If you have not checked out the Elementary Curriculum and Instruction blog, here’s the link! This blog comes out every two weeks and has helpful resources and reminders for elementary curriculum. This would be a good place to start when you have questions about Amplify, RGR, EL, Dreambox, Lexia, etc.
Last week some resources for Amplify were shared. Here is the link for quick access:
Below is a link for all the options in BLP for credit recovery. Please know that the options listed in the link are the ONLY options available at this time. The “work packets” that had been utilized in the past are not an option and have been discontinued. To see all available credit recovery options, click on the link below:
There are two different forms by which parents can provide initial consent to place a student on a modified diploma:
If a student has a 504 or and IEP, the modified diploma parent signature form lives in Synergy SE as an adhoc document.
If a student does not have a 504 or an IEP, then school counselors have access to this Initial Consent for Modified Diploma form, which a team will complete, and parents will sign. This form has been updated and can be found in the school counseling manual.
Notice of Modified Courses
When a student with an IEP has modified coursework, the case manager needs to communicate the changes to the counseling secretary and affect teachers. Each semester/trimester, case managers will need to complete the Notice of Modified Coursework form. This form has recently been updated and can be found on the Student Service website. For 504 or Non-IEP students with modified coursework, this will be completed by the school counselor.
FROM OUR RECORDS CLERKS
FROM THE DESK OF SHANNON WATTERS
Adding a Team Member to a Student’s Team
You can add a Team Member from either the Student view – Team tab or by using the Team button in the Snapshot view.
Open the Team Tab
Hover over the student’s name in Portfolio to open the Snapshot view.
Click the Student Team button to go to the Team tab.
Search for StaffNote:
In the Team Members grid, click the Chooser button.
Enter search criteria (Last Name, First Name, School, or Role ID) and click Find.
Tip: Keep searches simple—for example, last name plus first initial.
Select the correct staff from the Find Results by clicking on the row. You may add multiple staff before clicking Select.
If your focus is set to an individual school, only staff at that site will appear. To add staff from another site or High Desert ESD, change your focus to Bend-La Pine Schools.
Finalize Selection
Click Select to update the student’s Team list.
The student will now appear on the staff member’s Portfolio.
Adjust the staff member’s Role as needed.
Important Reminders:
If you remove yourself from the Team list, the student will no longer appear on your Portfolio.
Listing yourself in multiple roles will cause the student to appear multiple times.
Every student must have a Case Manager. If changing Case Managers, add the new one first before deleting the old one.
Below is a link for all the options in BLP for credit recovery. Please know that the options listed in the link are the ONLY options available at this time. The “work packets” that had been utilized in the past are not an option and have been discontinued. To see all available credit recovery options, click on the link below:
There are two different forms by which parents can provide initial consent to place a student on a modified diploma:
If a student has a 504 or and IEP, the modified diploma parent signature form lives in Synergy SE as an adhoc document.
If a student does not have a 504 or an IEP, then school counselors have access to this Initial Consent for Modified Diploma form, which a team will complete, and parents will sign. This form has been updated and can be found in the school counseling manual.
Notice of Modified Courses
When a student with an IEP has modified coursework, the case manager needs to communicate the changes to the counseling secretary and affect teachers. Each semester/trimester, case managers will need to complete the Notice of Modified Coursework form. This form has recently been updated and can be found on the Student Service website. For 504 or Non-IEP students with modified coursework, this will be completed by the school counselor.
FROM THE DESK OF SHANNON WATTERS
Adding a Team Member to a Student’s Team
You can add a Team Member from either the Student view – Team tab or by using the Team button in the Snapshot view.
Open the Team Tab
Hover over the student’s name in Portfolio to open the Snapshot view.
Click the Student Team button to go to the Team tab.
Search for StaffNote:
In the Team Members grid, click the Chooser button.
Enter search criteria (Last Name, First Name, School, or Role ID) and click Find.
Tip: Keep searches simple—for example, last name plus first initial.
Select the correct staff from the Find Results by clicking on the row. You may add multiple staff before clicking Select.
If your focus is set to an individual school, only staff at that site will appear. To add staff from another site or High Desert ESD, change your focus to Bend-La Pine Schools.
Finalize Selection
Click Select to update the student’s Team list.
The student will now appear on the staff member’s Portfolio.
Adjust the staff member’s Role as needed.
Important Reminders:
If you remove yourself from the Team list, the student will no longer appear on your Portfolio.
Listing yourself in multiple roles will cause the student to appear multiple times.
Every student must have a Case Manager. If changing Case Managers, add the new one first before deleting the old one.
SECLUSIONS: CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDANCE: from Sara Young
Christina Holler is a learning specialist at Pacific Crest and I think she does an amazing job. In this email she’s celebrating and sharing some of the tools the Gen Ed teachers are doing to support our students with IEPs at PCM. ~OLIVER TATOM, RN
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to send out some awesome supports I have seen as I am pushing into classrooms. These came from 6th grade Language Arts & Science as well as 7th grade Math. These are awesome examples of fillable notes and graphic organizers to help with student workflow.
I loved how Language Arts made the checklist boardgame style. I think this really helped students visualize what they needed to do, start to finish, in a really fun way.
These Math notes were awesome! Not only were students keeping pace with their peers, but while I was supporting their notetaking, I was also able to create my own notes to easily reproduce for students who missed the review day (or students who lost theirs by test day)
Science has made smaller copies of fillable notes for students to tape into their class provided notebooks. I love that this creates a singular place for them to reach notes when needed. This limits clutter and the worry that notes will be lost (assuming they don’t lose their entire notebook 😬)
I also wanted to share an example of some sentence starters I made by partnering with an 8th grade Language Arts class I am not currently in. It was shared with me that some students were having difficulty getting started on this activity. I went to ChatGPT, entered in some pertinent information to the assignment, and asked for an example outline and sentence starters. It took about one minute of prompting and editing to get some chunking/organizational tools for students. Feel free to make a copy and adjust as needed if you have assignments that could be supported by this. Also, if you find yourself in situations like this, or what some support as to how to use AI to make supports, please reach out and I will do my best to create some options to help support students.
I don’t push into everyone’s classes which means I am not seeing all the amazing work being done across the school, but I wanted to celebrate some of the awesome strategies I am seeing! Thank you all for your hard work in supporting PCMS students!
Acuity-Based Staffing Model: FROM: Sean Reinhart, MS
I want to share some information about changes to our staffing model this year. This information was shared with building leaders in August, and we believe it important that you all understand the changes to our staffing formula so that you make needed adjustments.
The SPED department can report that overall staffing levels have remained stable from last year to this year. That said, over the past four years, the district has experienced a considerable increase in the number of students receiving special education services — an increase of 269 students. Concurrently, we have observed a notable rise in the number of students presenting with complex behavioral and emotional support needs. Although we have seen increasing demands, special education staffing levels have remained flat, prompting the need for an update to our special education staffing formula, particularly about the assignment of Inclusion Educational Assistants (EAs) at school sites.
To adjust staffing levels, we have discontinued the “all IEP weight” staffing factor that was used to help place Inclusion EAs. The “all IEP weight” factor provided some Inclusion EA staffing based on the school’s total number of students with an IEP, regardless of needs. Within this acuity-based staffing model, Inclusion EA allocations have been determined by individual student need and level of support required. Under this model, students are identified through a collaborative process involving school-based teams, case managers, and Student Services administrators, and coaches. This process includes a review of the staffing needs assessments completed by case managers, direct observation of students by learning specialists, coaches and admin, consultation with school staff, and IEP review.
Why does this matter?
Now, Inclusion EA staffing is designated exclusively to support students with the highest acuity needs. Students with mild disabilities are not factored into the EA staffing formula. It is important for you to recognize this and make any adjustments to staffing schedules. We understand that this represents a shift, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and open communication throughout the implementation process. The Student Services administrative and coaching teams are available to partner with building administrators and teams to review and discuss staffing allocations, support the development of schedules, consult on service delivery models for specially designed instruction, and strategize student grouping to maximize support and efficiency.
Thank you all for you dedication to your students and ensuring that they have access to a great education.
Manage Student Teams-from Shannon Watters
We’re currently experiencing an issue with the Manage Student Teams feature. Right now, the ability to mass add a person to a student’s team is unavailable. We know this is inconvenient and appreciate your patience.
Here’s what’s happening:
Edupoint recently released a new feature designed to let us mass add an entire team to all students at one school.
Unfortunately, the feature is not working as intended and, in some cases, is adding the team to every student in the district.
This update has also affected the traditional Manage Student Teams tool—checkboxes are not appearing correctly, and the Select All/Deselect All option may not function as expected.
We have submitted a ticket with Edupoint, and their team is actively working on a fix. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we have more information or a resolution.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this issue.
Please reach out if you have questions!
10-Day Inactivation Process to Attendance Staff: From Eric Powell
On August 27, your secretarial staff who input/track daily attendance received the following information regarding changes to our 10-Day Inactivation process.
*Synergy will auto-send attendance letters to families after a student has missed 6 consecutive school days (Unexcused or Unverified ONLY)
*Synergy will auto-send attendance letters to families after a student has been 10-day Inactivated
*Both of these letters request families to connect with the school to schedule a meeting focused on supporting the student return to school
*At days 3, 6, and 9, school teams are asked to designate a staff member to reach out to the family to check on the student
*If a student is 10-day inactivated, your school team can fill out a Request for Assistance to ask the District’s Tier 3 Attendance team for support with a Home Visit or family outreach
DONATIONS NEEDED
SECLUSIONS: CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDANCE: from Sara Young
WELCOME BACK! HOPE THAT EVERYONE HAD A FANTASTIC SUMMER
ATTENTION LEARNING SPECIALISTS AND SPEECH PATHOLOGISTS: FROM KRISTAN SHOBE
Welcome back!
Your supply dollar budget this year is $200. This money is to be used for items that will enhance your students’ learning experience. Please send me links to the specific items you are wanting to purchase, or you can create an Amazon Wish List and invite me to it, so I can add the entire list to the cart. Sending me the links, or creating the wish list, makes it easier for me to be sure I am ordering exactly what you want.
Thank you and have a wonder 2025-2026 school year!
Flexible Learning Specialist Workflow
We are so happy that Sara Towne is in the newly created Flexible Learning Specialist role. This position was designed to ensure consistent case management support when learning specialists are on leave or depart mid-year. Please see below for how to access this support.
The building administrator becomes aware that a learning specialist will be out of the office for more than 2 weeks.
The building administrator contacts their school’s assigned special education director (Josh Marks, Colleen Funderburg, or Sara Young) to discuss and problem-solve case management support. *Please do not reach out directly to the flexible learning specialist seeking support.
The district administrator will work with the building administrator and staff to determine what case management support is needed and make a plan.
The building administrator will share this information with the larger special education team.
If needed, a communication will be drafted and sent to parents and the larger school staff, depending on the length of the leave
The building administrator will request a substitute teacher to support direct services.
Thank you to those of you who have sent in your Actuals High Cost Forms. If you haven’t sent your forms in yet, please get them to me as soon as possible, and no later than June 12th. Thank you!
Kristan Shobe
FRIENDLY UPDAES FROM RECORDS CLERK CENTRAL
SLP Updates
Based on the collective feedback and careful consideration, our SLP team is going to move forward with some programmatic shifts for the 25/26 school year. These shifts are designed with several key goals in mind:
· Increase equity among our SLP team with regard to services
· Provide additional time for collaboration
· Enhance flexibility within our team
· Ensure excellent service to our students and families
Here are the details of the upcoming changes:
1. New Staffing Assignment Model: Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, we will be adjusting how staffing assignments are made for Speech-Language Pathologists. Assignments will now be made in teams. A group of schools will be assigned to a group of SLPs, allowing for more collaborative and flexible service delivery.
2. Elementary and Secondary Focus: Our teams will be primarily focused on either elementary or secondary levels, allowing for more specialized expertise and targeted support. There will be four Elementary teams and two secondary teams that are broken up by Middle School and High School. Lastly, please note that all of our south county schools will be part of each of these teams.
Process
In December the core SLP team explored data around workloads and caseloads. When looking at the data it became clear that inequities exist within our system. In addition, Student Services admin conducted 1:1 Interviews with all SLP staff that included a major theme of wanting more professional collaboration and connection with their peers. With this information a few different models of service were explored and debated. After the initial meeting 5 additional SLP’s were asked to join (which increased the group about half of the team). The new models were shared and debated until ultimately one model emerged as the top choice. Once the top choice was selected Student services admin set up 1:1 Meetings with the remaining SLP’s for input.
Timelines
December through March – Data sharing and exploration including meeting with all SLP’s in small groups or 1:1.
April – Email sent to all SLP’s about the pending updates to service models.
May – Initial teams were shared with SLP Staff.
June – SLP Teams will divide up schools based on workload and caseload data.
June through August – Communication to schools on SLP assignments.
As we move forward please know that our team is excited about these changes and feel they will enhance our service to schools, students and families. In addition, we believe this will lead to a more equitable, collaborative, and flexible work environment for our SLP team. With these changes services will not change or decrease at any schools. If you have any additional questions please feel free to reach out to me directly!”
