Quote to consider:
“Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.“ ~Marian Wright Edelman
To Dos:
SUMMATIVE EVALUATION MEETINGS: The first tab on this document indicates which staff need to have a summative evaluation meeting this spring. These staff are group A, probationary, and/or temporary.
If you are on this list, please use the tabs at the bottom of that document to sign up for a time slot for your summative evaluation conversation with Nole and Heather. (If you haven’t had all three of your observations completed yet [as indicated by an asterisk on the first tab] please sign up for a time slot on 5/24 or after.)
Additionally, log into Talent Ed (link near the bottom of this page) to complete your self evaluation; please have this self evaluation completed and submitted prior to our summative meeting as we’ll use it as a launching point for our discussion. While the self evaluation form in Talent Ed includes all domains and standards, our summative discussion will only be focusing on the ones listed on the first tab.
As you know, we have the presumption that all staff at HDMS are meeting standards; we also know that in order to continue to be reflective and grow, we all have areas we are trying new things and stretching ourselves to be better but have not arrived yet. Therefore, it is likely that there will be some “2s- area for growth” on everyone’s self reflection. (This is certainly true for me in my own self evaluation as interim principal!).
As in years past, the admin team will have these summative conversations together with each staff member, this supports our admin team having exposure to wide and varied samples of teaching practice and reflections.
TAKING CLASSES OUTSIDE: To help our office staff when a student gets picked up, please re-review this document from the safety team and carefully follow the guidance within it whenever you’re taking your classes outside.
CANVAS INFO: As the end of the year approaches there are a few steps to take in order to have Canvas, Synergy and the start of next year run smoothly. Please take a moment to read this document which outlines Canvas end of year protocols.
Now that we are “All In” there are tips to make the most of Canvas. This document is a good reference for best practices using Canvas with an All In schedule.
Please continue to reach out to your Canvas coach for any questions, suggestions, or help.
Thanks, Lisa, Elissa and Martin
SUB NOTEBOOK UPDATE: Print and add this guidance from the safety team to your sub notebooks. Please be aware that this guidance may need to be updated in the future; we will alert staff if/when the need to print an updated version of this document is necessary.
Bits and Bobs:
STAFF MEETING SLIDES: For your reference, here are the slides from 5/12’s staff meeting. Please review the following slides to ensure you have the most up to date info:
- Slide seven: reminder overview on our behavioral response system
- Slide ten: safety team update- COVID risk mitigation details
Reminders:
SAFETY FEEDBACK: Here is this week’s optional safety survey for staff to provide feedback to the safety team. And here are the results from last week’s survey.
CDC V. RSSL GUIDELINES UPDATE: When the CDC releases guidance that may not directly align with ODE’s RSSL guidelines we will not change any practices within our school without first receiving communication from the district.
MAY SIWs:
- 5/19- teacher work time
- 5/26- staff meeting in Kennedy’s WebEx room (2:30-3:30pm) **only if needed**
CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES: Below is a reshare from a blog post in January. We thought this topic and the resources linked within is worth resurfacing.
From MS director Jim Boen: Talking about tough topics is absolutely something that must be a part of a student’s educational experience. These should not be avoided – if done right. Here is a very helpful checklist for a teacher to consider. (All steps are not required, but are rather meant to be a support when planning, conducting, and reflecting on teaching/dialogue related to equity and anti-racism.)
To set the stage for controversial conversations to be productive and not reactionary or isolated, the classroom climate must be developed intentionally over time–our LEAD Cohort’s website has tools for steadily building a climate of equity dialogue. We also have district Administrative Regulation (GBG-AR) regarding Staff Participation in Political Activities.
I’d like to highlight the third and fourth paragraphs. In essence, I interpret these as saying that teachers can talk about politics in their classroom, but the keys are to make sure both sides of the issue/topic are presented/represented, and that the teacher’s own viewpoints need to be represented as personal and not that of an official district stance. Finally, this is a reminder to be aware of this BLS Election Guidance which was sent out earlier this fall. All of these documents should be seen as support for schools and teachers in how to prepare for and facilitate difficult conversations within the classroom learning environment.
High Desert Highlights:
