will work with elementary admin on Tuesday, November 4th to go over how to use it. High and middle school admin leads, I will meet with you all in our smaller teams in the next two weeks. Reach out with any questions. Elementary and Middle school Counselors will be trained on Wednesday, November 5th during shared SIW. We are still working to schedule time with high school counselors.
From Paul in Operations:
Work Order Submission Best Practices
When submitting a work order that requires greater visibility at your site, please include @[insert principal’s email], @[insert custodian’s email], and @[insert office manager’s email] in the comment section of the request. Doing so will:
Ensure that key staff are aware of the request, helping to reduce duplicate work orders.
Allow all recipients to receive automatic updates as the work order progresses.
To help our maintenance staff be better prepared and efficient:
Provide as much detail as possible in the Description/Summary section. This information helps staff bring the right tools and materials and may prevent multiple trips.
When possible, attach photos showing the repair issue. Photos help clarify the request and document the condition of the area needing repair.
From Kinsey – Office of Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:
SNAP Benefits and our Community – FYI:
As you may have seen, the anticipated federal shutdown is expected to disrupt SNAP benefits beginning in November. Many families in our community may experience reduced access to food for an unknown period of time. Local food banks are already reporting strain as they prepare to absorb the increased need.
We will share resources and reminders of local food services in the next Family Spotlight. In the meantime, please feel free to 1) print, distribute, and share these bilingual food resource lists with all families and with your staff (Bend, South County, Redmond), 2) if you feel moved, consider donating time, funds, or other support to any of these local services (you can easily google any of their websites and find the Donation button 🙂), and 3) if your PTA or Booster Club wants to support food access, encourage them to support these local services.
For those who visited the Giving Plate for our Community Engagement Bingo activity this week, thank you. Your presence meant a lot to their over-stretched team, now more than ever. (Missed it but want to visit and count that Bingo square? Contact me!)
MAC Survey – Action Needed:
With the SNAP food assistance program being frozen and our students being impacted, this is a great time to remember just how critical our FAN Advocates are for our community. Your participation in the MAC Survey process (completing your training ASAP, claiming time on the survey day in mid-November) brings in funds that pay for FAN Advocate positions, so that we have folks on staff who can help families navigate. Thank you for prioritizing this! Contact your FAN Advocate if you have questions.
From Gabe Pagano, Director of Activities and Athletics:
Here is the weekly for Athletics. October 27th-October 31st, 2025 Please remember, you can forward this to any coach, program, group of coaches, or folks you feel might benefit from the information in the Weekly Agenda. I am doing my best to title information blocks for high school or middle school to save you time in reading or sending out.
HS Only
High School Only: School-Based Health Center Access – Action Needed:
As we discussed in August, students at CHS, SHS, Realms, and BTA will now have access during the school day to the School-Based Health Centers at BSHS and MVHS. District transportation will be provided at no cost to students, families, or your school.
Students who need to visit a SBHC should connect with your FAN Advocate (or nurse as the back-up). That staff member will coordinate the appointment with Mosaic, arrange transportation, handle permission slip and attendance documents, and collect basic demographic information for the pilot.
Early next week, we will send your families this parent letter and a permission slip (Spanish and Chinese versions, too), so you don’t have to worry about that.
One action item for you: Please share this advisory lesson with teachers to deliver anytime between now and fall break (if possible). Advocacy Coaches are available to support. BSHS and MVHS: your students already have SBHC access, but the lesson is still a helpful reminder of available services — your teachers can simply skip slide 8.
Attention HS leaders: This information will be shared in our next spotlight.
Did you know that veterans of the Armed Forces may receive a high school diploma if they attended high school before their military service and were honorably discharged?
Under Oregon law, a school district shall award a diploma to a veteran who resides in the district or to a veteran who attended school in the district and lives elsewhere in the state. Diplomas also may be issued on behalf of deceased veterans at the request of a family representative.
These diplomas may be issued to veterans who served during specified wars and military operations or in designated combat zones over the past century.
The intent of this program is to help veterans obtain high school diplomas when veterans do not graduate because they left school early for military service, or if they need educational credentials to qualify for jobs and promotions.
Calendar
Weeks of October 26-November 3: HS Fall Conferences
November 4: HS Learning Walk @ Caldera HS 8:30-11:30
November 4: MS Learning Walk @ PBMS 8:30
November 5: Early Adopter teams – optional Q and A for Early Adopters! Weekly every Wednesday!!
Congrats to to Becky Aylor who correctly identified the image from last week as Rosa Parks!
Rosa Parks is famous for her courageous refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, which helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement. Her action sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, a pivotal, 381-day protest that ultimately led to the desegregation of Montgomery buses. Parks is often called the “mother of the civil rights movement” and is recognized as a symbol of nonviolent protest against racial segregation.
This week, it’s Where in the World. Check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.
Share info with World Language teachers: On November 17th from 8-11:30 we will examining our middle school and high school credit offerings. This conversation is optional, but World Language teachers are encouraged to attend. If interested, please arrange a half day sub and use the note “MS/HS World Language Alignment per April Jorgenson”
From Departments
From Scott in IT:
Synergy Mail Delivery Issue-
It has come to our attention that on occasion, certain Synergy (ParentVUE) messages are currently being marked as “spam” and are not able to be viewed by families with a TDS email address. We have already engaged both Synergy support and TDS to identify the cause and resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, please be aware that teachers using Synergy mail may occasionally receive a “bounce back” message from families who are unable to view their message. We will provide an update as soon as normal delivery is restored.
Looking for a few administrator iPads- As we transition students over the next two years to the iPad 11, we will be lean on older device inventory. If you are an administrator and you rarely use your iPad for your position. We hope you will “volunteer” to turn in your iPad to your IT Client Service representative. Thank you in advance for your help.
