We have two mandatory trainings coming up. The first is related to Mandatory Subjects of Bargaining and the other is related to AI Guidance for the 2025-2026 school year. We will have several options to take these trainings over the next few months in an effort to accommodate many different schedules. Each training is 2 hours long. On January 31st (the report card workday), we will have three options to complete the Mandatory Subjects of Bargaining training. Sign up by clicking HERE. Other trainings opportunities for this and the AI training will happen on various Thursdays throughout the winter and spring. More details to come.
Bring your laptop to Bend High on Wednesday for our admin PD. We will be discussing chapter 1 of Thriving Leaders. There is not a requirement to read the chapter ahead of time but if you want to walk in more prepared, feel free to do so.
Principal, Assistant Principal, and Dean Evaluation Information:
These are updated and in our system. You can attach your SLGGs using the paperclip if you haven’t already. You level leader needs this too
All of the details for each scoring area can be accessed by clicking on the question mark to the right of the rating section. You will also notice that Domain 9, 10, 11, and 12 have more specific information than they have had in the past. This is to be more in line with the current district work with which we are engaged. If you have questions about these sections, please reach out to your level leader.
Dave will be leading a testing topic training on 2/6 from 8-10. If you want to come this week, please sign up before tomorrow close of business!
Other trainings available before Spring Break are related to SIOP, Evaluations and Feedback, SPED and SPED Law, Financial Management, Positive Behavioral Support Planning, and Instructional Frameworks. Click the link above to sign up. Note: Sign up by tomorrow (1/24) if you want to attend the 1/30 SIOP training.
If you have an idea for a future training, let me know!
#1 – Discipline Incident Wizard to be “LIVE” in Synergy by February 5th
Our IT staff have been working on many Synergy-related projects of late (Thank you!). By February 5th, we will have the ability to access the “Discipline Wizard” in Synergy to enter Incidents. Please review the walkthrough linked HERE to familiarize yourself with this new tool. We referenced this Wizard at the Welcome Back Administrator training (when we launched the Code of Conduct). Now that the known issues with the Wizard have been fixed by Edupoint, we can begin utilizing this helpful resource!
Jason & Ted in IT have offered to help with trainings for the Wizard (as needed), so please reach out if you want any additional support in this area.
#2 – Message Directly from Jason & Ted Regarding IDS Reports (Helpful Accessing Reports!)
Earlier this year, it was not possible to run Synergy incident reports (IDS reports) which would display violation details like what many staff were used to in prior years due to the Code of Conduct changes. However, it is now possible for an IDS report (for example, IDS401: Student Discipline Listing or IDS403: Discipline Disposition List) to identify the violation details by selecting the “Use Sub Codes” checkbox on the Options tab of the report.
Example:
Additionally, it is recommended to change the output type on the Sort / Output tab to Excel (or CSV) for use with Excel (which makes it easier to read and work with).
This should allow you to answer questions related to the details of violations / dispositions.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to Jason Westmoreland or Ted Helton for assistance:
Quick Message Regarding SIRC/STAS Assessments and the Important “Outcome and Safety Plans”
For any SIRC (Level 1) or STAS (Level 0 or Level 1) assessment that your team works through, we are required to submit the assessment materials utilized AND an Outcome & Safety Plan. The Outcome and Safety Plan is what we attach to the incident in Synergy, so this document and the accompanying safety planning is vital to the process.
Here is the link to our SIRC/STAS Threat Assessment Guide for specifics: LINK HERE
Heading into the second semester is a good time to remind staff of Canvas expectations. Again, these expectations are at a much lower bar than when we were in the pandemic and there is no requirement to use Canvas for grading. However, we still need to keep our families and students informed of what we are doing in our classrooms.
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Office of DEI:
MAC Survey:
The next MAC Survey will occur the week of Feb 3rd–specific date coming soon. If you are in the cost pool you will be notified, and it will be important you complete your training asap. Even if you don’t claim any activities on the survey day, just being a trained administrator in the cost pool helps our funding. If you can attend any meetings that day where claimable activities might be discussed, that would be a huge help. Remember, this survey process brings in critical funding for FAN Advocate services. Thank you for your partnership!
Immigration Guidance:
Principals, be sure relevant staff have access to the district immigration guidance shared with you last week. You may share with any/all staff, but at a minimum, it is expected that your entire front-office team be very familiar with the full guidance.
Please print the ICE Protocol (the document linked in the first section) and post for staff reference at the station where your check-in person sits and greets visitors. Reach out if you have questions or concerns.
Help celebrate our SROs! SRO Appreciation Day is Saturday, February 15 but we want to celebrate them all week long. Beginning Monday, February 11, do something special for your SRO. Please pick the day of the week that works best for your school.
Need some ideas?
Ask students and staff to make them thank you cards
Bring them donuts or other tasty morning treats
Serve them lunch
Decorate their office
Help us share the love on social media. Send your imagery to Becca Burda, Assistant Director of Communications, and we’ll keep the gratitude flowing online.
Middle School Only
CTE Fly Up: As a reminder, you will need to set aside two advisory times in February for your 8th grade students to plan for CTE fly up day. One will need to be the week of the 17th and the second will need to be the week of the 24th.
February Meetings: Time to sign up for a February visit. Please choose a date this month for a 60 minute check in. Here is my Calendly link or you can use Outlook directly.
Calendar
January 6-31: Schools implement YouthTruth survey!
January 24: Probationary Letters due to HR
January 28: HS Administrator work session 8-10 @ Mountain View HS
January 28: HS Principal meeting on careers class 10:00 -10:30 @ Mountain View HS
January 29: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
January 30: MS Horizontal – Pacific Crest – 3:00 – 5:00
January 31: Grading day for semester schools
February 11: HS Administrator work session 8:00-10:00 @ Summit HS
February 11: ICCL/Secondary Administrator 4:15-6:30 @ BSHS Perseverance Hall
February 19: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
February 25: HS Principal work session 8:00-10:00 @ Caldera HS
February 27: MS Horizontal 3:00-5:00 @ Sky View MS
YouthTruth Survey window: The survey window is open until the end of January! The goal of each school is to get the highest participation from staff, students and families! Reach out to Dave if you have questions
Reminder: Post-inauguration, some students will be walking into your building with big feelings. The incoming administration has openly communicated upcoming changes intended to directly impact particular populations (immigrants, trans people, etc).
Please ask your counselors to make themselves as available as possible for drop-ins if students need extra support next week. If your team knows a particular student or colleague struggled after the election in November, make time on Tuesday to have a trusted adult or friend intentionally check in with them. Thank you for your increased presence, vigilance, empathy, and grace next week.
Thank you to those principals who have submitted your SLGSS to your level leader. Please do so if you haven’t already.
From Departments
Mark your calendars! Our District Leadership Launch is scheduled for August 6 and 7. All administrators are expected to attend. Principals, please work with your deans to adjust their calendars accordingly.
The Giving Plate provides our families in need with weekend food through their Snack Bag program. Recently, they let us know that their donations and volunteer resources are down, while the number of families they’re serving has been up: from 130 to 700 families weekly. They are unable to meet demand and need to prioritize their core services, so the Snack Bag program is discontinued.
While this is disappointing news, there are still many ways families can access food resources. Please see the links at the bottom of this letter, with bilingual handouts listing current food resources in Bend and South County. FAN Advocates have shared this letter with impacted families. Feel free to print copies of the handouts linked there, to have available in your main office.
Want to help out? One of the best ways you can support our families is to volunteer or donate to awesome programs like The Giving Plate or directly to FAN, so they can maintain their services and programs that benefit our families. 🙂
Per Article 15.8 of the CBA, Certified Employees are not required to report to their work site on end-of-term work days but must remain available by phone. Supervisors may require in-person attendance if there are articulableconcerns about the timely completion of professional responsibilities.
To ensure clarity, we are setting the following expectations that will take effect for the second semester of 24-25 SY:
Progress Reports Submission Deadline:
Special Education Progress reports must be submitted by 4:00 PM on 1/31 this semester.
Middle/High School progress reports must be finalized in Synergy by 4:00 PM on 1/31.
Elementary progress reports must be finalized by 4:00 PM on 2/3.
Work Location for End-of-Term Days:
Employees who have met the deadlines in regards to grading and/or progress reports in previous semesters, and who have met other expectations surrounding the timely completion of professional responsibilities, will be permitted to work from an off-site location on end-of-term work days.
