Secondary Blog October 17 2025

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Stephen Duval

To Do

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.

Bend-La Pine Schools :: Oregon Department of 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 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 by Adi’s Act (Senate Bill 52). We will be providing a series of updates to ensure that administrators are informed on updated protocols.

Reminder: Postvention

Please review the updated protocols in the BLS Sudden Death Response Procedures For Building Admin & Staff. We will review this information at the December 3, 2025, Safety Cadre.

Action Item:

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

From Gabe, Director of Activities and Athletics

Here is the weekly agenda.

From Jess Calbreath, Lead Counselor

School Counseling Update

MS ONLY

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.

Secondary Blog October 10, 2025

Posted on October 9, 2025 by Katie Legace

To Do

Principals: By now, all students who have classes with SBIG early adopters should have reviewed the student-friendly slides shared last month. If this has not happened yet, please prioritize this.

Student SBIG Slides

MS SBIG Explainer

HS SBIG Explainer

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Implementing important changes to the Grades and Credit AR:

*If you have not already done so, review the important bargained change about the timeline for teachers to update grades in Synergy.

*Also, send communication to families about mid term grades: Note that schools are required to send communication to families about checking ParentVue mid way between each trimester and semester, as well as at the end of each term:

*6 weeks for trimesters (week of October 13)

*9 weeks for semesters (week of November 3)

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Share this with Early Adopters: Beginning Wednesday, November 5^th and every Wednesday after, secondary leadership will be offering an OPTIONAL SBIG drop in for early adopters via Microsoft Teams. The 30 minute drop in will be from 8:00 to 8:30 and will be a Q and A format. Please share this news with early adopters at your site. The invite will be shared next week. Cascade and Realms are also welcome to attend even though they are not technically early adopters.

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From Kinsey – Office of Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:

Election Season and Political Topics – Action Item:

Please share this principal/supervisor message with your staff:

Dear staff — As election season approaches, this is a good time to revisit our expectations around political topics in our school and workplace. While this November may not bring the same intensity as a presidential election year, maintaining neutrality in our professional capacity remains essential.

Here is our policy around staff engaging in political activities. This is a great tool outlining boundaries and appropriate use of district equipment, time, and resources in relation to election topics. District leadership asks that each employee read the information in those links carefully. Let me know if you have any questions or need clarification.

In addition, we know students may initiate conversations about politics, candidates, or ballot measures. To help navigate these moments: Here are 10 steps for teachers to prepare, navigate, and respond to sensitive discourse. Our district Advocacy Coaches are also available to support you in facilitating respectful and balanced discussions.

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From Ryan in Human Resources:

Quick Reminder: Check Your UKG To-Do List

Please take a moment this week to log into UKG and check your To-Do list.
Pending Personnel Actions (PAs) can hold up key processes like pay changes and assignment updates if they’re not approved in a timely manner.

Regularly reviewing your To-Do list, even when you don’t expect anything pending, helps keep workflows moving smoothly and ensures your employees are set up for success without delay.

This should be done regularly, but is particularly important on and around the Payroll cutoff dates, which can be found on the Portal on the Payroll page.

If you have any questions about what’s showing in your queue or how to clear an item, reach out to [email protected] for support.

Thank you for helping us keep things running efficiently.

From Departments

From Triz in Human Resources: Thought I would take a moment to remind you that the due date for SLGG’s is quickly approaching. (October 15, 2025)

Probationary and temporary certified staff and Contact staff ON & OFF the evaluation cycle should be completing this task.

Goal Setting & Evaluation Tools:

Student Learning Growth Goals (SLGGs) (ONLY Teacher, SPED Teachers, and Teacher Librarians- all other specialists use alternate goal-setting plan):

SLGG google form – Staff can either make a digital copy to complete or they can print and fill out a hard copy. These will need to be uploaded to your site’s certified folder in the Google Drive.
SLG Goals for Social Emotional Learning & Engagement is a great resource for those creating school wide or team SLGGs for non-academic areas
State SLGG Guidance
Teacher and Administrator Evaluation & Support Systems: Frequently Asked Questions
Elementary SLGGs tool.

Please let Jessica Lamay (HR Tech) and I know if you need any assistance with your evaluation google doc. We are here to support you.

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From Ryan in Human Resources:

Extra Duty Procedures for 2025–26

We have a number of new Extra Duty positions this year and want to make sure everyone understands the procedures for tracking, and maintaining these roles. The details below outline how schools should handle placements for the new positions, updates to existing roles, and ongoing expectations for managing extra duty assignments.

Newly Bargained Positions (Effective 25/26)

K–12 Green Team Advisor – Range F
Elementary Music Director – Range E
Elementary Yearbook Coordinator – Range E
Elementary Battle of the Books Coordinator – Range E
High School Link Crew

Placement Process for 25/26

If someone is already performing the duties of one of these new positions, please email [email protected] to have the stipend assigned no application needed this year.
- If no one is currently performing the duties of these positions, they must be filled through a competitive process – posting, interviewing, and hiring.
Future changes will follow the standard extra duty process: the current person resigns, the school requests a posting, and HR processes the hire.
Each school is allocated 1 FTE per position.

Ongoing Procedures and Reminders

Start Date: All year-round extra duty positions begin on September 1; complete hires before this date to avoid prorating.
Automatic Roll-Forward: Positions continue year to year unless HR is notified that duties have ended.
Annual Verification: Each August, HR will request confirmation of who will continue in each role.
Step Advancement: Each year an employee holds the same position, they move one step on the extra duty salary schedule.

Google Docs Tracking

All MS and HS Extra Duty positions are tracked on a view-only shared Google Doc so schools can see current assignments.
The Elementary Extra Duty Google Doc is currently under construction.
If someone is missing or incorrectly listed, email [email protected]; payment accuracy depends on these records.

Updates to Existing Positions

High School Musical Directors: Formerly offered every other year, this stipend is now available annually when a musical is produced. Total FTE remains 2.0 per school.
HS/MS Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Drama: Stipends are no longer tied to certified FTE. Staff offering the full complement of after-hours performances receive the full 1.0 FTE stipend per school.

Questions? Reach out to [email protected]

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Educator Network Day Success for Counselors and Student Success:

We had a great turnout yesterday at HDMS. Here is the slide deck with outcomes for our trainings this year:

Formalize and implement a clear framework for Tier 2 & Tier 3 mental health/social emotional interventions.
Establish a clear process to Identify, Match + Fit, Provide + Monitor, and Evaluate.

Waypoints open until Friday October 24th end of day. Thank you to all of you that have had your students complete the assessment.

Great job Summit (75%), La Pine Middle (84%), Westside Village (56%) and Buckingham (52%) for the highest completion rates for this week. Elementary will have lower completion rates as they do not have k-2 completing the assessments until October 15th. The K-2 formative assessment will be live for teachers on October 15th and will be open until November 21st. The assessment is only 3-4 priority standards and nine questions total. For K-2, the custom Waypoints will appear in the teachers’ to-do lists on the dashboard when they log in (starting 10/15). They will be labeled Kinder Beginning of Year, 1st Beginning of Year, etc. Instructions.

Here is the Educator-Observed Waypoints overview page (the 1 1/2 minute video gives a quick visual overview).

Class of 2025 Results are in!

From thousands of college applications to exciting post-grad plans, the Class of 2025 kept busy shaping their futures last year. Using SchooLinks data, we are excited to share a snapshot of their accomplishments and next steps. 💙

Check out the full story here by Jess Calbreath: secure.smore.com/n/f3z05

Referrals to Alternate Programs

We reviewed the new process with all high school counselors and the admin over counseling about the new referral form. PPT slide 12.

Sagebrush (Day treatment -Partial Hospitalization) Referrals

All referrals to this level of treatment need to come from a therapist or physician in the community. Some misinformation was shared with school teams over the last month that our counselors/clinicians can make direct referrals. There has been no change in practice.

Ranking Messaging for Schools

Just a reminder that we do not rank students. Here is the messaging from three years ago that was developed. Please reach out to me and Katie if you have any questions.

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First Aid/CPR tracking:

Your school’s online First Aid/CPR tracker has been updated through October 7, 2025. Here is the data by school.

As a reminder, staff are allowed to be trained outside of the BLS trainings with the exception being online trainings are not allowed. If you have staff who have taken a class outside of the district trainings, please make sure to send Michelle Spetic a copy of their First Aid/CPR card with expiration date so the information can be added to Business Plus (thus adding it to your report).

According to EBC-AP, all employees are expected to know where first-aid supplies and equipment are kept in their work areas. Each school shall have, at a minimum, at least one staff member with a current first aid card for every 60 students enrolled and in attendance for school-sponsored activities where students are present. Names of the first aid cardholders need to be posted.

Nurse Oliver Tatom is responsible for the first aid/CPR training classes. Nurse Michelle Spetic enters all First Aid certifications in BusinessPlus, and I will continue to run the reports.

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Cyber October IT update-

Just who is Bend-La Pine IT and what is the best way to get a hold of them?

There are 30 people who work in the basement of the Education Center who represent our IT team.

The document linked here shows you a little bit about what each person does and how best to reach them.

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UpShift Update from Heather:

Thank you for updating the BLS UpShift Roles & Responsibilities document with your anticipated staff assignments. Based on this information we are scheduling 2 trainings, one for Coordinators and one for Specialists. If you or identified staff need trained, please complete the Strawpoll(s) below or pass along as needed:

Additional Resources:

· UpShift Protocol: Please revisit the “Response to Substances” section in the Student Code of Conduct (page 12) for updates. The linked protocol includes detailed opt-out information.

· Please visit the UpShift FAQ document for ongoing updates to questions that may arise

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From Gabe, Director of Activities and Athletics

Here is the weekly agenda.

Calendar

October 14: HS LA Learning Walk: 8:30-11:30 @ BSHS

October 16: Climate and Culture Task Force 8-12@ Ed Center

October 16: Tier 2 Academic Intervention team meeting 2:30 @ MVHS

October 16: TAG Admin/ICCL training (MS only) – 3:30 – 5:30 in the boardroom

October 21: HS Administrator work session 9-11 @ MVHS

October 22: First District Safety Cadre Meeting 8-9:30 @ PBMS

October 23: MS Horizontal – 3-5 pm @ LPMS

October 29: HS ONLY END Session 3-4 K-8 is in parent conferences

October 29-30: MS Fall Conferences

Weeks of October 26-November 3: HS Fall Conferences

What in the world?

Congratulations to our winner from last week: Sean Keating for guessing the Who in the World image correctly! It was of Thurgood Marshall, who was sworn in as the first Black Supreme Court Justice on October 2nd, 1967!

To continue with the What in the World theme from two weeks ago, check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.

Secondary Blog October 3, 2025

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Stephen Duval

To Do

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

Admin ALL PD: Take a moment and complete the feedback form for our Admin PD yesterday. Go ahead and list me ([email protected]) as the facilitator and call it Admin ALL PD 10/1.

The first Educator Network Day is Wednesday October 8. Here is the info for sessions and admin assignments for Oct 8.

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 position after Friday, October 10 will 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 Gabe in Athletics and Activities:

Here is BLOG for this week: September 29th-October 3rd, 2025

From Jess Calbreath:

Here is the counseling BLOG for this week.

From Sara in Student Services (repeat):

MS Only

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.

HS Only

Here is the plan for the HS admin assignments for the END sessions.

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.

Here is the image for this week:

Secondary Blog September 26, 2025

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Katie Legace

To Do

Add these important Dates for forecasting 26-27 to your calendars:

November 6 (TH) *New Course proposals due

December 1 (M): Curriculum Guide content completed at each school

January 23 (F) 1-12 ACRs Due to Ed Center by 3:00 pm (online or hard copy)

January 23 (F) Choice Option Schools Deadline (grades 1- 12) OR remain open if no lottery needed

March 6 (F) *CTE/Elective Day at high schools

March 9 (M) Incoming 9th grade Orientation Nights:

BSHS: 6 pm in the Main Gym

CHS: 6 pm in the Commons

LPHS: 6 pm in the Auditorium

MVHS: 6 pm in the Auditorium

SHS: 6pm in the Main Gym

March 10 (T) Incoming 6th grade parent night

Dates for choice option schools family nights coming soon…

From Departments

From Dean in Teaching and Learning:

The district ICCLs have been hired! These staff members support the content area TOSAs and where no TOSA is hired, they work to lead advocacy, curriculum, END and professional learning for their content areas.