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:
Advisory lessons:
As discussed in August, we have an Advisory Lesson on the new cell phone policy coming your way soon. The lesson will be included in the blog on Nov 13, and all high schools will need to teach the lesson before winter break.
Additionally, we have a student-facing Advisory Lesson on school-based health centers as well. While it has great information for students at all high schools (and middle schools!), it is particularly important for CHS, SHS, BTA, and Realms, because it includes details on the expanded access options for your students to get to the BSHS or MVHS health centers during the school day. That lesson will be shared with you in blogs Oct 23, to be taught as soon as you can, before winter break.
Student organizing: clubs, petitions, etc:
Students have the right to gather and organize–examples include forming new clubs, circulating petitions, etc. However, we can put certain limitations on these activities, when done thoughtfully.
Here is the relevant policy with guidance for you. A couple reminders: No new student clubs should be forming without principal approval. If you believe a club, petition, or other student-organized activity is going to cause a disruption and should be prohibited, please contact me so we can discuss specific considerations.
Please remind staff about this policy and ask that they contact you if they are hearing about clubs or other student organizing that would require procedural considerations under this policy.
Family engagement calendar:
We now have an Outlook calendar to communicate and coordinate district-wide family engagement events and key dates! It includes district-wide events where families are the audience, such as Financial Aid night or Latino Family Night, as well as the “do not schedule” dates for religious observances.
This is a staff-facing tool, for awareness, access, and coordination of school, district, and program-specific family events. Please work with your office staff to add this calendar to your school Outlook calendar—instructions here.
If you are planning a district-wide event and would like it added to this calendar, please contact Dalia Juárez or email [email protected].
From Triz in HR:
Calendar for the Certified Evaluation Process
Contract – On Cycle
Probationary/Temp
October
Goal Setting form sent to certified staff (upload due by Oct 15)Your in-person goal-setting meeting counts as Mini #1
November
Formal Observation #1 Cycle completed (due Nov 15)Last chance to begin Focused Performance Review (Nov 1)
December
Administrator informs HR of contract non-extension
Last chance to begin Support Strategies (Dec 5)
January 15
Submit 1st Mini Observation
Formal Observation #2 cycle completed (Jan 15)
January 30
Notify the certified staff member of contract non-extension
Notify the certified staff member of non-renewal
April 15
Please initiate Self-Evaluations for your staff. Since all certified staff are required to provide an update to their goals, staff on a non-evaluation cycle need only to log their goal update at the bottom of the self-reflection form and are not required to submit ratings. (Due May 15)
May 15
All Mini-Observations Are Due
June 15
Summative Evaluations are complete and all documentation have been submitted to the HR provided folders/spreadsheet.
From TLC:
As a reminder, with grades now managed in Synergy, Grade Guardian will no longer be purchased at the district level. Individual schools may continue their subscriptions this year (at their own expense); however, once assignments and grades are fully transitioned into our standards-based system, many of Grade Guardian’s features will become obsolete.
From Dave in TLC
OSAS Testing Annual Notices and Opt-Out Forms
The Bend-La Pine website has been updated with the 2025-26 fillable PDF annual notice and opt-out forms that we are required to share with families. There are separate notices and opt-out forms for ELA/Math testing (grades 3-8 & 11) and the SEED survey (grades 3-11). Please share our website with links to the required forms using whatever methods you typically communicate with families and have copies available for parents to pick up in the office by ODE’s dates and timelines below.
Consistent with the requirements of ORS 329.479, ODE has developed an annual notice (available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage) that describes these assessments, identifies the timeframe when the assessment will most likely be administered, and identifies an adult student’s or parent’s right to excuse the student from testing. Districts and public charter schools must provide parents with the ODE-developed annual notice at the beginning of each school year. In addition, districts and public charter schools must provide parents with separate notice at least 30 days prior to administering the statewide summative assessments in Math and ELA using the ODE-provided 30-day notice and opt-out form (also available through ODE’s Test Administrationwebpage), or a district-created form that exactly reproduces the language of the ODE-provided form. School districts and public charter schools must use the language of the 30-day notice and opt-out form provided by ODE to communicate with all parents about state testing requirements and their right to opt out for high school students by January 4, 2026, and for students in Grades 3-8 by March 1, 2026.
ODE SEED Survey
Oregon law (House Bill 2656) requires each school district to make the SEED Survey available to students in grades 3-11. Parents or guardians may decline, either verbally or in writing, to have their student participate in the SEED Survey. Schools will provide parents with notice of administration and the process for declining participation at least 5 days prior to administering the SEED Survey. Students may also decline, at any time, either verbally or in writing to participate. Students may also decline to answer individual questions on the SEED survey.
Please contact Dave with any questions.
From Sean Reinhart, Jennifer Hauth, and Jamie Gunter
The Student Services Team is reaching out with a yearly reminder of protocols and procedures around suicide risk and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), as required byAdi’s Act (Senate Bill 52). We will be providing a series of updates to ensure that administrators are informed on updated protocols.
View the updated sudden death response procedures.
Review with all of your building staff on these procedures.
Ask all staff to contact their building administrator if they become aware of any information on the death of a staff member, student, or parent in your school community.
If a Staff member reaches out to an administrator:
Thank the reporter and ask that they don’t contact other individuals and share the news they have heard. Oftentimes the information is inaccurate or incomplete and unknowingly propagating rumors can cause harm.
The building administrator reaches out to Sean, Jennifer, Scott, or their Level Leader (in that order until the first person is reached).
Student Services will walk you through next steps.
