https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=12650
Hi Everyone,
Not only is spring break almost here, but Monday is FREE Cone Day at Dairy Queen!
Twenty-three items of note for this week:
• 23-24 Staffing Allocation Updates – Several staffing updates:
• Classroom Teaching Assignments – James volunteered to move up to 4th grade and Liz volunteered to fill the 2nd grade position, though she is planning to go half-time next year and look for a position at the Job Expo. Downtown has eliminated ESC staffing for all schools that have them and are replacing them with an Instructional Coach (see next item). Gloria will be placed half-time into our 1st grade vacancy and the other half will go to the Job Expo. We’ll also have a 0.2 PE and an 0.2 Music vacancy for next year going to the Job Expo. For reference, here is the complete classroom list for next year at this time:
KG: Gulewich, Harmon, Seno, Vaughan
1st: Gori, Speasl (0.5)/VACANCY (0.5), Zluticky
2nd: Ayres, Dempsey, Norton, Rabourn
3rd: Ball, Harshbarger, Talley
4th: Benavides, Cobb, Longoria, Reich
5th: Heinrich, Lovato, Parks• Instructional Coach and ESC – Downtown has eliminated ESC funding and is planning to replace these positions with an Instructional Coach who will work full-time at their assigned building. They will take over many of the ESC duties, but will have additional yet to be determined dues as well. They will primarily work at their assigned building, but they are officially Instruction Department employees. Downtown is paying for these positions by eliminating many of the current TOSA positions. It’s not clear at this point if these position will go to the Job Expo or if someone will be placed into these positions. I’ll be sure to share more information as we get it.
• Other Grant Funded Staffing Updates – Principals on Friday finally got the staffing the school board approved on Wednesday:
• Family Resource Coordinator – No change. Remains full-time.
• Librarian – No change. Remains full-time.
• SIA 1st Grade EA Time – We received 8 hours instead of our current 12 hours.
• Student Success Coordinator – No change, Remains full-time.• Non-SPED Classified Staffing – With the 4-hour SIA reduction, along with increased staffing costs, and the small reduction in our general classified allocation we did have to reduce a significant amount of EA hours and even with Iris leaving us at the end of the year I’ve had to displace Kari from her Title 1 position. All other non-SPED EAs (Kinder, Title, and Building) are staying at their current hours. Classified displacements are based strictly on seniority and job classification.
• SPED Classified Staffing Update – SSD admin said they are not reviewing the applications for additional staffing until April, which means we only have 35 hours of EA time at this point and have to reduce 11.5 hours of SPED EA time. Unfortunately, I’ve had displace Julie (5.5 hours) and Laura (4 hours). I’ve also had to reduce Molly by 2 hours. These reductions too are based solely on seniority within the SPED EA job classification and not job performance or any other factors. SSD said they will place people back at their original building if and when they reinstate staffing, which I feel we have a strong case for.
• Complete 23-24 Staffing Plan – Linked here is the complete 23-24 Staffing Plan, which includes all staff and funding sources. Let me know if you spot anything that looks like a mistake or you have questions about it.
• Limited Software Subscriptions Next Year – Related to the above, in the past, we set aside about $5,000 in the Title Budget for software subscriptions, but we had to eliminate this in order to retain staff. This means next year software subscriptions will be limited. We can probably renew a few out-of-building funds, but we won’t be able to afford all current subscriptions, though they could still be funded for by grants, classroom funds, or a request to PAHS.
• Holt Spirit Day, FRIDAY, Sports Day & Assembly! – This Friday is a Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Sports Day! Wear your favorite team gear or simply wear your Holt spirit gear. I’m planning to wear some sort of pop culture fictional sports team, so see if you can guess this Friday!
• REPEAT: Lost & Found Donated FRIDAY – Remind your class between now and spring break as you pass by the Lost & Found that we are donating anything left behind the last day before spring break.
• REPEAT: ACE Award Nominations Open – Nominations are due by March 31st. Linked here are the ACE Awards Webpage and the ACE Awards Nomination Form.
• April 3rd PD/Planning Day, CLASSIFIED – Principals were emailed that April 3rd will be the final day of the Classified Pathways PD. It will be at Churchill High School at the same times (8:30 – 11:30) and in the same rooms as the previous session. If you’re having trouble remembering which Pathway you’re in, look in your inbox for an email from Reid Shepard (type in the Zimbra search bar “from:reid”) which may have the subject line of “Pathway Cohort.” If you are a new employee, still having trouble finding your cohort, or have any other questions, please CLICK HERE or use the question link on the Pathways Webpage to let organizers know.
• UPDATE: April 3rd PD/Planning Day, LICENSED – I’ve found out our building is going to host part of the PD this day. The 4J PD Calendar says Lang Arts Adoption (4.0 hours) Building Based PD (1.5 hours), but hopefully, we’ll get details on times, locations, and content soon. I’ll add an item to Tuesday’s Staff Meeting agenda for what folk would like to do with the Building Based time if we do actually get time this day.
• REPEAT: Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit, Lesson #5 – All classroom teachers should use the Second Step Child Protection Unit for meeting the state Erin’s Law requirements. For each grade level, there are six lessons, which are to be covered at three points in the school year, with Lessons 1-4 in the fall, lesson 5 right before spring break, and lesson 6 right before summer break. 4J purchased only one kit per grade level, but linked here are Child Protection Unit Scans of the teacher guides if that makes things easier.
• Sheldon Drama Club Addams Family Assembly, 4/21 @8:30 – The Sheldon Drama club asked to perform for us two musical numbers and a very short scene with some actors leading a short activity like singing/snapping along to the Addams Family Theme Song. They may even do a dance game like “freeze dance” with some grade-level volunteers using a song from Wednesday like Goo Goo Muck. The assembly will be in the cafeteria from 8:30-9:30. We shouldn’t need to open the wall, but we will put out the grade-level signs and cones so classes know where to sit. Attendance is optional, but it should be a fun assembly. Linked here is the Assembly Map and Directions.
• Cafeteria Room Clear Plan – A few weeks ago we had to do a room clear in the cafeteria at breakfast when a student has a seizure. We scrambled with last-minute grab-n-go breakfast to get the kids fed, but it did raise the need to have a plan if this were to happen again in the middle of breakfast or lunch.
Our current thinking is if there is a medical emergency in the cafeteria, students eating breakfast or lunch will room clear into the gym, taking their food with them. Cafeteria staff would do their best to relocate meal service for any students still needing a meal and/or for any classes arriving for lunch.
• Needs Index Follow-Up – I shared earlier that Holt dropped on the district Needs Index and I would get more information as to why. 4J Data staff emailed me that our percent in Special Education, ELD, and the mobility rate did not change, but there was a drop in the percent of students qualifying for Free & Reduced Meals (now 42%), which they admit is not as accurate since all students are currently receiving free meals. They are basing the current FRM percentage on the number of families in enrolled in SNAP and TANF (i.e. food stamps). This could potentially impact future Title 1 funding, which is based on the school’s level of need, so I’ve already shared my concerns about these numbers with the district Federal Programs Coordinator. Also, I’ve asked Felicia for an article that can run in the Quick News about signing up families for SNAP and TANF. Felicia also had the good idea to put SNAP and TANF info into all of our spring break food boxes.
• Playground Upgrade Updates – Two playground updates:
• Soft Play “Caterpillar” Repairs – I keep meaning to share this but kept forgetting. If kids ask why there is caution take on the yellow caterpillar climber, it’s because the concrete footing at one of the bases is cracked. Facilities staff were out fixing the spiderweb climber when they noticed the cracked base on the caterpillar. Facilities staff said they will fix it over spring break.
• Bark Chips Along the Sidewalk – We asked for this last year and didn’t get it, but we asked again this year and this time said that it’s a safety issue, but we will at some point get bark chips put along the sidewalk between soft play and hard play, which right now is a trail of mud where kids have killed the grass running next to the sidewalk and is now a muddy slip and fall hazard.
• Summer School Updates – Principals were emailed the summer school building use plan. Holt is again hosting KITS (4 classrooms) and SEAL (12 classrooms, two classes K-5, no middle school this year). They did note that they tried to find different sites for schools that hosted last summer, but due to facilities projects were unable to move, though they expect that next year they may be able to use different sites for a few of the regions. Summer school dates for SEAL are July 5 – August 14, Mon – Friday – full-day, and KITS will be June 27 – Aug 18, Tues, Wed, Thurs- full-day.
If you’re interested in working at summer school with me, Kim, and Darla, positions are now posted on the 4J Jobs website and a complete list of positions and job descriptions can be found here.