If you see your staff member on this list, please congratulate them. You may feel free to reach out to any of them if there is a question from one of your staff regarding curriculum or other areas of support

Leader	School	Position
Coleen Behrens	Ed Center	Science TOSA
Hannah Glantz	SVMS	MS Science ICCL
Gillian Kellock	MVHS	HS Science ICCL
Heidi Friesen	BSHS	HS Science ICCL (1/2 time)
Ron Crawford	BSHS	HS Science ICCL (1/2 time)
Suzanne Jones	LPHS	HS Science ICCL
Torie Withers	Ed Center	LA TOSA
Loren Renfroe	SVMS	MS LA ICCL
Joel Clements	MVHS	HS LA ICCL
Linda Adams	Ed Center	Math TOSA
Nathan Fincham	PBMS	MS Math ICCL
Aaron Johnson	BSHS	HS Math ICCL
Erin Hoffman	CHS	HS Math ICCL
Monica Freeman	Ed Center	SS TOSA
Jessica Colburn	PCMS	MS SS ICCL
Ryan McLaughlin	PCMS	MS SS ICCL
Tyler Running	CHS	HS SS ICCL
Kolina Watt-Garcia	CHS	HS SS ICCL
Neil Seibert	CHS	Health PE ICCL
Lisa Keown	Ed Center	CTE TOSA
Sean Glantz	BSHS	CTE ICCL
Julie Montoya	Ed Center/CHS	World Language TOSA
Kirsten Larwin	BSHS	World Language ICCL
Sarah Irvin	MVHS/SVMS	Choir ICCL
Sarah Owen	HDMS	Band ICCL
Brenda Simmons	HDMS	Orchestra ICCL
Stephanie Hemstead	RMS	Fine Art ICCL
Lindsay Nickerson	CHS	Theater ICCL
Shelby Paulson	Ed Center	District Librarian

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From Jenn:

Please see the updated Outside Behavioral Health Memo that discusses our approved behavioral health and case management providers, as well as, attendance codes.

The required Waypoints summative assessment is open for 3-12!

Great job Pacific Crest, Bend High, Highland and Three Rivers for the highest completion rates so far!!

If you want to see the classroom/advisory completion rates for your school, you can follow these steps to view Waypoints completions rates by class:

Switch to your School Admin role (see How to Change Your Role). If you do not see a System Admin role, please email Austin James to have this setup for you.
Click on “Waypoints” from the left-hand navigation menu
On the Waypoints page, select “Summative” on the left-hand side
In the Completion Rate box, you can view the overall completion percentage across the whole school
To view the completion percentage by class, click on the “View Details” button in the Completion Rate box

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From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:

Religion and Holidays: -Action Items-

Please share this policy with your staff. I recommend asking your staff to review and following up in particular with your Music teachers and those planning holiday events.

Here is the “Do Not Schedule” document of cultural and holidays, updated with 25-26, 26-27, and now the 27-28 dates. Be sure your office staff and those who plan events and activities have this updated version.

Here (scroll down to October) are student-facing materials on Halloween and costumes.

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From Scott and Kayla in Safety:

Safety Drills:

Just a reminder that you should not be scheduling drills back to back (for example, a fire drill then a lock down drill). Please run them each as separate drills. Reach out to Scott or Kayla if you have questions.

STAS/SIRC Training

All new admin and counselors have been asked to attend one of the 8-hour sessions. REGISTER HERE.
Training dates are:
- Thursday, October 2 -Mountain View High School
- Monday, October 6- Pacific Crest Middle School

If you have any questions reach out to Lillah Lehner ([email protected])

CALL FOR RAPTOR PHOTOS & SUCCESS STORIES

The Safety Team has been asked to present at a national conference on best practices for visitor management. If you have any success stories of using Raptor (custom alerts, large events, etc), please share them with us. We would really appreciate the opportunity to highlight our schools’ amazing work. So far, we have only had two schools share with us!

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From Gabe in Athletics and Activities:

Here is BLOG for this week: September 22nd-26th, 2025

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From Jess Calbreath:

Here is the counseling BLOG for this week. Email Katie the answer to this question correctly before Friday at 5:00 and get your name entered into next week’s drawing: Of all of the students who submitted an application to a four or two year degree last year, what percentage received an offer?

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From Transportation

Reminder: Transportation staff are allowed to enter the building to use the bathroom. They are not required to walk around to the front of the building and “check in”. Please direct them to the nearest staff bathroom by the bus entrance. Thank you!!

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From Maintenance

We’d ask that schools submit work order for keys, locks or any other maintenance issues at a school. You can find a link to it on the Staff Portal>right hand column> toward the bottom>Hero HQ.

The benefit to the person who submits the request (it can be any staff member), is that they get to see the updates as maintenance staff addresses it. In addition, it allows our maintenance department to track and analyze the work being performed by our staff.

As an FYI, here is our Maintenance Department Structure and staff responsibilities

Calendar

September 29: LA Book Club Training 8-1@ Ed Center Board Room- Admin overseeing LA required to attend

September 30: Secondary Admin/ICCL 4:15-6:15 @ Bend High

October 1: All Admin Training 3:00-4:30 @ Perseverance Hall, Bend Senior High; read Chapters 1 and 2

October 7: Secondary Admin Tier 1/UpShift work group – 9-11 @ CMS

What in the World??

Congratulations to our winner from last week: Anne Marie Schmidt, Assistant Principal at Pacific Crest Middle School! The image was of the Dutch Windmill in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

We are mixing things up this week! Instead of an image of a location, we are highlighting an unusual animal. Any admin who correctly identifies the animal (be specific!) by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.

Here is the image for this week:

Secondary Blog September 19, 2025

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Stephen Duval

To Do

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.

How do I Hide Totals in Students’ Grade Summaries?

From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:

Complaints: Recommended action item:

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.

From Departments

From Jennifer in Student Services:

Please see our Guidance for School Wide Assemblies. Reach out if you have any questions.

The required Waypoints summative assessment is now open for 3-12! K-2 teacher observed will be ready October 1st.

o 3-5 Implementation Guide

o 6-12 Implementation Guide and 6-12 Teacher Directions

o Admin Tutorial Video

Please review the help documents, from blog #2.

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.

Guidance for School Wide Assemblies for Climate/Culture/Connection

From Lisa in the Supe’s Office:

Student Threat Assessment Training:

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.

From Sara in Student Services:

Seclusion Considerations and Guidance (3)Download

From Heather Tang with Deschutes County:

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 here to 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.

Here is the image for this week:

Secondary Blog September 12, 2025

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Katie Legace

To Do Reminder

Reminder: The Waypoints Assessment for grades 3-12 is open NOW:

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, we will close the assessment so the data is available sooner.

This is a good data point to include in your School Improvement Plan under your Climate and Culture goal.

End of the year assessment is scheduled for: April 28^th – May 30^th

From Departments

From Educational Technology

We have some exciting things to share! The first one is an especially big deal. Please pass these onto your staff.

New Resource: Swank 🎥

Swank is our district’s new streaming service for feature films, offering a library of 215 titles, with the option to request additional films when needed. It provides a simple, legal way for teachers and administrators to use movies in the classroom and for school events, while replacing personal streaming services and hardwiring devices. Learn more in our Introducing Swank blog post.

Getting Started with typing.com

With keyboards now in the hands of high school students, typing.com is available through Clever to help build typing skills. Learn more in our Getting Started with typing.com blog post. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:

1. Student Anti-Bias Lessons:

The 25-26 anti-bias student lessons are here! As a reminder, this is an annual lesson for all students K-12, required to be completed before Oct 31. While there is a sequence of suggested lessons, there is only one required lesson. For self-contained classes or longer advisory periods, you can fit it into one session; for shorter periods, plan on two sessions to complete it.

The lessons have been refreshed with improved slides, updated content, and new activities. For 6th-12th grades, there is a new video featuring the voices and experiences of our very own students! (Fun fact: it was filmed and produced by a recent BLS graduate.)

Principals, please be sure to:

review the materials yourself (watch the student video!),
consider adding in your own message to personalize the lesson (see Slide #3 on the HS slide show for an example of a principal’s message to the school)
share all lesson materials with your teachers asap,
ideally, provide planning time for teachers to review the updated materials,
make a copy of the Family Letter, hyperlink your level’s slides, edit any of the message as you see fit, and send to your families at least a few days before the lesson is taught,
contact the Advocacy Coaches if you’d like prep or co-teaching support for your teachers,
be in classes and participate in the lesson with students if possible,
send any feedback from your teachers or families afterward, if applicable.

2. Policy note on requests to distribute information from community members:

If you have local community partners or external groups requesting to share information with families or students, please direct them to the Community Bulletin Boards in your lobby area. Some select partners and organizations can distribute materials more directly, but those are limited:

Here is policy guidance on those levels of distribution, and here is a reference chart. Principal or designee needs to approve, and all materials should support our values. Related: Here is our Advertising policy on what businesses or groups can be displayed for donation/advertising-related purposes.

Let me know if you have questions!

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Ryan Kelling in Human Resources:

We have gotten some questions on the application of Article 15.4 of the BEA/BLS CBA should apply to itinerant staff – that is, those employees who work at more than one site – and are asking for some input on current practice. The contract language outlines expectations for Certified Employees to attend a set number of after-school/evening events each year. For itinerant staff, however, the application of this requirement is less clear and may require collaboration between sites.

To help us determine a standard practice moving forward, we’ve created a short Google Form with background information and a request for feedback. Please take a few minutes to review the form and share your perspective. https://forms.gle/4yqAkmMwbYLSMqKNA

Only administrators who currently supervise itinerant staff need to respond. Your input will be important as we work to establish clear and consistent expectations for these situations. Please fill this out by Wedensday, September 17, so that we can review and offer guidance.

Let Ryan know if you have any questions.

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From Scott in IT

iPad Keyboards and Headphones

We’ve received several questions regarding peripheral purchases (keyboards, headphones) for iPads—specifically whether IT will be providing anything further to support the new devices at both middle and high schools.

Keyboards

IT purchased 5,900 keyboards for high schools and 1,500 lightning dongles for middle schools so existing keyboards can continue to be used.
In the coming weeks, keyboards no longer needed at the high school level should begin trickling down to middle schools.
This should allow all keyboard needs for grades 6–12 to be covered at no additional cost to schools.

Reminder: Last spring, we communicated that the replacement cost of lost bricks and cords would be forgiven for all families and schools. This normally represents a significant expense, so schools should not incur these charges this year.

Headphones

Headphone replacements will need to be handled by schools. Many of you have already placed orders through IT—thank you. Melissa is expediting these as they come in.

Pricing:
- Headphone adaptors (USB-C to 3.5): $9
- USB-C headphones (without mic): $16

For middle schools purchasing new keyboards, an updated option is now available that includes an additional USB-C port. Pricing is very similar to what schools have paid in the past.

Special Programs
Many special programs are providing headphones for their students (e.g., Read180, ROAR). Students may also use their own headphones if permitted by the school.

Please share this information with your staff, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.

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From Gabe:

Athletics and Activities SMORE

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From: Dave Van Loo, Director of School Improvement:

Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR)

What is ROAR?

