From Tammy and Karen
Thank you all for such a great Admin/ICCL meeting this week. In our observations, there was high engagement in the work of being an ICCL Team and revisiting your school design plans. The feedback on the PD tool was 20 strongly agree, 14 somewhat agree, and 2 somewhat disagree, so 34/36 in the “agree” categories is fantastic, and affirms the work that we saw you all doing. As mentioned, at our next site visit this month, we will have you give us a brief overview of your conversations and the work you and your team will be digging into between now and the end of the year.
We need to have a quick 5 minute Teams meeting tomorrow/today (Friday the 25th) at 10:30 with all principals and assistants/deans are welcome to join as well. You will receive a calendar invite with a Teams link.
Important Links
- BEA and OSEA Bargaining Update Website
- State Testing Folder
- April 23rd Elementary TLC Update
- Topics of Interest/Problem of Practice-Heartfelt gratitude from a colleague and a new ask
- FAQs for Special Education Inclusion Topics—Keep checking in here! BEA and BLS supported
Notes from our Team:
From Tami Pike–Health Services
NATIONAL SCHOOL NURSE DAY , Wednesday, May 7, 2025
National School Nurse Day recognizes school nurses who work to improve the health and learning of students. – Oregon School Boards Association
View the National Association of School Nurses National School Nurse Day Proclamation here.
Be sure to let your school nurse know how much you appreciate them!!
Curriculum and Instruction-Julie Richards
The School Improvement Wednesday on April 30th is dedicated to looking deeper at Amplify Desmos Math. Here is the slide deck that will be shared with teachers next week. You will notice there is a section for Classroom Teachers, Learning Specialists & Interventionists, and Administrators & Other Leaders so everyone can explore Amplify Desmos Math!
Life and Career Readiness-Jennifer Hauth and Jenny White
Principals here is the LINK to a Wayfinder activity you can do with your team before a staff meeting or SIW.
Student Services–Sean Reinhart
The Nest Program will be expanding and relocating next fall!
The Nest program will have a new home this fall! The Nest is our self-contained program (run by the HDESD) for elementary students who experience dysregulation and need a highly specialized environment to develop skills. The goal is that they learn skills and eventually fully join their peers at their neighborhood school. Students attend The Nest for half the day and then go to their neighborhood school for the other half of the day.
Also, The Nest will be expanding next year by adding an additional classroom. Currently, there is only capacity to host 6-8 students per half-day session. This expansion will double the capacity at The Nest, while also offering some full day slots (which is not currently available). The current location, the Tamarack building, is not a suitable location for expansion. As a result, the decision was made to relocate The Nest to a BLS facility.
Several sites were considered, and Summit HS was ultimately selected because of the unique features that the site offers. The wing that will host The Nest was originally built for an ECSE kindergarten and has many of the desired features. It is mostly separate from the rest of the building, has the right amount of space, and allows the program to expand to two classrooms. Many other sites were considered, and after weighing out the pros and cons, Summit was hands down the best decision. The team believes that placing the program at a high school will offer more of a boundary between the program and the school. Moreover, there is a possibility for synergistic programming in the future (think high school mentors) that could benefit both The Nest and Summit HS.
The Nest has its own teachers and administrators and will be administered in an independent manner. There is currently a planning committee that will be working with various stakeholders to ensure the transition runs as smoothly as possible.
Last CPI Training of the year!
Student Services are offering one final Full CPI training this year. As a place to start, please have any regular inclusion EAs that has not been trained register for this training. Further, encourage any temporary inclusion EAs that intend to apply for a regular position for next school year to register for this training. After that, look at your buildings support team and identify untrained folks that you would want trained and have them register as well.
Training details:
- What: CPI Training
- Date: May 6, 2025
- Time: 8-4
- Location: Pacific Crest Cornice
- Sign up in UKG
From Ryan Kelling–Human Resources
This note is coming to you a bit later than planned, but please join me in welcoming Sarah Westling to Human Resources. Sarah is serving as our Certified Specialist II, supporting HR tasks and bringing valuable experience from her time in the Eugene 4J HR office. We are thrilled she chose to join us and are grateful for the contributions she’s already made to our team. If you haven’t already, please stop by the large HR office next time you’re at the Ed Center to introduce yourself and welcome Sarah to BLS.
The recruitment for three vacant BLAST positions has commenced. We are currently recruiting for a Director of Student Services, an Athletic Director/Assistant Principal position at Summit High School, and for the Principal vacancy at Cascade Middle School. If you’d like to learn more about any of the vacancies, please connect with Ryan.
- This Director of Student Services position comes in response to the growing scope of the department, particularly the integration of the Occupational Therapist classification that had formerly existed as a part of our local service plan with the High Desert ESD, which brings added responsibilities and oversight needs. Additionally, this position will supervise the daily operation of the Transition Co-Op program and manage the mentoring and training program for all Student Services staff.
- The Athletic Director/Assistant Principal position is a result of the latest MOA between BLS and BEA that moved the high school Athletic Driectors to the BLAST schedule prosepectively. I’m confident that this role will help us align our co-curriculars at the secondary level with our overall vision of the student experience we’re working to provide for all students, regardless of their school.