Employees who have not met these deadlines, and/or for whom their supervisor has further articulable concerns about the timely completion of professional responsibilities, will be required to work from their assigned school site.
Next Steps for Administrators:
Notify employees with past concerns about timely completion of responsibilities – with detail regarding those concerns – as soon as possible (no later than 2 weeks before any potential end-of-term workday) if they will be required to work onsite on end-of-term work days. This communication will be followed up in writing with specific articulable concerns shared.
This practice encourages timely completion of professional responsibilities while maintaining flexibility for those employees meeting expectations.
We are providing the following information from Article 14.1 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to ensure you are aware of the reimbursement policy for certified employees who use their personal vehicles for school or professionally related activities, including those staff who travel between sites in the course of a day due to split assignments:
Certified employees approved to use their own automobiles for school or professionally related activities will be reimbursed at the current IRS mileage rate.
Employees required to drive their own personal automobiles in the course of their work will also be reimbursed at the IRS mileage rate for the distance traveled between regular district work assignments.
Certified employees who reside in La Pine and are required to attend meetings in Bend are eligible for mileage reimbursement.
The reimbursement process is consistent with IRS guidelines, which set the standard mileage rate and helps ensure that employees are not financially disadvantaged for using personal vehicles in the course of their work.
Reimbursement requests should be submitted using the AP-106 form and will be charged to your building’s discretionary funds. For staff who work at multiple sites, a good way to balance the budgetary implications across schools may be for the involved schools to rotate responsibility for these payments on a monthly or quarterly basis.
This information is shared so you can address any questions or reimbursement requests that may arise from employees. While there’s no need to proactively disseminate this information, we encourage you to refer to this information if you have questions or require clarification as to our practice.
Thank you for your attention to this and for your support in ensuring consistent understanding of contract provisions.
A reminder that employees and students should not bring pets with them to work or school. ING-AR: Animals in the Classroom or on School Property reviews the conditions and process for by which animals can visit classrooms or be on school property. If you have any questions regarding staff who identify a need for service animals, please reach out to the Human Resources Benefits team at hr-benefits@bend.k12.or.us
We still have space available for our upcoming Restorative Conferencing training on 1/30/25 (8:30am-12:30pm at COCC Redmond). This is the tier 3 formal, scripted circle used to repair specific and significant harm between individuals. This session is free and open to educators and our partners.
Grammy MUSIC teacher nominations! Nominate a teacher by March 15, 2025 for this prestigious award. Teachers do not need to be nominated to apply – they simply need to complete our application form by March 31, 2025.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you for helping us recognize the contributions of our outstanding music educators!
Calendar
January 6-31: Schools implement YouthTruth survey!
January 23: BLPS Family Academic Night @ Summit HS
January 24: Probationary Letters due to HR
January 28: HS Administrator work session 8-10 @ Mountain View HS
January 28: HS Principal meeting on careers class 10:00 -10:30 @ Mountain View HS
January 29: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
January 30: MS Horizontal – Pacific Crest – 3:00 – 5:00
February 11: HS Administrator work session 8:00-10:00 @ Summit HS
February 11: ICCL/Secondary Administrator 4:15-6:30 @ BSHS Perseverance Hall
February 19: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
February 25: HS Principal work session 8:00-10:00 @ Caldera HS
This week we are highlighting Reno Holler’s happy place! “47 years ago (that’s right folks… I’m talking the 1970’s) I spent my high school Summer’s with my then girlfriend/now wife (the lovely Cindy) and my band playing music in the bars of Canada. Back then you could be under the age of 18 and play music in the pubs. We played primarily in Alberta and British Columbia. I still recall very vividly the first time we explored Banff & Jasper. The color of the water, the glaciers and the 18,000,000 ravenous mosquitoes are what impressed me the most. I have told many people that, in my opinion, the Canadian Rockies are the most beautiful spot in North America. A few years back Cindy and I returned and took our two sons (Logan & Devon) to see their first glaciers, eat their first helping of Poutine, and experience Canada’s two seasons (Winter & Almost Winter). These pictures are from the restaurant on top of the Jasper Skyline Tram, A must see for those that do not suffer from a fear of heights. I would show you a picture of Cindy and I in our rock n’ roll regalia, but it involves me with a Mullet and the firewall is blocking that image at the moment. (it really is for the best. Once you’ve seen a Mullet, you can’t unsee it).
Please refer to your email from Triz De La Rosa regarding your probationary/temporary 3 staff. The deadline to write letters of support is 1/24. It is essential you complete this task by that date.
As you know, UKG is not yet ready to receive your SLGGs for this school year. We have had some conversations with building leaders about holding on to these documents in order to upload them when you have the green light from UKG. As we wait, Katie and Stephen are requesting building principals send their SLGGs to their respective level leader by next Friday (1/17).
Reminders to complete professional development feedback form AND have ALL staff to complete COREN surveyby January 10.
Remember to continue to use the PD tool for PD feedback during your SIWs. The information gathered from this tool will be reviewed in January in a joint Admin/BEA meeting regarding professional development based on the latest agreement.
From Lisa’s email this week: In our efforts to continue to improve, please take a moment to give feedback on our December Admin PD time. In case you need a memory jog, we spent our time together with the goals of learning, reflecting, and connecting. We reflected on our leadership journeys, team needs, personal strengths and strengths of your colleagues, and the variety or roles you play as a leader. We also gave some awards to very deserving folks! Thank you in advance for giving your perspective.
Secondly, another survey I would like you to share with your team is from one of our partners, COREN. This will give an opportunity for all staffto describe professional development interests. COREN supports many learning opportunities within BLP, and this information benefits both their organization and ours in the sense that it gives us access to supports for our current needs. Right now, participation has been limited so any encouragement you can do to give feedback is helpful. This survey ends on January 10th.
Our move to Synergy EWS for student grade data has required all grades to be posted and up to date within Synergy beginning this year. While grades within Canvas can still be used, a question has arisen regarding our purchase and use of Grade Guardian. Is there still value to our schools that would justify the cost of this program?
To get a better sense of how our sites are interacting with Grade Guardian, please pass along this survey by next week to those in your building who may use the feature. If it is helpful, here is a spreadsheet with email addresses of folks we have listed as Grade Guardian advisors.
Please remind your TAG administrator and TAG ICCL that we will have our second mandatory meeting on this Monday the 13th in the board room from 3:45 to 5:30.
From the Superintendent’s office (on behalf of Mid Oregon and KTVZ):
Please send out to your staff. We would love a lot of BLS representation!
Just checking in at the end of the year to ask your assistance in nominations for our KTVZ One Class at a Time awards. Selected nominations will be chosen monthly during the school year for innovative classroom education, projects and learning that represent positive student experiences and highlighted with a KTVZ news story and a $1000 award to support the program.
Please have your principals, teachers, advisors, staff send the requests to me for our selection process.
Kyle Frick
Vice President, Marketing & Community Relations Post Office Box 6749 Bend, Oregon 97708 541.585-1802 541.389.0103 Fax [email protected]
From Scott in Safety: (For your admin who oversees safety)
Reminder: The second of our four safety cadre trainings will be taking place on Wednesday, January 15th at the PBMS library from 1:30 – 3:30 PM. Snacks will be provided.
Please work to ensure time and leave sheets are correctly filled out before submitting them on. Office managers received an email earlier with clear information on what is required if there are any questions. If an employee has omitted information (the most common mistake) or has another error, please have your office manager work with them to correct the form before submission. Thank you.
From Departments:
From Stephen and Katie: Master Schedule Training Change
The master schedule training originally planned for both 2/11 and 2/12 has be condensed into just one day on February 11th. High School will attend in the morning and Middle School will attend in the afternoon. More info to come.
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Office of DEI:
Classroom placement policy:
Here is a draft of a new policy going out for public feedback, with a tentative adoption date of mid-February. This establishes that principals are the final decision-makers with regard to classroom placements. This should help navigate student, staff, or parent requests or refusals to have a particular teacher or student in a class, or where there is disagreement on a student’s schedule. The “principal or designee” language allows you to delegate this authority to counselors or coordinators, at least for initial placements or non-controversial requests for changes.
Upcoming events:
Please share this communication in your next weekly staff memo, and participate in any/all of these as you are available. In particular, encourage your building to be well-represented in our 3rd annual Door-Decorating Contest (adult teams can participate too, if you have enthusiastic or artistic front-office, counseling, or other non-classroom staff). Thank you!
