Diario Camino del Río

Week of January 25

 

 

What: A time for K-12 students to come together and demonstrate how they integrate technology into their learning environment.

When: Wednesday, February 17th, 2016 from 4:00-6:00 pm

Week of January 18

Hello Shining Stars,

Last week, it just felt like we were moving right forward. It was also Carmen Urbina’s last week in the district. I and many others will greatly miss her leadership.  She, Casandra Kamens and I met to discuss CFEE Taking It Up. This project now will be renamed Carrying It Forward: Raising our Voices to End Racism in Schools. The CFEE (Coaching for Educational Equity) organization is no longer consulting on this project.  It will be district leaders that “carry the torch” forward. Jennifer Harris and myself are among those who will push forward with this work. Megan Murphy will also be a facilitator supporting this work. The good news is that Carmen will be consulting and supporting us to ensure the project is well supported and outlined with the proper intentions.

School choice is right around the corner. Please share the positives of our school with people you know in the community. Word of mouth matters to parent, positive or negative.

Here are some items of note for the week:

• Artist in Residence Options –  PLT prioritized on an Artist in Residences and also a date for the artist to come to school. February 15 or a little later will most likely be the start date for our first Artist in Residence, Samuel Becerra. The second artist is still being decided upon based on availability. Erin Bucklew also has connected with a dynamic multi skilled artist from Cottage Grove who we are in communication with named Olive del Sol.

•Volunteers for Saturday’s Showcase 9:00-12:00 We still need volunteers to help out with the showcase event.  I will be there from 9-12. A couple of parents have also volunteered. Please come and help out!

• Care Team Referrals – The Student Care Team will be meeting next week, which means referrals to the team are due this Friday. The Care Team can help with a variety of stations including recent or impending homelessness, paying utility bills, incarcerated parents, counseling resources, and many others. DHS can also provide us with updates for any reports we’ve made and wanted updates on what action they’ve taken. Linked here is the 4J Release Form (PDF or DOC) if you can obtain a parent or guardian signature, but you can also refer “hypothetical” student or family situations. Let me know if you have any questions about potential referrals, but if it’s a situation that’s on your mind, it’s probably a worth referring to the team.

• Updated Health Standards – 4J hasn’t shared these with staff yet, but Rachel Farkas shared the most recent Oregon Health Standards for K-3 and 4-5 if you’d like to look them over.

• News from the Emerald Empire Reading Council – Here’s the January Newsletter from the Emerald Empire Reading Council. This month’s newsletter includes a number of workshops and some recommended books. If you’d like more information, visit their old fashioned 90’s website.

• January 29 Grading Day Staff Expectations – Taking classified staff first, this is a regular work day for most people. Grading days are usually a time classified staff use accumulated comp time. If you want to take a comp day please contact me and Edna before January 26 with your comp hours so I can sign off on their use.

For licensed staff, HR last year allowed teachers to request to work from home on grading days. Below are the expectations HR set out for licensed staff for grading days last time around and I’m assuming it’s the same for this year:

Unlike a planning or PD day, where the District has a firm expectation that all teachers report and be physically present throughout the work day, we have exercised greater flexibility for grading days in recognition of teachers’ professional status. On grading/ report days, principals have discretion to require that all teachers report and work on their grades at the building, or alternatively, to allow teachers to request permission to work from home, and report to the building when grades are completed. In exercising this discretion, please consider the following:

(1) Would allowing a teacher to work from home on this day interfere with work that needs to be done? For example, do you have teachers who need to collaborate with each other in order to prepare reports? — if so, it does not make sense to allow them to work in isolation;

(2) Grading day is a work day. It costs the district about $480,000, and it is not intended to be a vacation day.

(3) Teachers are highly visible members of the community, and part of our expectation of them as professionals is to be good stewards of public resources. If you do allow teachers to work off site this day, please remind them public perception issues and work to protect them. This means that if we grant flexibility to work off-site, it is critical that they work during work time. We grant flexibility to principals to allow teachers to work off-site on grading day, but if it is abused, we will not be able to continue to do so.

