Month: August 2021

Communications

Career Expo 2021 Virtual Event

 The 2021 Public Service Career Expo, scheduled for November 3-4, 2021, is going VIRTUAL this year! Cities and counties across the Kansas City region are once again joining forces to co-sponsor this high-impact event giving students the opportunity to interact with local public sector employees in 10 different public sector career areas. 

We are as excited as ever to carry out the event’s purpose, which is “to raise awareness of the variety of exciting and meaningful career opportunities available locally within the public sector and to generate increased interest among students to consider pursuing a future career in public service.” 

During this two-day event, schools throughout the region can explore careers in law enforcement, corrections, fire/EMS, public works, parks & recreation, information technology, public administration, human services, courts, legal, and community development. This new virtual format will enable students to attend the variety of live, interactive sessions through our online platform. Schools are welcome to attend as many as they choose over the course of the event. 

Registration is now open for all schools (public, private, charter, and homeschool) who would like to reserve a spot. One “registration” is needed for each classroom that will participate. (i.e., if a school plans to “show” the event in three different classroom locations, then three teacher registrations will be needed to enable us to provide three separate logins). Click here to register for this free event. 

Visit our event website at www.careerexpokc.org or contact me at avaughn@marc.org for more information. We welcome you to share this flyer with all teachers, school counselors, or administrators who may be interested. 

Incident Reports and Supervisors Accident Reports

 To make the reporting of workman’s compensation accidents less time consuming, the Supervisors Accident Report is now an electronic form.

Regardless of severity, immediate supervisors & directors are required to report all work-related injuries within 48 hours to Risk Management.

To do so, please use the following link: https://form.jotform.com/212304621025035

The Incident Report helps document any incident involving non employees.

This includes our students, visitors, parents and guardians.

The incident form is to be filled out for a number of situations including: a child is missing, if a student is injured in a way that could require medical attention in the future, police have to be called during an incident,  there is a fight,  or even to report property damage. An example of a fight that needs to be recorded- a fight that breaks out that others are around and it may have been recorded. A fight that someone may not realize they are injured immediately but could later on in the day. Fights that do NOT need to be recorded: two kids on the playground hit each other in the arm over a ball. 

There may be other incidents that could also require use of this form.

 If you have questions about whether an incident falls into this category, please reach out to your IIO. 

Here is a link to the Incident Report form:  https://kckps.org/incident-report/

Students of the Month

We know the school year is just getting underway but this is a great time to start identifying people in your class/school that are going above and beyond. Do you have a student that helped others on their first day? Excelling inside and outside the classroom? This is your chance to nominate them for Student of the Month. To do so, please follow this link.

For Central Office (and Non-School Buildings)

Please view your department’s pages on the website (which you should be able to find here), and let Mike Keener know if there’s anything that needs to be updated  for the beginning of the school year.

Enough is Enough Sign-Up

Principals,  please share this pledge page with your staff – and ask them to share it with students and parents.

Question: When to reach out to the media? 
Answer: Never

KCKPS has a Communications Department to handle this for you. If you know of a newsworthy story and want to see it covered by local media please send an email to Sharita.hutton@kckps.org or Edwin.birch@kckps.org. We will work closely with you and your school to figure out the best way to tell the story and which media outlet is the best for the story.

If media reaches out to you, please get the reporter’s name, number, and media outlet they are with. Include information on the story they are asking to talk to you about and get a hold of Sharita or Edwin immediately with the information. We will work with you to figure out the best way to tell the story. No interviews are to be done without prior approval.

If you have questions, let us know and you can always use our cell phones to reach out to us.

Curriculum & Instruction

ACTION ITEMS

Attn: EC-5 Administrators

Re: Built for These Times: Making the Shift to the Science of Reading

DETAILS FOR THIS EVENT HAVE CHANGED

The Curriculum & Instruction Department is excited to welcome Susan Lambert, host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, and Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap, to KCKPS on Friday, September 10th from 1:00-4:00pm via ZOOM. 

To learn more about these incredible presenters and RSVP for the event, please view the UPDATED event flyer here. You will enter your email address to receive the Zoom link. 

Please contact allison.rice@kckps.org with any questions. 

INFORMATION ONLY

Attn: K-5 Administrators (please share with teachers)

Re: Eureka Math Affirm Student Errors

We are aware that some students are receiving error messages when trying to access assessments via Affirm.  Great Minds is aware of these errors, but has not found a universal solution yet.  We apologize for the frustration that these errors continue to cause.  We will provide an update as soon as there is a permanent solution from Great Minds.  

Attn: K-5 Administrators

Re: Access to Amplify Science and CKLA for non-classroom teachers

Access to Amplify Science and CKLA is available through Clever for classroom teachers only. For administrators, coaches, special education teachers, ESOL teachers, and any other support teachers  there is a district log-in for access to all grade levels.  

K-8 Science & CKLA

Go to my.amplify.com select “Log in with Amplify”

• Username: kckps-sci-ckla@tryamplify.net 
• Password: AmplifyNumber1

Diploma+

Human Resources

Admin Desk

We have had some instances where Administrators are not able to get into the Admin Guide. The admin guide should be a first point of Reference for Human Resource related questions. The Admin Guide can be found under “Staff Links” from the kckps.org Home Page. Click here to fill out the form for access.

Evaluation Information 

HR is currently working with PowerSchool/TalentEd Support to get our evaluation information automated for the future.  In the meantime, we are asking that if principals are missing staff or need staff added/removed from their list in TalentEd Perform to email those requests to deandre.tuggle@kckps.org In the email please provide the employees first and last name, employee ID#, and if they need to be added/removed.  If you have any issues with your staffs list in iObservation please email tanya.selectman@kckps.org  We will provide additional updates in the coming weeks.

Horizon Award Submissions

It is time to start submitting your nomination for Horizon Awards. Please see this document for more information. The deadline for submissions is September 24th. Please send completed submissions to Jared.Alexander@kckps.org.

Classroom Coverage

I hope you are well. We wanted to make sure you were aware of some questions that have been coming into the HR office. We have had some questions about compensation for classified staff covering for a teacher’s absence. Although you might be aware of the protocol, below is some follow-up.

• We are not utilizing classified staff to cover for a certified opening(s).

• If a classified individual is the “classroom monitor” because another teacher is zooming from the other room (due to distancing/capacity), then they can be utilized as the “aide” and not the instructor.

• The classified employee should be reassigned for the day to this new role and not expected to perform their normal duties. This would allow them to keep their daily rate without the expectation of additional pay for two roles.

• If we have multiple sections of one class (i.e. 4th grade), then those other teachers who are 4th grade teachers should split the classroom and will be compensated appropriately.

• 65% or more of the classroom, teacher receives full hourly rate (per negotiated agreement)

• Less than 65% of the classroom, teacher receives half the hourly rate (per negotiated agreement)

We are working hard to make sure that all positions are covered to the best of our ability, but as you know we are short in total. We are hoping we can maneuver and help with the absences and vacancies.

TalentEd Perform

Human Resources has updated TalentEd Perform for the 21-22 evaluation for certified staff. Due to a technological glitch, we had to manually change each person in the system. To the best of our abilities, we have aligned the right employees to the correct schools. We understand that there might be some mistakes. We ask that you send an email to Ronald.Knight-Beck@kckps.org and DeAndre.Tuggle@kckps.org stating the following:

1. Who needs to be added to your list that is missing.

2. Who needs to be removed from your list that is still remaining.

   1. Let us know if they resigned or transferred within the district.

   2. If you know the school building of transfer, please let us know.

If you have someone on your list that you are not evaluating this year, rather one of your colleagues within your building or district, please reassign the evaluator inside of TalentEd. Under My Staff>>>Staff>>>Evaluation. Find the person who you would like to Assign and click “view” on their account. Once in “view” click the “assign” button. Search for the person they need to be assigned to. Additionally, if you need to shift a bunch of people. You may select the checkboxes next to their names, scroll down to the bottom and select “assign evaluator” from the drop down.

NEA-KCK

NEA-KCK Membership

We are not just a union, but we are also the professional organization for workers in the education field.  The Association works to provide the support that the members deserve. A few of the benefits of being a member of the union is that you are never on your own, you are able to amplify your voice both locally and nationally.  As a professional organization, a few of the benefits are using your NEA members’ benefits for everyday discounts, free professional development opportunities, discounts on travel/vacations, your home, car, insurance programs, and personal finance, including help with student loans.  See your building rep for more details or reach out to Dom DeRosa dom.derosa@knea.org.

New members can join here.

Special Education

Communications

Incident Reports and Supervisors Accident Reports

 To make the reporting of workman’s compensation accidents less time consuming, the Supervisors Accident Report is now an electronic form.

Regardless of severity, immediate supervisors & directors are required to report all work-related injuries within 48 hours to Risk Management.

To do so, please use the following link: https://form.jotform.com/212304621025035

The Incident Report helps document any incident involving non employees.

This includes our students, visitors, parents and guardians.

The incident form is to be filled out for a number of situations including: a child is missing, if a student is injured in a way that could require medical attention in the future, police have to be called during an incident,  there is a fight,  or even to report property damage. An example of a fight that needs to be recorded- a fight that breaks out that others are around and it may have been recorded. A fight that someone may not realize they are injured immediately but could later on in the day. Fights that do NOT need to be recorded: two kids on the playground hit each other in the arm over a ball. 

There may be other incidents that could also require use of this form.

 If you have questions about whether an incident falls into this category, please reach out to your IIO. 

Here is a link to the Incident Report form:  https://kckps.org/incident-report/

Students of the Month

We know the school year is just getting underway but this is a great time to start identifying people in your class/school that are going above and beyond. Do you have a student that helped others on their first day? Excelling inside and outside the classroom? This is your chance to nominate them for Student of the Month. To do so, please follow this link.

For Central Office (and Non-School Buildings)

Please view your department’s pages on the website (which you should be able to find here), and let Mike Keener know if there’s anything that needs to be updated  for the beginning of the school year.

Enough is Enough Sign-Up

Principals,  please share this pledge page with your staff – and ask them to share it with students and parents.

Question: When to reach out to the media? 
Answer: Never

KCKPS has a Communications Department to handle this for you. If you know of a newsworthy story and want to see it covered by local media please send an email to Sharita.hutton@kckps.org or Edwin.birch@kckps.org. We will work closely with you and your school to figure out the best way to tell the story and which media outlet is the best for the story.

If media reaches out to you, please get the reporter’s name, number, and media outlet they are with. Include information on the story they are asking to talk to you about and get a hold of Sharita or Edwin immediately with the information. We will work with you to figure out the best way to tell the story. No interviews are to be done without prior approval.

