Friday, April 30, 2021

Communications

Hello Everyone,

As we prepare to close out the school year, we know that some of you are planning activities at your school campuses for your students and their families. Many of you may have questions about what are the most updated restrictions and guidelines for planning events.

We have provided a list of guidelines that will need to be followed to help ensure that we mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during these gatherings as much as possible.

Indoor Activities/Events

• Limited to students only
• Masks required
• Social Distancing Required
• Soloists only for choir and woodwind performances
• Can be held during or After school hours

Outdoor Activities/Events

• Can be held during or after school hours
• May include family spectators (Limit 2 per student)
• Masks Required
• Social Distancing Required
• Band and Choir may perform with social distancing

If you have any questions, please contact your Instructional Improvement Officer.

State Treasurer’s Office Recognizing Teacher Appreciation Week, May 3-7, with $10,000 Giveaway

Ten Kansas teachers have the opportunity to receive $1,000 each in celebration of National Teacher Appreciation Week, which is May 3-7, Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Rogers announced.

People are invited to nominate a Kansas teacher for the $1,000 award by using this online form. Nominations will be accepted until noon Friday, April 30. The State Treasurer’s Office will announce two winners each day beginning Monday, May 3. Winners will be selected at random. Entries are limited to one per person. Duplicate entries will be deleted. No taxpayer dollars are contributing to this award fund, the State Treasurer’s Office said.

The awards will be paid through the State Treasurer’s Office’s partnership with Learning Quest 529 Savings Plans. Winners will have a choice to receive a scholarship or a contribution to a new or existing 529 Savings Plan.

Lump Sum Info

Principals and Certified Administrators – Please share this information with your certified staff:

Complete the Online Lump Sum Request/Rescind form by April 30, 2021. Under KSA 74-4940(b) to receive your summer pay in the form of a “lump sum”.

Changes made to your W4/K4 should take place starting May 31 thru June 4, 2021 on Employee Online.

THE W4 FORM HAS BEEN RECREATED – PLEASE FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF AND GO BY THE INSTRUCTIONS ATTACHED TO THE W-4 FORM. CONTACT YOUR TAX ADVISOR FOR HELP WITH QUESTIONS. THE STATE FORM HAS NOT CHANGED, SO YOU MAY CHOOSE TO USE EXEMPTIONS THERE.

If you DO NOT wish to receive a Lump Sum salary payment this year, but received it last school year, you MUST request that the Lump Sum be RESCINDED, by indicating your choice when prompted.  If you DO NOT wish to receive a lump sum salary payment this year, and did not receive one last year, you do not need to do anything.

Lump Sum Change Form
2021 W-4 Instructions
K-4 Form

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

EC & Elementary Principals

RE: Science of Reading PD Opportunity

Administrators are invited to join instructional coaches on Friday, May 7th at 1:00pm to engage in professional learning around the Science of Reading. Participants will select from a variety of webinars, articles, and podcasts and be given one hour for self-directed learning. Then, they will engage in 40 minutes of small group discussions to share their learning with colleagues who selected professional learning on a similar Science of Reading topic. Please reach out to allison.rice@kckps.org with any questions. 

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9904575555

Elementary Principals

RE: K-3 ELA Pilot

The curriculum department is looking for buildings that would be willing to participate in piloting K-3 ELA resources during the first quarter of the 2021-2022 school year. The resources being piloted are CKLA and Open Court Reading. 

Participation would require the following:

• Ability for pilot teachers to participate in beginning of year training with the vendor. 
• Ability for pilot teachers to possibly participate in Wednesday training half-way through the quarter.
• Support of the building instructional coach
• “Open door” policy with curriculum for in the moment training, observation, and modeling
• Commitment to the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy

If you are interested in having the K-3 ELA pilot be part of your building’s first quarter, please complete this short Google Form. If you have questions, please email allison.rice@kckps.org. Expressing interest for your building does not guarantee teachers from your building will be selected, but it does mean they will be given the opportunity to apply. Please note, this form is for building principals to complete by Friday, May 7th. 

Elementary Principals

RE: Amplify Reading K-5 Usage Competition

Remember the usage competition for our Amplify Reading K-5 Pilot ends May 14th. The winning building will receive boxes of Amplify swag. The winning grade level team will receive Bluetooth speakers!!!

Here are this week’s rankings:

1. Lindbergh Elementary: 80% (up from 70%)
2. Eugene Ware: 75% (up from 53%)
3. McKinley: 51% (up from 49%)

Diversity & Inclusion

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Like most commemorative months, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month originated with Congress. In 1992, Congress passed Public Law 102-450 which annually designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

You can read more about the history of this month at https://asianpacificheritage.gov/about/.