CAFE Program training:
Do you have a newly-hired staff member who speaks another language? Would they like a $1,000 annual stipend for using their multilingual skills to support family communication? Due to multiple requests, we are adding one more round of CAFE Program testing and training for this school year. This extra round will take place in late January—further opportunities will not be available until next fall, so please help ensure relevant bilingual employees are aware and signed up in UKG’s Learning platform. (Once a staff member has been tested and trained, they do not need to repeat those steps.)
Do Not Schedule dates:
As your team begins to schedule important dates for spring, summer, and fall events, please be sure they are aware of our Do Not Schedule dates. Thank you for re-sharing this with your office managers, activities directors, athletics staff, counselors, and PTA/Booster Club leaders.
A big shout-out to La Pine and Mountain View high schools (especially CTE teacher Cameron Salvitelli) for submitting the first Facility/Site Modification proposals. Their proposals were approved by the Executive Leadership Team this past week.
If you would like to view their proposals as exemplars on how to complete Part I and also view the department feedback that they received in Part II, they are linked here (LPHS and MVHS). We’d also like to recognize Three Rivers for their recent proposal for a mural on their wall ball court.
Please remember that filling out this form is a requirement before schools may proceed with any project that impacts your facilities or grounds. When in doubt, contact your level leader and/or Paul Dean and we’ll advise you.
We hope you all have a wonderful holiday and winter break! When you get settled after the new year, please note that the IRS has announced a 3 cent/mile increase to the mileage rate for 2025. The new rate is 70 cents/mile, and applies to all mileage driven after January 1, 2025. Below is a link to the Portal page with the electronic mileage forms for in-District travel with both the 2024 and 2025 rates. There is also an AP-106 for other travel. Please note that the mileage reimbursement rate is determined by the date of travel, not the date the reimbursement is submitted or paid.
This is a quick reminder that YouthTruth is now open through January 31. Here is a link to a document to help you get started. More information and resources are available once you log in to YouthTruth.
From Heather Tang at Deschutes County: UpShift Update
Happy New Year! Here’s a quick reminder about the Tobacco Quit Kits introduced last year. These kits are a valuable resource to support students in their journey to quit smoking, vaping, or using chewing tobacco.
The kits include:
Distraction tools to help resist the urge to use tobacco.
Resource information to support students through the quitting process.
How to Distribute Quit Kits
Quit Kits are intended to be distributed during the second nicotine module of the Teen Intervene program by UpShift Specialists.
In special cases, they may be distributed outside of Teen Intervene, but only if a student demonstrates a strong commitment to quitting.
Schools and staff can request kits using our Google Form:
Order up to 5-10 kits at a time.
Delivery will be confirmed within 5-7 business days.
To streamline the process, we recommend designating one UpShift team member to handle all kit requests for your school.
Ready to request your kits? Please completethis form.
If you have any questions or need additional support, please reach out. We’re here to help!
Additional Resource:
The CDC has a quick, one-page guide to help school staff understand youth vaping and tobacco use.It includes tips for how you can support young people and key health facts. Download it in English or Spanish. Please feel free to pass along to staff.
From Janet Bojanowski in the Superintendent’s Office:
The following was shared with Office Managers. Please support their attendance on 1/22.
During the January 22nd Office Manager meeting, we will have a discussion on de-escalation led by Eric Powell, Scott Bojanowski, and Kayla Martin. This will include sample scenarios to work through and time for you to bring forth any scenarios you would like to share/discuss. We would like to remind you that your full office staff is invited and encouraged to attend these trainings. Building administrators have been asked to support the front office, if needed, to provide the opportunity for everyone to attend.
Schedule is as follows; however, you are welcome to join either session if the time works better for you.
Each year on December 1, we report the number of students on IEPs, as well as other demographic information to ODE. This “count” is what determine our level of funding for the next year. You can find a table with 2024 data, as well as historical trends HERE.
Here are a few highlights:
Total students on IEPs is 2027 (up from 1931 in 23/24)
Total IEPs district percentage is 12.1% (slightly up from last year and up 3% since 20/21)
No remarkable trends up or down in disability type last year
From Sean and Sarah Barclay: Updated Q & A (repeat)
Sean and Sarah recently sent out the following to all certified staff. Please read and make sure you are familiar with this information.
Greetings Dedicated Educators,
You may recall that back in October we released a BLS Special Education Inclusion Question and Answer document to better ensure a common set of information regarding our Special Education Programming within Bend-La Pine Schools. Since that time additional questions have been raised thus, we are reaching out today with added and updated information. Thank you for continuing to engage in this conversation with us and bringing to our attention topics that need additional clarification within our system. We believe that we all do our best work when we have a common set of knowledge to build and create upon. Please find the updated Q& A in the link below:
From Jen: “BLS Academic Information Night”January 23rd (repeat)
Please share this information with your families and students beginning the second week in January
BLS School Counselors will be hosting our “BLS Academic Information Night” on Thursday January 23rd at Summit High School. This event is essential to our CSCP and district goals, as we aim to provide families with valuable resources for academic planning. Forecasting and the SchooLinks Course Planner are integral parts of our CSCP programming, aligning with our responsibility to support students with their Educational Plan and Profile, which we update annually. While forecasting might differ slightly across schools, the information and resources leading up to class selections and course planner are quite similar.
We will have a general presentation followed by breakout opportunities for families to ask questions about their specific school site curriculum pathways and forecasting processes. You can utilize ASPIRE funds to compensate for your time, as this aligns perfectly with future planning efforts. We hope to have at least 1-2 representatives from each high school. Please refer to the sign-up sheet for various needs for the night.
We will promote this event at the district level and would love for each school to share the information through their communications as well. More details will follow!
Middle School Only
January Meetings: Time to sign up for a January visit. Please choose a date this month for a 60 minute check in. Here is my Calendly link or you can use Outlook directly.
There has been a slight change to the schedule for the master schedule training originally planned for February 11th and 12th. We will now have our middle school folks attend on the 11th only from 12-4. Please fill out the MS tab on this document to let us know who will be attending from your site. Each site does need to participate.
Round one of our instructional walkthroughs will be hosted by CMS on January 23rd from 9:30 to 11:00. Up in this round will be Gabe Pagan, D Foster, Nick Smith, and MacKenzie Grossing. Please clear your calendar in order to attend. Thanks for hosting Gabe!
As you know we currently block student access to YouTube for students in grades K-8. For the most part, this change has been well received by both staff and families. That said, we know that many teachers (especially middle school elective, math, etc) have been adversely impacted by the loss of YouTube for students. Fortunately, our IT team has been able to create an inhouse solution (YouTubeBuddy) that will allow teachers to request specific YouTube videos to become viewable on student devices. Since these videos will be open to all Bend-La Pine students, we are requiring that administrators be notified on the request in the case there are any unforeseen issues.
How to request student access to a YouTube video:
Copy and paste the URL of your Youtube video into an email. Lists of mulitiple YouTube videos are welcome. These should be listed in a google sheet or Microsoft Excel document.
Send your list of videos to [email protected] and also to your administrator, or administration team.
You will receive a reply when the videos have been made accessible for student use. Detailed instructions linked here.
Both our IT and Instructional Tech team hope that YouTubeBuddy will help your students access the materials that have been missing from your curriculum this past few months.
Calendar
January 6-31: Schools implement YouthTruth survey!
January 10: COREN survey deadline
January 13: TAG Admin/ICCL meeting – 3:45-5:30 @ Educator Center boardroom
January 13: Spanish-language FAFSA Night 5:30-7:30 @ Education Center boardroom
January 14: MS and HS Administrator work session 8-10 @Caldera HS
January 15: Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30 @ PBMS (Safety admin leads should attend)
January 15: SIW Educator Network Day
January 23: BLPS Family Academic Night @ Summit HS
January 28: HS Administrator work session 8-10 @ Mountain View HS
January 29: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
January 30: MS Horizontal – Pacific Crest – 3:00 – 5:00
Where in the World
Thank you for all the entries! Keep ’em coming.
This week we are highlighting our Language Arts TOSA Torie Withers’ happy place! “My happy place is skiing snowy slopes with my family, a tradition spanning three generations. Starting at age three at Mt. Bachelor, I learned alongside my sister with my parents leading the way. Although my dad always finds a way to push the limits—getting our family hopelessly lost while skiing in out-of-bounds terrain in Canada when I was a kid, or cutting it way too close to closing time to ski the get-back from the backside of Bachelor—his adventurous spirit taught us more than skiing; he instilled a profound love for the outdoors. Now, watching my own children discover these same slopes, I’m grateful to live where nature continues to strengthen our family’s connections to each other and the beautiful place we live.”
