From Tammy and Karen
Happy School Principal’s Day to each and everyone of our awesome Elementary Administrators Teammates! Tammy and I want to take a moment to shine a light on you and tell you how deeply appreciated you are. The care, leadership, and love you pour into your schools every single day does not go unnoticed. You show up every day for students, families, and staff with strength and compassion—and in doing so, you create environments where children feel seen, safe, and inspired to grow. Thank you for your unwavering dedication, your steady presence, and the joy you bring into the work. We are so grateful to be on this journey with each of you!
Horizontal Meeting: Tuesday, May 6th at Silver Rail. 3:00- 5:00 p.m.
Karen’s Schedule: I will be in Minnesota assisting my mom during a surgery on Monday, May 5 and Tuesday, May 6. I may not have access to email or phone that day (hospitals and airports), so if you have an urgent need, please reach out to Tammy! Thanks for your kind support as I take time to care for my parents.
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:
Curriculum and Instruction-Julie Richards
*DIBELS begins on May 12th. Here is the schedule.
*Note: TLC and Instructional Coaches will begin preparing for summer professional learning beginning the week of May 5th. Instructional Coaches will only be in buildings: Tuesday, Wednesday PM and Thursday.
Life and Career Readiness-Jenny White
Principals here is the LINK to a Wayfinder activity you can do with your team before a staff meeting or SIW.
Admin: Share this with teachers in your newsletters
Teachers below are the activity highlights for the week.
Kindergarten: Secret Spyglass – Students practice thinking about the future and share their hopes with each other.
1st grade: Big Mistake – Students listen to the story Regina’s Big Mistake, by Marissa Moss, and identify and celebrate areas of learning where they might make mistakes.
2nd grade: Cars that Can’t See – Students explore trusting someone while navigating uncertainty through an embodied partner activity.
3rd grade: Someone I Trust – Students engage in a visualization about the experience of feeling safe in a classroom.
4th grade: A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words – Students recreate a simple drawing with their eyes closed, relying solely on the descriptions and directions of a partner.
5th grade: I Can’t Believe My Eyes – Students practice paying attention and problem solving by looking at optical illusions.
This document links EL Module 1, 2, 3 and 4 with Wayfinder’s 20 Minute lessons that teach the skills students need and Collections that go with the unit.
Technology – Scott McDonald
iPad Roll-In is Coming! As many of you know, all students will be turning in their iPads before the last day of school. Since we are transitioning to keyboard-equipped devices at all high schools, every student will receive a new or different device for the 2025–26 school year.
This will be a massive undertaking—the first time in 12 years that we are either replacing or swapping all 17,000+ student devices in a single summer. To make this a success, we need your help:
Communicate early – Remind students to back up their work, update their devices, and locate their charging bricks and cords.
Create a school-specific plan – Connect with your IT Client Services representative to understand the process and build a plan to collect student iPads before the end of the year.
Recruit help – This is not a job for media/library staff alone. Plan to involve available staff, students, or volunteers to support the roll-in process.
I’ll be sending more detailed instructions, tips, and ideas for iPad roll-in over the coming weeks. Please also check out this link for information.
Thank you in advance for your support!
From Ryan Kelling–Human Resources
SafeSchools Training Update: Next week, we will be sharing a list of employees who have not yet completed their required SafeSchools trainings with supervisors via email.
These trainings are a critical component of our ongoing commitment to maintaining a safe environment for all students and staff. They also serve to establish a shared understanding of protocols and expectations that can be applied consistently in any situation. Supervisors will be responsible for ensuring that all employees they supervise complete the trainings as soon as possible. These trainings may be completed during work hours. Certified employees are already compensated for this time, and Classified employees may be provided paid release time if necessary.
Looking ahead, we recognize the need to improve communication around training deadlines and will work to establish clearer expectations next year, including potential accountability measures for non-completion. Thank you for your attention to this important matter and for helping reinforce our collective responsibility for school safety.
BLAST Vacancies: The recruitment for two more vacant BLAST positions has commenced.
We are currently recruiting for an Athletic Director/Assistant Principal at La Pine High School and for the Principal vacancy at Elk Meadow Elementary School.
The AD/AP vacancy is a result of the MOA moving these positions to the BLAST schedule.
The Elk Meadow vacancy is due to Ben Johnston’s resignation.
If you’d like to learn more about either vacancy, please connect with Ryan.
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:
Complaint Management: Please go into your bookmarked Complaint Dashboard and ensure each complaint submission is either resolved or actively being investigated:
- The “Resolved By School” column should say: Yes if resolved, No if still under investigation (and within the timeline for investigation and response), or Help Requested if you need support. Click on the row for that complaint, and scroll down to change this status.
- Complete these fields for each complaint: 1) Confirmed Bias Incident (Yes, or No if not founded or if it’s a general/other complaint), 2) Response Steps, 3) Other Notes (this one’s optional). Feel free to paste links to Google Docs, or attach documents with notes/findings/communications.
Weekend Snack Bags: The Giving Plate is resuming their weekend snack bag program! As a reminder, this program provides extra snacks for students in need, to supplement food access over the weekend. Please note:
- Families must complete a form to qualify and begin receiving this resource.
- FAN Advocates continue to be the point of contact for family qualification/permission forms and for snack bag distribution to students.
- If your school’s parent volunteer network has stepped in to organize snack bags during the Giving Plate’s pause in service, please let them know this program is resuming and they can phase out their coordination. Better yet, if this is an issue your Booster Club/PTA cares about, they can volunteer with the Giving Plate as individuals or a group–that effort will directly benefit food access for students in your schools.
Do Not Schedule dates: As you start to schedule dates and events for next year, don’t forget to schedule around these dates.
Action Items
- Think of a difficult conversation and one other topic to bring to Problem of Practice time at Horizontal meeting.
- Check out and plan for DIBELS on this schedule
- Get the “do not schedule” dates in your calendars now, so in your planning, you avoid school events on these days.
- Go to the Complaint Dashboard and indicate if complaints are resolved or being investigated.
- Prepare for the iPad rollover at the end of the year
- Sign up for the Mandatory AI Training
Important Dates
- May 1: National School Principal’s Day
- 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: National Association of School Nurses National School Nurse Day (Proclamation here.)
- 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!