Best-practice postvention around notification helps to prevent further harm or contagion, ensures accuracy and consistency, protects and respects the family, supports emotional safety, and lays the foundation for healing and recovery. If you have questions or concerns around this process, please reach out.
From Lillah in Safety:
All STAS/SIRC Teams:
After completing a Level 1 STAS or SIRC assessment, please upload the 2 page Outcome and Safety Plan into Synergy>Student>Documents tab>STAS/SIRC is a new Doc Category tab. The Doc Comment will be Outcome and Safety Plan.
The following people will have access to this document:
Principals and Assistant Principals
Counselors
Student Success
Athletic Directors
SPED specialist such as Pych’s
District Directors/Executive Directors
Please call Lillah Lehner in Safety with questions: 541-355-8854
From Tracy in Ed Tech:
From Educational Technology
We have technology tools for iPad behavior management! There are simple ways to monitor student screens, limit access to only the apps and websites needed, and give parents control of iPads outside of school hours. Check out Five Technology Tools for iPad Behavior Management. If you’re interested in a quick 10-minute tour of these tools during an SIW or drop-in time, please reach out to [email protected]
From Jennifer in Student Services
3- 12 Waypoints open until Friday October 24th end of day. Thank you to all of you that have had your students complete the assessment. School-wide student data will be ready for review on Monday, October 27th.
Some of you have staff in your Featured Content view in Wayfinder Usage Data that do not teach at your school. We are working on that issue with Synergy/Clever. For now, please use these instructions if you want to clean up your dashboard: How to Edit User Data on Admin Dashboards
Please make sure you have communicated the fall conference schedule with families and the structure you intend to use for signing up. Additionally, please create a system to collect information on how many families attend.
Calendar
October 21: HS Administrator work session 9-11 @ MVHS
October 22: First District Safety Cadre Meeting 8-9:30 @ PBMS
October 23: MS Horizontal – 3-5 pm @ LPMS
October 29: HS ONLY END Session 3-4, K-8 is in parent conferences
October 29-30: MS Fall Conferences
Weeks of October 26-November 3: HS Fall Conferences
Where in the world?
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Kelly Beaudry (AP at BSH). The image is The Mapparium, which is a three-story, stained-glass globe located in Mary Baker Eddy Library in Boston, Massachusetts. It is designed to showcase the world as it was in 1935 for the purpose of providing a unique, inside- out perspective of Earth, promoting global awareness.
We’re back with Where in the World. Check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.
Yearly Evaluation Notification (more info below as well): All staff members should be notified annually as to what evaluation cycle they are on and what they can expect to experience regarding eval process. We believe most of you, as site administrators, already have this practice in place but if you don’t and you need some templates, please feel free to use the e-mail templates listed below. This is also a good time to notify the member if you plan to address any standard that is not part of the abbreviated list in their End-of-Year evaluation. Questions on your list of staff? Reach out to Triz and Jessica Lamay- they have been coming to sites to walk admin through the tools as needed. Annual Evaluation Notification Templates
Your support is key to the success of this day. This is what support looks like for our teacher leaders:
Arrive on time to the session
Support the teachers leading the session – assist with whatever they need
Make sure teachers sign in and are accounted for – use the attendance QR code. Probably easiest to print and bring a copy yourself.
Actively participate the entire time of the session (model what we expect of staff and you will learn along the way, as well).
Mark Your Calendars: 8th grade CTE Fly Up will be Tuesday, March 3rd.
From Departments
From Operations:
Annual school fire inspections start next week
Bend Fire & Rescue will begin its annual fire inspections October 9 for all schools in the city’s coverage area – everything but our Sunriver and La Pine schools. The Bend city fire inspections are scheduled to run through November 7. Jim Scott, Building Services Manager for Bend-La Pine Schools, will notify each school’s principal and office manager of its inspection date the week prior.
From Ryan in HR:
We are excited to announce the first iteration of mid-year orientation and onboarding for new hires, beginning Thursday, October 23 and continuing every other Thursday for the remainder of the year.
These sessions are designed to ensure our new employees enter their roles feeling confident, connected, and supported. Each orientation will include:
Payroll, Human Resources, and Policy: An overview of organizational practices and role-specific information.
IT Support: Small group time to set up single sign-on and other key systems.
Union Introductions: Opportunities to hear from OSEA or BEA, if their position is represented.
Role-Specific Training: A half-day dedicated to job-specific skills and expectations.
For school-based staff, Level Leaders will take the lead on this portion.
For non-school-based staff, HR has collaborated with Directors, Assistant Directors, and Supervisors to develop tailored plans.
Important Note: All candidates who accept a positionafter Friday, October 10will not be permitted to start work until they have attended one of these orientations.
This new process reflects our shared goal of ensuring that every employee starts their journey with Bend-La Pine Schools on strong footing, well-prepared to contribute and thrive.
Thank you for supporting this important step in welcoming our newest colleagues.
Please connect with Ryan with any questions.
From Eric in Student Services:
If an Administrator at your site does not have Synergy discipline access (to enter Minor or Major incidents into the discipline module), would you please Email Eric Powell to let them know who needs access to the discipline module in Synergy?
We are working with IT to schedule a discipline module training for any administrator who needs this access and want to determine whom to invite to this potential training.
If you don’t know what the “discipline module” in Synergy is, then you probably need this training!
If you can create Student Incidents via this screen, you are good to go:
From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:
Dignity and Belonging: Community Engagement
Here is the Bingo card from our leadership meeting. Please keep a copy throughout the year that you cross out as you go.
This spring:
completed copies will go into our raffle for some great prizes!
we will share the number of leaders from each school/dept who completed the full Bingo, and celebrate the creative ways your team engaged with the community in this process.
