Madison Middle School

By barsotti_p 　https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/madisonstaff/2023/03/24/march-24-2023/

Dear Madison Staff,

No one is more deserving of a week of rest and relaxation! 

Here are this week’s updates:

MADISON INFORMATION     

• Monday – April 3rd: Please watch your emails.  Actually – do not watch your email, please plan on looking at your email at 8am on Monday morning to see if you are being called a different direction.  Things out of my control are moving behind the scenes.  What I know as of Friday afternoon. Some of us will be doing CPR/First Aid training here at Madison.  I only have 12 spots for CPR/First Aid training so all that signed up, might not get in.  If we need, I will try to find an additional time to offer it. I will let you know Monday who is in when I have more information about the different PDs. Classified staff has continued Pathway training at Churchill, more information below.  SS teachers having their own PD, beginning at 8:00am at Churchill, in the cafeteria.
• Staffing Update: We have made a recommendation for hire to HR for our open SPED EA position, and we are waiting to hear back.
  

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

• Repeat: ACE Award Nominations: Nominations for this year’s ACE awards are now open. Please visit the link here to nominate a Champion in Education. Nomination categories include Classified Staff, Licensed Staff, Volunteers, and Administrators. Nominations are open until March 31.
       
• New School Improvement Plans: Gina and I attended a training on Friday about the new school improvement plan process. It feels like a big change from what we do now. One of the biggest change is we’re being asked to target a specific population of students for improvement (ours will be LatinX students) and to ensure our three goals align to the superintendent’s 3 big rocks (communication, achievement of underserved populations, and safety/well-being). We have about a month to rewrite our plan and submit it. 
  • Mission and Vision Statements: Another part of this realignment is to ensure our mission and vision statements reflect the superintendent’s priorities. It’s been a number of years since we revisited ours, so this may be on our agenda for next year.
  • MTSS Focus: The district is in the process of creating an MTSS (Multi Tiered Student Support) plan. More info is coming on how this impacts meeting schedules, data teams, and how students access interventions. 
  • Leadership Plans: There’s also a new, more equitable, process for Leadership Plans. In the past, high schools got stipends, middle schools got percentage of their salaries, and elementary schools got comp days. We’ll use the same system at all levels and leadership plans will tie directly to our school improvement plan (which ours does this year).
         
• Classified Pathways PD for April 3: Classified staff are expected to attend from 8:30-11:30. If you haven’t yet signed up, the email has that information for you. If you signed up earlier in the year, search your email for one from Reid Shepard that confirmed your selection. You can also visit the Pathways site for more information.
       
• COVID Updates: Two changes are coming from the state regarding Covid protocols. First, masks in healthcare settings will no longer be required as of April 3rd. Second, staff with religious exemptions to the Covid vaccine are no longer required to mask and participate in weekly testing. 
       
• Early Release Wednesdays are Back: Next year, early release days will shift back to Wednesdays. 
      
• Kelly MS Benito Juárez Celebration: Friday, April 7 from 5-8pm is Kelly Middle School’s Benito Juárez Celebration. There will be food and entertainment provided by both students of our local immersion school and community groups. All are invited to attend!
      
• Free Library Card for 4J Students and Staff: All 4J students and staff are eligible for a free library card even if they don’t live within the city limits. Just bring your school ID to get your free card. I have heard one of the perks is two free streaming services: Hoopla and Kanopy.
• OEBB Dependent Eligibility Verification: If you have a dependent listed on your insurance, OEBB is requiring everyone to verify dependents meet their criteria for eligibility. Your dependents could lose their insurance coverage without verification. For example, if you have a spouse on your insurance, you’ll need to submit a copy of your marriage certificate and the first page of your most recent tax return. Linked here are the documentation requirements.
  • Licensed Staff: You should have already received an email from OEBB and will receive a 2nd one in early April if you haven’t verified your dependent(s). You have until April 28 to complete their request.
  • Classified Staff: You will get your first email in early May and will have until June 27 to submit your verification.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

• Using ChatGPT to Enhance Lesson Design: There’s a lot of news about how ChatGPT will impact education primarily with older students, but have you thought about how it might help you? I’ve started using it to help with writing emails or responding to parents. I asked it to write an email to families after our lockdown and I used parts of what it wrote to enhance the email I had already drafted. This article from Edutopia shares different ways teachers can use ChatGPT to improve lessons or find information. 
  • Erin Gaston also used ChatGPT to help me better explain complicated science concepts to my own 8th grader. Have a complicated concept or need to explain it another way to help a kid understand? Ask ChatGPT to explain it to a given age student. I also typed in the prompt she was given in science and used the response it wrote to help her better understand what information her teacher was likely looking for since I couldn’t remember how photosynthesis and cell respiration were similar. 

Looking Ahead:

March 27-31: Spring Break

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina

In case you’re counting, when we come back from Spring Break, it’s 53 work days until Summer Break! (That’s about 4 fewer days than from Winter Break until Spring Break.)