Month: March 2022

Action Items

For All Principals

Informational Items

For All Administrators

Save the Date – KCKPS Summer Professional Development Opportunities

from Professional Workforce Development

SAVE THE DATE! We are pleased and excited to announce two unique and engaging professional development opportunities for KCKPS teachers and building staff to engage in this summer.

July 18 – July 21 – KCKPS Impact Courses
KCKPS Impact Courses will provide year-long, intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, professional learning opportunities to positively impact student outcomes. The Impact Courses will serve as foundational knowledge for action research, created in response to certified staff interests, requests, and needs. Impact Course Instructors will facilitate learning during the mornings
July 18-July 21 and then, continue to work with certified participants throughout the school year to apply what they learned and measure the impact.

July 25 – July 28 – KCKPS Summer Summit
The sessions offered throughout the KCKPS Summer Summit will be examples of high quality, effective teaching that are engaging, interactive, and thought-provoking. Participants will self-select the sessions they would like to attend. A variety of half-day sessions will be offered in the mornings and afternoons July 25-July 28. Topics will align with district initiatives, existing or incoming programs, and/or research-based practices.

More information will be coming soon about both of these professional development opportunities. For right now, please save the dates and know that we will be working hard with instructional coaches and various departments within KCKPS to plan high-quality, interactive professional development.

ACTION ITEM:
Please note on Thursday, March 31 we will launch the planning process for the KCKPS Summer Summit with all instructional coaches after/before the MTSS training.

Thursday, March 31, 2022
8:00 – 11:00 Secondary MTSS Training for all ICs and CSI School Teams (131-133)
11:00 – 12:00 Secondary ICs with Lindsey (East Wing)
12:00 – 1:00 Elementary ICs with Lindsey (East Wing)
1:00 – 4:00 Elementary MTSS training for all ICs and CSI School Teams (Rm 131-133)

For All Principals

KAP Summative Documents & Info

from DERA

Please review the following information:

1. KELPA Scoring due Thursday, March 31
2. KAP General Assessment: Monday, March 21 – Friday, April 29
3. DLM: Monday, February 7 – Friday, April 29

4. NEW: Review and conduct one building mock monitor visit for each grade for ELA, Math, and Science for your campus – Use the State Monitor Quality Assurance Checklist under the HELP tab in KITE to submit for your building in meeting compliance requirements.
5. Kansas State Assessments Opt Out v3
6. Test Irregularity Report Form
7. SC Code Information: Test coordinators enter the SC codes as seen in the attached chart via KITE Educator Portal. Codes marked “contact KSDE” must be approved by Julie Ewing or Juanita Anderson at KSDE.
If a student cannot take or complete a high-stakes, summative assessment, the Test Coordinator at the building or district level will need to enter the SC code in EP by performing the following steps listed in the SC code attachment.
8.Test Reactivations: BTC will complete test reactivations with a building administrator. Two staff need to be present when reactivating a student’s test.

All re-activations must be logged at the school and include
*Name,
*Student State ID,
*Grade Level,
*Test session name, and
*Reason to justify the reactivation to KSDE.Once a student’s test is marked complete, the student’s test cannot be reactivated.

9. We strongly recommend you have an alternative Building Testing Coordinator designated in the event the BTC is absent.

Student Field Trips (Involving Travel)

from Superintendent’s Office

Now when submitting training and student (field trips) travel requests for board approval-the form is indicative of all this (HR has updated the form).

Process:

1. Requestor creates the letter stating the field trip request (who, what, when, where, why)
2. Requestor emails information to Dawn Downing to get approval from the Superintendent’s Office  (Dawn will follow up with the requestor).
3. Requestor to Enter information for Board Approval using this revised link
4. Requestor to email Jared Alexander requesting confirmation from HR that they received request.

Reminders

Student Centered Coaching Training

from Curriculum & Instruction
Please reserve the following time on your calendar in order to attend an upcoming Student-Centered Coaching training with Julie Steele on Tuesday, April 19th:

Secondary Principals from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Elementary Principals from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The training will take place at Central Office, rooms 131-133. Instructional Coaches will also be in attendance. For questions, contact Darcy Swan, Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

Classified Staff Evaluations

from Human Resources
This is a reminder that classified staff evaluations are due May 1, 2022. Please make sure to get those completed. If you have any questions regarding those evaluations please email DeAndre Tuggle.

ESOL Endorsement

from ESOL

The Department of ESOL & Migrant Programs will be offering ESOL Endorsement Preparation Course. This is designed to help teachers better understand matters pertaining to multilingual learners (ML). Teachers will also be prepared to take the ESOL Praxis Assessment and add an ESOL Endorsement to their teaching certificate. There are five learning modules covering instruction, linguistics, assessment, and culture.

Teachers can sign up through this link. Sessions will be held In person at Central Office from:
3:30-4:30 and 4:45-5:45 –April 5- (Session 1)

Synchronous via zoom from 3:30-4:30 and 4:45-5:45
–April 19 (Session 3)
–May 3 (Session 5)

Asynchronous
–April 12 (Sessions 2)
–April 26- (Sessions 4)

Family Engagement 2022 Surveys in KansaSTAR Folder

from Federal Programs
Your school’s 2022 Family Perception Survey Data has been loaded into your KansaSTAR School Improvement Plan folders. Please look under the NEEDS ASSESSMENT folder for subfolders which will contain these data sets. Please schedule a time to review this data with your Building Leadership Team and PLCs. It is an important part of your data cycles as you wrap up this school year and begin to plan for 22-23. Questions, contact Lisa Walker.