- The Cascade Middle School Principal is to fill the vacancy created by Gabe Pagano, who accepted the offer to be the Director of District Activities and Athletics beginning July 1
Certificate of Insurance Reminder – It’s a busy time of year with events and travel, many of which require a Certificate of Insurance (COI)for participation. If an event your staff are planning requires a COI, please share this link and ask that they complete the form as early as possible to ensure that a certificate can be issued: Certificate of Insurance Request Form. Any questions about this form or COI’s can be directed to Andrea.
Clarification on Educational Assistant Responsibilities – There is a need to clarify the scope of Educational Assistant (EA) duties and ensure compliance with OAR 581-037-0015 regarding the supervision and assignment of EAs in our buildings. This message comes in response to recent timesheet entries referencing “teaching” as a task, which is not a permissible responsibility for EAs.
Educational Assistants may support instruction, but they may not provide instruction in place of a licensed teacher. Their role is strictly supportive in nature and must be carried out under the direction and supervision of a licensed educator.
Per state regulation, EAs can assist in the following ways:
- Instructional Support – Reinforcing lessons through practice activities, life skills instruction, or supplemental learning opportunities, as directed by the teacher.
- Clerical Support – Assisting with preparation of materials, duplicating, setting up classroom tools or technology.
- Student Supervision and Control – Monitoring students in various school settings.
- Personal Care, Translation/Family Engagement, and Media Center or Lab Support – As assigned
If an EA is involved in instructional activities, these must be
- Planned by a licensed educator
- Supervised and monitored on a regular basis
- Conducted with access to assistance and consultation
This means EAs cannot independently plan lessons, deliver new content, or be responsible for student learning outcomes. Please ensure that all staff understand these expectations, and that any duties assigned to EAs align with the law. In instances where a Certified teacher is not present and no substitute is available, you may shift the EAs responsibilities from their regularly scheduled duties to supervision of a group of students. This would not be compensated, so long as the employee is already working that hour.
If you or your teams have questions about appropriate EA assignments or need support reviewing supervision plans, don’t hesitate to reach out to your level leader or HR.
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:
Student Voice Council:
We’ll be honoring the departing senior representatives of the SVC at the May 13th board meeting, in case you’d like to join (not critical, but you’re welcome) or otherwise recognize them: BSHS: Iris M, Quincy B, Taylor W; MVHS: Lindsay L; Realms: Elliot D; SHS: Alaina T, Finnegan H.
And, we are launching our recruitment for the 25-26 Student Voice Council! Most of your schools have current members who will return to continue their term next year, but ALL of your schools will have open spaces for new representatives. We will be promoting in a variety of ways (materials coming soon), and would love you to talk it up in your school as well (school-wide announcements, advisory, family newsletters, etc). As you know, these students have quite the audience with our school board and public community, and have a lot to say about your schools—ensuring diverse and strong representative of your school on the SVC is critical in the positive impact this group can have. Once we have applicants for your school, we’d love your partnership in interviewing and selecting your reps. More to follow—for now, please help promote this with students, staff, and families.
Do Not Schedule dates: As you start to schedule dates and events for next year, don’t forget to schedule around these dates. Please share this with athletics, activities, counselors, office managers, parent groups, etc. Thanks!
Interpreter requests: As you submit requests for interpreters for end-of-year requests, please follow these tips (and share these with relevant staff):
- Submit in advance!
- Be sure to note the event format. Interpreters deserve to know in advance if they’re showing up to speak in front of hundreds of families!
- Attach or paste links in Linguist Link any agendas, handouts, slides, or other materials that may be helpful for the interpreter to adequately prepare.
- If you need help thinking through efficient models of bilingual communication during a family event, please contact your Family Liaison, Language Specialist, or me.
Action Items
- Attend the teams meeting on Friday, April 25 at 10:30 (it will be 5 minutes)
- On next SIW (4/30), you are expected to do the administrator portion of the Amplify Desmos training
- Make sure you understand the EA responsibilities that Ryan outlined. Call with questions
- Get the “do not schedule” dates in your calendars now, so in your planning, you avoid school events on these days.
- Sign up for the Mandatory AI Training
Important Dates
- April 25: Breakfast and Belonging (last one!), Jackson’s Corner, 7:00-8:30
- April 30: SIW – reserved for Math planning—admin have a math training link too!
- April 30 Youth Truth sharing of data with staff and families due by today!
- May 5-9: Teacher Appreciation Week
- May 6: Horizontal meeting 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Silver Rail, SRE and Rosland host
- May 7: Safety Cadre Meeting, 2:00-3:30, location TBA
- May 14: All Admin PD at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30 Read Chapter 4!
- May 26: Memorial Day, No School
- May 27: June Horizontal (Changed from June 3rd) at Highland – HLD and Three Rivers host
- May 30: Counselor Celebrations, 7:30-9:30 in the board room, at least one admin is required to attend, but both are encouraged!
- June 4: All Admin PD at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30
- June 12: Last Day students—half day
- June 13: Last Day staff
- June 17: Elementary End of Year Celebration! 2:00 Somewhere!
And finally….