If you have questions, let us know and you can always use our cell phones to reach out to us.

Curriculum & Instruction

INFORMATION ONLY

Attn:  Elementary Principals (please share with teachers as needed)

Re:  Eureka Math Assessments available through Affirm via Great Minds tile in Clever

We no longer pay for access to Edulastic.  Instead, all Eureka Math assessment content is accessible in Affirm, which you can find through the Great Minds tile in Clever.  Once Math InSync opens, click on the Great Minds Apps Selector waffle in the top right-hand corner to see Affirm.

The following resources support the use of the platform:

• Complete Navigation Webinar (30 mins)
  • 30-minute webinar session which includes a walkthrough of the platform and its features for class management, assignments, and reporting.
• Technical Support Page – Affirm
  • Includes three separate articles around different navigation components

Attn:  All Principals/Instructional Coaches/IIOs/District Directors (C&I, SPED, ESL)

Re:  Student – Centered Coaching Training

Please mark your calendars for September 13 and 14 for Student-Centered Coaching training provided by Julie Steele, local coaching expert and trainer.

Instructional coaches – will attend all day Monday, September 13 from 8:30 – 3:30 in-person at Central Office; training rooms 131-133 and on Tuesday, September 14 from 12:30 – 3:00 in-person at Central Office; training rooms 131-133.

Building Principals – will attend on Tuesday, September 14 from 8:30 – 11:30 in-person at Central Office; training rooms 131-133. You will only attend one half-day training session. 

Topics for training include: Building a culture for coaching, fostering authentic coaching engagement, goal-setting and learning targets, coaching cycles, and the Results-Based Coaching Tool.

ACTION ITEMS

Attn:  All Principals

Re:  Canvas Training and Support for Staff (Please share with building staff)

Canvas Training & Support for the 21-22 School Year

Canvas Training and Support Survey – Please send to all staff to complete – please provide the survey link to staff so that we can determine what Canvas training support needs to be provided district-wide.

CANVAS TRAINING HUB – Share with staff

Training Opportunities (click titles to go to courses or websites)

• Preparing to Launch Course
• Canvas for Administrators and ICs
• On Demand Videos – Canvas Youtube Channel
• Training Services Portal (must be signed into Canvas to utilize)
  • Free Live Training
  • Free Canvas Self-Paced Courses
• Preparing to Launch LIVE – facilitation guide (Coming Soon)
• Parent Orientation Course – no login required

Where to go for help or support?

• Login help ONLY – support@kckps.org
• KCKPS Canvas Support Cadre – see names below
• Everything else – Canvas support (available 24/7)
  • Chat with Canvas (must be logged into Canvas)
  • Call 877-710-6720

KCKPS Canvas Support Cadre

• Bailey Bacon (HS)
• Megan Cooper (EC)
• Wendy Elkins (MS/HS)
• Allen Lehman (MS)
• Christopher McLean (ES)
• Jennifer Mendez (MS)
• Robert Nowlin (SPED/MS)
• Rebekah Stigers (MS)
• James Todd (MS/HS)
• Judith White (SPED/ES)

**Please note, these are all classroom teachers. Give them at least 24 hours to respond to questions. If your question is urgent, contact Canvas support.**

DERA

The Fall assessment window for FastBridge has been extended one week to allow staff extra time for certifications and student assessment administration. Please see the updated dates located in the 21-22 Assessment Schedule. Supporting staff during assessment is a DERA priority and we hope this extension adds some flexibility to your schedules.

Human Resources

Admin Desk

We have had some instances where Administrators are not able to get into the Admin Guide. The admin guide should be a first point of Reference for Human Resource related questions. The Admin Guide can be found under “Staff Links” from the kckps.org Home Page. Click here to fill out the form for access.

Evaluation Information 

HR is currently working with PowerSchool/TalentEd Support to get our evaluation information automated for the future.  In the meantime, we are asking that if principals are missing staff or need staff added/removed from their list in TalentEd Perform to email those requests to deandre.tuggle@kckps.org In the email please provide the employees first and last name, employee ID#, and if they need to be added/removed.  If you have any issues with your staffs list in iObservation please email tanya.selectman@kckps.org  We will provide additional updates in the coming weeks.

Horizon Award Submissions

It is time to start submitting your nomination for Horizon Awards. Please see this document for more information. The deadline for submissions is September 24th. Please send completed submissions to Jared.Alexander@kckps.org.

Classroom Coverage

I hope you are well. We wanted to make sure you were aware of some questions that have been coming into the HR office. We have had some questions about compensation for classified staff covering for a teacher’s absence. Although you might be aware of the protocol, below is some follow-up.

• We are not utilizing classified staff to cover for a certified opening(s).

• If a classified individual is the “classroom monitor” because another teacher is zooming from the other room (due to distancing/capacity), then they can be utilized as the “aide” and not the instructor.

• The classified employee should be reassigned for the day to this new role and not expected to perform their normal duties. This would allow them to keep their daily rate without the expectation of additional pay for two roles.

• If we have multiple sections of one class (i.e. 4th grade), then those other teachers who are 4th grade teachers should split the classroom and will be compensated appropriately.

• 65% or more of the classroom, teacher receives full hourly rate (per negotiated agreement)

• Less than 65% of the classroom, teacher receives half the hourly rate (per negotiated agreement)

We are working hard to make sure that all positions are covered to the best of our ability, but as you know we are short in total. We are hoping we can maneuver and help with the absences and vacancies.