Advanced Restorative Practices Virtual Training Opportunity – April 19-22

from Student Services
As part of their spring virtual training series, The Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR), is offering an Advanced (Tier 2/3) Restorative Practices Virtual Training –” Beyond Tier 1: Repairing Harm in Schools ” – April 19 to 22 (4 half days, 8am to 12pm, virtual). Please see this flyer for registration information. Please note this training is geared for folks that have a foundational understanding and experience with Tier 1 Restorative Practices strategies.

Important Information about Grades in Canvas

from Curriculum & Instruction

The following information about grades in Canvas needs to be shared with your staff:

1. Official grades are found in Infinite Campus. Grades within Canvas are grades of individual assignments. This information should be shared with teachers, students, and parents. This is what is in the grading policy document – “**Please note, final grades will always be in Infinite Campus. Students and families can monitor assignments in Canvas, but grades should be checked in Infinite Campus.”

2. If a teacher has a year-long course, grades in Canvas will NOT reset at the end of the semester. If a teacher, student, or family member looks at a total grade within Canvas, it will not match infinite campus.
a. Teachers can turn off/hide totals in student grade summary within their Canvas courses. Here is a link to step-sheets demonstrating the process.
An announcement will be shared on Thursday 3/9/22 in Canvas and included in the most recent mobile minutes.

Celebrate National Social Work Month

from Student Services

March is National Social Work Month!
Social Workers are essential in helping students through behavioral health issues that may impact learning. Social Workers at KCKPS play a unique and valuable role in crisis intervention, assessing and treating mental health symptoms, providing suicide assessments, linking families with needed resources and serving as a liaison between the school, home and community agencies.
This month, please take a moment to write a note of thanks, celebrate your social worker(s) at a PD, or leave a small token of appreciation on their desk. KCKPS is seen as a leader in the state for providing mental health supports in schools, and I am so thankful to have these incredible professionals in each building supporting our students.

Thank you!
Angela Dunn, LSCSW
Behavioral Health Coordinator
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools
(913)954-0219NEW Parents-Right-To-Know Letters for LAPSED CERTIFICATION Classroom Teacher Letters

New Staff Intranet Launching Soon/Review of District Forms and Departmental Pages

from Communications

Due to new and ongoing issues with the old intranet system, we are launching a temporary (but more user-friendly and accessible) staff intranet for everyone’s use.  The new, temporary intranet will also have a section titled “Administrators’ Corner,” with links to this newsletter’s homepage, admin-only form links, and more.

Before we launch this temporary intranet, however, we need a lot of old data updated or even removed.  To start, there is a page that housed a number of all-purpose forms and manuals; if your department handles any of these forms (or used to), please visit this link and send any changes needed to forms or links directly to Mike Keener as soon as you can, as it will help speed along the live launch of this new intranet page. Additionally, let him know about any other content on either the live site (or old intranet) that needs to be edited for inclusion on the new site.

New District Letterhead

from Communications

Please use this letterhead template for district communications.

Spending Cutoff – April 1st

from Purchasing

Click here to view information via PDF about the April 1 spending cutoff.

Electronic Reporting Forms for Injuries and Incidents

From Communications & Marketing

Just a quick reminder that many of the forms you need when it comes to incidents are now electronic.

Student injury forms have now been included to the list.

To find the reporting form for students go to this link: https://form.jotform.com/212366215525047

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/

Action Items

For All Principals

Family Engagement 2022 Surveys in KansaSTAR Folder

from Federal Programs
Your school’s 2022 Family Perception Survey Data has been loaded into your KansaSTAR School Improvement Plan folders. Please look under the NEEDS ASSESSMENT folder for subfolders which will contain these data sets. Please schedule a time to review this data with your Building Leadership Team and PLCs. It is an important part of your data cycles as you wrap up this school year and begin to plan for 22-23. Questions, contact Lisa Walker.

ESOL Endorsement

from ESOL

The Department of ESOL & Migrant Programs will be offering ESOL Endorsement Preparation Course. This is designed to help teachers better understand matters pertaining to multilingual learners (ML). Teachers will also be prepared to take the ESOL Praxis Assessment and add an ESOL Endorsement to their teaching certificate. There are five learning modules covering instruction, linguistics, assessment, and culture.

Teachers can sign up through this link. Sessions will be held In person at Central Office from:
3:30-4:30 and 4:45-5:45 –April 5- (Session 1)

Synchronous via zoom from 3:30-4:30 and 4:45-5:45
–April 19 (Session 3)
–May 3 (Session 5)

Asynchronous
–April 12 (Sessions 2)
–April 26- (Sessions 4)

IC Parent Portals & Passwords

from Student Services/Infinite Campus Support
Thank you for your hard work in connecting parents to their IC portals the last two months. Due to data security rights in IC we have been using a Password Reset form for those parents who have forgotten their password.

Recent IC update now allows the building Registrar with CENSUS module rights to reset passwords. Michelle Gould is holding meetings 3-24 & 3-25 to review this procedure with registrars. Starting Wednesday, March 30th the reset form will display a message letting parents that schools can help them reset their passwords.

Informational Items

For All Administrators

Classified Staff Evaluations

from Human Resources
This is a reminder that classified staff evaluations are due May 1, 2022. Please make sure to get those completed. If you have any questions regarding those evaluations please email DeAndre Tuggle.

For All Principals

Student Centered Coaching Training

from Curriculum & Instruction
Please reserve the following time on your calendar in order to attend an upcoming Student-Centered Coaching training with Julie Steele on Tuesday, April 19th:

Secondary Principals from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Elementary Principals from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The training will take place at Central Office, rooms 131-133. Instructional Coaches will also be in attendance. For questions, contact Darcy Swan, Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

For Elementary Principals

Second Step Poster Replacement

from Student Services

This information has been sent to your building counselor as well. If your building needs Second Step replacement posters, please fill out this form. Each item is sold as a PACK so please read the description to note how many sets come in the pack when ordering your replacements and only order exactly what you need to replace lost items.

All orders are due by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, April 1st, 2022.

If your building needs other items replaced or wants extra posters or wants other supplemental Second Step items, please order those through your building and using your building budget.

For Secondary Principals

Upcoming Music Events

from IARC
Please make note of the upcoming music events.
*all events begin at 9:45 a.m.
*buses and subs are paid by IARC
*buses have been requested
*your music teachers have all the necessary details

March 28th – KCKPS High School Band Festival
event location: Harmon High School

March 29th – KCKPS High School Orchestra Festival
event location: Sumner

March 30th – KCKPS Middle School Choir Festival
event location: Rosedale

April 5th – KCKPS High School Choir Festival
event location: Schlagle

Reminders

KAP Summative Documents & Info

from DERA

Please review the following information:

1. KAP Summative: Monday, March 21 – Friday, April 29
2. Kansas State Assessments Opt Out Form
3. Testing Irregularity Report Form
4. SC Code Information: Test coordinators enter the SC codes as seen in the attached chart via KITE Educator Portal. Codes marked “contact KSDE” must be approved by Julie Ewing or Juanita Anderson at KSDE.
   If a student cannot take or complete a high-stakes, summative assessment, the Test Coordinator at the building or district level will need to enter the SC code in EP by performing the following steps listed in the SC code attachment. 
5. Daily Access Code Information: Building Test Coordinators (BTC) will pull and provide each proctor the ‘Daily Access Codes.
   Access Daily Access Codes by going to Manage Tests → Test Coordination → View Daily Access Codes → Select appropriate assessment → Search.  See pp.71-73 of Test Coordinator’s Manual.
   Building Testing Coordinators should be sure to pull DACs the day before in case they are out of the building.
6. Test Reactivations: BTC will complete test reactivations with a building administrator. Two staff need to be present when reactivating a student’s test.
   All re-activations must be logged at the school and include
   *Name,
   *Student State ID,
   *Grade Level,
   *Test session name, and
   *Reason to justify the reactivation to KSDE.Once a student’s test is marked complete, the student’s test cannot be reactivated.
7. If your building will not be following the below schedule be sure your building submits your plan to DERA at DERA@kckps.org.
   * Building Prep Week: March 21, 2022 – March 25, 2022
   * Official Testing Weeks: March 28, 2022 – April 15, 2022
   * Makeup Testing Weeks: April 18, 2022 – April 29, 2022
8. If your building did an in person Test Security and Ethics training instead of the Canvas Training, please provide DERA a list of staff who completed the in-person training and signed a paper copy of the Abide by Agreement kept on file at your building.
9. We strongly recommend you have an alternative Building Testing Coordinator designated in the event the BTC is absent.

Advanced Restorative Practices Virtual Training Opportunity – April 19-22

from Student Services
As part of their spring virtual training series, The Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR), is offering an Advanced (Tier 2/3) Restorative Practices Virtual Training –” Beyond Tier 1: Repairing Harm in Schools ” – April 19 to 22 (4 half days, 8am to 12pm, virtual). Please see this flyer for registration information. Please note this training is geared for folks that have a foundational understanding and experience with Tier 1 Restorative Practices strategies.

Connector Congratulations

from Diploma+

Congratulations to Colleen Dudley at Claude Huyck and Brett Bernard at Emerson Elementaries. These fantastic leaders have already reached the 100% live session Connector spring goal. WOW All of their teachers and counselor have shared a live session with an industry partner to deepen students’ engagement in the curriculum and/or introduce students to careers that may interest them.

Shout out to Dr. Heather Calvert at Grant Elementary. Grant elementary has hosted TWO Career Fairs this year using the Connector. Bringing relevance to our students’ learning never begins too early and Grant elementary students are getting all kinds of fantastic opportunities to begin dreaming and planning for their futures. Way to Go!

Our next spring progress goal is that 75% of our elementary teachers and counselors share a live session by March 30th.

Industry Chats are always an option. Please remind teachers to request a live session or find an Industry Chat and share with their students soon. Deadline to request a live session is April 29th.

New Hire Orientation (revised)

from Human Resources
Beginning Friday, April 8th, the dates for new hire orientation will change. We will be providing the in-person orientation (day 1) on the Friday prior to the BOE meeting. Day 2 will be on Monday and day 3 will be on Tuesday. Days 2 and 3 will be Zooming for just the mornings. This change in schedule will allow the new employees to begin their actual job on site the Wednesday morning following the BOE approvals.

I would like to request that all supervisor/principals inform me of where you want any new hires to complete their Zoom trainings…at home or at the job site. I can then be specific in assisting the new hires where they should report. Additionally, I’d like to remind you that the other half the each of the three days will be at the location of your choice (likely at the job site). Again, I’m collecting that information to assist the new hires. Some of you have already given me this information, for which I am most appreciative.

NHO has been going quite well. I would love to have any feedback you may have or feedback from your new employee. Thanks again for your support and your patience as we strive to “perfect” the process!
NHO Schedule (Word document)

Important Information about Grades in Canvas

from Curriculum & Instruction

The following information about grades in Canvas needs to be shared with your staff:

1. Official grades are found in Infinite Campus. Grades within Canvas are grades of individual assignments. This information should be shared with teachers, students, and parents. This is what is in the grading policy document – “**Please note, final grades will always be in Infinite Campus. Students and families can monitor assignments in Canvas, but grades should be checked in Infinite Campus.”

2. If a teacher has a year-long course, grades in Canvas will NOT reset at the end of the semester. If a teacher, student, or family member looks at a total grade within Canvas, it will not match infinite campus.
a. Teachers can turn off/hide totals in student grade summary within their Canvas courses. Here is a link to step-sheets demonstrating the process.
An announcement will be shared on Thursday 3/9/22 in Canvas and included in the most recent mobile minutes.

Celebrate National Social Work Month

from Student Services

March is National Social Work Month!
Social Workers are essential in helping students through behavioral health issues that may impact learning. Social Workers at KCKPS play a unique and valuable role in crisis intervention, assessing and treating mental health symptoms, providing suicide assessments, linking families with needed resources and serving as a liaison between the school, home and community agencies.
This month, please take a moment to write a note of thanks, celebrate your social worker(s) at a PD, or leave a small token of appreciation on their desk. KCKPS is seen as a leader in the state for providing mental health supports in schools, and I am so thankful to have these incredible professionals in each building supporting our students.

Thank you!
Angela Dunn, LSCSW
Behavioral Health Coordinator
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools
(913)954-0219NEW Parents-Right-To-Know Letters for LAPSED CERTIFICATION Classroom Teacher Letters

New Staff Intranet Launching Soon/Review of District Forms and Departmental Pages

from Communications

Due to new and ongoing issues with the old intranet system, we are launching a temporary (but more user-friendly and accessible) staff intranet for everyone’s use.  The new, temporary intranet will also have a section titled “Administrators’ Corner,” with links to this newsletter’s homepage, admin-only form links, and more.

Before we launch this temporary intranet, however, we need a lot of old data updated or even removed.  To start, there is a page that housed a number of all-purpose forms and manuals; if your department handles any of these forms (or used to), please visit this link and send any changes needed to forms or links directly to Mike Keener as soon as you can, as it will help speed along the live launch of this new intranet page. Additionally, let him know about any other content on either the live site (or old intranet) that needs to be edited for inclusion on the new site.

New District Letterhead

from Communications

Please use this letterhead template for district communications.

Spending Cutoff – April 1st

from Purchasing

Click here to view information via PDF about the April 1 spending cutoff.

Electronic Reporting Forms for Injuries and Incidents

From Communications & Marketing

Just a quick reminder that many of the forms you need when it comes to incidents are now electronic.

Student injury forms have now been included to the list.

To find the reporting form for students go to this link: https://form.jotform.com/212366215525047

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/

Informational Item

For All Principals

Wednesday, March 23, 2022 – MTSS Day

from Professional Workforce Development

Wednesday, March 23 is scheduled to be an MTSS day. All EC, MS, and HS teams will still focus on MTSS data. Specifically, MS and HS will focus on course grade data and ensure plans are in place for students who may be failing. At the elementary level, LETRS is a major component of the overall MTSS work, therefore, we have scheduled the LETRS training for March 23.

Updated PD Schedule for Wednesday, March 23, 2022:
Early Childhood – MTSS
8:30 Elementary Schools – Unit 2 LETRS Asynchronous Learning
9:00 Elementary Schools – Unit 1 LETRS Synchronous (Zoom) Training – Unit 1, Part 3
Middle Schools – MTSS – Course grade data and planning for students who may be failing
High Schools – MTSS – Course grade data and planning for students who may be failing

The district PD Calendar has been updated to reflect these changes.

KAP Summative Documents & Info

from DERA

Please review the following information:

1. KAP Summative: Monday, March 21 – Friday, April 29
2. Kansas State Assessments Opt Out Form
3. Testing Irregularity Report Form
4. SC Code Information: Test coordinators enter the SC codes as seen in the attached chart via KITE Educator Portal. Codes marked “contact KSDE” must be approved by Julie Ewing or Juanita Anderson at KSDE.
   If a student cannot take or complete a high-stakes, summative assessment, the Test Coordinator at the building or district level will need to enter the SC code in EP by performing the following steps listed in the SC code attachment. 
5. Daily Access Code Information: Building Test Coordinators (BTC) will pull and provide each proctor the ‘Daily Access Codes.
   Access Daily Access Codes by going to Manage Tests → Test Coordination → View Daily Access Codes → Select appropriate assessment → Search.  See pp.71-73 of Test Coordinator’s Manual.
   Building Testing Coordinators should be sure to pull DACs the day before in case they are out of the building.
6. Test Reactivations: BTC will complete test reactivations with a building administrator. Two staff need to be present when reactivating a student’s test.
   All re-activations must be logged at the school and include
   *Name,
   *Student State ID,
   *Grade Level,
   *Test session name, and
   *Reason to justify the reactivation to KSDE.Once a student’s test is marked complete, the student’s test cannot be reactivated.
7. If your building will not be following the below schedule be sure your building submits your plan to DERA at DERA@kckps.org.
   * Building Prep Week: March 21, 2022 – March 25, 2022
   * Official Testing Weeks: March 28, 2022 – April 15, 2022
   * Makeup Testing Weeks: April 18, 2022 – April 29, 2022
8. If your building did an in person Test Security and Ethics training instead of the Canvas Training, please provide DERA a list of staff who completed the in-person training and signed a paper copy of the Abide by Agreement kept on file at your building.
9. We strongly recommend you have an alternative Building Testing Coordinator designated in the event the BTC is absent.

Advanced Restorative Practices Virtual Training Opportunity – April 19-22

from Student Services
As part of their spring virtual training series, The Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR), is offering an Advanced (Tier 2/3) Restorative Practices Virtual Training –” Beyond Tier 1: Repairing Harm in Schools ” – April 19 to 22 (4 half days, 8am to 12pm, virtual). Please see this flyer for registration information. Please note this training is geared for folks that have a foundational understanding and experience with Tier 1 Restorative Practices strategies.

For Elementary Principals

Connector Congratulations

from Diploma+

Congratulations to Colleen Dudley at Claude Huyck and Brett Bernard at Emerson Elementaries. These fantastic leaders have already reached the 100% live session Connector spring goal. WOW All of their teachers and counselor have shared a live session with an industry partner to deepen students’ engagement in the curriculum and/or introduce students to careers that may interest them.

Shout out to Dr. Heather Calvert at Grant Elementary. Grant elementary has hosted TWO Career Fairs this year using the Connector. Bringing relevance to our students’ learning never begins too early and Grant elementary students are getting all kinds of fantastic opportunities to begin dreaming and planning for their futures. Way to Go!

Our next spring progress goal is that 75% of our elementary teachers and counselors share a live session by March 30th.

Industry Chats are always an option. Please remind teachers to request a live session or find an Industry Chat and share with their students soon. Deadline to request a live session is April 29th.

Reminders

New Hire Orientation (revised)

from Human Resources
Beginning Friday, April 8th, the dates for new hire orientation will change. We will be providing the in-person orientation (day 1) on the Friday prior to the BOE meeting. Day 2 will be on Monday and day 3 will be on Tuesday. Days 2 and 3 will be Zooming for just the mornings. This change in schedule will allow the new employees to begin their actual job on site the Wednesday morning following the BOE approvals.

I would like to request that all supervisor/principals inform me of where you want any new hires to complete their Zoom trainings…at home or at the job site. I can then be specific in assisting the new hires where they should report. Additionally, I’d like to remind you that the other half the each of the three days will be at the location of your choice (likely at the job site). Again, I’m collecting that information to assist the new hires. Some of you have already given me this information, for which I am most appreciative.

NHO has been going quite well. I would love to have any feedback you may have or feedback from your new employee. Thanks again for your support and your patience as we strive to “perfect” the process!
NHO Schedule (Word document)

Non-Renewal Timeline – Update

from Human Resources
Please review the Certified Contract NonRenewals Timeline for the 2021-2022 school year. The timeline will also be posted on the Administrators Guide. Feel free to reach out to Ana Perez-Matthews if you have any questions.

Important Information about Grades in Canvas

from Curriculum & Instruction

The following information about grades in Canvas needs to be shared with your staff:

1. Official grades are found in Infinite Campus. Grades within Canvas are grades of individual assignments. This information should be shared with teachers, students, and parents. This is what is in the grading policy document – “**Please note, final grades will always be in Infinite Campus. Students and families can monitor assignments in Canvas, but grades should be checked in Infinite Campus.”

2. If a teacher has a year-long course, grades in Canvas will NOT reset at the end of the semester. If a teacher, student, or family member looks at a total grade within Canvas, it will not match infinite campus.
a. Teachers can turn off/hide totals in student grade summary within their Canvas courses. Here is a link to step-sheets demonstrating the process.
An announcement will be shared on Thursday 3/9/22 in Canvas and included in the most recent mobile minutes.

Celebrate National Social Work Month

from Student Services

March is National Social Work Month!
Social Workers are essential in helping students through behavioral health issues that may impact learning. Social Workers at KCKPS play a unique and valuable role in crisis intervention, assessing and treating mental health symptoms, providing suicide assessments, linking families with needed resources and serving as a liaison between the school, home and community agencies.
This month, please take a moment to write a note of thanks, celebrate your social worker(s) at a PD, or leave a small token of appreciation on their desk. KCKPS is seen as a leader in the state for providing mental health supports in schools, and I am so thankful to have these incredible professionals in each building supporting our students.

Thank you!
Angela Dunn, LSCSW
Behavioral Health Coordinator
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools
(913)954-0219NEW Parents-Right-To-Know Letters for LAPSED CERTIFICATION Classroom Teacher Letters

New Staff Intranet Launching Soon/Review of District Forms and Departmental Pages

from Communications

Due to new and ongoing issues with the old intranet system, we are launching a temporary (but more user-friendly and accessible) staff intranet for everyone’s use.  The new, temporary intranet will also have a section titled “Administrators’ Corner,” with links to this newsletter’s homepage, admin-only form links, and more.

Before we launch this temporary intranet, however, we need a lot of old data updated or even removed.  To start, there is a page that housed a number of all-purpose forms and manuals; if your department handles any of these forms (or used to), please visit this link and send any changes needed to forms or links directly to Mike Keener as soon as you can, as it will help speed along the live launch of this new intranet page. Additionally, let him know about any other content on either the live site (or old intranet) that needs to be edited for inclusion on the new site.