Reminders to complete professional development feedback form AND have ALL staff to complete COREN surveyby January 10.
Remember to continue to use the PD tool for PD feedback during your SIWs. The information gathered from this tool will be reviewed in January in a joint Admin/BEA meeting regarding professional development based on the latest agreement.
From Lisa’s email this week: In our efforts to continue to improve, please take a moment to give feedback on our December Admin PD time. In case you need a memory jog, we spent our time together with the goals of learning, reflecting, and connecting. We reflected on our leadership journeys, team needs, personal strengths and strengths of your colleagues, and the variety or roles you play as a leader. We also gave some awards to very deserving folks! Thank you in advance for giving your perspective.
Secondly, another survey I would like you to share with your team is from one of our partners, COREN. This will give an opportunity for all staffto describe professional development interests. COREN supports many learning opportunities within BLP, and this information benefits both their organization and ours in the sense that it gives us access to supports for our current needs. Right now, participation has been limited so any encouragement you can do to give feedback is helpful. This survey ends on January 10th.
From Jen: “BLS Academic Information Night”January 23rd
Please share this information with your families and students in beginning the second week in January
BLS School Counselors will be hosting our “BLS Academic Information Night” on Thursday January 23rd at Summit High School. This event is essential to our CSCP and district goals, as we aim to provide families with valuable resources for academic planning. Forecasting and the SchooLinks Course Planner are integral parts of our CSCP programming, aligning with our responsibility to support students with their Educational Plan and Profile, which we update annually. While forecasting might differ slightly across schools, the information and resources leading up to class selections and course planner are quite similar.
We will have a general presentation followed by breakout opportunities for families to ask questions about their specific school site curriculum pathways and forecasting processes. You can utilize ASPIRE funds to compensate for your time, as this aligns perfectly with future planning efforts. We hope to have at least 1-2 representatives from each high school. Please refer to the sign-up sheet for various needs for the night.
We will promote this event at the district level and would love for each school to share the information through their communications as well. More details will follow!
Spanish-language FAFSA Night: Mon, Jan 13th. Here is the flyer. Thanks for distributing to your families and promoting through your channels! The primary audience is high school, but staff or families from any grade level are welcome if they just want to get a sense of the process.
Asian Family Night: Friday, January 31st. Food, cultural performances and crafts, and a drawing contest. More details to come—for now, save the date! (Yes, I know this is grading day 🙂 )
Black History Month Door-Decorating Contest: Submissions due Wed, Feb 19, and winners will be announced Fri, Feb 21. Prizes and recognition for the winners will be a little special this year. Complete information will be shared with your staff via your DEI-ICCL rep in early January—for now, add these key dates to your calendar!
From Departments:
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Office of DEI:
Presidential inauguration:
This year’s presidential inauguration falls on the same day as Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. It is a No-School day, but some priority-population advisory groups have indicated worry for the student experience and respectful interactions on Tuesday, Jan 21st.
Our community has been relatively respectful post-election (which is great!), and we certainly don’t want to assume negative intent. That said, continued preventive efforts can’t hurt. In early Jan, make sure your teachers review norms and expectations regarding the dignity and belonging of everyone in your learning community, and the expected reporting procedures if these norms are violated (i.e. bias incident form submissions). As you welcome students back from break, a family communication/reminder regarding these school-wide expectations is helpful too.
Please ask your counselors to make themselves as available as possible for drop-ins if students need extra support on/around Tues, Jan 21. If your team knows a particular student or colleague struggled after the election in November, make a note on your calendar to have a trusted adult or friend intentionally check in with them that day.
Complaints:
Your teams are doing really great with the complaint system—thank you for your visible and thoughtful efforts to respond, investigate, support, document, and communicate for each one you receive in your Dashboard. Those take substantial time and energy, but they are investments in the trust and safety of your school culture, and your students, families, and staff notice and appreciate that.
From Dean: This email went out to your social studies teachers this week:
Dear Social Studies Teachers,
I hope this message finds you well and that you are looking forward to the upcoming break, which I hope brings you the opportunity to rejuvenate and refresh.
As we prepare to return to work in 2025, I want to inform you that we will be hiring a Social Studies TOSA for the remainder of the year. This position will start at the beginning of the second semester, February 3rd, and will last through the end of the school year. This is a TEMPORARY position for the duration of the 24-25 school year.
The specific tasks for this role include:
Supporting peers on standards work
Preparing for the Social Science adoption process for the 25-26 school year with implementation in 26-27
Continuing the work on Tribal History/Shared History requirements from ODE
Continuing work on Personal Finance requirements from ODE
There are two positions posted in UKG for flexibility. This role can be a full-time position for one individual, a part-time position for one individual, or a part-time position for two individuals with specializations. If you are interested, please apply for the amount of time you wish to work in support of your peers. There is no need to apply for both positions.
I understand that this is a unique position that may lead to some questions, so please reach out to me and I’ll get you answers.
Thank you for your dedication and hard work. Enjoy your break!
Many of you have reached out with questions about special education programming and expectations within Bend-La Pine Schools. First and foremost, we want to acknowledge the wide-spread concerns and confusion within our District regarding this topic. Over the last five years the Bend-La Pine Schools Student Services Department, previously known as Special Education, has made changes within their department that were well intentioned, but not communicated to the larger system of employees and this has led to uncertainty and misunderstanding. The purpose of today’s communication is to provide all staff with a shared base of information that we can use to build our future decisions upon as we move toward a shared goal of better supporting all students, including those who require specially designed instruction and services.
During the 2018-2019 school year a project known as Excellence in Education gathered feedback from staff, students, and families about their experiences in our schools. After receiving and processing that feedback, the Student Services Department set out on a journey to improve the inclusion of students experiencing disability into the general education setting. The BLS vision for special education is, “Bend-La Pine Schools strive to create an inclusive culture and environment for all learners, particularly for those that experience disability. We believe, to the greatest extent possible, that all students should maximize time spent in the general education classroom regardless of their special education services or related services. To this end, it is imperative that the educational planning process begins with services in the general education setting and ends with the need for specialized services in more segregated settings.” For more detailed information about this process click here.
We are reaching out today to share answers to frequently asked questions about our model for delivering special education services in Bend-La Pine Schools and to provide clarity on how we provide Special Education services in our schools. The Special Education Inclusion Questions and Answers (click link) will be updated as more questions arise.
Are we there yet? Inclusive practices and the improvement of those practices are a process. This work will not be achieved overnight, it will take time and training, it will take collaboration and conversation. All of which are precious in the public education system. As we continue this journey the Student Services Department is committed to listening to all employees, answering questions as they arise, and working with BEA to increase learning opportunities and continued clarity on this topic. The work we do with students is complex and working together to ensure all students have access to the support they need will lead to thriving community members in the future.
In partnership,
Sarah Barclay, President, Bend Education Association
Sean Reinhart, Executive Director of Student Services, Bend-La Pine Schools
Calendar
December 23-January 3. Winter Break
January 6-31: Schools implement YouthTruth survey!
January 2: HS Curriculum Guides on district website
January 6: First Day back from break
January 7: HS Administrator and Counselor work session (rescheduled from Dec 10) 8-10 @Mountain View HS
January 10: COREN survey deadline
January 13: Spanish-language FAFSA Night 5:30-7:30 @ Education Center boardroom
January 14: MS and HS Administrator work session 8-10 @Caldera HS
January 15: Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30 @ PBMS (Safety admin leads should attend)
January 15: SIW Educator Network Day
January 23: BLPS Family Academic Night @ Summit HS
January 28: HS Administrator work session 8-10 @ Mountain View HS
January 29: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
Where in the World
Thank you for all the entries! Keep ’em coming.
This week we are highlighting Kristy Knoll’s happy place! One of my happy places is coming down from the top of Black Butte. My oldest daughter and I hike it every summer, usually on Labor Day, as a way to mark the end of summer and get ready for the school year. We were able to find a “no smoke” window in this picture, and it was a perfect hike. The picture is on the way DOWN from the top because the hard work is done and it’s easier to enjoy the view.