This year ROAR is a new assessment tool to screen students for potential reading difficulties. ROAR consists of a suite of measures that have been validated K-12 in over 20,000 students across 20 states; each measure is delivered through an online platform, is fully automated, and does not require a test administrator. ROAR rapidly provides precise indices of reading ability with greater precision than many standardized, individually-administered reading assessments. easyCBM is not required or recommended as a screening tool. Our plan is to give ROAR to all 6th-8th graders this fall, by the end of September or early October. Two key purposes this will serve are (1) Universal screening for potential reading difficulties and (2) To provide us with data on the adequacy of currently available curriculum and intervention supports to meet student needs in our middle schools. ROAR is available to use with individual students in grades 9-12 as is helpful. Contact Dave VanLoo with any questions or to find a time to meet about ROAR.

Information for school staff

Here is a resource for school staff to support implementation of ROAR. 6th-12th Grade ROAR Assessment Help Sheet

Information for middle schools to share with families via newsletters or other communication methods. (Please note that opting out of ROAR applies only to research happening at Stanford University. This does not opt the student out of taking ROAR at their school.) Feel free to edit this text to meet your school’s needs.

Our school is using a new tool to help meet students’ learning needs. The Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR) is a set of student-friendly, game-like activities that assesses important reading skills and provides valuable information to teachers. More detailed information and resources for families are available at this link ROAR Family Guide.pdf.

ROAR comes from Stanford University and results are used in research to improve teaching, learning, and assessment in schools. If you wish to have your child’s performance on ROAR excluded from this research, complete the form linked in this letter ROAR Research Information Sheet – English and Spanish.pdf. Submitting this form does not exclude your child from participating in our school’s universal screening assessment systems. It simply means that their results will not be included in Stanford’s research studies.

2025-26 District Assessment, Testing, & Surveys

Here are two updated documents summarizing common standardized tests and surveys for the current school year. One is a schedule showing when different assessment activities occur. The other is a general overview of the purpose and logistics of these assessments. Both of these documents will continue to be updated throughout the year as is beneficial. Please reach out with any questions.

BLP Testing Schedule 2025-26

Major Tests & Surveys 2025-26 Bend-La Pine
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From our Operations Team:

From The Facilities Custodial Team:

Thank you for your survey feedback. Here are links with more information.

From Paul:

We are initiating a districtwide enrollment forecasting study in partnership with FLO Analytics, a firm specializing in K–12 demographic and facility planning. Their work will support our ongoing efforts to align resources, programs, and facilities with student needs.

FLO will be analyzing:

Historical and current enrollment trends
Housing development and land use data
Grade progression and demographic patterns
Heat maps identifying where students live, what school they attend and how this is expected to change in the next 10 years

The forecast will be completed in the first quarter of 2026 and is designed to inform future planning conversations. We will share the findings in a way that supports transparency and collaboration as next steps emerge. Please direct any questions about the process to me

From Transportation:

Thank you for your patience as we continue to work through our backlog of requests from families. If you have an immediate need don’t email [email protected]. Instead, please contact our office directly via phone.

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

Sources Adult Advisor (AA) Refresher Training, Sept 22 12:30-4pm, Bend High Perseverance Hall

All existing Sources of Strength Adult Advisors (AA) working with your school’s Peer Leaders are expected to take a refresher training this year.

We’re offering a district-wide AA Refresher training on Sept 22 from 12:30-4pm in Bend High’s Perseverance Hall. Direct AAs to register for the Refresher Training using this link.

Sub costs will come out of your school’s $5,000 Sources budgets. Direct staff who need subs to include “Sources AA Refresher” as the reason for their sub requests in lieu of an account code. Contact Kristan Shobe with any questions about Sources budgets and account codes.

Each school should have 2-3+ AAs to meet fidelity criteria: usually one Lead AA and 2+ supporting AAs. The 1:7 adult-to-student ratio is how the program works using social networks to connect students to supportive adults for help and mentorship.

The district is working on making extra duty stipends available for AA supporting and mentoring Sources Peer Leaders. To qualify, the AAs will need to have taken a new AA or refresher training in the past year or this year. More details to come on the stipends, which are pending formal agreement with BEA and processing from HR.

A new AA training will be offered in Spring. If you have new AAs who will need to be trained, talk to your Public Health Specialist about whether the new AA could attend the Fall Refresher training or if they would need to wait until Spring for the new AA training.

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From Culture of Care and COREN:

As you may know, COREN and Culture of Care will be merging. While we are still determining the structure of this consolidation, we want to ensure you have access to our ongoing services and the data for the work Culture of Care completed with your district last year.

Culture of Care 2025 Update for Districts

Please let us know if you have any questions.

MS Only

Please ensure your TAG admin and ICCL are up to date in the Teams and Leads document.

HS Only

Pay for ACT and PSAT Proctors: We will pay for the cost of proctors for both tests. Staff earn curriculum rate ($37.86 per hour) and it’s usually for about 3 hours. Please send the timesheets to April J.

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From Jenn Hauth:

Please remember to add this to your newsletters/socials this week and next for senior families. Please include the flyer link, the time and the location. We really want to make sure we have a good turn out as this is the only college night for seniors.

We are excited to announce our upcoming College Application Kickoff Night! This event will take place on Wednesday September 17^th from 6-7:30 pm at Caldera High School. This event is designed to support our 12th grade students and their families as they begin the college application process.

During the evening, families will:

Receive an overview of the college application process
Learn how to navigate the College Application Manager in SchooLinks
Gain awareness of the many postsecondary planning supports available at our schools
Connect directly with school counselors and STCs from each high school

📎 Please see the attached communication that can be shared directly with families. We encourage you to include and highlight this event in your schoolwide communications and post it on your school’s social media channels.

Calendar

September 16: HS Administrator WS 9-11@ LPHS

September 18: HS Counselor/Administrator PLC 8-10 @ BSHS/ Perseverance Hall – Admin overseeing counseling departments required to attend

September 25: MS Horizontal @ PCMS 3-5

September 29: LA Book Club Training 8-1@ Ed Center Board Room- Admin overseeing LA required to attend

Coming mid November: Course Requests DUE! We will share more info soon.

Where in the World

Congratulations to our winner from last week: Ashley Cooper, Assistant Principal at Summit High School! The picture was of Lime Kiln Lighthouse on San Juan Island. A must see if you’ve never been!