New District Letterhead

from Communications

Please use this letterhead template for district communications.

Spending Cutoff – April 1st

from Purchasing

Click here to view information via PDF about the April 1 spending cutoff.

Electronic Reporting Forms for Injuries and Incidents

From Communications & Marketing

Just a quick reminder that many of the forms you need when it comes to incidents are now electronic.

Student injury forms have now been included to the list.

To find the reporting form for students go to this link: https://form.jotform.com/212366215525047

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/

Informational Item

For All Administrators

New Hire Orientation (revised)

from Human Resources
Beginning Friday, April 8th, the dates for new hire orientation will change. We will be providing the in-person orientation (day 1) on the Friday prior to the BOE meeting. Day 2 will be on Monday and day 3 will be on Tuesday. Days 2 and 3 will be Zooming for just the mornings. This change in schedule will allow the new employees to begin their actual job on site the Wednesday morning following the BOE approvals.

I would like to request that all supervisor/principals inform me of where you want any new hires to complete their Zoom trainings…at home or at the job site. I can then be specific in assisting the new hires where they should report. Additionally, I’d like to remind you that the other half the each of the three days will be at the location of your choice (likely at the job site). Again, I’m collecting that information to assist the new hires. Some of you have already given me this information, for which I am most appreciative.

NHO has been going quite well. I would love to have any feedback you may have or feedback from your new employee. Thanks again for your support and your patience as we strive to “perfect” the process!
NHO Schedule (Word document)

Reminders

Non-Renewal Timeline – Update

from Human Resources
Please review the Certified Contract NonRenewals Timeline for the 2021-2022 school year. The timeline will also be posted on the Administrators Guide. Feel free to reach out to Ana Perez-Matthews if you have any questions.

Important Information about Grades in Canvas

from Curriculum & Instruction

The following information about grades in Canvas needs to be shared with your staff:

1. Official grades are found in Infinite Campus. Grades within Canvas are grades of individual assignments. This information should be shared with teachers, students, and parents. This is what is in the grading policy document – “**Please note, final grades will always be in Infinite Campus. Students and families can monitor assignments in Canvas, but grades should be checked in Infinite Campus.”

2. If a teacher has a year-long course, grades in Canvas will NOT reset at the end of the semester. If a teacher, student, or family member looks at a total grade within Canvas, it will not match infinite campus.
a. Teachers can turn off/hide totals in student grade summary within their Canvas courses. Here is a link to step-sheets demonstrating the process.
An announcement will be shared on Thursday 3/9/22 in Canvas and included in the most recent mobile minutes.

Celebrate National Social Work Month

from Student Services

March is National Social Work Month!
Social Workers are essential in helping students through behavioral health issues that may impact learning. Social Workers at KCKPS play a unique and valuable role in crisis intervention, assessing and treating mental health symptoms, providing suicide assessments, linking families with needed resources and serving as a liaison between the school, home and community agencies.
This month, please take a moment to write a note of thanks, celebrate your social worker(s) at a PD, or leave a small token of appreciation on their desk. KCKPS is seen as a leader in the state for providing mental health supports in schools, and I am so thankful to have these incredible professionals in each building supporting our students.

Thank you!
Angela Dunn, LSCSW
Behavioral Health Coordinator
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools
(913)954-0219NEW Parents-Right-To-Know Letters for LAPSED CERTIFICATION Classroom Teacher Letters

Important Information for Employee Appreciation Week

from Human Resources

The district is hosting an appreciation week for all staff Monday, March 21st – Friday, March 25th. Your assistance is needed to make necessary arrangements for your building/department to make this a week special for your staff.

GENERAL INFORMATION –

When: Monday, March 21st – Friday, March 25th

Overall Theme: KCKPS Spirit (District Spirit and/or School Spirit). All staff are encouraged to wear their school colors/district swag and jeans all throughout the week.

Daily Themes:
Monday – Re-new your buildings with school/district spirit
Tuesday – Re-fresh yourself by focusing on your wellness
Wednesday – Re-lax it’s national chips and salsa day.
Thursday – Re-decorate – Each School/Department will submit a photo showing their best pride
Friday – Re-veal (Building/Department’s activity choice) – Building Administration will plan their own day of celebration for staff
Additional Information on this event:
District BINGO will run Monday, March 21st – Friday, March 25th
Thursday’s Re-decorate contact winner will have Pizza delivered on Friday
Random drawings for each department – all active employees are eligible
Snacks will be delivered to buildings for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
The Communications Department will be sending out multiple emails during Employee Appreciation Week
**Additional details, updates and staff communication will be distributed this week**

DETAILS AND YOUR ACTION NEEDED –

DETAIL – Daily staff snacks will be delivered to each building during the week of Spring Break – Monday, 3/21 (granola bars), Tuesday, 3/22 (fresh fruit), and Wednesday, 3/23 (TBD chips/salsa and/or chips/cheese dip). We are working with Physical properties to ensure this delivery from our Nutritional Services staff is received by the staff working over Spring Break (more information to come on these details).

ADMINISTRATION ACTION NEEDED – before leaving for Spring Break – Plan how you will distribute these snacks to your staff on Monday, 3/21 (granola bars), Tuesday, 3/22 (fresh fruit), and Wednesday, 3/23 (TBD chips/salsa and/or chips/cheese dip).
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DETAIL – On Monday, March 21st, staff will be invited to make posters, decorations, etc. (get creative!) and begin to decorate your buildings. This can be done on a break, plan time, etc. and not made to interfere with instructional time. Please use the supplies that you have in your locations, this is meant to be a no cost activity.