Principals: Please verify that all of your Language Arts teachers have attended a required Book Club training. Our Secondary LA TOSA, Torie Withers, can confirm who has attended, if that is helpful. The next training is Tuesday:
Language Arts Book Club Training
Date: Tuesday, December 17
Time: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: The Big Room, Environmental Center 16 NW Kansas Avenue, Bend
Who Should Attend:
Required for new hires or teachers who haven’t previously attended
Those who have previously attended and are seeking collaboration with colleagues and planning time
Training Focus: Learn how to structure and plan book club units, including:
How to approach and plan a unit
Selecting unit themes
Teaching reading skills and discussion strategies
Choosing mentor texts and book club offerings
Unit planning time
Language arts teachers are encouraged to attend this professional development opportunity. Please direct questions and RSVPs to Torie Withers. Thank you!
As we continue to advance sustainability initiatives across our schools, we are asking each building administration team to designate one member to act as the first level of support for your site’s Green Team. Please fill out your admin in the MS lead or HS lead spreadsheets under the Green Team tab.
This role is not about leading the Green Team but simply being available as a point of contact and support for the individuals spearheading sustainability efforts in your building.
Each site has a 1.0 FTE Green Team Advisor, which is on the Extra Duty schedule. This is a new role this year and must be filled via the recruitment process.
What was formerly our Custodial department is now Custodial and Sustainability, led by Walt Norris, Director of Custodial and Sustainability. Walt is actively recruiting a Sustainability Coordinator, who will soon serve as the direct liaison for all Green Team Advisors. Once this position is filled and up to speed, they will provide additional guidance and support for sustainability efforts across the district.
From Departments
From Dean: Science curriculum adoption update
Middle School:
Teachers from CMS, HDMS, PBMS, PCMS, SVMS, 3 Rivers and LPMS are currently field testing LabAids in grades 6, 7 and 8.
The following teachers are participating:
6th grade: Valerie Overely, Kelly Houston, Laruen McKeehan, Dean Pru’domme, Katie, Lyons, Jake Slodki and Matt Killebrew
7th grade: Sarah Durfee, Jane Shein, Mark Alvarado, Stacy Welsh, Madison Hargett, Hannah Perkins, Jake Slodki and Matt Killebrew
8th grade: Melody Craig, Tara Termes, Jackson Blackburn, Mark Segesta, Deidre Crabtree & Stephanie Kimbrell
This field test will wrap up by the end of January 2025.
High School:
A big thanks to Colleen Behrens and the Science Curriculum Adoption Team for their dedication during the science instructional materials vetting meeting on December 5th. The team members included:
BSHS: Ron Crawford, Heidi Friesen
BTA: Missie Wikler
CHS: Sarah Trakselis, Case Bateman, Kathleen Glogau
MVHS: Jon Nichols, Gillian Kellock
LPHS: Suzanne Jones
SHS: Greg Lampard, Lisa Lamb
During the meeting, the team reviewed four curricula for the NGSS Physics program to be implemented next year: OpenSciEd, PEER Physics, Patterns, and BioZone. PEER Physics emerged as the top choice and will move forward for field testing in the second semester/trimester. The team will continue to explore curriculum options for Chemistry and Biology in the coming months.
Roll out of new Science Pathway:
25-26: NGSS Physics for all Freshman
26-27: NGSS Physics continues and NGSS Chemistry for all Sophomores
27-28: NGSS Physics, NGSS Chemistry and NGSS Biology for all Juniors.
Next week an email will go out to Social Science teachers about a temporary SS TOSA position for the rest of this year. We will be posting an internal only SS TOSA that will help lead standards, professional development and begin the adoption process. This position will be temporary until the end of the year and begin second semester (2/3.) It is posted in the range of .5 to 1.0. It will be available for both middle and high school social studies teachers to apply. We understand that this may cause some stress to your system with needing to hire a new teacher for second semester. Please reach out to Dean if there are any questions or concerns.
From Eric: RE: Reviewing your “Incident Approval Queue”
If you don’t do this regularly, please remember to view your “Incident Approval Queue” in Synergy to Approve/Deny any Incident your school enters into Synergy. Any incident we enter as Administrators needs to be “Approved” this way as well, so many schools may have Incidents waiting to be posted that they believe were posted already. Here is a screenshot of what the screen looks like and what to search for in Quick Launch (we currently have 153 incidents district-wide waiting to be Approved/Denied!).
If you want to discuss this process, please call me at 4810.
The HR office will have sporadic coverage over winter break, from December 21 through January 5. To ensure a smooth workflow, please complete and submit any hiring requests by Friday, December 20. New hiring requests should be held until the office resumes regular operations on Monday, January 6.
If you are in the process of making an offer that will take place between December 21 and January 5, please contact Ryan Kelling as soon as possible to develop a plan for completing the process during this period.
Thank you for helping us maintain a seamless hiring process.
We are launching an Administrator Assignment Preferences Survey to give licensed administrators an opportunity to share their preferences regarding assignments. This survey is designed to:
Gather insights into your preferences for school level, region, and program involvement.
Help district leadership evaluate potential reassignments that align individual strengths with district needs and to refresh school cultures where needed.
What the Survey Will Ask: The survey will ask for detailed input on:
School Level: Indicate your preferences for working at the elementary, middle, or high school levels, or in district-wide roles.
Region: Specify any regional preferences across the district.
Program Involvement: Share your interest in specific programs or focus areas, such as Special Education, STEM, Advanced Placement, Social-Emotional Learning, or others.
Additional Considerations: You’ll have space to share any other factors or context you’d like us to keep in mind, including professional goals or areas for growth.
Why This Matters: This survey is part of a broader effort to ensure our schools remain vibrant, innovative, and engaging places for students and staff alike.
While we will make every effort to honor individual preferences, it’s important to note that some decisions may need to prioritize district-wide goals, ensuring the best outcomes for our school communities.
Next Steps: To provide additional clarity and answer questions, this topic will be included in the agenda for the January horizontal meetings. These discussions will allow for deeper engagement and dialogue about the process and its purpose.
We understand that this may prompt reflection and questions, and we are committed to approaching this process thoughtfully, transparently, and with collaboration at the center. If you have any immediate concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Level Leader, Ryan Kelling, or Lisa Birk.
Thank you for your openness and engagement as we work to create the strongest possible learning environments for our students and staff.
Here is a one-page document to help with our YouthTruth survey inJanuary. Our goal is 90% completion for students, 95% from staff and 50% from families. The window is January 6-31. Reach out to Laura Clark if you have question about the Canvas module or Dave with any questions about YouthTruth.
Our district-wide Spanish-language FAFSA Night will tentatively be Mon, Jan 13th 5:30-7:30pm. More details and flyers to follow, but for now please reserve this date (avoid scheduling school-based events that evening, if possible) and share with applicable staff like counselors, ELL, etc.
Complaints:
Please see Kinsey’s recent email about complaint management. Thank you for checking your Dashboards to be sure all complaints there are addressed (or more recent ones are at least in process) prior to heading into winter break. Reach out if you would like support on them!
Just for fun
From Mr. Snowflake in IT
Greetings,
Watching everyone attempt to create a “six-pointed snowflake” was a special moment taking me back to my first year of teaching at Three Rivers Elementary 26.5 years ago.
Before the winter holiday, a Sunriver resident named Jerry Sawyer would volunteer in my class to teach art lessons, one of which was how to create a true six-pointed snowflake. He would talk about how every snowflake was unique, forged around a central piece of dust, and always started its journey from the sky as a crystal with six points. Shout out to Pat McClain who is now teaching at Bend High and was a student in that class. Most year’s since then I have done my best to channel “Mr. Snowflake” in the other schools where I have worked. The “assessment data” on the floor yesterday demonstrated that many of you have yet to master the six-pointed snowflake. This video will share the steps to create your own six-pointed snowflake. Share with your staff if you wish. At the very least, you will have the answer key in the case you are tested again next year. Thank you for reading. And remember-dimple, snow cone, coyote head, torch!
Calendar
December 17: HS Principal Breakfast @ 7:30
December 19: Middle School Horizontal – 3:00 @ Cascade MS
December 23-January 3. Winter Break
January 6-31: Schools implement YouthTruth survey!
January 2: HS Curriculum Guides on district website
January 6: First Day back from break
January 7: HS Administrator and Counselor work session (rescheduled from Dec 10) 8-10 @Mountain View HS
January 14: MS and HS Administrator work session 8-10 @Caldera HS
January 15: Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30 @ PBMS (Safety admin leads should attend)
January 15: SIW Educator Network Day
January 28: HS Administrator work session 8-10 @ Mountain View HS
January 29: All Admin PD 3:00-4:30 @ Bend HS in Perseverance Hall
Where in the World
Thank you for all the entries! Keep ’em coming.