Community Visit #1: The Giving Plate sign-up. The dates for this tour/visit are coming up, so sign up soon!
Here is our home visit guidance. Feel free to share with staff as applicable, and ask your Liaison or FAN Advocate if you can join their next visit.
Animals on Campus
Thanks for the conversation on this topic at horizontals recently. As a reminder, any animals on your campus must be approved by you. Policy here. Quick reference:
If service animal for staff: direct them to Benefits.
If service animal for student: contact Student Services.
Therapy animal, classroom pets, or other visitors: request form here, principal approves/denies.
Parent bringing animal at pick-up or school activities: this is prohibited.
From Triz in HR:
As we keep cruising through staffing updates, your Evaluation Rosters might not be perfectly up to date yet. If you spot anyone who shouldn’t be on your site list—or someone who’s missing—please email Jessica Lamay with the names to remove/add. Thank you!
What “ON-cycle” means
Contract staff marked ON-cycle were flagged because either:
we do NOT have a finalized summative in UKG from last year (24-25), or
they’re returning to the regular schedule from the 2023–24 cycle.
If something looks off, it’s often because last year’s steps weren’t fully finalized and the item is still pending in the system.
Quick checklist (2 minutes!)
Open UKG → To Do and complete/submit any evaluation steps sitting at your stage.
If an assignment still looks incorrect, reach out to Jessica Lamay and Triz so we can verify and update as appropriate. We appreciate you helping us keep everything clean and current—your attention here makes the whole process smoother for staff and students. 🙌
Linking Files:
Once you’ve dropped your files into the shared site folders
Please be sure to link them into the correct column of your workbook.
See steps in the samples below:
Click to select the file you are attaching in the workbook.
Click the ‘chain link’ icon to copy the link to that file -OR- Ctrl/Command+C.
Click on the ‘File Chip’ in the corresponding row and column for that employee/eval piece. Ctrl/Command+V -OR- Right mouse click, then click Paste, to attach the file.
Tab -OR- click on the file name pop-up (as above) to complete the attachment.
File is attached.
From Scott in IT:
It is Cyber October once again!
Beginning next week look for tech info, tips and tricks both in the blog and in your email as we recognize Cyber October.
We will also be bringing back the “Phishing Derby” with some even bigger prizes for reporting suspicious emails.
From Dean: We are now past the point in time where the iReady assessment can be used for bypassing a grade level. We will open the window again in the spring for next year.
We have our first round of admin walkthroughs 10/7 at 1:30 at Sky View. Team 1 is Anne Marie, Darla, Dave, and Julie.
Please remember to link the slides for each of your BD SIW sessions under the SIW planning tab in the HS Admin Handbook.
Proposals for new courses are due November 6. Proposals will be reviewed the following week and building leaders will be notified if they are approved and will be added to the district course catalog. Use this link to submit a proposal.
It is necessary for our students taking college dual credit courses through COCC to use DUO to access their accounts at COCC. DUO is the college’s multi-factor authentication tool and is required for students (both College Now and Concurrent) to access their COCC accounts and services.
Once students are no longer able to use their cell phones in January, they will need to access DUO on their iPads. Thanks to Tracy Howk, t is now available! TO DO:Please share this with your college dual credit teachers. Reach out to Katie or Tracy if you have questions.
Please review the important information about modified diploma processes and expectations highlighted in the Special Edge for this month. If a student is approved to be on a modified diploma and is taking modified coursework, this must be reflected on the transcript using a particular course code.
Bonus question this week. Email Katie the answer to this question correctly before Friday at 3:00 and get your name entered into next week’s drawing: What are the six “to dos” that must be completed prior to getting an out of state trip approved?
Calendar
October 7: Secondary Admin Tier 1/UpShift work group – 9-11 @ CMS
October 7: MS Admin Walkthrough (Group 1) – 1:30-3:30 @ SVMS
October 8: Educator Network Day
October 16: TAG Admin/ICCL training (MS only) – 3:30 – 5:30 in the boardroom
October 23: MS Horizontal – 3-5 pm @ LPMS
October 29-30: MS Fall Conferences
WHO in the World??
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Becky Aylor for guessing the strange creature highlighted in the blog last week! It was a hagfish! Did you know that the hagfish can make enough slime equal to 400 times their own volume!? Ewww..!
So Katie went rogue last week! I’m going to keep with the theme and mix it up with WHO in the world. Any admin who correctly identifies the person (bonus points if you can state what happened on October 2nd for this individual) by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.
Inform your admin and ICCL team about our first training 9/30 from 4:15 to 6:15 at Bend High. We will be looking into instructional strategies that align well in a Standards-Based Instruction and Grading classroom.
Action Needed: Tier I Start-of-Year Check-In
Please take some time with your ICCL team to complete the survey below before the end of the day on October 3rd. The survey should be done together as a team (one survey per school) and will help the Task Force understand the roll-out of Tier I processes across the district. The Task Force will use this information in our first meeting together to recognize bright spots across the district, share trends back to our educator groups, understand consistency, and identify areas that may need more support as we move forward. You can access the survey using THIS LINK. We are finalizing as we speak and this link will go live at 1:00 pm tomorrow.
Please confirm with your level leader that this newly bargained language in the Grades and Credit AR has been shared and discussed with teachers:
Communication with families regarding student progress in Secondary:
1. At the beginning of the reporting period, students and parents will be informed by the teacher regarding the basis of the grades and the methods to be used in determining them.
2. All schools will provide families notification communication regarding student grades at these key times during the school year: a. For schools on trimesters: i. Progress reports six (6) weeks into each trimester ii. Final grades at the end of each trimester b. For schools on semesters: i. Progress reports nine (9) weeks into each semester ii. Final grades at the end of each semester
3. Student work will be graded and posted in the student information system within three (3) weeks of the due date in secondary sites. Students submitted as assignment after the due date must inform their teacher of the submission, and work submitted after the due date will be graded and posted within three (3) weeks of notification by the student of the submission.