ADMINISTRATION ACTION NEEDED – before leaving for Spring Break – locate the creative space in your building and collect the art supplies that may be used.

ACTION NEEDED ON MONDAY, MARCH 21st – Monday’s all staff communication will state that each building administrator will announce where to find their supplies. Also, you will need to provide instructions to your staff on where to hang their creations and what to hang things with. Plan to provide this communication to your staff on Monday, March 21st.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DETAIL – A building/department winner will be chosen on Thursday, March 24th for the photo showing the most creative spirit using the art from Monday, staff in building/district spirit and any other spirit decorations the building places in the photo. This photo will be due by Noon on Thursday, March 24th. Details will be provided in a later email regarding how to send your photo.

ACTION NEEDED ON THURSDAY, MARCH 24th – submit your spirit photo (details coming).
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DETAIL – On Friday, March 25th the activity and/or celebration is up to you! The Central Office is not providing funds for this day, but I know some buildings/departments have a small budget for this. There are many ways to celebrate staff without spending money. If you need assistance in planning, please reach out to Jody Mitchell no later than Thursday, March 10th.

ACTION NEEDED FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 25th – Communicate the activity to your staff in advance and celebrate accordingly.

Please note, there are details that may change, and you will be made aware of any adjustments before leaving for Spring Break. Please email Jody Mitchell or Jared Alexander with any questions or comments.

Instructional Technology Support

from Curriculum & Instruction
In an effort to be available to support staff on the use of the Canvas and other instructional technologies, Wendy Elkins is hosting open, drop-in office hours (via zoom) in March. These times occur on most Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can find the exact times and the zoom links on the mobile minutes. If you or your staff needs more personal assistance, they can schedule a time with Wendy Elkins using this Calendly Link. Please share this information with your staff.

NonRenewals Timeline

from Human Resources
Please review the Certified Contract NonRenewals Timeline for the 2021-2022 school year. The timeline will also be posted on the Administrators Guide. Feel free to reach out to Ana Perez-Matthews if you have any questions.

New Staff Intranet Launching Soon/Review of District Forms and Departmental Pages

from Communications

Due to new and ongoing issues with the old intranet system, we are launching a temporary (but more user-friendly and accessible) staff intranet for everyone’s use.  The new, temporary intranet will also have a section titled “Administrators’ Corner,” with links to this newsletter’s homepage, admin-only form links, and more.

Before we launch this temporary intranet, however, we need a lot of old data updated or even removed.  To start, there is a page that housed a number of all-purpose forms and manuals; if your department handles any of these forms (or used to), please visit this link and send any changes needed to forms or links directly to Mike Keener as soon as you can, as it will help speed along the live launch of this new intranet page. Additionally, let him know about any other content on either the live site (or old intranet) that needs to be edited for inclusion on the new site.

New District Letterhead

from Communications

Please use this letterhead template for district communications.

Spending Cutoff – April 1st

from Purchasing

Click here to view information via PDF about the April 1 spending cutoff.

Electronic Reporting Forms for Injuries and Incidents

From Communications & Marketing

Just a quick reminder that many of the forms you need when it comes to incidents are now electronic.

Student injury forms have now been included to the list.

To find the reporting form for students go to this link: https://form.jotform.com/212366215525047

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/

Reminders

Non-Renewal Timeline – Update

from Human Resources
Please review the Certified Contract NonRenewals Timeline for the 2021-2022 school year. The timeline will also be posted on the Administrators Guide. Feel free to reach out to Ana Perez-Matthews if you have any questions.

Important Information about Grades in Canvas

from Curriculum & Instruction

The following information about grades in Canvas needs to be shared with your staff:

1. Official grades are found in Infinite Campus. Grades within Canvas are grades of individual assignments. This information should be shared with teachers, students, and parents. This is what is in the grading policy document – “**Please note, final grades will always be in Infinite Campus. Students and families can monitor assignments in Canvas, but grades should be checked in Infinite Campus.”

2. If a teacher has a year-long course, grades in Canvas will NOT reset at the end of the semester. If a teacher, student, or family member looks at a total grade within Canvas, it will not match infinite campus.
a. Teachers can turn off/hide totals in student grade summary within their Canvas courses. Here is a link to step-sheets demonstrating the process.
An announcement will be shared on Thursday 3/9/22 in Canvas and included in the most recent mobile minutes.

Celebrate National Social Work Month

from Student Services

March is National Social Work Month!
Social Workers are essential in helping students through behavioral health issues that may impact learning. Social Workers at KCKPS play a unique and valuable role in crisis intervention, assessing and treating mental health symptoms, providing suicide assessments, linking families with needed resources and serving as a liaison between the school, home and community agencies.
This month, please take a moment to write a note of thanks, celebrate your social worker(s) at a PD, or leave a small token of appreciation on their desk. KCKPS is seen as a leader in the state for providing mental health supports in schools, and I am so thankful to have these incredible professionals in each building supporting our students.

Thank you!
Angela Dunn, LSCSW
Behavioral Health Coordinator
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools
(913)954-0219NEW Parents-Right-To-Know Letters for LAPSED CERTIFICATION Classroom Teacher Letters

Important Information for Employee Appreciation Week

from Human Resources

The district is hosting an appreciation week for all staff Monday, March 21st – Friday, March 25th. Your assistance is needed to make necessary arrangements for your building/department to make this a week special for your staff.