Josh Marks
Inclusion EA – Internal Transfer Requests
Inclusion Educational Assistants may submit internal transfer requests between May 12 and May 28.
To apply:
Log in to UKG.
Follow the internal employee instructions in the attached guide titled “How to Apply Through UKG.”
If you need assistance with UKG, please contact the Human Resources Department directly.
Once your application is submitted, the Student Services administrative team will be notified. Staff will be considered for openings as they become available and will be contacted if selected for a transfer.
POST SCHOOL OUTCOME
It is time to complete the exit interviews for Seniors. Please download and complete so that next year when we are ready to do the follow up interviews the students will be prepared for the follow up calls.
We are so close to the finish line — you can almost hear the summer calling! 🌞 Before you gallop off into the sunset, here’s your friendly (and slightly sassy) End-of-Year SPED Checklist:
🗓 By June 13th End of day:
Finalize those Prior Written Notices in Synergy for students who are:
🎓 Graduating or transitioning to Transition Co-op – Use PWN of Graduation or Post-Secondary
➕ Don’t forget: Complete the Summary of Performancebefore finalizing the PWN of Graduation
🚚 Moved away – Use PWN of Moved/Continuing Education (no longer in this district)
🚫 Dropped out – Use PWN of Non-Attendance/Dropout
📈 Progress Reports – All students on your caseload accessing services
🚌 Transportation Plans – For students: changing schools, moving, enrolling in Kindergarten
📎 June 6: Submit all finalized IEPs and related documentation to your Records Clerk for review.
📝 After June 7, you’re flying solo — it’s up to you to finalize, upload, attach in Synergy, and get documents home to families.
Thank you for everything you do. I know the end of the year can feel like juggling flaming IEPs on a unicycle — and I appreciate you powering through with grit and grace. Reach out with all your questions!!
You’ve got this! 💪 Almost there… 🏁
Important Dates and Upcoming Events:
HIRING is starting for our Extended School Year program!
Location: Pacific Crest Middle School
Dates:
Training Day – Friday, July 11th (Learning Specialists and Educational Assistants)
ESY – July 14-July 31 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays ONLY
Hours:
Learning Specialists – 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Educational Assistants – 3.5 hours (timing TBD based on student needs)
Pay: You will timesheet your hours and paid at your hourly rate
These jobs have been posted in UKG! To apply, please follow the steps below:
Goto My Career → Search for Jobs → Please look for the headings:
52 Total Hours – Learning Specialist – ESY Summer 2025 – Temporary, Bend
46 Total Hours – Inclusion Educational Assistant – ESY Summer 2025 – Temporary, Bend
Thank you to those of you who have sent in your Actuals High Cost Forms. If you haven’t sent your forms in yet, please get them to me as soon as possible, and no later than June 12th. Thank you!
Kristan Shobe
FRIENDLY UPDAES FROM RECORDS CLERK CENTRAL
SLP Updates
Based on the collective feedback and careful consideration, our SLP team is going to move forward with some programmatic shifts for the 25/26 school year. These shifts are designed with several key goals in mind:
· Increase equity among our SLP team with regard to services
· Provide additional time for collaboration
· Enhance flexibility within our team
· Ensure excellent service to our students and families
Here are the details of the upcoming changes:
1. New Staffing Assignment Model: Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, we will be adjusting how staffing assignments are made for Speech-Language Pathologists. Assignments will now be made in teams. A group of schools will be assigned to a group of SLPs, allowing for more collaborative and flexible service delivery.
2. Elementary and Secondary Focus: Our teams will be primarily focused on either elementary or secondary levels, allowing for more specialized expertise and targeted support. There will be four Elementary teams and two secondary teams that are broken up by Middle School and High School. Lastly, please note that all of our south county schools will be part of each of these teams.
Process
In December the core SLP team explored data around workloads and caseloads. When looking at the data it became clear that inequities exist within our system. In addition, Student Services admin conducted 1:1 Interviews with all SLP staff that included a major theme of wanting more professional collaboration and connection with their peers. With this information a few different models of service were explored and debated. After the initial meeting 5 additional SLP’s were asked to join (which increased the group about half of the team). The new models were shared and debated until ultimately one model emerged as the top choice. Once the top choice was selected Student services admin set up 1:1 Meetings with the remaining SLP’s for input.