This week we are highlighting Lindsey Warner’s happy place! Congratulations to Lindsey, who got married in November!! Lindsey wrote: My happy place is anywhere with my husband, Charles. However, if I had to choose a place it would always be the beach! We honeymooned on Kauai and Maui in November; the weather was amazing, the beaches were beautiful, and the trip was perfect. We saw whales, dolphins, and turtles while on Maui. In Kauai we saw a lot of chickens and a monk seal.
We also attended a 49ers vs Seahawks game in San Francisco on our way to Hawaii. Go Hawks!
Principals, please submit yourCalendar of non-contract days to Stephen or Katie TODAY (or when you first read this). Assistant principals and deans will submit one to their building leader. All admin will also start completing time cards for your leave (these are due by Sunday). There is information about the timesheet on the Staff Portal in the Payroll page.
First Aid Reports from Stephanie Bent. Please check this document to see if you need staff trained in First Aid. Schools listed in red are required to train more staff.
Green Team Admin (From HR): We need each site to identify an administrator point person for Green Team related matters. Please fill out your admin in the MS lead or HS lead spreadsheets under the Green Team tab.
From Departments
From Lisa Keown (CTE TOSA):
The annual CTE Fly-Up Day is just around the corner on March 3rd! This exciting event gives 8th-grade students a firsthand look at high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and electives through ~20-minute rotations featuring fun hands-on activities. The format will be the same as in years past, with students bussed to their area high schools, arriving between 9:45–10:00 and leaving at 12:00. It’s a great opportunity for students to explore technical skills, creative pursuits, and other options to spark their curiosity and excitement as they plan for their high school experience.
Event Details
Date: March, 3rd, 2025
Time: 9:45/10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: The high school 8th graders will attend next year.
Just a reminder that FAN does not coordinate Christmas/holiday gift needs for families. This has been the case for over 10 years. FAN resources are maxed out prioritizing basic needs (utilities/heat, rent, clothing, hygiene supplies, food, etc). There are many community-based organizations that do support religious or holiday-based requests like Christmas gifts, such as Salvation Army, Giving Plate, etc. Here, here, and here are a few sample resources.
What is the ask of you and your staff:
If you have a family seeking support with Christmas gifts or holiday resources: Please refer them to those community-based agencies, not your FAN Advocate.
If you have individuals wanting to donate holiday gifts and toys to families in need: Please refer them to those organizations, who are collecting and distributing toys and holiday donations.
If your students/staff want to be directly involved in supporting FAN’s work: Organize a “Winter Weather Drive” to gather desperately-needed winter clothes for our students and families in need, not just for those who celebrate Christmas. Thank you!
From Lisa, the Deputy Superintendent. We look forward to seeing everyone at Perseverance Hall on Wednesday (12/11) from 3-4:30. During our time, we will be dropping into little snippets of the book, Thriving Leaders, while also eating and being merry. Please don your best/worst ugly/creative sweater too. Yes, it’s a competition- prizes await.
You do not need to bring your book this time, but please:
Wear your sweater to the meeting
Think about an object that represents your leadership journey (before the meeting)
Think about all of the teams/groups you supervise and their differing needs (before the meeting)
Middle School only
Please share this linked message with your staff regarding our middle school schedule work. Note: there is one piece of info highlighted in yellow you need to edit.
Calendar
12/10: High School Horizontal – 8:00 – Mountain View
12/11: Administrator Professional Development – 3:00 – Bend High (Wear a sweater!)
12/19: Middle School Horizontal – 3:00 – Cascade
Where in the World
Thank you for all the entries! Keep ’em coming.
This week we are highlighting Monica Hanson’s happy place! Monica wrote: My happy place is Sand Harbor Beach in North Lake Tahoe. It is so beautiful and my family would go up there every summer. It’s where I feel most at peace and truly euphoric.
We need your assistance in ensuring that all staff members have completed their required SafeSchools training, which was due on October 31. Please take a moment to review your roster to identify any employees who have not yet fulfilled this requirement.
These trainings are a vital part of our commitment to employee awareness and understanding of expectations across sensitive subject areas. Your follow-up plays a crucial role in reinforcing this awareness.
If you need help accessing or reviewing your rosters, please reach out to HR-Tech for support.
For any other questions or concerns, feel free to email me directly.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.
Notification sent to families by December 6 (repeat):
From Dave:
OSAS Testing Annual Notices and Opt-Out Forms
The Bend-La Pine website has been updated with the 2024-25 fillable PDF annual notice and opt-out forms that we are required to share with families. There are separate notices and opt-out forms for ELA/Math testing (grades 3-8 & 11) and the SEED survey (grades 3-11). Please share these resources through your commonly used channels (e.g., School newsletters, parent emails) and have copies available for parents to pick up in the office by the applicable dates listed below.
Consistent with the requirements of ORS 329.479, ODE has developed an annual notice (available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage) that describes these assessments, identifies the timeframe when the assessment will most likely be administered, and identifies an adult student’s or parent’s right to excuse the student from testing. Districts and public charter schools must provide parents with the ODE-developed annual notice at the beginning of each school year. In addition, districts and public charter schools must provide parents with separate notice at least 30 days prior to administering the statewide summative assessments in Math and ELA using the ODE-provided 30-day notice and opt-out form (also available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage), or a district-created form that exactly reproduces the language of the ODE-provided form. School districts and public charter schools must use the language of the 30-day notice and opt-out form provided by ODE to communicate with all parents about state testing requirements and their right to opt out for high school students by January 5, 2025, and for students in Grades 3-8 by March 2, 2025.
From Departments
From Paul in Operations:
School Building/Site Modification Proposals Form
Administrators are to follow the steps on this form if someone on your staff is considering a project that impacts your school facilities by altering/modifying an existing building or by adding a new structure to your site. Reach out to your Level Leader and COO if you have any questions.
Inclement Weather Department Information
The following departments want to remind administrators about snow day tasks:
Transportation: Snow Routes can be accessed at this link
Custodial:
Snow maps exist at each site with the custodian/principal. Those snow maps contains the three priorities:
Front entrance
Bus loop
Back entrance
Ice melt is applied on asphalt ONLY
Basalt (good traction and does not damage the concrete) is applied and kept on the sidewalk throughout the winter season to retain traction and is intentionally not cleared off
Custodians report to work regardless of school closure decision
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Office of DEI:
Immigration/Undocumented community members:
If you receive inquiries about our practices related to immigration enforcement or undocumented individuals, here is the English version of our FAQ document (Spanish and Chinese versions available as well). This is intended to be an FYI/talking points for you. You are welcome to share this document with staff for the same purpose, and/or make copies available for students or families who ask.
I have received questions about what a school should do if someone (ex: an immigration official) approaches the office asking for student, staff, or family information related to immigration status. First of all, this is extremely unlikely to occur. If this happens, please contact me immediately before providing or confirming any information. You can say, “I need to confirm district policy and procedure for this request before I am approved to share any information.”
Thank you for sharing this with your office team, so they feel informed on the response required in this very unlikely scenario.
Calendar
November 25-29: Thanksgiving Break
December 3rd: Admin/ICCL Training 4:15 – Location TBD
Where in the World
Didn’t have a submission this week again. If you haven’t submitted a picture yet, please do! Instead, here is a picture of a visitor I had this morning. We live in a pretty cool place.
Please send the following communication out regarding parent contacting staff in your next parent communication.
Emailing Your Student’s Teachers
Dear Families,
We know how important communication is for supporting your student’s success. We encourage you to reach out to your student’s teachers anytime you have questions, need updates, or want to share information. For a quick and easy way to contact your student’s teachers, follow these steps in ParentVUE:
Log in to ParentVUE.
Click on the “Class Schedule” button within your student’s account.
Look to the right side of the screen, where you’ll see your student’s teachers listed in blue.
Click on a teacher’s name, and an email form will open, allowing you to initiate a direct message to that teacher.
This tool makes it easy to stay connected, and our teachers are here to support you. Whether you have questions, feedback, or just want to touch base, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Watch the webinar by January 5:
From Dave:
YouthTruth Survey
This year we will be giving the YouthTruth survey to staff, families, and secondary students. The survey window is January 6 – January 31. Please find a few minutes to watch this short kick off webinar (you can watch it on 1.25 or 1.5 speed).
Elissa, our YouthTruth representative will be emailing school on Monday, November 18 with instruction for accessing the Survey Implementation Guide. I will follow up with additional information and resources as we get closer to the survey window. Thank you.
The Bend-La Pine website has been updated with the 2024-25 fillable PDF annual notice and opt-out forms that we are required to share with families. There are separate notices and opt-out forms for ELA/Math testing (grades 3-8 & 11) and the SEED survey (grades 3-11). Please share these resources through your commonly used channels (e.g., School newsletters, parent emails) and have copies available for parents to pick up in the office by the applicable dates listed below.
Consistent with the requirements of ORS 329.479, ODE has developed an annual notice (available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage) that describes these assessments, identifies the timeframe when the assessment will most likely be administered, and identifies an adult student’s or parent’s right to excuse the student from testing. Districts and public charter schools must provide parents with the ODE-developed annual notice at the beginning of each school year. In addition, districts and public charter schools must provide parents with separate notice at least 30 days prior to administering the statewide summative assessments in Math and ELA using the ODE-provided 30-day notice and opt-out form (also available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage), or a district-created form that exactly reproduces the language of the ODE-provided form. School districts and public charter schools must use the language of the 30-day notice and opt-out form provided by ODE to communicate with all parents about state testing requirements and their right to opt out for high school students by January 5, 2025, and for students in Grades 3-8 by March 2, 2025.
Notification sent to families at least 5 days prior to administering the SEED survey:
From Dave:
ODE SEED Survey
Oregon law (House Bill 2656) requires each school district to make the SEED Survey available to students in grades 3-11. Parents or guardians may decline, either verbally or in writing, to have their student participate in the SEED Survey. Schools will provide parents with notice of administration and the process for declining participation at least 5 days prior to administering the SEED Survey. Students may also decline, at any time, either verbally or in writing to participate. Students may also decline to answer individual questions on the SEED survey.
From Departments
From Scott in IT
Synergy Mail Issue and Resolution
The latest update to our student information system included a change in Synergy Mail, which removed the ability for recipients (families) to reply directly to the sender (teacher). This change was intentional by the vendor but was not communicated to any IT teams or any of their 6,500 school customers nationwide. As a result, we were delayed in communicating the issue and providing a solution.
As of today, November 14th, our BLS IT team has implemented an in-house fix that restores the direct reply functionality for recipients of messages sent via Synergy Mail. We understand that this issue may have disrupted important communication between teachers and families. Please let me know if there is anything my team or I can do to support you in reestablishing communication.
When does a student’s comment to a peer or text on a t-shirt invoke our policies around sexual harassment, bias, bullying or intimidation, and when is it something permissible or protected? What if a student is using a hand gesture that is known to be a communication of hate or oppression? How do you balance intent vs impact, political speech, and a culture of dignity and belonging focused on learning? If you have a tricky situation, need some policy guidance, or just want a thought partner, please reach out! If you’d be interested in a collaborative conversation with other building administrators on how to navigate these incidents right now, please email me so I can gauge interest and need.
As a reminder, please respond promptly to any complaints or bias incidents reported, including circling back with the reporter at the conclusion of your response. This is a powerful way to show your commitment to the wellbeing and dignity of each member of your school community.
Latino Family Night:
Please drop by our 7th annual district-wide Latino Family Night if you are able (invitation here–feel free to share). The Woodburn High School mariachi band will perform (pictured here), and there will be dinner, partners, games, and fun!
It’s that time of year again. November 21st is College and Career Day in Bend-La Pine Schools. As with last year, we are looking to draw attention to the multitude of pathways available to students after they graduate high school. This is a K-12 day! We want all students to be dreaming about what options they have after they leave our schools.
Here are a few things you could do at your site to make the day a success. It would be great if classrooms or advisories could look to do something for just 10-15 minutes this day.
Dress as a professional
Encourage students and staff to dress up as someone from a career they are interested in. Remember there are a lot of great careers out there!
Wear college colors
Encourage students to wear the colors of a favorite college. Remember, college can mean community college, trade school, 4-year university, etc. Be careful with wording here as college brand clothing can be expensive and prevent students from feeling like they can participate. Colors are more inclusionary.
Consider incorporating videos or lessons bringing awareness to careers and colleges.
Our 6-12 sites could lean into some of the activities in SchooLinks. All secondary students have required activities to complete through BLS School Counseling curriculum and to complete their Educational Plan and Profile, so this would be a perfect opportunity to complete one of these required activities. Consider onboarding all your students if you haven’t already done so. Students are required to take a “Find your Path” assessment when first logging in that will jumpstart the college and career exploration process.
Wayfinder also has some great resources, especially their integration with Roadtrip Nation and their Future Ready Collection K-12. For middle school, these have been added for the week of November 18th as potential advisory lessons in our scope and sequence.
Here is a great website from the State of Oregon called Career Journeys. There are amazing short videos, lesson plans and other activities any teacher could do.
Consider inviting parents from the community in to talk about their careers.
This could be done in a variety of ways from assemblies, to advisory, to lunch. You could also ask parents to submit a short video of them talking about their jobs and stitch them together for students. Remember our visitor and volunteer requirements if you decide to invite parents in.
We hope you’ll join in the celebration. Please send pictures of your participation to Becca Burda.
Calendar
November 19: HS Assistant Principals work session – 8:00-10:00 @ BTA
November 21: College and Career Day! Send pictures to Becca
November 21: MS Horizontal – 3:00-5:00 @ Pilot Butte MS
November 25-29: Thanksgiving Break
Where in the World
Didn’t have a submission this week, so I am sharing this celebratory picture of our Administrator of the Year, Scott Olszewski:
Survey for future Admin/ICCL sessions: Please share the following survey with your staff.
In an effort to best plan our future professional development, please take a moment to fill out our Standards Based Grading PD Request survey. This survey is a follow up from the survey many of you filled out after the August 28th training at Pacific Crest.
From the Departments:
From Lisa (also emailed on 10/31):
Hi everyone,
We are about to begin our optional Admin PD trainings based on a variety of topics that you indicated in September that were of interest for you. These trainings will be delivered on Thursdays, either in the morning from 8-10 or in the afternoon from 2-4. These are voluntary- but you must sign up by the Friday before at 12 to confirm. That way, if no one signs up, the presenter doesn’t have to create an entire training for no customers. You will be notified about the location in an e-mail from your presenter the Monday of your training week.
Please sign up using the link next to each training (by the Friday before the training) and remember, this is our first attempt at this. We look forward to providing some just-in-time to match your needs. If you have ideas for topics or other information that you’d like me to know, please contact me directly. I am always interested in feedback and how we can help you feel the most prepared for the work you are doing each day. Thanks in advance for jumping in alongside us!
I hope the 2024-2025 school year has started smoothly and successfully for your team and students. Patrick Cook-Deegan, Founder + CEO of Wayfinder who lives in Bend would be honored to spend some time at your school. His goal is to deepen his understanding of how the Wayfinder product and implementation is impacting your school community.
He is eager to learn firsthand about what’s working well and where there may be areas for improvement. Patrick would welcome conversations with anyone on your team—whether a principal, counselor, teacher, or even a student—who can provide authentic insights on both the strengths and challenges of the Wayfinder experience.
Attached is a sign-up sheet for Patrick’s visit. Please select a date and time that works best with your school schedule.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
We have been engaged with the HDESD regarding the difficulty with filling substitute EA needs. The HDESD have been very helpful, and we developed several strategies that you should know.
1. The HDESD has increase the hourly wage for classified/EA subs based on the vacancy and job type. Formerly, all classified/EA subs were paid $17 per hour. This will be accompanied by a new Enhanced Recruitment Efforts which will involveSocial Media Campaigns, Inter-District Parent Communication, and Community Outreach.
EA I – $18/hour
EA II – $20/hour
EA III – $20/hour
Alternative Ed
Behavior Support
Inclusion
Regular Instruction
Student Success
ELL
Office Staff
2. Cross-Role Flexibility:
We have granted the HDESD the authority to automatically place licensed substitutes (paid at the higher licensed rate) in the EA 2 and EA 3 category (see above) if a sub request is still unfilled the day before the vacancy. This will remainder in place until the end of the year. If the request id for a long-term sub, then a licensed sub can fill an EA 2 or EA 3 position for 1 week at a time, while a non-licensed sub is recruited.
3. Incentive pay structure for high-demand days:
We are currently working on an incentive pay structure for the 30 most high demand days of the year. Non-licensed subs that accept sub positions on these days will receive a $25 bonus for the day. Further, we are under current discussion to extend and modify this as needed.