TalentEd Perform

Human Resources has updated TalentEd Perform for the 21-22 evaluation for certified staff. Due to a technological glitch, we had to manually change each person in the system. To the best of our abilities, we have aligned the right employees to the correct schools. We understand that there might be some mistakes. We ask that you send an email to Ronald.Knight-Beck@kckps.org and DeAndre.Tuggle@kckps.org stating the following:

1. Who needs to be added to your list that is missing.

2. Who needs to be removed from your list that is still remaining.

   1. Let us know if they resigned or transferred within the district.

   2. If you know the school building of transfer, please let us know.

If you have someone on your list that you are not evaluating this year, rather one of your colleagues within your building or district, please reassign the evaluator inside of TalentEd. Under My Staff>>>Staff>>>Evaluation. Find the person who you would like to Assign and click “view” on their account. Once in “view” click the “assign” button. Search for the person they need to be assigned to. Additionally, if you need to shift a bunch of people. You may select the checkboxes next to their names, scroll down to the bottom and select “assign evaluator” from the drop down.

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

Police Department

SAFEDEFEND™

Members of the SAFEDEFEND™ team will be in USD 500 buildings over the next two to four weeks (August – September 2021) to assist enrolling district personnel into the system. This is a routine process to assist building administrators and their safety team in attempt to get our employees enrolled into the system. Police staff will be accompanying the SAFEDEFEND™ team as needed to assist. We would like to express our appreciation to all those leaders and their staff who during COVID protocols have been proactive in their efforts to assist with enrollment.

The following are some of the issues we will be collectively working on with you and your team during our visits:

• Enrolling employees specific to the building (staff name & fingerprints)
  • Validating or updating active or inactive staff members
• Assuring and determining system wellness
• Assisting with educational or training materials
  • All related materials can be found in the Principals Notebook.
    • Police Tab
    • Crisis Planning Section
    • SafeDefend (Harm Mitigation & Crisis Management System)
• System testing without students or minimal impact on instructional time (During PD or PLC)
• Sequence of familiarization to building personnel; lead team, faculty & staff)

Action Needed: Principals and or Principal Secretaries, please be ready to assist. We will attempt to contact the Principal’s Office in advance.

NEW Standard Response Protocol (SRP 2021)

SRP is Action Based

The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is based not on individual scenarios but on the response to any given situation. Like the Incident Command System (ICS), SRP demands a specific vocabulary but also allows for great flexibility. The premise is simple – there are five specific actions that can be performed during an incident. When communicating these, the action is labeled with a “Term of Art” and is then followed by a “Directive.” Execution of the action is performed by active participants.

• Hold (most commonly used) is followed by the Directive: “In Your Room or Area” is the protocol used when hallways need to kept clear of occupants.
• Secure (no more lockout)  is followed by the Directive: “Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors” is the protocol used to safeguard people within the building.
• Lockdown is followed by “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight” is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place.
• Evacuate and may be followed by a location, and is used to move people from one location to a different location in or out of the building.
• Shelter State the Hazard and Safety Strategy for group and self-protection.

Action Needed by the Building Administrators:

• Order required printed materials from District Print Shop for each building.
  • Required updated SRP 2021 Materials are available in the District Print Shop only (See these PDF instructions).
  • Uniformity on SRP Posters and signs are required throughout all district buildings.
  • You building team will need to eliminate or sanitize any old or outdated SRP materials from your building.
  • Coach your staff and students to the new SRP 2021 standards.
• The District Print Shop can print additional SRP materials or you may download them from the I Love You Guys Foundation Website: www.iloveuguys.org.
  • Standard Response Protocol “purple tab” in the lower left corner in the section of Pre-K 12.
• This information can be reached through the Principals Notebook.
  • Police Tab
  • Crisis Planning Section
  • New Standard Response Protocol (2021)

Professional Development

District Content PD Locations/Links

ALL 9:00 Elementary School Principals

ALL Middle School and Sumner Principals,

• *Sumner Teachers attend District Content PD with High School PD – NOT – with Middle Schools. (There was an error in the information shared in the Admin Notice on August 20 and 24.)
• Please send the following link to all staff as a reminder for where they are supposed to be on Wednesday afternoon.  21-22 District Content PD – Locations/Links. Encourage them to bookmark this link – we will use the SAME link all year.

Mentor Program

If for some reason you have not completed the Mentor/Mentee Match for your school, please do so ASAP. The mentors will need to be notified of the training. 

21/22 Mentee and Mentor Match

IDP Reps

All Principals and Department Directors,

• If you have submitted the name of your IDP Rep for the 21-22 school year, then I sent them a meeting invitation for both meetings. If you haven’t had a chance to submit your IDP Rep, please complete the following form ASAP.

• • IDP Representative 2021-22

Sept. 1, Oct. 6, Nov. 17

Jan. 5, Feb. 2, Mar. 9, Apr. 6, May 4

District Continuous Improvement Plan (DCIP)

Professional Development Series

IN CANVAS

2021-2022 Objectives

By the end of these modules (8), learners will be able to

1. Describe updates regarding Family Advocacy Time (advisory period)
2. Implement/Utilize Diploma+ tools including Nepris the Connector and Naviance
3. Recognize the importance of culturally responsive teaching and examine communication
4. Identify and build/improve micro-skills directly related to Adult Social-Emotional Learning and Trauma Sensitive and Resilient Schools
5. Connect the work of Student Services, Diploma+ and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as part of the effort to improve academic and social outcomes for all students.

Principals will receive their school’s Canvas Section Code in an email.

Student Services

Department: Volunteers and Community Partners

Community Volunteers (Action Required)

To: All Building Administrators

One-time projects, on-going projects and flexible times are ways to volunteer or mentor to support schools, students and teachers.  This includes individuals or small groups but Community Organizations will also need a Memorandum of Understanding.

Click here to apply to be a volunteer.

Application requirements are:

• An email address
• Three character references

Applicants will need to answer questions that cover grade level, job history, skills and/or interests you like to share.

Once the application is submitted a background check is completed the search results come back within 24 to 48 hours. A required orientation is held at the KCKPS Central Office to provide an overview of District expectations, Covid procedures and student/family confidentiality.

If you want to learn more, contact Rosie Rodriguez in the department of Student Services at 913.279.2248. Please make sure any current volunteers or mentors have completed this process.

Wellness

Communications

Incident Reports

If an incident happens at your school, please fill out the Incident Report form at this link as soon as possible from the time of the occurence.

Give them the link and say they need to report as soon as possible from the time of the occurrence.

Students of the Month

We know the school year is just getting underway but this is a great time to start identifying people in your class/school that are going above and beyond. Do you have a student that helped others on their first day? Excelling inside and outside the classroom? This is your chance to nominate them for Student of the Month. To do so, please follow this link.

For Central Office (and Non-School Buildings)

Please view your department’s pages on the website (which you should be able to find here), and let Mike Keener know if there’s anything that needs to be updated  for the beginning of the school year.

Enough is Enough Sign-Up

Principals,  please share this pledge page with your staff – and ask them to share it with students and parents.

Using This Year’s KCKPS Theme and News on T-Shirts

The Kansas City Kansas Public School District is happy to announce the 2021-2022 these years’ theme: Re•Bound Re•Imagine Re•New.

We encourage each and every one of you to use the new theme, however we do ask that you keep the brand standard the communications team has worked so hard to establish and keep a cohesive look across the slogan. When deciding to use Re•Bound Re•Imagine Re•New, please be sure to have the bullet point (dot) separating the Re and the remainder of the word.

In order to insert the bullet point in between the word, follow these instructions:

For mac: Hold down option 8.

For PC: Hold down ALT and press 0149 in that order. You do not need to hold the numbers down but will need to remain holding ALT down.

We also ask that when using our slogan for anything print (graphics, posters etc…) Please use the font American Type Writer. Again, this allows the brand slogan to remain uniform across the district and makes it easily recognizable to others.

AS FOR THE SLOGAN SHIRTS. We are happy to announce shirts will go on sale in various colors including a sweatshirt option. Portions of the money will go to supporting the United Way. More details to come in the coming weeks.

Our hashtag for this year has also changed to fit the new theme. Please use #KCKPSredefined on your social posts to show off the great stuff you are doing in your buildings. Please no longer use #kckpsontrack.

Curriculum & Instruction

Attn: EC-5 Administrators

Re: Built for These Times: Making the Shift to the Science of Reading

The Curriculum & Instruction Department is excited to welcome Susan Lambert, host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, and Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap, to KCKPS on Friday, September 10th from 1:00-4:00pm at Central Office Rooms 131-133.

To learn more about these incredible presenters, you may view the entire event flyer here. 

Seating is limited so please RSVP if you plan to attend this very special event. 

Please contact allison.rice@kckps.org with any questions. 

Attn:  All Principals (please share with teachers)

Re:  Adding Collaborators to Canvas Courses

If a teacher is out sick or in quarantine, other teachers may be added to that teacher’s Canvas course as collaborators to post assignments or lesson materials for students in that teacher’s classroom. 

Please see the two links below for information on adding collaborators to Canvas courses.

How do I add collaborators to my course?

How do I add staff/students to a manually created course?

**Please note that school principals and instructional coaches have administrative rights in Canvas to add teachers as collaborators in their building. 

Please Enroll in Canvas for Administrators & ICs for additional support around this topic and many others.

Attn: All Principals

Re: Canvas and Cross-listing Courses

Please let staff know that cross-listing of courses is available for teachers who teach multiple sections of the same course. However, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that teachers know once courses are cross-listed they cannot be undone at the teacher level. De-cross listing can only be done by Wendy Elkins or Julie Leach. Teachers also need to be aware that if they choose to have courses de-cross listed, all grades will be lost. We are aware some teachers have requested to be de-cross listed. Those requests are being completed as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, please contact Wendy Elkins or Julie Leach. 

Attn:  Elementary Principals (please share with teachers and instructional coaches as needed)

Re:  Great Minds Access via Clever Tile

Great Minds access via the Clever Tile continues to be problematic for some teacher accounts.  Great Minds is aware of the errors and continues to troubleshoot.  In the meantime, if you have a teacher experiencing access issues, please have them log-in by going to:

Website:  https://digital.greatminds.org/login/email

Eureka Math: TEACHER Account

Username: Eureka10@greatmindsdemo.org

Password:  Greatminds6!

DERA

The Fall assessment window for FastBridge has been extended one week to allow staff extra time for certifications and student assessment administration. Please see the updated dates located in the 21-22 Assessment Schedule. Supporting staff during assessment is a DERA priority and we hope this extension adds some flexibility to your schedules.

Human Resources

Admin Desk

We have had some instances where Administrators are not able to get into the Admin Guide. The admin guide should be a first point of Reference for Human Resource related questions. The Admin Guide can be found under “Staff Links” from the kckps.org Home Page. Click here to fill out the form for access.

Evaluation Information 

HR is currently working with PowerSchool/TalentEd Support to get our evaluation information automated for the future.  In the meantime, we are asking that if principals are missing staff or need staff added/removed from their list in TalentEd Perform to email those requests to deandre.tuggle@kckps.org In the email please provide the employees first and last name, employee ID#, and if they need to be added/removed.  If you have any issues with your staffs list in iObservation please email tanya.selectman@kckps.org  We will provide additional updates in the coming weeks.

Horizon Award Submissions

It is time to start submitting your nomination for Horizon Awards. Please see this document for more information. The deadline for submissions is September 24th. Please send completed submissions to Jared.Alexander@kckps.org.

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

Professional Workforce Development

District Content PD Locations/Links

ALL 9:00 Elementary School Principals

ALL Middle School and Sumner Principals,

• Wednesday, August 25 is a District Content PD Day for 9:00 Elementary Schools, and Middle Schools.
• *Sumner Teachers attend District Content PD with High School PD – NOT – with Middle Schools. (There was an error in the information shared in the Admin Notice on August 20 and 24.)
• Please send the following link to all staff as a reminder for where they are supposed to be on Wednesday afternoon.  21-22 District Content PD – Locations/Links. Encourage them to bookmark this link – we will use the SAME link all year.

Mentor Program

ALL Principals,

Wednesday, August 25 is the first Mentor Training – for Mentors ONLY – Mentees DO NOT attend. (Principals, you do not need to attend either, I just copied you on the Calendar invite so you would have the information.)

• 1:00-5:00 High School Mentors in the East Wing of Central Office
• 1:30-5:30 Middle School and Sumner Mentors in the Boardroom of Central Office
• 2:00-6:00 8:30 EC/Elementary Mentors in Room 131 of Central Office
• 2:30-6:30 9:00 EC/Elementary Mentors in Room 132 of Central Office

If for some reason you have not completed the Mentor/Mentee Match for your school, please do so ASAP. The mentors will need to be notified of the training. 

21/22 Mentee and Mentor Match

IDP Reps

All Principals and Department Directors,

• IDP Reps will need to virtually attend one of two trainings being offered on Zoom.

• • Monday, August 23 (3:30-4:30) 
  • – OR – 
  • Thursday, August 26 (4:00-5:00)

• If you have submitted the name of your IDP Rep for the 21-22 school year, then I sent them a meeting invitation for both meetings. If you haven’t had a chance to submit your IDP Rep, please complete the following form ASAP.

• • IDP Representative 2021-22

Sept. 1, Oct. 6, Nov. 17

Jan. 5, Feb. 2, Mar. 9, Apr. 6, May 4

District Continuous Improvement Plan (DCIP)

Professional Development Series

IN CANVAS

2021-2022 Objectives

By the end of these modules (8), learners will be able to

1. Describe updates regarding Family Advocacy Time (advisory period)
2. Implement/Utilize Diploma+ tools including Nepris the Connector and Naviance
3. Recognize the importance of culturally responsive teaching and examine communication
4. Identify and build/improve micro-skills directly related to Adult Social-Emotional Learning and Trauma Sensitive and Resilient Schools
5. Connect the work of Student Services, Diploma+ and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as part of the effort to improve academic and social outcomes for all students.

Principals will receive their school’s Canvas Section Code in an email.

Communications

Incident Reports

If an incident happens at your school, please fill out the Incident Report form at this link as soon as possible from the time of the occurence.

Give them the link and say they need to report as soon as possible from the time of the occurrence.

Students of the Month

We know the school year is just getting underway but this is a great time to start identifying people in your class/school that are going above and beyond. Do you have a student that helped others on their first day? Excelling inside and outside the classroom? This is your chance to nominate them for Student of the Month. To do so, please follow this link.

For Central Office (and Non-School Buildings)

Please view your department’s pages on the website (which you should be able to find here), and let Mike Keener know if there’s anything that needs to be updated  for the beginning of the school year.

Enough is Enough Sign-Up

Principals,  please share this pledge page with your staff – and ask them to share it with students and parents.

Using This Year’s KCKPS Theme and News on T-Shirts

The Kansas City Kansas Public School District is happy to announce the 2021-2022 these years’ theme: Re•Bound Re•Imagine Re•New.

We encourage each and every one of you to use the new theme, however we do ask that you keep the brand standard the communications team has worked so hard to establish and keep a cohesive look across the slogan. When deciding to use Re•Bound Re•Imagine Re•New, please be sure to have the bullet point (dot) separating the Re and the remainder of the word.

In order to insert the bullet point in between the word, follow these instructions:

For mac: Hold down option 8.

For PC: Hold down ALT and press 0149 in that order. You do not need to hold the numbers down but will need to remain holding ALT down.

We also ask that when using our slogan for anything print (graphics, posters etc…) Please use the font American Type Writer. Again, this allows the brand slogan to remain uniform across the district and makes it easily recognizable to others.

AS FOR THE SLOGAN SHIRTS. We are happy to announce shirts will go on sale in various colors including a sweatshirt option. Portions of the money will go to supporting the United Way. More details to come in the coming weeks.

Our hashtag for this year has also changed to fit the new theme. Please use #KCKPSredefined on your social posts to show off the great stuff you are doing in your buildings. Please no longer use #kckpsontrack.

DERA

Human Resources

Please share this Orientation PDF schedule with your new hires.

Professional Workforce Development

District Content PD Locations/Links

ALL 9:00 Elementary School Principals

ALL Middle School and Sumner Principals,

• Wednesday, August 25 is a District Content PD Day for 9:00 Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, and Sumner.
• Please send the following link to all staff as a reminder for where they are supposed to be on Wednesday afternoon.  21-22 District Content PD – Locations/Links. Encourage them to bookmark this link – we will use the SAME link all year.

Mentor Program

ALL Principals,

Wednesday, August 25 is the first Mentor Training – for Mentors ONLY – Mentees DO NOT attend. (Principals, you do not need to attend either, I just copied you on the Calendar invite so you would have the information.)

• 1:00-5:00 High School Mentors in the East Wing of Central Office
• 1:30-5:30 Middle School and Sumner Mentors in the Boardroom of Central Office
• 2:00-6:00 8:30 EC/Elementary Mentors in Room 131 of Central Office
• 2:30-6:30 9:00 EC/Elementary Mentors in Room 132 of Central Office

If for some reason you have not completed the Mentor/Mentee Match for your school, please do so ASAP. The mentors will need to be notified of the training. 

21/22 Mentee and Mentor Match

IDP Reps

All Principals and Department Directors,

• IDP Reps will need to virtually attend one of two trainings being offered on Zoom.

• • Monday, August 23 (3:30-4:30) 
  • – OR – 
  • Thursday, August 26 (4:00-5:00)

• If you have submitted the name of your IDP Rep for the 21-22 school year, then I sent them a meeting invitation for both meetings. If you haven’t had a chance to submit your IDP Rep, please complete the following form ASAP.

• • IDP Representative 2021-22

Student Services

Attn: All Principals and Assistant Principals (Please share this information with your staff) 

Re:  KCK -Greenbush Virtual Academy 

Since announcing our partnership with the Greenbush Virtual Academy (GVA), we have received over 300 online applications. Enrollment has been ongoing since August 9th, and over 200 students have been “enrolled” in the GVA. PLEASE BE AWARE, that the GVA is a “virtual program” and not a “virtual school,” which means that students enrolled in a “virtual program” must remain enrolled in their school of attendance (or in a brick-and-mortar school) according to KSDE. This means that if a student from your building has enrolled in the GVA, they will remain enrolled in your building as well. They will be flagged with the “Virtual School” flag in Infinite Campus and a “Virtual School” flag will appear on their summary page, like this:   The student’s schedule will then be dropped so that they don’t receive an unexcused absences. PLEASE DO NOT UNENROLL A VIRTUAL STUDENT from you building.

KCKPS will provide all students who enroll in the GVA with a chromebook laptop. Greenbush has agreed to assist us in distributing the laptops to students as they complete their enrollment in the GVA. If you have a student or parent that contacts your building regarding their laptop, please refer them to the Greenbush Virtual Academy at (620) 724-7295 or they are welcome to visit their offices at 7704 Parallel Pkwy, Kansas City, KS 66112. (Please note that the current signage on the building says: “500 REACH”)

For middle school and high school students in the GVA, Kirstin Blocker and Linda Prior are academic coaches with Greenbush and will be contacting your counselors to obtain current schedules, transcripts, transcript analysis, and individual plans of study. This information will help with scheduling students in courses that are aligned to their graduation plan and Diploma + goals.

Since the GVA is a program and not a school, high school seniors who enroll in the GVA for the remainder of the school year will graduate from their home schools, and will be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony.

Finally, the application and enrollment deadline for the Greenbush Virtual Academy is set for Thursday, August 26 at 5:00 p.m.  

If you have any questions, please contact Octavio Estrella at (913)627-4370.

All Audiences -Principals, Assistant Principals, Registrars, Attendance Secretaries, Principal Secretaries

1. Language Support 

1. 1. Front Desk Chromebook for Language Support are ready and on the way to you!

To facilitate communication with our non-English speaking families, we are providing each school with a  Chromebook that will be located at the main office for easy access to  language support. These are pre-programmed to be used for Propio One, our new on demand (live video) interpreter services. We are so excited about this additional resource, not just because it will assure we can support all families but will help us create a welcoming school environment. You should receive the following in the next couple of days:

• Folder with instructions, QR for tutorial and the poster for the main office.
• Pre-programmed Chromebook and Charger

We ask you to please keep this tool at the front desk and only use the live video interpreting for when families come to the building. You will also find the telephonic interpreting services (over the phone) information. For any other language support needs, please ask staff to follow the Language Support Guide or email language.support@kckps.org.

Communications

Students of the Month

We know the school year is just getting underway but this is a great time to start identifying people in your class/school that are going above and beyond. Do you have a student that helped others on their first day? Excelling inside and outside the classroom? This is your chance to nominate them for Student of the Month. To do so, please follow this link.

For Central Office (and Non-School Buildings)

Please view your department’s pages on the website (which you should be able to find here), and let Mike Keener know if there’s anything that needs to be updated  for the beginning of the school year.

Teacher Wishlist Creation – T-Mobile Charitable Event

T-Mobile has launched an initiative to support and highlight Teachers’ efforts in the current educational climate. The initiative involves donating supplies to Teachers/Schools in need.

