Madison Middle School

By barsotti_p 　https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/madisonstaff/2023/06/02/june-2nd-2023/

Madison Staff,

Can you believe it is June already? It’s been a long, challenging year. Thank you for hanging in there! 

Here are this week’s updates:

MADISON INFORMATION       

• Last Day of School: There has been a change and we are having a full day ending at 3:35.  I wish is was a noon release but no one asked me my opinion. This is the latest draft.  I do not see the times changing much but maybe some supervision assignments might change.
• Staffing Update: I was hoping our PE position yesterday but it was not.  I hope it will be posted soon.  We are now hiring two PE teachers to get us compliant with PE required minutes.  If you know anyone that is interested – please let them know to watch the job postings.
          
• End of the Year (More Structure versus Less Structure): Keep students busy.  Middle schoolers need to change activities at least every 15 minutes.  That might mean you do a longer warm up activity to have less work time.  Leaving students to work on an assignment for longer than 15 minutes – you will start to have behavior problems in your classroom.
• End of Year Celebration: Hey everyone, we are gonna have an end of year all-staff celebration next Friday at 2:45. It will be short n’ sweet so you can get home to your families at the normal hour! We will not only be celebrating the end of this school year, but we will also be saying goodbye to Zoe, Suzie, Alan, and Kellen! We have just enough money left in the staff fund to have an ice cream sundae party, so be ready to create your own sundaes and down a lot of SUGAR! We would like to get a gift for Alan (from the staff), as he has been here for 17 years and is retiring. We are asking for donations to buy him a gift card to Coastal Farm Supply. You can leave your donation on my desk (cash or check made out to me, as I will be purchasing the card). Be ready to party hardy next Friday. WOOOOHOOOOO          
• Report Card Window: Courtney is opening the report card window June 9th. Please remember that you need to email your canvas grades to Courtney for each trimester.  If you need/want help – Nicholas Hadley is district person who can help you. 
           
• Monday with Justin: Justin Corey will be on Monday after school for a meet and greet. 
        
• Repeat: TalentEd Goals Reflection: All licensed staff need to complete the Goals Reflection in TalentEd before the end of the year. Dorothy will be at Madison to help you with your Talent Ed goals data on Tuesday, June 6, 8:00-11:15 AM, and Wednesday, June 7, 8:00-noon. She will work in the staff room, and teachers can pop in with questions or email her and she will get back to you.
      
• End of Year Tasks: If you like to pre-plan, linked here is the end of year checklist. All items need to be completed before you officially check out at the end of the year.    
          

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

• District Operations Reorganization: Superintendent Dey shared in an email this week that they have restructured the central office. In doing so, some departments were dissolved, others were moved, and some other organizational decisions were made. Here are a few highlights that pertain particularly to elementary schools:
  • The Equity Department is no longer its own entity. Instead people from within the department will now work under the Instruction Department (now called Academic Access and Advancement) or the Student Support Programs Department (which is now housed under a larger department called Youth & Family Support Services).
  • Most SSD Administrators (Angela, Seth, Tom, and Joel) will now be called Equity and Inclusion Admin and will be under the Academic Access department, spending more time in buildings than downtown.
  • Jeff Johnson will be the sole Director of Elementary Schools and Melissa Ibarra will shift to a newly created role as the Director of K-12 Dual Language Education.
  • Brooke Wagner, currently the Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, will now be director of Human Resources. Larry Williams, currently the Director of Equity and Inclusion, will now be the Executive Director of Academic Access and Advancement (formerly known as the Instruction Department).
  • Assistant Superintendent roles have been replaced with Executive Director positions.
  • Kat Lange, current Director of Student Services (SPED), will shift to Executive Director of Youth and Family Support Services. This department will house Prevention Services, Student Services, and Title programs.
  • Misael Flores Gutierrez, currently co-director of Equity and Inclusion, will be the director of Student Support Programs. This department houses the Natives program, EOA, Affinity group leaders, the Newcomers program, ELD, McKinney Vento and Wrap programs, and summer school/extended day programs/charter schools.
  • Rob Hess will move out of the Chief of Staff position into a more global support role helping those shifting into new positions. Current Director of Communications, Jenna McCulley, will be the new Chief of Staff overseeing school choice, translation/interpretation, Emergency Management, Communications, and Policy departments.    
        
• IEP Meeting Logs Due June 9: If you’ve attended IEP or 504 meetings that meet the following criteria, you can submit your time for compensation. There is a pool of funds allocated. If the requests are more than what the pool of funds has available, people will be prorated for their time.
  • Criteria for Compensation: The IEP or 504 meeting occurred during a scheduled planning days, scheduled planning time (specials, Fridays from 2:30-3:30, Mondays from 2:45-3:30, and mornings from 7:30-7:50) or outside your work day (time spent after 3:30pm or before 7:30am).
        

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

• 24 Morning Message Ideas to Get Your Day Started on the Right Track: Daily morning (or class) meetings will be a focus for next year. Morning messages are the perfect way to engage your students the minute they walk through the door. Answering a question with no right or wrong answer allows learners to discover and articulate what’s important to them and supports social-emotional growth. Not only that, the questions can spark important conversations that bring your community together on a deeper level. Here are some of the WeAreTeachers Favorite Morning Message Ideas teachers are using to connect with their students.
    

Looking Ahead:

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina