https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=4524
Hello Howard Roadrunners,
Nineteen items of note this week:
• Building SMART Goals – Attached are the detailed Building SMART Goals I shared in broad strokes at the last staff meeting (reading & math for student growth goals and technology integration for the professional practice goal). You can cut and paste from this document into the “Goals Development Form” in TalentEd. Teachers are welcome to develop your own goals, though our building PD and some district PD will be geared towards to these topics, so using these goals may make folks’ lives a little bit easier.
Also, as I shared earlier, the observation cycle has changed to more of an on-year/off-year cycle, so for those of you on the observation year cycle this year, I’ll pair the “Standards Overview Conference” with an informal observation sometime this month. I’ll just drop by classrooms for these, though you can feel free to suggest a time if you’d prefer. For teachers on the off-year cycle, I’ll set up a time to meet with you or with your grade level team if you’d rather.
• 4/5 Job Share Interviews, Wednesday, Oct. 14th at 1:30 – We had five applicants for our 4/5 job share position, which is more than I expected since blends and job shares are not always popular. I’ve set up interviews for this Wednesday at 1:30, so let me know if any of you would like to be on that interview committee. I’ve already checked with Stephanie and she can make that date and time.
• Safety Committee Meeting – I’m planning to hold our first Safety Committee Meeting in two weeks on Wednesday, October 21st at 2:30 in the Library. At this first meeting I’d like to generate a list of topics for the committee to work on this year, both for the old building and the new, and if time permits begin tackling some of these topics. I’ll plan to invite Renee Tobler, the North Region SRO, and/or the district Risk Manager to the next meeting to help problem solve various topics. Please let me know if you’d like to be a part of this committee so I can plan for how many people will attend.
On a related note, Crystal has put in a work order in to get 42 eye bolts and straps to secure doors in addition to the regular door locks in the event of a lockdown. Crystal has also contacted the metal shop at NEHS about getting 28 of the covers for the exit door swing arms.
• Color Copies Reminder – We’re seeing a lot of color copies getting printed to the office color copier with one blue underlined link or one red 4J apple, which costs 5¢ per copy and add up quickly. If you do need to print color copies, do use the office copier rather than classroom printers (which cost about 20¢ a copy), but I did want to remind staff to set your default print settings for the office copier is to print black & white. If you’re not sure about your print settings, please email Peggy at 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu or check in with me. See this old blog post if you want to try setting it up yourself.
• HMH Reader App – For those of you with iPads (including teacher iPads), 4J has placed their orders for the HMH Reader app this past week, which is where you can get access to the leveled readers, so hopefully we’ll have them available to teachers and staff very soon. At this point, 4J is just waiting for HM to activate the accounts, though it may take some time set the app on iPads, but they should be available through ThinkCentral right away.
• Supporting Success of EA Substitutes – Karen Harden sent an email to principals and secretaries to share with classified staff in what you can do to help EA substitutes:
Dear Administrators and Secretaries –
As you all are aware, we continue to struggle to have all of our substitute educational assistant absences filled. We will continue to hire substitutes, but it is not solely an issue of numbers. Currently we have 158 educational assistant substitutes in AESOP. This number is substantially more than the number of vacancies on any given day. We recently sent out a survey to our substitute EA’s to ask what barriers they see in their work.
• There were a few areas that CLEARLY stood out from their responses. I want to share those with you because you can help!!
• Many of them mention that when they get to the assignment, there are not substitute notes for them. They would feel more prepared to support students and staff if they had notes similar to those left for Guest Teachers (schedule, appropriate student information, basic school info, etc). If they feel successful at your building and in the assignment, they are more likely to return as well as speak highly of your program. I suggest you ask your EA’s to prepare substitute folders for their substitutes.
• Remember that for any assignment of more than 2 hours, you need to provide a 15 minute break. Comments in the survey share that many are not given scheduled to receive the required break. Please refer to the information HR shared at the training in August (I have attached a copy to this email).
• There was also frequent frustration with arriving at a school to have the assignment changed from that which they accepted in AESOP. Please keep substitute’s in the assignment they are assigned. If you have a particularly difficult student situation, and to support the success of students and your program you KNOW you will be adjusting the assignment, please make not of it in AESOP so that substitute knows what they are accepting. This will help them feel prepared and successful too!The other issue that was frequently mentioned had to do with training. Human Resources will continue to explore ways to provide training to help them feel more prepared for their work. If you have any ideas or suggestions, I would appreciate hearing them.
Thank you for your attention to this important information. Please feel free to share this directly with your staff.
Have a good week – Karen
Karen M. Hardin, Human Resources
Recruitment, Retention, Equity and Staff Development Administrator• New Building Updates – Attached are the minutes from the last Owner/Architect/General Contractor (OAC) Meeting and below are a few items of note:
• EA Packing/Unpacking Days – It occurred to me that with our EA hours ranging from 3.5 to 6.5 hours, I wondered if the 2 days to pack and the 2 days to unpack meant 4 days of each person’s regular hours or 4 full day (32 hours)? The answer is two full days, meaning EAs will get a total of 16 hours of extended contract to help pack and 16 hours of extended contract to unpack, regardless of your current work hours.
• School Tours and Fumes – Todd Construction gave us the heads up that they are going to be doing a lot of painting and vanishing and other activities that have strong fumes now through Thanksgiving. David, the site superintendent, will still be available to give tours, but be aware that there will likely be some strong odors if you or your students who are sensitive. If any of you would like to take your class on a tour, just let me know a few days in advance and I’ll confirm the tour date and time with David.
• Vandalism Rumor – There was a rumor last week there was vandalism to the new building, putting it behind schedule, but this was only partly true. In the custodial storage area of the new building, there was some paint and varnish was spilled on the floor that needs cleaning up and there was also some paint that was thrown up on the walls, but that can be pained over. This did require extra time for clean-up, but it’s not putting the school behind schedule. They’re sticking with February 1st as the substantial completion date and are still planning for us to be able to start sending boxes over during spring break. And if you’re curious who’s financially responsible for vandalism during construction, Todd Construction is responsible for site security and is financially responsible for any damages until 4J takes ownership of the property after substantial completion.
• Playground Color Palette – I shared a link to our playground equipment for the new school a couple weeks ago, and this week I thought I’d share the color pallet selection, which is Starburst. This color palette will complement the building colors almost perfectly, which is great because that almost never happens.
• Second Semester PE Teacher Hire – Continuing Howard’s tradition of same-named staff members (Carolyn, Carolyn & Carol, Debbie, Debbie & Debby, Jessi & Jessy, Jennifer, Jennifer & Jenny, Kelly & Kelly, Linda & Linda, Rachel & Rachael, Rebecca & Rebecca, Robin & Robin, Shelly & Shelley), Justine Delaine has been offered and has accepted the PE position as Howard’s second semester PE teacher. Rachel and I were both on the interview committee and she was our top choice. Justine will be teaching part-time first semester at Edison and second semester will be two days at Howard and two days at Awbrey Park. I’ve contacted the Awbrey Park principal and we both preferred Mondays/Tuesday over Thursdays/Fridays since there are two more Fridays off than Mondays, so we’re planning to flip a coin for it at our next principals’ meeting. Cross your fingers we’re lucky!
• School and District Report Card Release – School and district report cards will be publicly released on Thursday, October 15. The public will be able to access report cards on the ODE Report Card webpage. While much of the content of report cards will look the same, there are a few significant differences to note this year. Most importantly, school report cards will not contain an overall school rating or a comparison school rating. As this is a transitional year with the move to Smarter Balanced, ODE requested and received approval from the U.S. Department of Education to pause the report card ratings for one year. Ratings will resume on the October 2016 report cards. The report card will still contain assessment results – both for Smarter Balanced tests and the OAKS science assessment – however, there will only be one year of data for the new English Language Arts and Math assessments as this past year’s results represent a new baseline.
• No SBAC Interim Assessments – At last week’s TAG Coordinator training, Kerri Sage shared that the national company behind Smarter Balanced, AIR, will only work with states and ESDs for the interim assessments. This year AIR said ESDs need have at least 75,000 students within your ESD catchment to do get the interim assessments, which is less than what we have in Lane County. The only other option is to pay individually, which is more than the ESD or 4J can afford.
• Free UO International Cultural Service Program (ICSP) Presentations – The UO International Cultural Service Program (ICSP) invites teachers to request international UO students to visit your classrooms. What is ICSP? ICSP brings together a select group of University of Oregon international students to provide the Eugene/Springfield and surrounding communities with valuable cross-cultural exchange. ICSP students come from all over the globe and are available upon request to give presentations about their home country and culture. Read more at the ICSP website. You can submit a request by filling out this online form. If at any time you have questions, please feel free to contact the ICSP Coordinator, Sophie Patterson, by email icsp@uoregon.edu or phone (541) 346-7429.
• Emerald Park Art Bus – Emerald park gave us postcards to put in teacher mailboxes, but for all staff, Emerald Park is bringing back an old-fashioned art bus, which can come to schools or school events to provide art lessons. They’re still developing how they will bring the Imagination Bus to schools, but I suggested to Dale Weigandt over at the park that they might think about copying the LaneArts Artist in Residence model, coming into classrooms for lessons (since their bus only holds 22 students at a time). Hopefully there will be more to come on this, but they are holding a dedication & tour of the bus this Thursday at 4:30 if you’d like to tell your students or even come yourself.
• Art of Survival Exhibit: Enduring the Turmoil of Tule Lake – Wayne Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene – This is a extraordinary opportunity for staff and students and an important history lesson about Japanese Internment Camps in the US during WWII. Attached is a letter from Chief Judge Ann Aiken of the U.S. District Court in Eugene inviting you and your students to view the Tule Lake exhibit currently on display in the U.S. Courthouse in Eugene. It is open to the public from October 5 through November 30, 2015. Also attached are elementary teachers guides.
• News from the Emerald Empire Reading Council – Here’s the October Newsletter from the Emerald Empire Reading Council. This month’s newsletter includes a number of workshops, programs, literacy grants and two librarian jokes. If you’d like more information, visit their quaint website.
• Ten Commitments of a Multicultural Educator – From Paul C. Gorski at George Mason University, who states, “I propose the following Ten Commitments of a Multicultural Educator as a place to start. I offer these commitments not in a spirit of judgment nor with any illusion that I have reached any appreciable level of proficiency with them. Rather, I offer them as somebody who struggles each day to embody them. I offer this challenge to my colleagues, but no more so than I offer it to myself.”
• Reconsider Columbus Day – With Columbus Day this Monday, it’s good to consider what stories our students have learned about Columbus? Chances are they’re incomplete. Amanda Morris has some suggestions for telling a more accurate story in this Teaching Tolerance article.
• Grant Opportunities – THE Journal is a technology education focused website I subscribe to and they always post grant opportunities in their daily email newsletters. I recently checked their website and they actually have a pretty extensive list of K-12 grant opportunities, mostly focused around STEM topics, ranging from smaller $500 grants to ones for hundreds of thousands of dollars. I found a few community focused grants on there and am going to try to recycle our Howard T-Shirt Grant, but I thought I’d share this resource with staff wanting to fund field trips, equipment, pay for presentations or other expensive learning opportunities.
• Emotionally Healthy Kids – Cognitive science tells us that students’ emotions affect their motivation, attention span, memory, behavior, and, ultimately, their academic achievement. Yet anxiety and stress among students seem to be on the rise. How can educators help all students deal with their emotions to enhance learning? See this issue of ASCDExpress for a series of articles on this topic.
• Schedule of Events for the Week – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
October 12 (M)
National School Lunch Week
8:10, Allan Meeting Marc Seals from Pacific University (Office)
9:00, Allan Meeting with UO Ed Research Student (Office)
4:00-6:00, Allan to 4J/Bethel/Springfield Admin Meeting w/Dr. Patricia Gandara (Ed Center)October 13 (T)
2:30-5:00, BEST EA Training (Library)
2:30-3:30, Allan to 1st Grade Parent MeetingOctober 14 (W)
9:00-11:00, Allan to OAC Meeting (Construction Trailer)
9:00-3:00?, Allan to Testify at Custody Hearing (Lane Co. Courthouse)
1:30-2:30, PBIS Meeting (Room 21)
1:30-3:45, 4/5 Job Share Interviews (Office)
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principal’s Meeting (Awbrey Park)October 15 (H)
Sara Green Visiting North Region Schools
2:30-5:00, BEST EA Training (Library)
4:30, River Road Parks & Rec Art Bus Dedication (Emerald Park)October 16 (F)
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
2:30-5:00, BEST EA Training (Library)October 19 (M)
Progress Monitoring Week 2
BEST Starts (Tentative)
12:45-2:00, Casey the Firedog Visits Kindergarten
2:30-5:00, Allan Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)October 20 (T)
9:00-9:30, Allan Meeting w/Assistance League RE: Food Drop for Families
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Room 1)
2:00-5:00, Cookie Dough Pick-Up (Gym)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Library)October 21 (W)
9:00-1:00, Kindergarten to Detering Orchards
9:00-11:00, Allan to OAC Meeting (Construction Trailer)October 22 (H)
2:30-3:30, Taking it Up Meeting (Staff Room)October 23 (F)
Picture Day
11:00-12:00, Allan Touring South Lane SD Design Team of New BuildingOctober 24 (S)
Weekend Cookie Dough Pick-Up (Gym)
Have a good week, everyone! And if you made it all the way to the bottom of my announcements, DO I HAVE A DEAL FOR YOU! I finally upgraded my old man cave TV and my old set is yours for free if you’ll haul it away. It doesn’t have much of a resale value because it doesn’t have any HDMI inputs, but it does work just fine. Here’s a CNET review from 2003 if you’re interested. Let me know if you want to claim it. First come, first serve! Oh, and you will have to help me get it down my stairs. :)
Allan