Kansas City Kansas Public Schools has been chosen as one of the three school districts to engage and assist with creating a Teacher Wishlist. This list will be used for T-Mobile Wholesale associates to purchase school supplies they have requested to help them in their classrooms.

So, this is our ask of you as the Principal: can you help us identify the most needed supplies and how much is needed for teachers in your school? We can’t make this possible without your assistance.

T-Mobile will need each school’s Wishlist back by Wednesday, August 18th. Please send responses to Edwin Birch via email.

Enough is Enough Sign-Up

Principals,  please share this pledge page with your staff – and ask them to share it with students and parents.

Curriculum & Instruction

Attn: ALL Principals and Assistant Principals (please share with your staff)

Re: Grading Policy and Guidelines

Please use the following link to access the KCKPS Grading Policy and Guidelines document. This document was created to support staff with understanding our district grading policy and practices. 

Middle and High School Only- To assist with using the Canvas grading “Passback” feature and the grading practices of High School advanced programs/courses (AP, IB, KCKCC, etc.), the preprogrammed grading categories in Infinite Campus have been removed. Therefore, teachers/PLCs will need to create their own grading categories before assignments can be created in Infinite Campus. See the Grading Guidelines section of the document for further information. 

Attn: Elementary Principals

Re: DEI & ELA Text Bias Cadre

In partnership with the Department of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, the Curriculum & Instruction Department is seeking educators to review ELA materials for text bias over the course of the first quarter. Cadre members will be compensated at the extra duty hourly rate for two meetings (Aug 31 & Oct 12 4:30-6:30) as well as 14 hours of self-directed work to review a sampling of the following materials:  4th & 5th Grade General Education Teachers: CKLA

Please share this link with your 4th and 5th grade classroom teachers. The deadline to apply will be Friday, August 20th. Please email allison.rice@kckps.org with any questions. Thank you!

DERA

Diploma+

Federal Programs

AUDIENCE: Title I Building Principals

Subject: Keep SIGNED Copies of School-Home Compacts ON FILE

Title I Schools are required to keep SIGNED COPIES of School-Home Compacts. Principals should put a process in place to have class sets of signed compacts returned to the Principal’s office for retention during the 2021-22 school year.  KCKPS is in the KSDE cohort scheduled for the ESEA audit during 2021-22. Samples of these signed compacts will be used for documentation regarding this compliance requirement.

AUDIENCE: NEW Building Principals, Assistant Principals, Instructional Coaches 

Subject: 2nd VIRTUAL Session of School Improvement Planning (SIP) Core Training (Onboarding) August 27, 2021

New administrators (principals, assistant principals) and instructional coaches should plan to attend the 2nd and final session of SIP workshops designed for new KCKPS instructional leaders.  This session will focus on Phases 3 & 4 of the SIP process – Linking Causation to Intervention and Intervention to Implementation in KansasSTAR.  To accommodate busy schedules, these trainings will be conducted via Zoom.

Participants have been pre-assigned to the morning or afternoon session, based on whichever one they attended for Session 1: Phases 1 & 2.  Click on the SIP Core Training Phases 3 & 4 roster to get the morning (8:30 – 10:30 am) or afternoon (1:00 – 3:00 pm) Zoom links which are located at the top of each roster.

Human Resources

Admin Desk

Hello All, 

We have had some instances where Administrators are not able to get into the Admin Guide. The admin guide should be a first point of Reference for Human Resource related questions. The Admin Guide can be found under “Staff Links” from the kckps.org Home Page. Click here to fill out the form for access.

Thanks.

Evaluation Information 

HR is currently working with PowerSchool/TalentEd Support to get our evaluation information automated for the future.  In the meantime, we are asking that if principals are missing staff or need staff added/removed from their list in TalentEd Perform to email those requests to deandre.tuggle@kckps.org In the email please provide the employees first and last name, employee ID#, and if they need to be added/removed.  If you have any issues with your staffs list in iObservation please email tanya.selectman@kckps.org  We will provide additional updates in the coming weeks.

KidZone

Please share the PDF linked below.

Nutritional Services

Hello Principals,

In lieu of meal applications this year, families are to complete the Household Economic Survey. The collection process will be similar to previous years, there is a paper form available and an online form. The paper form was mailed to all households and is attached to this notification. Schools are welcome to print and distribute at your convenience. The online form links are listed below and also on the district homepage. The online version is a great tool to use when families have technology available or you are assisting a family completing the meal application over the phone. The information from these forms will be stored in Infinite Campus. New this year is a function we are really excited about, reporting. Principals and school staff are able to run reports at your building at your convenience. Additionally, TIS has set the report up so you will be emailed a copy of students that have yet to complete the survey this year on a daily basis. To access the report in Infinite Campus, go to the Ad Hoc reports-Filter Designer-Principal-No Economic Survey. This is live data but also know that once a form is submitted to Nutritional Services via paper or online, it can take up to a week to process during high volume times. As always, please reach out to Nutritional Services at (913) 627-3900 or email me directly if you have questions or concerns. Have a great day!

https://www.cognitoforms.com/KCKPSNutritionalServices/_20212022householdeconomicsurveyenglish

https://www.cognitoforms.com/KCKPSNutritionalServices/_20212022encuestaecon%C3%B3micadelhogarspanish

Student Services

Student Exit 

Please read this Student Exit PDF.