The HDESD will send up monthly reports so we can monitor if these measures are increasing our sub fill rates. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
It’s that time of year again. November 21st is College and Career Day in Bend-La Pine Schools. As with last year, we are looking to draw attention to the multitude of pathways available to students after they graduate high school. This is a K-12 day! We want all students to be dreaming about what options they have after they leave our schools.
Here are a few things you could do at your site to make the day a success. It would be great if classrooms or advisories could look to do something for just 10-15 minutes this day.
Dress as a professional
Encourage students and staff to dress up as someone from a career they are interested in. Remember there are a lot of great careers out there!
Wear college colors
Encourage students to wear the colors of a favorite college. Remember, college can mean community college, trade school, 4-year university, etc. Be careful with wording here as college brand clothing can be expensive and prevent students from feeling like they can participate. Colors are more inclusionary.
Consider incorporating videos or lessons bringing awareness to careers and colleges.
Our 6-12 sites could lean into some of the activities in SchooLinks. All secondary students have required activities to complete through BLS School Counseling curriculum and to complete their Educational Plan and Profile, so this would be a perfect opportunity to complete one of these required activities. Consider onboarding all your students if you haven’t already done so. Students are required to take a “Find your Path” assessment when first logging in that will jumpstart the college and career exploration process.
Wayfinder also has some great resources, especially their integration with Roadtrip Nation and their Future Ready Collection K-12. For middle school, these have been added for the week of November 18th as potential advisory lessons in our scope and sequence.
Here is a great website from the State of Oregon called Career Journeys. There are amazing short videos, lesson plans and other activities any teacher could do.
Consider inviting parents from the community in to talk about their careers.
This could be done in a variety of ways from assemblies, to advisory, to lunch. You could also ask parents to submit a short video of them talking about their jobs and stitch them together for students. Remember our visitor and volunteer requirements if you decide to invite parents in.
We hope you’ll join in the celebration. Please send pictures of your participation to Becca Burda.
Middle School Only
November Meetings: If you haven’t already done so, please sign up for a November visit with Stephen. Just one time this month. Please choose a date over the course of the month. Here is my Calendly link or you can use Outlook directly.
Calendar
November 11: Veterans Day
November 19: HS Assistant Principals work session – 8:00-10:00 @ BTA
November 21: MS Horizontal – 3:00-5:00 @ Pilot Butte MS
November 25-29: Thanksgiving Break
Where in the World
This week we are highlighting Gabe Pagano, Principal at Cascade Middle School. Gabe says, “I love spending time on a river with family and friends. Most of the time, I do not fall out of the boat! 5:00am, an overnight river trip, making a pot of coffee, with my binoculars in hand.”
Check-in with Health Teachers, Counselors, Sources of Strength Teams, and School Newsletters – Coordinated Suicide Prevention Efforts in Nov and Dec
We are aiming to coordinate a multi-pronged approach to prevent student suicides over the holiday breaks. Please check-in with these individuals or support your Public Health Specialist to organize a School Health Team meeting to coordinate these efforts.
Sources of Strength Peer Leaders (by way of your buildings trained Adult Advisors) – Promote crisis helplines and engage peers in identifying who they can go to for help over breaks and what Strengths they can use to cope with challenges over breaks. See the full message here.
Counselors – Coordinate with Health teachers so that there’s a clear way to identify, assess, and connect students who need mental health support to help resources. Counselors may need your help to protect their time so that they’re able to follow up with students who need help before holiday breaks.
School Newsletters – Include two suicide prevention messages in your school newsletters: one in November before break and one in December before break. These messages will also go out in the district Family Spotlight and will be forwarded from your Public Health Specialist to you (or the person you’ve designated to compile your school newsletters) with a request to publish them.
From Departments
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:
Post-Election Resources:
As the presidential elections wrap up, we should anticipate and prepare to support the strong reactions, emotions, and conversations our staff, students, and families will experience. As leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure our staff are informed, equipped, and supported regarding 1) the expectations for navigating this significant moment in time in a professional manner, 2) the resources available to them as employees, and 3) the strategies for supporting students through their own processing.
Here is a message for staff—I highly recommended you send this to your staff soon. You are welcome to copy and paste this message verbatim, modify it to reflect your voice/style, or send something else. Just don’t be silent on this topic!
Equity Stance Brochures:
I am going to re-print the brochure versions of our district Equity Stance. (You received one at our August administrator launch.) If you would like some for your school (ICCL team? PTA? A stack for the staff lounge?), please let me know by Nov 8th how many you need.
Holidays:
Here is our policy on religion and holidays in schools. Here is our “Do not schedule” dates document. Here is a team reflection and guidance tool on holidays. Consider reviewing these at an ICCL meeting, and/or sharing with all staff.
Did you see the latest Family Spotlight? The newsletter is solely devoted to safety and includes a message from Dr. Cook, resources for safe firearm storage, information about SafeOregon, crisis and care resources, details about our latest safety improvements and more. It can be a go-to resource when families have questions about safety in our district. Bookmark the October 30 Family Spotlight and have it at the ready!
Probationary and temporary certified staff: 6 observations (Goals, 2 formals and 3 minis)
Attached you will find two documents to help you initiate the process with your staff. Staff should be receiving notifications regarding goal setting in UKG. There will be an option for you to review their goals once they have been completed in UKG. You should also be working toward completing one (1) formal observation by the end of November and a second formal observation by end of January (both to be completed in UKG).
Please note that you will also be completing your mini (3) observations throughout the year in UKG.
Contract staff ON & OFF evaluation cycle year: 3 observations
One goal setting (by December 1)
Two instructional/non-instructional mini-observations (by May 15)
Contract staff ON evaluation cycle year (in addition to above):
Self-Evaluation (by May 15)
Summative Evaluation (by June 15)
There will be additional information coming to you, as we plan to have ongoing instruction on how to complete all the necessary steps timely, and how we can support you in UKG.
Again, I appreciate your grace and patience as we work through the development and refinement of the evaluation process. I know this information is coming out late and creating a crunch, but we are focused on having this information out to you all much sooner next year.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
Building leaders are to pause any program expansion proposals (academic, athletic and extra duty) that will impact your site/facility until further notice. We are in the process of creating internal procedures that will identify that necessary steps that will need to be taken in order to ensure compliance with regulations (i.e. Title IX, permitting, accounting), district policies, contracts and address departmental impacts.
Scott and Kayla will be out of town next week, November 4th through November 7th at a conference. We will continue to monitor our emails, cell phones, and text messages to support as best as we can while out of the office. If you have any emergencies that require immediate attention, please reach out to our Chief Operations Officer, Paul Dean for immediate support.
We are happy to announce that we are not staffed at 8 School Resource Officers in the district. Our newest SRO is Officer James Ragland, who will be working out of Pilot Butte Middle School. Please use the updated SRO point of contact roster to see who your current SRO is for your school, and to reach out to any members of the SRO team for support.
Middle School Only
November Meetings: Time to sign up for a November visit. Just one time this month. Please choose a date over the course of the month. FYI: Stephen will be out November 6-8 at a conference. Here is my Calendly link or you can use Outlook directly.
High School Only
Thank you for welcoming our Internship Coordinators, Sarah, who serves LPHS and Renee, who serves our Bend schools, to your building! Please support them in onboarding our juniors and seniors into internship opportunities.
Calendar:
November 5: MS and HS Administrator work session – 8:00-10:00 @ Cascade MS
November 6-8: Katie and Stephen at Synergy Conference
November 7: New Course Proposals Due
November 11: Veterans Day
November 19: HS Assistant Principals work session – 8:00-10:00 @ BTA
November 21: MS Horizontal – 3:00-5:00 @ Pilot Butte MS
November 23-27: Thanksgiving Break
December 10: HS Administrators and Counselors work session – 8:00-10:00 @MVHS
December 23 – January 3: Winter Break
January 3 – Choice Options Schools/Area Change Requests open for 25-26 school year
Where in the World
This week we are highlighting Chris Boyd, Principal at Caldera High School. Chris shared, “while my normal happy place is disappearing in the woods on a remote hike, floating a river, or climbing a local volcano on skis in the snow, dancing with my Central Oregon Stars was so much fun.
My dance crew is near and dear to my heart. Love my dance peeps! We helped raised 107K for the Sparrow Foundation in Central Oregon.” Check out the Fresh Funky Fly Girls and a Boy!