4. Graded feedback will be provided throughout the term at regular intervals
Please share the following from Laura clark with teachers:
Subject: Hiding Overall Grades in Canvas
As a reminder, overall course grades in Canvas have been turned off by default this school year through Canvas school templates. This decision was made to help ensure that students and families use Synergy as the official record for course grades and to begin transitioning them ahead of our planned move to Standards-Based Grading.
Canvas continues to be a valuable tool for communicating assignments and assignment-level grades, providing feedback, and supporting student learning. However, by directing families to Synergy for overall grades, we avoid confusion that can occur when two systems display grades differently and help build consistent practices in preparation for next year.
Thank you for your continued support in keeping our grading practices clear and consistent for students and families.
Please go into your Complaints Dashboard and ensure you have either resolved the incidents submitted to date or are actively working on them. (Looking for your Dashboard? See my email titled “Complaints” sent Aug 14.)
Take time with your admin team to notice trends so far: what is and isn’t showing up in your dashboard? How is complaint response going for your team? What feedback or opportunities are showing up there? If you have questions about complaint process, timelines, etc, reach out.
Please make sure that all teachers understand the “Why” behind the assessment and that the student results will help us to identify intervention skill building groups. Teachers need to read the instructions from the implementation guides to the students. This will ensure that we get quality data to inform interventions. Wayfinder will also recommend additional skill building activities based on what students in their specific classroom need.
This week, an invitation to attend a training about Student Threat Assessment went to all new hires who are likely to be involved in this process at your site (Admin, Counselors, Psychs, etc.). Participants can choose one of two training days (October 2 or October 6). Training will be from 8-4 and lunch will be provided. If you yourself, or you have a staff member who you believe should participate, please simply sign up using THIS LINK. Questions? Contact Scott or Kayla in Safety.
Welcome back to the new school year! We hope the start of 2025–26 is going well for you and your teams.
Action Needed: We’re asking admin teams to collaborate and identify staff best suited to serve in this year’s UpShift roles. This information helps us track returning team members and identify who may need training in the coming weeks. Please review and update the BLS UpShift Roles & Responsibilities document with your anticipated staff assignments by end-of-day Wednesday, Sept 24th.
What’s New for 2025–26: UpShift is now an “Opt-Out” program.
As of this school year, UpShift is automatically initiated following a first-time substance-related violation—unless a parent/guardian opts out within 24 hours of notification. Verbal or written parent authorization is no longer required to start the protocol.
The Student Code of Conduct was edited to remove any references to requiring parent/guardian consent and now links to an editable, public-facing UpShift Protocol.
See the “Response to Substances” page (page 12) in the published Student Code of Conduct. Click the link to the UpShift Protocol which is where it includes the opt out language.
SAVE THE DATE:Tuesday, October 7th 9:00am-11:00 we will convene secondary VP Admin (Principals optional) to discuss changes to UpShift, go over any questions/challenges, share any communication expectations and next steps.
Resources
Please visit the UpShift FAQ document for ongoing updates to questions that may arise.
From Aimee Snyder:
Last Call: Registrations for Monday’s Sources Adult Advisor (AA) Training
This is a last call for registrations for Monday’s Sources of Strength Adult Advisor (AA) REFRESHER training. We’ll accept registrations until the training starts at 12:30pm.
This is the link to register for the training. The training is Mon, Sept 22, from 12:30-4pm, at Bend Senior High School’s Perseverance Hall.
Click hereto see who is registered for your school.
We recommend for each school to send 2-3 Adult Advisors* to the refresher in order to maintain the Adult Advisor to Peer Leader ratio required for program effectiveness:
1:7 for middle schools and
1:10 for high schools.
*The minimum number of trained AAs for a school to maintain (“refresh”) depends on the size of their Peer Leader group, which is based on your school size. New AAs can attend the refresher, but they should meet briefly with your Public Health Specialist before to make sure they’re ready.
Sub coverage for your teachers will come from your school’s $5,000 Sources budgets. Sources budgets are for meeting Sources fidelity criteria, including trainings.
Contact your Public Health Specialist or Aimee Snyder with questions about this training or Sources fidelity criteria.
From Educational Technology:
We’re excited to share the new Guide for Bend-La Pine Students: AI in Your Learning. This 20-minute advisory or classroom lesson introduces students to AI use and academic integrity in a way that supports discussion and reflection. The guide is also available on our AI in BLS website. Many thanks to those of you who sparked the idea and collaborated with our team on this project.
From Kayla in Safety:
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 -location TBD
Monday, October 6- Pacific Crest Middle School
Safety Cadre Invites have been sent out. Reach out if you have been missed.
Dates are October 22, December 3, March 11, April 29
Secondary will be 8:00-9:30am, Elementary will be 1:30pm-3:00pm
*8888 Extension Reminder
When schools have an incident, we want to send a friendly reminder to use the *8888 voicemail. See handout attached you can share with any admin and front office staff. Handout here.
MS Only
We’re circling back to the summer email you received from Stephanie Bent, which included a list of students at your school who scored at or above the 97th percentile.
Next Steps: Please begin reaching out to parents/guardians of these students to obtain permission to move forward with the TAG identification process. Do not proceed beyond parent contact and permission at this time.
We will be introducing a new TAG form during our first district PD on October 16, so it’s important to pause further steps in the identification process until then.
HS Only
New course proposals will be due to Dean on Nov 6.
The secondary team will review them the following week and send notices to schools notifying you if they have been approved.