Timelines
December through March – Data sharing and exploration including meeting with all SLP’s in small groups or 1:1.
April – Email sent to all SLP’s about the pending updates to service models.
May – Initial teams were shared with SLP Staff.
June – SLP Teams will divide up schools based on workload and caseload data.
June through August – Communication to schools on SLP assignments.
As we move forward please know that our team is excited about these changes and feel they will enhance our service to schools, students and families. In addition, we believe this will lead to a more equitable, collaborative, and flexible work environment for our SLP team. With these changes services will not change or decrease at any schools. If you have any additional questions please feel free to reach out to me directly!”
Josh Marks
Inclusion EA – Internal Transfer Requests
Inclusion Educational Assistants may submit internal transfer requests between May 12 and May 28.
To apply:
Log in to UKG.
Follow the internal employee instructions in the attached guide titled “How to Apply Through UKG.”
If you need assistance with UKG, please contact the Human Resources Department directly.
Once your application is submitted, the Student Services administrative team will be notified. Staff will be considered for openings as they become available and will be contacted if selected for a transfer.
POST SCHOOL OUTCOME
It is time to complete the exit interviews for Seniors. Please download and complete so that next year when we are ready to do the follow up interviews the students will be prepared for the follow up calls.
We are so close to the finish line — you can almost hear the summer calling! 🌞 Before you gallop off into the sunset, here’s your friendly (and slightly sassy) End-of-Year SPED Checklist:
🗓 By June 13th End of day:
Finalize those Prior Written Notices in Synergy for students who are:
🎓 Graduating or transitioning to Transition Co-op – Use PWN of Graduation or Post-Secondary
➕ Don’t forget: Complete the Summary of Performancebefore finalizing the PWN of Graduation
🚚 Moved away – Use PWN of Moved/Continuing Education (no longer in this district)
🚫 Dropped out – Use PWN of Non-Attendance/Dropout
📈 Progress Reports – All students on your caseload accessing services
🚌 Transportation Plans – For students: changing schools, moving, enrolling in Kindergarten
📎 June 6: Submit all finalized IEPs and related documentation to your Records Clerk for review.
📝 After June 7, you’re flying solo — it’s up to you to finalize, upload, attach in Synergy, and get documents home to families.
Thank you for everything you do. I know the end of the year can feel like juggling flaming IEPs on a unicycle — and I appreciate you powering through with grit and grace. Reach out with all your questions!!
You’ve got this! 💪 Almost there… 🏁
Important Dates and Upcoming Events:
HIRING is starting for our Extended School Year program!
Location: Pacific Crest Middle School
Dates:
Training Day – Friday, July 11th (Learning Specialists and Educational Assistants)
ESY – July 14-July 31 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays ONLY
Hours:
Learning Specialists – 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Educational Assistants – 3.5 hours (timing TBD based on student needs)
Pay: You will timesheet your hours and paid at your hourly rate
These jobs have been posted in UKG! To apply, please follow the steps below:
Goto My Career → Search for Jobs → Please look for the headings:
52 Total Hours – Learning Specialist – ESY Summer 2025 – Temporary, Bend
46 Total Hours – Inclusion Educational Assistant – ESY Summer 2025 – Temporary, Bend
The Senate Bill 5701 stipends will be posted in your May paycheck. The stipend amount will be $445.86 before taxes.
Below is the blog post from February:
The district submitted the grant application on January 13, 2025, and we received notice that the stipend amount for each qualifying employee is estimated to be $445.86 before taxes. Currently, we are waiting for ODE to send the grant Inter-governmental agreement (IGA) for signature. As of Feb. 17, ODE has not been able to provide a timeline for when we will receive the IGA for signature. Once the IGA is signed, the district can claim the money for the stipends in EGMS, and Payroll can begin processing the stipends for disbursement through employee paychecks. Please be on the look-out for additional communication regarding the timing for issuing the stipends. For more information, please see the Special Education Staff Stipends Guidance.
Inclusion EA – Internal Transfer Requests
Inclusion Educational Assistants may submit internal transfer requests between May 12 and May 28.
To apply:
Log in to UKG.
Follow the internal employee instructions in the attached guide titled “How to Apply Through UKG.”
If you need assistance with UKG, please contact the Human Resources Department directly.
Once your application is submitted, the Student Services administrative team will be notified. Staff will be considered for openings as they become available and will be contacted if selected for a transfer.