Here is the image for this week:

Secondary Blog September 5th, 2025

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Stephen Duval

We hope you had a great first week!

To Do

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.

MS SBG Explainer

HS SBG Explainer

Waypoints Assessment for grades 3-12:

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 28^th – May 30^th

o Overview of resources. One pager for new Admin.

o 3-5 Implementation Guide

o 6-12 Implementation Guide and 6-12 Teacher Directions

o Admin Tutorial Video

The assessment takes 15 to 20 minutes and can be completed on a student’s Ipad, using Clever and then selecting Wayfinder. Here are instructions for how it will appear in Student View.

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.

Finally, we don’t need to get parent permission for Waypoints. However, there is a letter that you can make a copy of to use for your newsletter if you would like.

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 this document.

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,

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

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 time periods 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 1st-5th, 2025 – Weekly SMORE

Check out this Recognition and Appreciation Calendar that Robi Cole put together.

Calendar

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!

Here is the image for this week:

Secondary Blog August 29, 2025

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Katie Legace

Thank you for an amazing welcome back week! We are so impressed by the number of teachers choosing to be early adopters! That is a testament to your leadership and hard work!

Thank you all for your attendance at the Standards Based Grading Mini Conference. Below is an electronic version of the 1-page handout. On page 2 is a link to the folder of all of the slides from the mini sessions. Handout from Mini Conference

To Do

MS and HS Principals: plan on sending out this SBGI letter: Family letter to your families by next week. Scroll down for the Spanish version and be sure to remove the MS/HS grade chart based on your level

HS Principals only: Please send this letter as well, regarding College Dual Credit: Family Letter – College Dual Credit (Spanish Translation should be ready within the week and will be added)

Feel free to add your school logo and your signature, but do not change the contents of the either letter.

MS/HS Principals: Teachers who are Early Adopters need to send this letter to the families for every class in which SBGI will be implemented. Scroll for the Spanish version.

Chris and I shared the SBGI district communication plan in our session Wednesday morning which includes letters, graphics and templates that may be helpful for schools and teachers. Here are the slides. We also included screenshots that may be helpful to share with families and students.

From Departments

Grades and Credit AR changes approved by School Board:

Changes to the Grades and Credit AR were approved at the last board meeting.

During a bargaining session with BEA, it was determined the amount of time a teacher must have feedback in the gradebook (SYNERGY) from the time in which an assignment was due.

Teachers are required to update their gradebook 3 weeks after an assignment was due to them. Thank you for reviewing this change with your teachers.

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From Sean Reinhart and Aimee Snyder:

$5,000 Budget Per School for Sources of Strength

Each school has the opportunity to receive $5,000 for operating Sources of Strength-Secondary for the 2025-2026 school year.

Work with your Healthy Schools Public Health Specialist to develop a plan and budget that will aim to meet Sources fidelity by the end of the school year. See the BLS Sources of Strength Budgets and Fidelity document with more details.

Once schools have a plan/budget that will meet Sources fidelity, remaining funds can be used for other evidence-based/-informed suicide prevention efforts, such as timesheeting for coordinating school-wide Wayfinder lessons or school health teams that coordinate multiple positive, inclusive school climate activities over a 4-8 week time period.

This is a two-year grant, specific to suicide prevention. Funds will not rollover. Unspent funds will be reallocated across Sources schools in the 2026-2027 school year and must be spent by the end of that school year.

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ICCL Reminder from Human Resources

We still have several schools who have not completed their ICCL hires for 2025-26.

Please take a look at the ICCL Master List and verify the employees listed for your site are correct.
If you need to hire, please follow the ICCL posting and hiring process (check-out line 281 on the ICCL Master List with ICCL Instructions).
Any ICCL questions should be directed to Candy Gelatt in Human Resources: [email protected] or x1116.

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BLS School Counseling Program Updates for 2025-26

As we start the 2025-26 school year, we want to share important updates regarding our Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) and how you, as administrators, can be a support to the implementation of CSCP at your school. On August 27, BLS School Counselors gathered for a productive day of planning and collaboration. You can view their slide deck here to see the impressive work being done.

We are pleased to introduce the BLS School Counseling Handbook, a comprehensive resource designed for school counselors, administrators, and educational leaders. Inside, you’ll find:

The mission, vision, and beliefs of our program
District priorities and goals
Roles of counselors and administrators
Program design, implementation, policy and aligned practices
Tools, templates, and practices for effective support

Here are the key expectations for this year:

Complete School-Level CSCP Planning Template – due May 2026, outlining:
- Annual Calendar – due Oct. 2025
- Administrator Yearly Planning Conference – held by Oct. 2025
- Student Outcome Goals (Tier 1 & 2) – due Nov. 2025 (these can be used as SLGGs)
- Use of Time Study – by Apr. 2026
- Tiered Program Supports (by domain & tier) – by Apr. 2026
- Annual Data Review – by May 2026
- End of Year Results Presentation – May/June 2026

Additionally, counselors will now track student interactions using Synergy’s MTSS Activity Tracker Module, moving away from Student Conference, to enhance access to school counseling data as we continue to develop our MTSS dashboard.

For your reference: School Counselors Professional Learning Calendar with Shared SIW and END Dates.

Wayfinder Updates:

We are hopeful to have the Wayfinder admin dashboards have more accurate data but Synergy is currently sending too much data through Clever to Wayfinder. I have put in a help desk ticket but in the meantime, you can edit your teacher list using the following steps:

Here is the helpdesk overview on How to Edit User Data on Admin Dashboards.

If you select “unclick content views” and only have “content completions,” then make sure to assign the workbooks or a collection as the featured content.
For counselors and support staff, please mark them as “content views,” not “content completion.”
If there are people in the app that do NOT use Wayfinder, unclick both “content views” and “content collections.”