Calendar
September 23: Complaint Process Meeting – Invite Only 12:30 – 2:00 in Board Room
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
September 30: Secondary Admin/ICCL 4:15-6:15 @ Bend High
October 7: Secondary Admin Tier 1/UpShift work group – 9-11 @ CMS
Where in the World
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Dan Curfew, Assistant Principal at Pacific Crest!Potala Palace: Lhasa, Tibet was the answer. This iconic symbol of Tibetan Buddhism is the highest palace in the world. The Potala Palace complex, comprising the Red Palace and White Palace, is nestled on top of Red Hill. This landmark overlooks the Lhasa Valley at 12,100-plus feet above sea level and houses more than 1,000 rooms. The Potala Palace – which was originally constructed in the seventh century and substantially expanded by a dalai lama in the 17th century – once served as the winter home of the dalai lama.
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.
MS/HS Principals: Please fill out this form with your final list of early adopters. CMS and Realms, please fill out if your folks meet the criteria listed in the survey even if they’re not technically early adopters.
Student SBG Slides
Please find a way to have your early adopters share the following slides (or the same content) with their students.
This required assessment opens 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, I will close the assessment so the data is available sooner. End of the year assessment is scheduled for: April 28th – May 30th
For students in grades 3–5: When they log in to the Wayfinder platform, the Waypoints assessment will be clearly visible at the top of their dashboard. It will appear as a box containing the assessment’s name with a “Start” button next to it.
For students in grades 6–12: When students log in, the Waypoints assessment will be displayed in their “To-Do List,” which is typically located on the right side of the page. On a smaller screen like an iPad, the To-Do List may appear at the top of the screen. Students will see the name of the assessment and a “Start” button.
Students can leave and return to the assessment at any time, as their progress is automatically saved.
Please make sure that all teachers understand the “Why” behind the assessment and that the student results will help to identify students in need of additional skill building groups. They need to read the instructions to the students so that we get quality data to inform interventions. Wayfinder will also recommend additional skill building activities based on what students in their specific classroom need.
This was information was shared with all school counselors:
For the 2025–26 school year, we recommend not completing a school-wide needs assessment by school counselors. Between Synergy’s Early Warning System (EWS), Wayfinder’s Waypoints Assessment, and your school’s Request for Assistance (RFA) process, we should have sufficient data to identify students who may need additional targeted support. If, after consultation with your administrative team, you determine that an additional needs assessment is still necessary, please connect with Jennifer Hauth and Jess Calbreath before moving forward.
If your school chooses to administer a needs assessment, please follow the guidelines and best practices listed on thisdocument.
From Departments
From Ryan in HR:
UKG To-Do’s You may have outstanding Personnel Action (PA) items in your To-Do section in UKG that require your approval for employees, whether they are new hires or returning staff. Please take a few moments this week to review and approve these items. Timely approval ensures that employees are correctly rolled over in the system, properly credited for their service, and paid without delay.
If you have any questions or need assistance with the process, please reach out to HR-Tech ([email protected])
From Jess in TLC:
Dear Counselors and Administrators,
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.
This is a wonderful opportunity to launch an exciting season for our seniors, and we hope to see strong family participation.
Thank you for your partnership in supporting students through this important next step!
From Kinsey – Policy and Advocacy:
Cell phone policy:
As of Sept 9th, you’ll find here the updated policy draft related to cell phone use in schools. This is going out for community feedback on Sept 9; feedback will be incorporated as applicable into the final version for adoption October 14. Much of this language derives from state legislation and as such cannot be significantly modified. Secondary admin have also provided great input already. However, if you, your staff, or your students and families have feedback on these drafts, please share (see feedback form available on the webpage linked above). Engagement in our policy process is always valued and appreciated.
Office team trainings:
All Office Managers and Registrars will be out of your building for required trainings during afternoon SIW on the dates below. Please plan accordingly for alternative coverage or office closure on these afternoons. Thank you!
Sept 17, Oct 22, Dec 3, Jan 14, March 11, April 29, May 27
From Andrea in HR:
Certified Personal Leave Request Process Change
Human Resources is making a change to how certified employee personal leave requests are processed for the 2025-26 school year.
Historically, HR has been responsible for approval / denial of all certified employee personal leave requests. This created an unnecessary step for both sites and HR, especially since the BEA collective bargaining agreement does not require it.
Beginning this school year, HR review will only be required when a certified employee personal leave request falls within the restricted time frames outlined in the BEA contract.
Approval or denial of all personal leave requests that are outside of the restricted timeperiods will be the responsibility of building principals. Please familiarize yourself with the criteria outlined in Article 7.8 regarding Personal Leave and ensure these guidelines are followed when processing requests.
Personal Leave
7.8.1 The District recognizes that a Certified Employee may need time off for personal reasons. Two (2) working days paid leave of absence may be used as personal leave. If a bargaining unit Certified Employee works less than ninety-five (95) workdays (not including unpaid leave), the District shall provide only one (1) day of personal leave. Personal leave may be used for personal reasons if a qualified substitute is available. Personal leave may also be used for the employee’s illness/injury and the illness/injury of the employee’s immediate family. Personal leave shall be used in increments of at least four (4) hours when a substitute is required by the district. If a substitute is not required by the district or if the district approves internal coverage, personal leave shall be used in increments of one (1) hour. Certified employees scheduled for less than eight (8) hours in a particular workday will not have personal leave deducted more than the number of hours scheduled.
7.8.2 No more than five percent (5%) of the bargaining unit Certified Employees in a school or two (2) bargaining unit Certified Employees, whichever is greater, may take personal leave on a given day. The Superintendent or their designee may make exceptions due to unusual or highly extenuating circumstances. Exceptions made by the Superintendent, or their designee will not be revoked.
7.8.3 Leave shall not be taken during the first week of the students’ school year, the last week of the semester/trimester or the last two weeks of the school year. Leave shall not be taken during parent conference days. The Superintendent or their designee may make exceptions due to unusual or highly extenuating circumstances. Exceptions made by the Superintendent, or their designee will not be revoked.
7.8.4 The District will not rescind personal leave once approved by the Human Resources Department or Superintendent/designee.
7.8.5 The District will allow the following options for the use of personal leave:
7.8.5.1 Certified employees will be allowed to bank up to two (2) days of unused personal leave for future use, but no more than four (4) days of personal leave (two current year personal leave and two banked personal leave) will be available in any given year.
7.8.5.2 Reimburse Certified employees for unused personal leave up to two (2) days at the daily sub rate of pay. The District shall provide Certified employees payment within thirty (30) days of the last workday of the contract year.
We will be sharing this information with Office Managers on Friday, September 5, along with some more detailed instructions. In the meantime, please reach out with any questions. We hope this change will help make the process easier and more efficient for everyone!
From Sara in Student Services:
Please pay close attention to #4
From Gabe Pagano Director of Activities and Athletics:
September 11: HS Tier 2 Academic Intervention Team meeting 2:30 @ SHS
September 16: HS Administrator WS 9-11@ LPHS
September 25th: MS Horizontal @ PCMS 3-5
Where in the World
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Jamie Brock. Isak Heartstone, a large wooden troll sculpture located in Breckenridge, Colorado, along the Trollstigen Trail. Isak was created by the Danish artist Thomas Dambo who has created several trolls around the world. Check out this map to see where else you can find Dambo’s work!
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.
After the morning sessions on 8/27, 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. It is important to have your teachers participate in this work as part of the entire day of training.
SSC, SSI, School Counselors, School Psychologists will not participate as they will be in training at Caldera HS all day!
Look for an email from Lisa tomorrow with information on the new BLAST leave sheet and process.
From Departments
From TLC:
Curriculum Update
We are working hard to get all the final curriculum purchased and deployed. However, we know that there will be a few curricula that fall through the cracks. Teachers will be able to see all the curricular tools that have been assigned to their courses here: https://instructionaltools.bend.k12.or.us/ . If you hear from a teacher that they do not have access to something they requested, they should check there first to see if it is deployed.
We know that there are some teachers who have new requests due to a reassignment or now want a new curricular tool. Additionally, there are always a few tools that for no fault of the teacher, do not get deployed. We have created a process to record their need and expedite the curricular resource.
Here is a Google form that can be used to help us understand any missed curriculum. Please share with office staff who may be working with teachers in need of curriculum.
Health Curriculum textbooks, Live Well, will begin to arrive next week. Northwest Text Depository has emptied their shelves for us, but it looks like they are a few short. Skyview and 3Rivers will arrive mid-September. Teachers and students will have access through Canvas to digital text.
Standards Based Instruction and Grading Mini-Conference
On Wednesday, August 27th all teachers and administrators will be meeting at PCMS for our SBIG Mini conference. Please encourage your staff member to take a bus from LPHS, BHSH, MVHS or CHS to alleviate parking issues. We will have parking spots at PCMS, Miller Elementary, and Summit (for those who want a bit of a walk), but that will not be enough!
Also, please encourage staff to bring a device to access the Google Folder of presentations (available next week) and other resources.
Here is the 1-page document that teachers will receive when they walk into PCMS. This is for your information, do not share with staff. Presenters are still working to load presentations into the folder. General information was in last week’s blog post.
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 Ryan Kelling in HR:
Updated Requirement: Interviews for All Vacancies
In the past, Administrators and Supervisors were not required to conduct interviews when the number of applicants matched the number of vacancies. While this may have streamlined the hiring process, we have since identified it as a poor practice because it removes the opportunity to evaluate the applicant’s skills, knowledge, and ability to meet the demands of the role. This approach does not align with our commitment to selecting the most qualified candidates through a fair and thorough process.
Effective immediately, all candidates must participate in an interview before being considered for hire, regardless of the number of applicants or vacancies.
This ensures that:
Each candidate demonstrates proficiency and readiness for the role.
We maintain a consistent, equitable hiring process across the organization.
Hiring decisions are based on observable qualifications and competencies.
This shift strengthens the integrity of our selection process and supports our goal of bringing the most capable talent into every position. Please plan accordingly when scheduling your hiring process.
If you have questions about this change, please call me.
On August 27, your secretarial staff who input/track daily attendance will receive the following information regarding changes to our 10-Day Inactivation process.
*Synergy will auto-send attendance letters to families after a student has missed 6 consecutive school days (Unexcused or Unverified ONLY)
*Synergy will auto-send attendance letters to families after a student has been 10-day Inactivated
*Both of these letters request families to connect with the school to schedule a meeting focused on supporting the student return to school
*At days 3, 6, and 9, school teams are asked to designate a staff member to reach out to the family to check on the student
*If a student is 10-day inactivated, your school team can fill out a Request for Assistance to ask the District’s Tier 3 Attendance team for support with a Home Visit or family outreach
Thank you!
Also from Eric:
The Synergy/Tier 1 Slides for your staff if you need them are LINKED HERE
From Karen Rush with Ed Tech:
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.
Specific note for TRS, SVM, BSH, CHS, LPH, and SHS
Over the weekend of Aug 16, student schedules from your school were inadvertently released to Canvas. This was not the fault of school staff. A misconfiguration in our system released these data prematurely. The issue was identified on Aug 18 and steps were immediately taken to prevent any further sharing of student schedules to Canvas. On Aug 19, our Canvas admins removed the student schedules from the Canvas environment. At this time, we are aware that some families were able to view schedules for their students. Those schedules were not finalized and have since been removed. We are now in a state where student schedules will become available in Canvas on Aug 28.