(4) The flexibility to work off-site is a privilege, and not an entitlement. Whether you allow any teacher to work off-site is within your discretion. I believe the best practice is to communicate to teachers is that you expect them to work in the building on this day, unless they have requested and received your advance permission to work from home.

So in short, if teachers would like to work from home this day, let me me know, but be sure to make plans ahead of time if you need to collaborate with colleagues for grading. Also, be sure to use this time for grading and not use it to run errands around town.

Also, grades are due on Monday, February 8. Teachers will be sending them home in the student backpacks. Please disregard the previous email about grades being brought to the office to be sent home.

• Here are some interesting events sponsored by CLLAS:

“At the Border: A comparative analysis of U.S. newspaper reporting about unaccompanied immigrant children”, a CLLAS grad grantee presentation by Ricardo Valencia

Wednesday January 27^th, 2016, 4pm-5:30pm, McKenzie Hall 125, University of Oregon

Join us for a talk by Ricardo Valencia, whose work examines the reporting of Central American unaccompanied immigrant children in 2014 through hundreds of pieces published in four U.S. newspapers. The project helps understand the dynamic between Non- Latino and Latino sources and who led the media narrative on this issue. Valencia is a PhD candidate in Media Studies with an accomplished career in journalism and as a diplomat of the El Salvador Embassy in Washington, D.C. His research was funded in part by a Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies (CLLAS) grant.

“Chicano Park Anchor of Barrio Logan,” a talk by Hector Villegas, Chicano Artist

Monday February 8^th, 2016, 4pm-5:30pm, Lawrence Hall 115, University of Oregon

Hector Villegas is a community artist and neighborhood activist in Chicano Park’s Barrio Logan, San Diego. Chicano Park is a public space of cultural and artistic resistance that emerged over struggles of community empowerment and self-determination in the 1970’s. The park is home to the country’s largest collection of outdoor murals. Today, the neighborhood is experiencing pressures of housing and retail gentrification and neighborhood activists are struggling to maintain their neighborhood. Hector Villegas’ talk will trace the history of activism in Chicano Park, discuss his art work, and today‘s neighborhood movements to project Barrio Logan against gentrification.

More info: http://cllas.uoregon.edu/chicano-park-anchor-of-barrio-logan-a-talk-by-hector-villegas-chicano-artist/

• Watch: One-Minute Mindfulness Strategy – In their research, “The Mindful School Leader” authors Valerie Brown and Kirsten Olson found that most educators are overwhelmed and often don’t take the time for self-care. In this ASCD Express video, they demonstrate a quick, 30-60 second breathing strategy that is an easy way to incorporate mindfulness and repose throughout a busy day. Try incorporating this exercise whenever you can find a free minute, whether first thing in the morning, at the close of the day, or anywhere in between.

• Schedule of Events for the Week – See the Zimbra calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

January 19 (T)

Joel, Nancy, and Megan at LEL B- McCornack Elementary (All Day)

Staff Meeting 2:45-4:45- Agenda is below:

• PBIS Review 1/2 hour
• IPBS Process Review 1/2 hour
• Dual Language Agreements and our Proposed Curriculum Alignment Plan (45 minutes)

4:00, Joel to All Admin Meeting for Preliminary Budget & Staffing Info (Ed Center)

January 20 (W)

8:00-9:00, Joel meets with Charis McGehee about dual immersion.

10:00-3:00, Joel, Aline, and Karen at Priority/ Focus Schools Meeting in South Willamette Valley (Lane ESD)

1:45-2:45, PBIS Meeting in Room 9 (All Classified are to expected attend.)
1:45-2:45, PLC Collaboration Time

January 21 (H)

7:30 AM, Joel and teacher in pre-conference.

12:00 PM, Joel in formal observation of teacher.

3:30-5:00 PM, Joel at the Immersion Task Force Meeting.

January 22 (F)

1:45-2:30 PM, Chamber Music Assembly (Gym)- Have students ready by 1:35.

3:00-3:30 PM, Joel and a teacher in pre-conference.
January 23 (S)
9:00 AM-12:00 PM, School Choice Showcase (Ed Center)

January 24 (Su)

9:00-10:30 AM, Joel on 89.7 KLCC with Jill to discuss our awesome program.

January 25 (M)
School Choice Visitation Week
11:30 AM-3:30 PM, Aline & Joel to Title 1 Coordinators and Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:45 PM, Site Council Meeting (Conference Room)

Agenda for Site Council:

CAP Review

School Choice Process

State Assessment Schedule Approval

Discussion of STAMP Assessment for this Spring.

January 26 (T)
Last Day of PE

7:30, Joel and a teacher in pre-conference.

8:45, Joel and Alicia in a Cafecito about School Choice.

10:30-11:00, Joel in formal observation.

3:00-4:30, El Camino del Río River/ Road Design Committee

6:00-7:00 PM, Dual Language Immersion Information Night

January 27 (W)

7:45-11:45, 4/5 Peer Observation Day, Megan,Nikita, Alexis, Jill all get pre-arranged substitutes for a half day. Communicate with Edna for these Title 2 A funded subs.
2:30-3:30 PM, Student Care Team Meeting, Joel and Jennifer attend.  (Howard Staff Room)

6:00-7:30 PM, Engineering Night (Cafeteria)

January 28 (H)

1:00- 2:00 PM, Joel leads the School Choice Tour

2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting in Erin Recker’s Room
3:15-5:15, Joel and KG Teachers to Monthly Kindergarten Meeting (Gilham)

January 29 (F)
Grading Day

1:30-3:00, Joel meets with mentor off site.

All Classified and Certified at the work site unless otherwise arranged with Joel.

Hope you all had a restful and fulfilling your Monday! It was good to see some of you at the NAACP MLK March.

Gracias para leer todo de este diario!

Saludos cordiales,

Joel

Week of January 11

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Hi all,

Here is the information on the main events of the week. I hope all of you had a good week back from break.  We are entering a time of year when students learn and make great strides.  Utilize it to the maximum.

• Artist in Residence Grant! EEF Award – Great news here! We will begin to  work with the Lane Arts Council this year .  The artist would be here for three weeks and classes would meet with them for a total of four sessions. Our task now is to decide which artist we use.  The grant dictates that the focus will be Latin American Arts. We also need to decide when we want to have the artist come. It might be nice to have the session during testing time as a little stress relief for students. See the Lane Arts Artist Residencies webpage for a list of all the artists, but I’d like to make a decision on the artist and dates at our first  February Staff Meeting. In the meantime, please take a look at the website and let me know if you have any early favorites for artists or dates, which I can send out ahead of the meeting.

• PBIS Report and Virtudes / Pride –

Virtudes / Pride System: We would like to focus on Integrity for the month.   Nancy and Joel will share the format of the pride program in the 19th of January meeting.  We will also share the integrity lessons for classroom teachers to teach in Late January/February.

The school will begin nominating Pride / Virtudes Awards in early February on an as the are worthy basis. We are not going to have assemblies this year but there will be solid recognition of each student by the principal as students earn them.

Referral Review: Joel and Nancy will review the  PBIS Level System in the January 19th meeting.

Green Slip Challenge: Zelene and Rita will work together to make copies of the big green slips and place 10 copies in each teachers’ box.  Focus for the month is responsible lining up behavior  (no touching, quiet voices, walking in a line) and walking as a class to the recess area (hands to self, walking, quiet voices).   Teachers will schedule a special activity if their class meets the goal of 10 giant green slips.  The winning class will get a special event involving ice cream and dancing.  Teachers cannot write their own class green slips.  Nancy will email teachers tomorrow.  Challenge will start on January 11 to the 27th.

Don’t Forget to do  the Rules Round Up PBIS Booster: Aline will email the rule roundup protocol from the Fall.  Nancy will email teachers all staff to review bathroom, hallway and cafeteria in their classroom.  Nancy will attach rules to email.  Recess people will do rules.   Nancy will remind teachers to be on time.  They need to understand that the behaviors happen while they are waiting to be picked up.  It is hard for students to wait in line and we can minimize the incidents by being present.  Staff on duty are not able to monitor the behaviors of the students on the playground and the students on the line.

• Report Card Grading Math Practices – Maddy Ahearn sent principals information to share with teachers regarding the math portion of student report cards. The math practice section of the elementary report card has been split into two sections: “Problem Solving” and “Communication”. Attached is a rubric (PDF and DOC) that teachers can use as a tool for grading math practices for the first semester report card. Hopefully this rubric will provide some clarity for teachers and families regarding these scores.

New Building Update:

Furniture Meeting is this week! Time to talk interiors in the design. I am very excited about this. Our first meeting of the River Road Team will be Thursday, January 14th at 3:30 in the Library.  Kay Mehas will facilitate the meetings. Team members are; Joel Lavin, Edna Ornelas, Karen Ramirez Gutierrez, Alexis Screen, Marcy Hellman, Trevor White, Liza Lewellen, Kay Mehas.

Below is our agenda:

Introductions:

Purpose:  The best possible interiors for River Road/El Camino Rio Elementary School

Think:  Flexibility….Long Term….Sturdy….Fun….Practical

Areas:  Classrooms…Common Areas

Liza Lewellen..PIVOT Architecture

Next Steps

Next Meeting

•  We need Schools Showcase Volunteers – We need help from a few staff memebers or parents who can help promote El Camino del Río at the School Showcase Saturday, January 23, 9:00-12:00 at the Ed Center. If we have enough folks volunteer, staff could do some nice short shifts. Let me know if any of you are able to help.

• Care Team Referrals – The Student Care Team will be meeting in three weeks, which means referrals to the team are due Friday, January 22, next week. DHS has been great about helping quite a few of our families, pointing them towards resources for a variety of different situations (homelessness, assistance with bills, incarcerated parents, counseling resources, and many others), so please consider referring a student or family in need. Try to get a signature on the 4J Release Form (PDF or DOC) so we will be able to openly discuss the student(s) by name and also so DHS can research the family situation to see what services they would qualify for. If there’s a situation where you can’t get a signature for whatever reason, you can refer “hypothetical” student or family situations. Let me know if you have any questions about potential referrals, but if it’s a situation that’s on your mind, it’s probably a worth referring to the team.

• Lane County Family Mediation Family Check-Up – Related to the above, linked here is a flyer staff can share with any interested families regarding a Family Check-Up program developed by the UO to provide brief, family-centered interventions that identify strengths and weaknesses in family functioning and help participants become motivated to make positive changes. The Family Check-Up service is available to parents with children between the ages of 2 and 17, who are members of Trillium Community Health Plan (i.e. Oregon Health Plan). The check-up will assess family interactions, encourage self-reflection, promote positive family management skills, and provide referrals to community services. Families can earn $150 (provided in gift cards) by attending three appointments, which take place over a four- to six-week period. The appointments involve the following:

• Intake: Parents meet with staff to share information about their family.
• Videotaped Observation: Parents work on tasks with their children so they can gather information about family interactions.
• Feedback: Strengths and areas of possible concern are discussed with parents along with referrals to community services.

• District Admin Update – Carmen Urbina, 4J’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, has accepted a position at the University of Oregon as their Program Development and Recruitment Coordinator in the Educational Methodology, Policy and Leadership Department. Her last day of work will be this Friday. Carmen began working with 4J in July of 2005 as the Parent, Family and Community Coordinator. During this time she has served on countless committees striving to give students and families a voice within the district. This is a huge loss for our district.  I cannot emphasize enough how much she has done to help students in our district. Students of color, gender non-conforming students, and many families who do not speak English have all benefited from her advocacy. Carmen has been recognized with multiple awards for her work in Eugene 4J.

The good news is that Carmen will finish the year with a .25 contract to take on some of the most iconic projects she has led in. Superintendent Balderas requested that she continue to lead in projects such as Pink Prom and the Taking It Up work on courageous conversations about race.

Also, Director of Technology, Steve Menachemson, will be leaving 4J this Friday as well. Steve has been tapped by the Fortune 500 company AECOM to serve as Director of Service Delivery for design and consulting services in the Americas. In a rare opportunity, Steve’s new position allows him to work globally but remotely, so he and his family will remain a part of the Eugene and 4J. Kim Ketterer will serve as Interim Director of Technology until a new director is appointed.

• MLK, Jr. March and Celebration Updates – In addition to the information I shared last week regarding the MLK Jr. March at PK Park on Monday, January 18th to the Shedd Institute, I have information for an event happening the next day at the UO’s Columbia Hall 150 (east 13th University) where White House Correspondent April Ryan will be speaking about H.O.P.E (Hoping for the Opportunity to Pursue Equity in America). See the linked flyer for details.

• Back-to-school transition tips for students living in poverty – The transition back to school after winter break can be difficult for students who live in poverty. Such students may have struggled with food insecurity and homelessness during the break, returning to school with unique needs that reach beyond academics. In this article from NPR, educators offer tips to help create a safe environment and smooth transition.

• Celia Long from BV is retired and wants to work as a sub in your classroom!- As of December 18, 2015, I retired as a full-time teacher with 4j. I worked as a second grade teacher at Buena Vista school  for 25 years! However, my experience as a teacher includes working with all academic levels. From kindergarten in Argentina to the University of Oregon  in the USA.

I am a native Spanish speaker from Argentina. I have the equivalent of a Masters’ Degree in Education recognized as such, by the University of Oregon. With my teaching license and as a guest teacher for the school district 4j, I am authorized to teach all grade levels (prekindergarten  to 12th grade), all subjects (including PE). I have the Multiple Subjects and the Spanish Highly Qualified certifications.

I am in the AESOP system. My  guest teacher number is my  cell phone number:  XXX=XXX-XXXX. (See Joel if you need the number.) I prefer the “pre- arranged”  guest teacher option if possible.

If you need/want to contact me via email please do so at my personal email address: carlcelialong@comcast.net .

I also work as a free-lance Spanish translator and interpreter.

Thank you, Celia Long

• Schedule of Events for the Week

This month there will be two fire drills unannounced. Please be prepared for these drills at ANY time. Review the procedure with your students and have your attendance system accurate and ready at all times. Inform substitutes as well.

January 11 (M)

9:00-10:45, Joel at UO to work on Somos Juntos Proyecto.
2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

5:30-7:30, State of Black Oregon 2015  (University of Oregon)

January 12 (T)

9:00-11:00, Immersion Task Force Meeting (Ed Center)- Focus reading and beginning a district wide master plan for world languages.

12:15-12:50, Joel in Formal Observation

3:00-4:00, Priority Leadership Team.-

Agenda: 1. Artist in Residence scheduling.  2. Peer Observation Update 3. State Testing Schedule 4. Staff Lounge Agreements discussion 5. Building an adult culture of respect and community.

January 13 (W)

1:45-2:45, Wednesday Collaboration time- All grade level teams and relevant specialists meet in the LIBRARY.  (Focus is math formative assessment)
3:00-5:00, Joel to Implicit Bias & Disproportionate Discipline Work Session (Ed Center)

January 14 (H)

7:45-2:45- 4th/5th Peer Observation Day- Please check in with Edna if you have specific sub requests. They have not been ordered yet. We will have 2 subs under the Title 2A funds.

   2:45-3:45-IPBS Meeting

3:00-4:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting w/SROs (Ed Center)

January 15 (F)

2:45-3:45, TLT Meeting
January 18 (M)
No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

9:00-12:00, Come join me at the MLK March!  I would love to have our staff come and be visible and united at this important community event.

January 19 (T)

Joel and Megan at LEL B- McCornack Elementary (All Day)

Staff Meeting 2:45-4:45- Agenda is below:

• PBIS Review 1/2 hour
• IPBS Process Review 1/2 hour
• Dual Language Agreements and our Proposed Curriculum Alignment Plan (45 minutes)

January 20 (W)

1:45-2:45, PBIS Meeting
1:45-2:45, PLC Collaboration Time

January 21 (H)

3:30-5:00, Joel at the Immersion Task Force Meeting

January 22 (F)

1:45-2:30, Chamber Music Assembly
January 23 (S)
9:00-12:00, School Choice Showcase (Ed Center)

Have a good week and an even better three-day weekend! Please join me at the MLK march if you like on

Monday 9-12.

Joel