Other Resources:

Staff Leader resource library: Staff slide decks, implementation ideas, mtss overview

Student Success Intervention Updates

Student Success Coordinators/Instructors(Not Clinicians) will now track student interactions using Synergy’s MTSS Activity Tracker Module, moving away from the Synergy Intervention tab to enhance access in all interventions that students are receiving in one place as we continue to develop our MTSS dashboard. Here are the training slides from their PD day on the 27th.

We are excited to be moving forward with our Student Success Clinicians embarking on the Medicaid Billing endeavor! They were all trained on the SEAS Medicaid billing platform and here are the slides from yesterday. As a result of documenting the important clinical work that they are doing, our district can be eligible to be reimbursed for most of the vital services that they are providing.

In light of these changes, it is essential that our Student Success Coordinators and Clinicians are receiving their weekly prep and case management time to ensure that they can engage in their documentation and provide care coordination for their students and families that they work with.

For Full-time Elementary Student Success Certified Staff

Case Management Minutes: An elementary specialist has a scheduled total of no fewer than 215 minutes per week for case management responsibilities. This time is set aside in blocks of no less than 30 minutes for these responsibilities.
Prep Time: An elementary Student Success Clinician is scheduled for a minimum of 385 minutes of preparation time per week. This time includes a period of at least 30 minutes per day, uninterrupted, within the student day for grades K-5.

For Full-time Secondary Student Success Certified Staff:

Case Management Minutes: A secondary specialist has a scheduled total of no fewer than 215 minutes per week for case management responsibilities. This time is set aside in blocks of no less than 30 minutes for these responsibilities.
Prep Time: A secondary Student Success Clinician is scheduled for no fewer than 300 minutes of preparation time per week. Preparation time shall include at least one daily preparation period equal in length to a normal class period.

For your reference: Student Success PD Calendars 25/26 with Shared SIW and END Dates.

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From Paul Dean:

Animals on school grounds: We want to take a moment to remind school about our district practices with regards to animals on school grounds. We do not have any district policy that prohibits dogs outside of school hours on our property. ING-AR: Animal Visitors under Owner Responsibility reads:

Owners walking animals on school grounds must follow city or county ordinances regarding leashing and sanitation.
Principals and their designees have the authority to exclude persons and their animals from play fields when he/she determines that there are associated health and/or safety concerns.

Last year, we created and distributed one of the signs below to your school.

We have created this Community Use Violation Notice [and here is a Spanish Version] that you may copy, edit, print, laminate and zip tie to your gate(s) when you are restricting public access by locking your gates.

If you would like to order additional signs ($65 each), please submit a work order request along with a budget code. Maintenance will collaborate with you regarding where to place your additional signs. Please reach out to Dan Dummitt for further assistance with signs.

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From Kayla in Safety:

SafeOregon has been updated and the entire admin team at each secondary school will receive emails and calls. Our new AD/APs at the comprehensive high schools have been added to callout list for SafeOregon. Additionally, now that all Deans are listed as APs they have been added to the callout list.

Linked here are the Safe Oregon Protocols. All new admin were briefed at the New Administrator orientation. Reach out to Kayla with questions.

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From Gabe Pagano Director of Activities and Athletics:

August 25th-29th, 2025 – Weekly SMORE

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From Jess Calbreath, Lead Counselor

Counselor updates for August 29, 2025

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From IT:

Parents will be able to view schedules in ParentVue on August 29.

HS Only

By tomorrow, August 29: link your SIW plan to HS Admin calendar/planner

Calendar

September 3: 6th/9th grade only days!

September 4: 6th-12th grade students back to school!

September 11: HS Tier 2 Academic Intervention Team meeting 2:30 @ SHS

September 16: HS Administrator WS 9-11@ LPHS

Where in the World

Congratulations to our winner from last week: Paul Hutter. The answer was La Forchette, Lake Geneva, Switzerland.

Here is the image for this week:

Secondary Blog August 22, 2025

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Stephen Duval

To Do

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.

From Jess Calbreath, Lead Counselor:

School Counseling Program Updates

From Gabe Pagano Director of Activities and Athletics:

Athletics and Activities weekly updates

From Eric Powell in Student Services:

10-Day Inactivation Process to Attendance Staff

On August 27, your secretarial staff who input/track daily attendance will receive the following information regarding changes to our 10-Day Inactivation process.

Here is a link to that information: 10-Day Inactivations

The key highlights for you to know about are:

*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.

Questions? Reach out anytime: [email protected]

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 21^st – 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

By August 22: link/complete the inservice plan document and the teams/leads doc in the HS Admin calendar/planner

By August 29: link your school’s SIW plan to HS Admin calendar/planner

Calendar

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!

Here is the image for this week:

Secondary Blog August 15, 2025

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Katie Legace

To Do

Share syllabus requirements with staff
Submit 2025-26 BLAST Non Contract calendar to Stephen and Katie (VPs, submit to your principal.
A new website and ParentSquare are coming! Complete this SURVEY for communications by August 1.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Please share this information with your teachers regarding August 27:

We are excited to invite all secondary teachers and administrators to a special Standards-Based Instruction and Grading Mini-Conference at Pacific Crest Middle School on August 27 from 8:30 to 12:15, for the District Directed Professional Development Day.

This engaging professional development event will begin with our keynote, “Instructional Pillars and What’s in the Box?”, followed by almost 20 choices repeated over three interactive sessions selected designed to deepen understanding of the SBIG framework. Participants will explore how proficiency in district standards—not behavior—drives grading, how feedback via rubrics empowers student learning, and how practices like the decaying average and reassessment opportunities support growth. Sessions will highlight practical strategies, technology tools, communication approaches, and ways to design assessments that truly measure learning. Join us to connect with colleagues, learn from expert presenters, and prepare for a smooth, impactful shift to Standards-Based Grading.

Due to parking concerns, buses will run from Bend Senior High School, Caldera High School, La Pine High School and Mountain View High School. Buses will leave Bend schools at 8:00, and La Pine High School at 7:45. We encourage you to ride the bus or carpool to the site.

After the morning sessions, please provide PLC/Department time for teachers to debrief their sessions. Here are some guiding questions you can use, or develop some of your own.