GENERAL INFORMATION –

When: Monday, March 21st – Friday, March 25th

Overall Theme: KCKPS Spirit (District Spirit and/or School Spirit). All staff are encouraged to wear their school colors/district swag and jeans all throughout the week.

Daily Themes:
Monday – Re-new your buildings with school/district spirit
Tuesday – Re-fresh yourself by focusing on your wellness
Wednesday – Re-lax it’s national chips and salsa day.
Thursday – Re-decorate – Each School/Department will submit a photo showing their best pride
Friday – Re-veal (Building/Department’s activity choice) – Building Administration will plan their own day of celebration for staff
Additional Information on this event:
District BINGO will run Monday, March 21st – Friday, March 25th
Thursday’s Re-decorate contact winner will have Pizza delivered on Friday
Random drawings for each department – all active employees are eligible
Snacks will be delivered to buildings for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
The Communications Department will be sending out multiple emails during Employee Appreciation Week
**Additional details, updates and staff communication will be distributed this week**

DETAILS AND YOUR ACTION NEEDED –

DETAIL – Daily staff snacks will be delivered to each building during the week of Spring Break – Monday, 3/21 (granola bars), Tuesday, 3/22 (fresh fruit), and Wednesday, 3/23 (TBD chips/salsa and/or chips/cheese dip). We are working with Physical properties to ensure this delivery from our Nutritional Services staff is received by the staff working over Spring Break (more information to come on these details).

ADMINISTRATION ACTION NEEDED – before leaving for Spring Break – Plan how you will distribute these snacks to your staff on Monday, 3/21 (granola bars), Tuesday, 3/22 (fresh fruit), and Wednesday, 3/23 (TBD chips/salsa and/or chips/cheese dip).
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DETAIL – On Monday, March 21st, staff will be invited to make posters, decorations, etc. (get creative!) and begin to decorate your buildings. This can be done on a break, plan time, etc. and not made to interfere with instructional time. Please use the supplies that you have in your locations, this is meant to be a no cost activity.

ADMINISTRATION ACTION NEEDED – before leaving for Spring Break – locate the creative space in your building and collect the art supplies that may be used.

ACTION NEEDED ON MONDAY, MARCH 21st – Monday’s all staff communication will state that each building administrator will announce where to find their supplies. Also, you will need to provide instructions to your staff on where to hang their creations and what to hang things with. Plan to provide this communication to your staff on Monday, March 21st.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DETAIL – A building/department winner will be chosen on Thursday, March 24th for the photo showing the most creative spirit using the art from Monday, staff in building/district spirit and any other spirit decorations the building places in the photo. This photo will be due by Noon on Thursday, March 24th. Details will be provided in a later email regarding how to send your photo.

ACTION NEEDED ON THURSDAY, MARCH 24th – submit your spirit photo (details coming).
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DETAIL – On Friday, March 25th the activity and/or celebration is up to you! The Central Office is not providing funds for this day, but I know some buildings/departments have a small budget for this. There are many ways to celebrate staff without spending money. If you need assistance in planning, please reach out to Jody Mitchell no later than Thursday, March 10th.

ACTION NEEDED FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 25th – Communicate the activity to your staff in advance and celebrate accordingly.

Please note, there are details that may change, and you will be made aware of any adjustments before leaving for Spring Break. Please email Jody Mitchell or Jared Alexander with any questions or comments.

Instructional Technology Support

from Curriculum & Instruction
In an effort to be available to support staff on the use of the Canvas and other instructional technologies, Wendy Elkins is hosting open, drop-in office hours (via zoom) in March. These times occur on most Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can find the exact times and the zoom links on the mobile minutes. If you or your staff needs more personal assistance, they can schedule a time with Wendy Elkins using this Calendly Link. Please share this information with your staff.

NonRenewals Timeline

from Human Resources
Please review the Certified Contract NonRenewals Timeline for the 2021-2022 school year. The timeline will also be posted on the Administrators Guide. Feel free to reach out to Ana Perez-Matthews if you have any questions.

New Staff Intranet Launching Soon/Review of District Forms and Departmental Pages

from Communications

Due to new and ongoing issues with the old intranet system, we are launching a temporary (but more user-friendly and accessible) staff intranet for everyone’s use.  The new, temporary intranet will also have a section titled “Administrators’ Corner,” with links to this newsletter’s homepage, admin-only form links, and more.

Before we launch this temporary intranet, however, we need a lot of old data updated or even removed.  To start, there is a page that housed a number of all-purpose forms and manuals; if your department handles any of these forms (or used to), please visit this link and send any changes needed to forms or links directly to Mike Keener as soon as you can, as it will help speed along the live launch of this new intranet page. Additionally, let him know about any other content on either the live site (or old intranet) that needs to be edited for inclusion on the new site.

New District Letterhead

from Communications

Please use this letterhead template for district communications.

Spending Cutoff – April 1st

from Purchasing

Click here to view information via PDF about the April 1 spending cutoff.

Electronic Reporting Forms for Injuries and Incidents

From Communications & Marketing

Just a quick reminder that many of the forms you need when it comes to incidents are now electronic.

Student injury forms have now been included to the list.

To find the reporting form for students go to this link: https://form.jotform.com/212366215525047

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/