• Early Release Day Moving to Wednesdays – If you missed it in the latest 4J Parent News or Vol 2. of the 4J Educator News, we are going back to early release Wednesdays instead of Fridays for next year. Early release times are staying the same, though I was obnoxious and did put in a plug at the all admin meeting on Friday for us to look at shortening the school day since the board approved counting recesses and PD as instructional minutes earlier this year.
• 2023-2024 Calendar Approved – The 23-24 School Year Calendar was approved by the school board, so make your vacation plans accordingly.
• COVID Updates – Two COVID protocol updates:
• COVID Updates for Staff – Masks will no longer required in health settings (i.e. the heath room) starting April 3rd and as of this week unvaccinated staff with religious and/or medical exceptions are no longer required to do weekly testing or masking but are required to screen for symptoms and stay home when sick. See this email for details.
• COVID Updates for Volunteers – Volunteers with religious and/or medical exceptions as of last week are no longer required to wear a mask, but are required to screen for symptoms and stay home when sick. See this email for details.
• School Continuous Improvement Plans – I mentioned at Site Council earlier this month that district admin is having schools revisit their school improvement plans. This was the focus of the all-admin meeting I attended last Friday it’s not much of a shift for elementary schools and is pretty much what we have already been doing, using the ORIS Tool and doing a Data Dive. The linked 4J School Continuous Improvement Plan Completion Guide (TLDR) is what schools are to complete by the end of April, but the form is almost identical to our current School Improvement Plan and our focus areas are two of the main areas they want schools to look at (Attendance and Equity/Inclusion), though we may need to revise the goals so they focus on more specific of subgroups rather than “ALL” students. I’ll present a draft plan to Site Council (primarily using our current school improvement plan) and then with all staff. I’m thankful we went through the ORIS process last year because I honestly cannot imagine trying to squeeze a meaningful discussion or process into one month of what our Site Council worked on for an entire school year.
• Sheldon Region Mental Health Specialist Update – Sheldon Region Mental Health Specialist Sydney Stringer has been meeting weekly one-on-one with a few Holt students, but Amy McCormick is returning from a leave and will take over Sydney’s caseload starting this week. See this email for details.
• McKinney-Vento Data Summary for March 2023 – Linked here is the March 2023 McKinney-Vento Report (i.e. homeless) report for the school district. Holt has the fifth highest M-V count of any elementary school in 4J and has more M-V students than another other Sheldon Region elementary or middle school.
• UO International Cultural Service Program – Don’t forget about the free classroom presentations offered by the UO International Cultural Service Program. See the ICSP Brochure for details.
• Sluggo’s Home Run Reading Challenge – Video Link – If you want to give your kids a fun reminder about Sluggo’s Home Run Reading Challenge, linked here is a 2023 Reading Program Intro Video from the Ems and Sluggo.
• Free Library Card for 4J Staff and Students – I knew all 4J students could get a free library card, even if they don’t live within city limits, but I just learned the same is true for 4J staff. Just bring your school ID to get a free card. If for nothing else, do it so you can get access to free streaming services. Hoopla and Kanopy are two surprisingly good services you get free with your library card, among others. Also, I just checked out season one of Yellowjackets on DVD from the library, since I don’t have Showtime, and it is fabulous!
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
March 20 (M)
2022 Electronics Recycling Competition Holt Drop-Off (Front Office)
Artist in Residence Continues
Library Week #2 Classes
Title Staff Room Duty
Staffing Plans Due to HR
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
8:10-9:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
9:25-10 :25, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals Meeting (Ed Center)March 21 (T)
8:10-9:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
9:25-10 :25, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)
5:00-7:00, Feed Hope Spring Food Packing (Library)March 22 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
8:10-9:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
9:25-10 :25, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
5:30-6:30, 22-23 Kindergarten Orientation (Library & Zoom)March 23 (H)
8:10-9:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
9:25-10 :25, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:45-7:15, Conscious Discipline Parent Education Series (Library)March 24 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Sports Day
8:05-8:40, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Staff ChoiceMarch 27-31
No School – Spring BreakApril 3 (M)
No School — PD/Planning DayApril 4 (T)
Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room:
Library Week #1 Classes
Kindergarten Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)April 5 (W)
Pesach, First Days of Passover (Jewish) – April 5 & 13
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)April 6 (H)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Library)April 7 (F)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Payback day for missed Staff Choice 3/4
4:00, Holt Friday at 4:00 (Location TBA)
53 days until summer break (but who’s counting)!
Allan