SSC, SSI, School Counselors, School Psychologists will not participate as they will be in training at Caldera HS all day!

From Departments

From Ryan in Human Resources:

Our New Certified Administrator Orientation will be held on Thursday, August 21 at North Star.

Breakfast: 7:00 AM – Bend Breakfast Burrito will be catering; enjoy a burrito, muffin, coffee, and connection time with our new hires.
Program Start: 8:00 AM

Any school or department that hired a new Certified employee is required to send a representative so that you can connect with that person/people, but all are welcome to attend, and we encourage you to join us in welcoming our new staff.

If you’re unsure whether your school needs to send a representative, please email me directly.

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From your Student Services Administrators

This was sent to all student services staff members today:

Welcome back to the 25-26 school year!

Please see the attached schedules for in-service week for returning certified and classified staff and new certified and classified staff.

New staff (certified and classified), you have additional onboarding, so please make sure you are looking at the new certified or new classified schedules.

ALL certified staff, the schedule for the District PD day is embedded in the calendar on August 27^th with a link labeled District PD Day.

If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you!

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From Scott in IT:

Greetings,

Our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for student device use was updated during the 24-25 school year. The new version is what our families are receiving in their enrollment materials. I have linked the updated AUP here. Sections that you may want to be familiar with include:

• Grade 6-12 Insurance Device Damage and Loss Guidelines

• Device Use

•The Student Pledge

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From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:

(HS Admin Only) Cell phone policy changes:

If you are interested in participating in a discussion, review, and feedback session regarding district policy for the new cell phone requirements, please contact Katie and I by Thursday the 21st. We would love to see at least one administrator from each high school. We’ll reach out to folks after that to schedule the conversation.

In the meantime, here are talking points you can use with your staff.

Policy Notes:

Updated Attendance policy (updated per conversations and feedback throughout last year). Please be familiar with the changes to procedures and responsibilities, share with your office and MTSS staff, and bring any questions to the September horizontal admin meeting. Related: Employee Attendance policy–good reminders for all of us!

Updated Grades and Credits policy final version. Feel free to share this directly with your teachers and counselors (secondary in particular), if helpful.

Here are the reference slides from the policy training last April. Topics/Guidance includes:

-Law enforcement, student searches, DHS,

-ICE (here’s additional ICE guidance),

-controversial subjects (share the policy with your teachers),

-parent requests for teachers, etc.

Please share those reference slides with applicable staff, print, and/or bookmark as needed–you don’t want to be looking for these in a time-sensitive situation.

Updated transportation policy: We updated the series of policies related to transportation. One important change for you (and ADs/coaches):

Either we provide the bus, or students/families need to coordinate their own rides—employees, including coaches, should not coordinate groups of students with drivers of private vehicles. Parent volunteers or team parents are welcome to coordinate with other volunteers, but district employees are not involved in non-district transportation arrangements.

Related: field trip permission forms have been updated (all languages available on the Portal): please share with teachers and office staff.

Have a recommendation regarding a policy issue? Please use this form to suggest updates, request changes, identify gaps in policy language, etc.

Looking for the policy that covers a particular topic? Need help interpreting a policy for a particular situation? Contact me!

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From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:

Here is follow-up from the complaint training this week. Please save, file, or bookmark as needed (also sent via email):

Flowchart for navigating complaints, policies, and timelines.

Your Dashboard–put this in your Bookmarks Bar! The link leads to your personal school-specific view (Smartsheet is magic).

Form for reporting a complaint or a bias incident.

Available on the district website: ‘Engage with Us’ blue rectange –> Complaints
Available as an app/icon on student and staff iPads
Poster with QR code, for community spaces on campus (lobby, staff lounge, gym, stadium).

Reach out to me if I can support any investigations or responses to complaints, bias incidents, or policy interpretation or decisions. Triz is your go-to for employee issues that your admin team identifies directly (not a complaint brought to you by a third party), or for determining personnel actions if your complaint investigation has confirmed there was employee misconduct, policy violation, or performance issues.

Appreciate your (competitive) engagement in the training. I learned a lot about how to play Jeopardy! I hope you learned a bit about complaint navigation. I’d love any feedback on the training or this topic as it arises.

Thank you~

MS Only

UPDATE: Part Time Schedules done by 8/22
Send staff-facing Admin team responsibility document to Stephen by 8/31
Fill out inservice week times in MS admin calendar/planner by 8/22
Fill out Teams/Leads by 8/31

HS Only

August 18, 2025 Counselor and HS admin meeting: Counselors and the admin who oversee the counseling department should attend this virtual meeting from 10-11. We’ll be reviewing key aligned practices that are especially important as we launch into the busy start-of-year season, including:

Grades and Credit AR Review
Partial Credit Updates
BLSO Guidelines and Process with SmartSheet
Expanded Options

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By August 22: Part Time HS Schedules should be linked HERE

By August 22: link/complete your inservice plan document and your teams/leads doc in the HS Admin calendar/planner

By August 29: link SIW plan to HS Admin calendar/planner

Calendar

August 21: New Teacher Work Day

August 22: Middle School Advisory Meeting – Ed Center Rm 312 – 11-1

August 25: Certified return to work

August 26: District Welcome Back – Virtual – 8:30-10:00

August 27: District PD Day

September 3: 6th/9th grade only days!

September 4: 6th-12th grade students back to school!

Where in the World

Congratulations to MacKenzie Groshong who won our first drawing last week!!!

Here is the image for this week:

The Secondary Blog

Middle and High School

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Secondary Blog October 17 2025

Secondary Blog October 10, 2025

Extra Duty Procedures for 2025–26

Newly Bargained Positions (Effective 25/26)

Placement Process for 25/26

Ongoing Procedures and Reminders

Google Docs Tracking

Updates to Existing Positions

Secondary Blog October 3, 2025

Secondary Blog September 26, 2025

Secondary Blog September 19, 2025

Secondary Blog September 12, 2025

Secondary Blog September 5th, 2025

Secondary Blog August 29, 2025

Secondary Blog August 22, 2025

Secondary Blog August 15, 2025