From Tammy and Karen
Belonging is the feeling of being valued, included, and connected to those around us. In our workplaces, a strong sense of belonging leads to deeper collaboration, greater job satisfaction, and a more supportive environment where everyone can thrive. When we feel a sense of belonging, we are more engaged, innovative, and empowered to do our best work.
To better understand and strengthen our culture of belonging (and to help Karen complete her assignment for the COREN book study group ;>) we are conducting a Belonging Survey for Administrators. Your feedback will help us identify opportunities to foster a more inclusive and connected team. This will take just a few minutes and we hope to have the responses by March 21st. This survey is optional, but we would love to have everyone’s voice included!
As part of this initiative, we are excited to introduce Breakfasts and Belonging with Principals in April. These gatherings will provide a space to connect, share experiences, and build stronger relationships. If there is a Friday in April that you are unavailable, please let Karen and Tammy know. In May, we will continue this focus with a series of sessions designed specifically for Assistant Principals. Principals will receive an invitation with more details soon. We look forward to engaging in these important conversations together!
Kindergarten Oops! My apologies, as I (Tammy) did not attach the expectations around kindergarten orientations in the past links about signing up for your days. Please review this document and make any necessary adjustments to your kindergarten orientation information if you need. If you haven’t signed up, now is the time. We appreciate you!
Important Links
- State Testing Folder
- March 5th Elementary TLC Update
- Topics of Interest/Problem of Practice-Got something you want some collaboration with? (New Request about systems to support student behavior)
- FAQs for Special Education Inclusion Topics—Keep checking in here! BEA and BLS supported
Notes from our Team:
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Office of DEI:
Congratulations: Be sure to celebrate the folks in your building who won our recent community engagement contest opportunities, and include kudos to all your staff who participated! Winners, participants, photos of submissions, and more are here.
Complaints: Before spring break: Please go into your Dashboard and ensure you have followed up on all complaints or bias incidents logged there. You should ensure there is documentation on your findings and follow-up actions/communications.
Please always circle back with the reporting individual to let them know you received and handled their submission, and to share whatever outcomes you can (respecting confidentiality, of course). This last step continues to be a frustration of students, feeling like they’re not hearing ‘anything’ from their school on incidents or complaints they report. Whether that’s true or not, it never hurts to double-check that we’re closing communication loops!
Budgets: As you prepare your budget for next year, be sure to include dollars to purchase all school supplies required by your teachers, as well as dollars to cover the fines/fees being assessed to any McKinney-Vento-qualifying student (see policy here—this will be a very minor impact on your budget, but is significant to our families experiencing houselessness).
From COO Ops Team
Here is the link to last week’s leadership team slide deck.
From Instructional Technology, Tracy Howk and Robbie Faith: Digital Curriculum Access for Substitute Teachers
Clever has recently introduced Clever Sub Badges, a new feature that allows teachers to provide secure, temporary login credentials for substitute teachers. With this badge, substitutes can access resources like ILC, Really Great Reading, and Wayfinder without needing the teacher’s personal login information. Teachers can also share video links, Google Slides, PDFs, and other digital resources to simplify substitute planning.
Since January, we have been piloting this new feature at High Lakes and Ponderosa Elementary, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
We are now looking for a few more schools to introduce this new feature this spring. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Robbie Faith to schedule a short meeting with your admin team.
From TLC – Lindsay Gehrig:
Great to see you all yesterday. If you feel it would be supportive of your staff and timely, I am happy to come and recognize the incredible work happening with EL and literacy in general any time between now and the end of the year. Just throw out a couple of dates and times, and I’ll get you on my calendar. Do not feel obligated in any way, just an offering.
From Transportation – Kim Crabtree
Can we please ask schools NOT to give out candy and food treats at the end of the day. Students are not allowed to eat on the bus, and it causes a lot of friction when we tell kids to put it in the garbage. They will not keep it in their backpacks. Last week we had suckers and cupcakes come onto buses. 🙁
Life and Career Readiness – Jenny White
Principals below is an activity you can use at the beginning of a SIW or staff meeting.
From School Improvement – Dave VanLoo
We have built new Synergy reports designed to help schools monitor students who are approaching 10 consecutive absences. This document explains how to access and navigate these reports. Please share this document with staff at your school who need to use these data (e.g., Office managers, counselors, grad coaches, attendance secretaries, etc.).
Action Items
- Provide Kindergarten Orientation information in this document by March 14th.
- Share Youth Truth information with your staff and families by April 30. See February 20 blog for slide decks and info from Dave VanLoo
- Please complete the Belonging Survey for Elementary Administrators by March 21st
- Reach out to Robbie Faith if you are interested in learning more about the Clever Sub Badge.
- Share instructions for Synergy consecutive absence report with staff who need the data.
- Follow up on Complaints/Bias reports in your dashboard before Spring Break.
Important Dates
- March 19: Elementary Safety Cadre, 1:30-3:30–Silver Rail Library
- March 24-28: The long awaited Spring Break!
- April 8: School Board Meeting 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
- April 9: Administrator Professional Development 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
- April 15: Horizontal meeting 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Ponderosa Elementary
- April 19: On the Road to Kindergarten Event 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- April 22: Admin ICCL 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
And finally…I thought this as I slipped on the snow when I walked out of my house this morning!