Student Services End of Year to-do list
We are so close to the finish line — you can almost hear the summer calling! 🌞 Before you gallop off into the sunset, here’s your friendly (and slightly sassy) End-of-Year SPED Checklist:
🗓 By June 13th End of day:
Finalize those Prior Written Notices in Synergy for students who are:
🎓 Graduating or transitioning to Transition Co-op – Use PWN of Graduation or Post-Secondary
➕ Don’t forget: Complete the Summary of Performancebefore finalizing the PWN of Graduation
🚚 Moved away – Use PWN of Moved/Continuing Education (no longer in this district)
🚫 Dropped out – Use PWN of Non-Attendance/Dropout
📈 Progress Reports – All students on your caseload accessing services
🚌 Transportation Plans – For students: changing schools, moving, enrolling in Kindergarten
📎 June 6: Submit all finalized IEPs and related documentation to your Records Clerk for review.
📝 After June 7, you’re flying solo — it’s up to you to finalize, upload, attach in Synergy, and get documents home to families.
Thank you for everything you do. I know the end of the year can feel like juggling flaming IEPs on a unicycle — and I appreciate you powering through with grit and grace. Reach out with all your questions!!
You’ve got this! 💪 Almost there… 🏁
Important Dates and Upcoming Events:
t’s time to start planning for ESY!
ESY case managers please send this form (available in English and Spanish) to all families whose child qualifies for ESY, per their IEP.
Considerations:
Before sending home, please review the child’s IEP and mark whether they will attend:
8:30-10:00 am session (less than 120 minutes per week on the IEP) or the 8:30-11:30 session (120+ minutes per week on the IEP)
GRO/EXCEL for students who have ONLY behavior/emotional/social skills as their ESY goals (flyer is included in the folder!)
Please send completed forms back to Sara Young by Friday, April 18th.
The Senate Bill 5701 stipends will be posted in your May paycheck. The stipend amount will be $445.86 before taxes.
Below is the blog post from February:
The district submitted the grant application on January 13, 2025, and we received notice that the stipend amount for each qualifying employee is estimated to be $445.86 before taxes. Currently, we are waiting for ODE to send the grant Inter-governmental agreement (IGA) for signature. As of Feb. 17, ODE has not been able to provide a timeline for when we will receive the IGA for signature. Once the IGA is signed, the district can claim the money for the stipends in EGMS, and Payroll can begin processing the stipends for disbursement through employee paychecks. Please be on the look-out for additional communication regarding the timing for issuing the stipends. For more information, please see the Special Education Staff Stipends Guidance.
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 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. Further, while other elementary schools were considered, we have learned from experience that locating a self-contained program within an elementary school is not a successful model. 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.
A note from Kristan Shobe, Accounting Specialist
The deadline to spend your supply dollars was May 1, 2025. Please do not make any more purchases, and I will not be placing any more orders. If you have receipts that need to be turned in for reimbursement, please get those to me by Friday, May 16th. [email protected]
ESD UPDATED PROCESS
Submitting ESD referrals just got easier! They’ve updated the process with a brand new link to streamline your referrals and ensure everything lands in the right hands. Whether you’re referring for OT, PT, vision, or other specialized services, make sure you’re using the most current form. Click, submit, done! ✔️ Check out the updated link, and reach out if you have any questions!
It’s time to start planning for ESY!
ESY case managers please send this form (available in English and Spanish) to all families whose child qualifies for ESY, per their IEP.
Considerations:
Before sending home, please review the child’s IEP and mark whether they will attend:
8:30-10:00 am session (less than 120 minutes per week on the IEP) or the 8:30-11:30 session (120+ minutes per week on the IEP)
GRO/EXCEL for students who have ONLY behavior/emotional/social skills as their ESY goals (flyers from Bend Park and Recreation coming soon!)
Please send completed forms back to Sara Young by Friday, April 18th.
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 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. Further, while other elementary schools were considered, we have learned from experience that locating a self-contained program within an elementary school is not a successful model. 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.
Learning Specialists and SLP’s
Time to spend the remaining balances of your supply dollars. I need all reimbursement requests and/or order requests emailed to me, [email protected], by May 1st.
ESD UPDATED PROCESS
Submitting ESD referrals just got easier! They’ve updated the process with a brand new link to streamline your referrals and ensure everything lands in the right hands. Whether you’re referring for OT, PT, vision, or other specialized services, make sure you’re using the most current form. Click, submit, done! ✔️ Check out the updated link, and reach out if you have any questions!
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