From Tammy and Karen
This week we began our Gratitude Tour site visits, and they have truly been bucket-filling for everyone involved. It’s such a gift to witness and hear about the incredible things happening in your schools every day. We are deeply grateful for these moments of celebration and connection over the next couple of weeks.
As many of you know, Karen will be away next week (November 10–14) to support her parents in Minnesota as they transition to a place with additional care and support. While she may be reachable by phone at times, please don’t hesitate to contact me (Tammy) if you need anything—I’m happy to help in any way I can.
We also know that several of you are currently supporting parents or loved ones with significant medical needs. Please know that we are here to support you however we can. Most importantly, give yourself the grace and permission to care for your family first—we’ll take care of supporting your school. Hugs!
Important Links
- November 5th Elementary TLC Update
- SPECIAL EDGE LINK OCTOBER 2, 2025
- 1-Page Student Management guide
- Topics of Interest/Problem of Practice
- FAQs for Special Education Inclusion Topics—Keep checking in here! BEA and BLS supported
- Dates to recognize groups
Notes from our Team:
From Eric in Student Services
When your school is documenting a Child Abuse Report, will you please store the Child Abuse Form in the following ways:
Send a copy to Eric Powell in Student Services (Email is fine)
The building Principal should also maintain a copy of the report. Thank you!
From Ryan in HR
Earlier this week, all Classified staff received an email announcing the opening of applications for the 2025 cohort of Bend-La Pine’s Alternative Pathways Program (APP), a district-supported opportunity for Classified employees to pursue licensure for Certified roles that offers tuition reimbursement, paid student teaching/practicum leave, and other supports as needed as they pursue their license. The announcement was also shared in the most recent edition of this week’s Staff Spotlight.
The APP focuses on hard-to-fill positions and places a particular emphasis on supporting multilingual and bilingual staff, helping us strengthen our connection to students and families while developing our future educators and leaders.
I’m asking that you all take a moment to think about who in your building or department might be a great candidate for this program, both those who have already expressed an interest in becoming licensed educators and those who may not yet see their own potential. A shoulder tap from you might be the spark that helps someone find the confidence they need to take this step.
Applications are open through December 2, 2025. If you’d like more info on the program, you can email Ryan Kelling or visit the Employee Portal.
From Jessica Houser in Payroll
Please make sure employees at your site are aware of this important payroll update.
For the November and December payrolls, all employees will receive a paper paystub (or a live check if not enrolled in direct deposit) mailed directly to their home address on file. Payday remains the last business day of each month.
This change ensures every employee can easily access their pay information during school breaks when most staff are off-site or not connected to the district network. From now on, paystubs and paychecks will no longer be routed to school sites for pickup or distribution.
What to Know
- All employees will automatically receive mailed paystubs in November, December, June, July, and August.
- Employees who want paper paystubs in additional months can email Payroll to opt in. (This election resets each year.)
- Employees can update their home address in UKG.
- Those who need help setting up direct deposit can review the “How To” guide on the Payroll Portal or reach out to Payroll.
- Substitute and extra-duty employees will continue to receive paper paystubs automatically every month.
- Employees can still view electronic paystubs through Employee Online when using a district device or network connection.
Thank you for sharing this information with your teams and helping ensure every employee has consistent access to their pay details.
From Julie in Curriculum and Instruction
The mClass Math Beginning-of-Year assessment is our required benchmark assessment for math k-5.
We have noticed that not all teachers have administered this assessment yet.
Next Steps:
- Check Your School’s Status: Log in to Amplify.
- Review the Admin Reports: Navigate to the Completion Report. This report will specifically show you which teachers still need to administer the assessment.
- Administer Immediately: Please contact any identified teachers and ensure they administer the assessment as soon as possible.
Meeting this benchmark is crucial for informing instruction. Please prioritize completion this coming week.
From Kinsey in Policy and Advocacy
Transgender Awareness Week -Action item-
November 13-19 is Transgender Awareness Week. Next week your building will receive a kit with ideas and supplies for simple ways to support your transgender students or colleagues. Please connect with your Advocacy ICCL representative (or watch your mailbox) for those kits, and encourage your staff to participate.
Family Engagement: -For your review (share as applicable)-
Family Liaisons: Here are our Spanish-speaking liaisons, and here are reminders on how to use their services. We also have part-time Black/African American, Asian, and Youth Partnerships Liaisons–if you’d like to connect with one of them, let me know.
FAN Advocates: Here are reminders on their role. Remind your staff: FAN does not coordinate Christmas gifts for families and hasn’t for over 10 years. FAN resources are maxed out prioritizing basic needs (food, utilities, etc). There are many community-based organizations that do support religious or holiday-based requests like Christmas gifts: Here, here, and here are a few resources.
Concerns/celebrations: If you have concerns about your liaison or advocate (inconsistent attendance, lack of responsiveness, etc), I need to know right away. Of course, if you have a note of appreciation or celebration about them, send me those too!
Translation/interpretation: Remember, CAFE members are not your primary resource for language services. Also, please don’t ask them to “quickly review” your AI/Google-translated communication. Use Linguist Link for translation/interpretation requests. Here are reminders on differences between these services.
Food Access and Your Parent Groups: -For your review (share as applicable)-
In the absence of SNAP benefits for families in need, some of you have parent groups organizing to gather food and distribute it to families. This is great, if/when boundaries are respected. Share these talking points with your parent group, as applicable.
Here is the link to the policy on which movies can be shown during the school day in our schools that we went over at horizontal this week. Don’t forget, PG can only be shown in 4th and 5th grades and you must use a parental permission form to get permission to show them. SWANK , our new movie site can filter movies by ratings.
Action Items
- Make sure your office staff knows the new person to send DHS reports to
- Do you have a classified staff member who may be a great candidate for the Pathways Program? Let them know!
- Share the Payroll Update with your staff
- Connect with Advocacy ICCL Rep to partner with them on sharing about Transgender Awareness Week with your staff
Important Dates
- November 11: Veteran’s Day–Enjoy!
- November 12: All Admin PD from 3:00 – 4:30 at Perseverance Hall
- November 14: Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
- November 18: PLC 1 and PLC 2 Meeting Day 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
- November 20: College and Career Day
- November 24-28: Fall Break and Thanksgiving
And finally… Congratulations to our Next Duck Drawing winner Kimberly Sundberg!
Kimberly is the principal at High Lakes Elementary, where she is in her 5th year as principal. Prior to that, Kimberly was in the great state of Alaska, where she cut her teeth in education as a teacher and eventually a school leader. Kimberly is passionate about creating an environment where students are loved, well cared for, and have a strong sense of belonging at their school. You can feel it the moment you walk into High Lakes. You may think of Kimberly as a serious person, but don’t let her fool you, she is as funny as they come! Fun fact, Kimberly and Lisa Birk went to the same high school in Idaho. Congratulations Kimberly! Please let us know your drink of choice and we will be happy to deliver.