If you hear from a parent or guardian, please let them know that drafts were inadvertently shared and may contain errors. Actual schedules will be available on Aug 28.
This issue did not affect teachers.
From Rachel Mavis in IT:
NEW Attendance Features!
L10 – New late (Tardy) code for Teachers and Office staff will use for students who arrive 10 minutes + after class start time. In the past teachers have been required to use Absence Unverified. By using a super late code, the student will be marked in class – but super late.
ParentVUE Attendance – Parents will have the option to submit attendance through ParentVUE. The attendance request will go into a queue, where the office staff will Accept or Deny. More details and information will be released soon.
MS Only
Please wrap up your part time schedules and share them with me this week!
HS Only
Cell Phone Policy: If you are interested in representing our HS team in a discussion, review, and feedback session regarding district policy for the new cell phone requirements, please contact Katie and Kinsey by Thursday the 21st – today! 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.
$ if you act fast: You could claim $1,449.58 to use towards attendance incentives THIS year. The first HS principal who emails me that they are committed to using the money to support attendance in 25-26, will receive the account code!
The BLPO enrollment changes are in effect at the beginning of this school year. HERE is the link to the guidance.
We are busy delivering congratulatory signs to students earning an outstanding exam score on an IB or AP exam or a Seal of Biliteracy. If you are interested in helping to delivery these to the homes of our students, please reach out to Scott Maben. The plan is to deliver them before school begins Sept 3.
By August 22:Part Time Schedules should be linked HERE
ByAugust 22: link/complete the inservice plan document and the teams/leads doc in the HS Admin calendar/planner
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 Julie Stroinski who won the 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.
Principal evaluations: Plan to have your SLGGS andself reflection completed and submitted in UKG by Friday, June 13.
Principals, you are required to have the evaluation process completed for Assistant principal evaluations completed prior to administrators leaving for the summer. Please let Stephen or me know if you need help or have questions about this.
From Departments
From TLC:
Building Leaders: remind teachers that we cannot require families to purchase any classroom supplies or instructional materials that are required to meet the goals of a course. If a student needs such an item to earn a grade in your class, the school must provide it! This includes paper, pencils, spiral notebooks and calculators, yes, even the $100+ TI-84 calculator!
High school leaders, many of your math teachers in advanced level courses require students to have this calculator. In this case, schools should purchase enough to have them on hand in the library for students to check out, just like they would a book. NO family/student can be required to purchase this expensive device.
Following up from a previous blog entry, please know that we will require that all requests to hire use the documents provided in the new hiring guide on July 1, 2025 and thereafter. We prefer that you start using these new documents immediately.
This guide can be found by looking in your “Recruitment” tab in UKG. It is labeled Administrator Hiring Guide
Thank you for your support for our efforts to improve practices.
If you have any questions or need support, please reach out to [email protected]
BLS Health Services is pleased to offer two CPR/First Aid training sessions this August for BLS administrators who need to obtain initial certification or wish to renew their certification before the school year begins.
Training Session 1: 📅 Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 🕗 Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM 📍 Location: Caldera High School
Training Session 2: 📅 Date: Friday, August 15, 2025 🕗 Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM 📍 Location: Three Rivers School
Due to limited capacity, early registration is strongly advised.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
HS Only
From Heart of Oregon:
To all of you who work in education, or support educational programs through your partnerships and referrals, thank you. Your commitment doesn’t just impact individual lives; it builds a more equitable and empowered society.
At Heart of Oregon Corps (HOC), we’re proud to continue that mission through our YouthBuild and Conservation programs. We’re looking to expand our reach—and we know that strong referral partners like you are the key to finding the right young people who will thrive in our programs.
If you know students who could benefit from building a bridge to the workforce through conservation, or those who may struggle with the traditional educational route, we’d love to connect with them. At Heart of Oregon Corps, our High Desert Conservation Corps and Stewardship programs pay young people to work outdoors in our local environments while building work experience and learning skills in land stewardship. They also develop soft skills that transfer to any job a young person wishes to pursue. Meanwhile, our YouthBuild program offers 16- to 24-year-olds high school credit recovery and GED education alongside training and hands-on work in construction or child and youth development—blending education with trade skills. All of our HOC programs provide supportive placement services.
Here’s what’s coming up:
Our next YouthBuild cohort starts October 13th.
High Desert Conservation Corps is actively recruiting for a new crew in September. A great opportunity for graduates after a celebratory summer vacation!
Stewardship is on rolling enrollment and currently full, but we’re happy to add your referrals to the waitlist.
Our summer programs are already filled for 2025, but we’re looking forward to next year’s opportunities for youth seeking outdoor summer jobs with the US Forest Service.
Please reach out with any referrals, or let us know if you’d like to discuss how we can best collaborate to serve more young people together. We’d also be happy to visit your site for a short presentation about HOC and answer any questions you may have.
Thank you for being part of this important work. Let’s keep building a brighter future—one student at a time.
Calendar
June 13: Last Day staff work day
June 16: End of the Year BLAST Luncheon @11:30 Ed Center boardroom
June 17: Mandatory AI training. Sign up if you have not yet attended a session: AI Training
June 17: MS and HS Administrator End of the Year wrap up. SBG focus! 8:00-11:00 @ Mountain View HS
Where in the World
We close out Where in the World this year with Brian Barringer, principal at La Pine MS, on the end of year 8th grade field trip. Have an extra scoop of ice cream this summer. You deserve it!