In March, we brought to your attention the increase in attacks on the Asian American community and we provided these two resources:

Amid attacks, school principals concerned over Asian Americans’ return to class

As schools reopen, Asian American students are missing from classrooms

On April 22, 2021 the United States Senate passed S.937 – COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act with a vote of 94-1. This legislation was sponsored by Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii as a direct result of AAPI being victimized by hate crimes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here you can watch when that legislation was debated on the Senate floor as well as read what is covered in that act.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?511137-1/senate-passes-anti-asian-american-hate-crimes-bill-94-1

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/937/text

Here are 31 ways to celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month brought to you by the Asian Society of Texas.

https://asiasociety.org/texas/asian-pacific-american-heritage-month-2021

Latina Empowerment Conference

Additionally, if you have not heard. KCKPS High School Latina students had an amazing opportunity to be a part of a panel discussion with three wonderful Latina Attorneys from across the nation. Our guest panelists were:

PANELIST: 

Maria Carrillo – Maria is an Assistant United States Attorney (federal criminal prosecutor) in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia.

Grissel Seijo – Born and raised in the South Bronx, Grissel Seijo is now the Counsel, Employment and Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Restaurant Brands International (Miami, FL).

Adelaida Vasquez Mihu – Adelaida Vasquez Mihu (pronounced My-Hue)– is a Compliance Officer with Biogen, a global biotechnology company devoted to innovative scientific research of neurological diseases with the goal of finding cures to things like multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s.

HISPANIC NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION:

The Latina Commission of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) works on outreach to young Latinas with the hope of inspiring them to consider law as a career. Latinas are the most underrepresented minority group in the profession. We hope to change that! To that end, the Latina Commission is excited to partner with high schools throughout the country with a significant Latina student population on virtual outreach events. These events are panel presentations of 3 Latina lawyers who share their “Pearls of Wisdom” on what it means to be a lawyer and how they got there, all with the goal of motivating young Latinas, and Latinos, to consider law as a career. We look forward to partnering with Kansas City Public Schools!

You can watch the full panel discussion HERE!

Ramadan

Ramadan continues through May 12. Ramadan coinciding with the school year is both a special and difficult overlap for children and adults. Exercise understanding and empathy towards fasting individuals, keeping the line of communication open and honest.

• Allow fasting students to:

o    Spend lunchtime in library or computer lab

o    Be excused from strenuous activities in P.E.

o    Save treats from celebrations to bring home

o    Take slow or transitory times during the school day to pray

http://irgmn.org/ramadan-in-schools/

Here are some other great resources to enhance your learning about this holiday, especially if you have any staff or students who will be fasting during this time:

9 Ways to Support Students During Ramadan

Celebrating Cultural Diversity With Ramadan

Column: How teachers can support students during Ramadan | PBS NewsHour

Ramadan around the world in 2021 | Office Holidays

Ramadan Information and Activities for Kids

Building Rep Meetings for May

Your Equity and Inclusion Building Rep is doing some asynchronous learning around creating psychologically safe spaces. As we are ending this school year, please be in contact with your building reps to begin setting building level plans for the upcoming school years. If you would like the Office of Equity and Inclusion to join you as you plan, use this calendly link to schedule a time with us. Also here is a planning templateto help you begin planning.

Virtual Field Trip Opportunities

Japanese American Experiences Electronic Field Trip
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/events-programs/events/128378-japanese-american-experiences-electronic-field-trip

o    May 13, 2021 Session 1: 9:00am – 10:00am
Session 2: 12:00pm – 1:00pm

o    Take your classroom on a journey with student reporters based in California and Louisiana as they gather stories of Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from the West Coast after the United States’ entrance into World War II. Review the difficult decision of young Nisei men to serve their country even as their country turned its back on them, uprooting their lives and the lives of their families. Understand the critical legacy of the preservation of the confinement sites and their stories—and the lasting reminder that democratic principles are often fragile in the face of war.

At the heart of the program will be an interview between Amy Mass, who was incarcerated at Heart Mountain as a child, and her grandson Ryo. Interwoven with Amy’s firsthand testimony will be a visit to The National WWII Museum for an up-close look at primary sources and artifacts, and an interview with Baton Rouge resident Walter Imahara, who was incarcerated at Rowher and Jerome, Arkansas, as a boy.

Student viewers will not just be sitting and watching but participating in polls and Q&A throughout the live webcast. Designed for grades 6-12.

Access curriculum related to the World War II Home Front at ww2classroom.org. Stay tuned for additional pre- and post-Electronic Field Trip resources on the Museum’s Flipgrid

Finance Department

Reminder about upcoming financial deadlines 

The last date to encumber funds for the current school year was April 10.  Purchase requisitions will now be denied.

All funds encumbered under PO’s that are not PAID on or before June 15, 2021 will be disencumbered, and funds will return to the District to use for districtwide projects.

“Paid” means that a check has been printed and mailed by Accounts Payable, receiving a PO in BusinessPLUS (POUPRC) DOES NOT pay an invoice. Please review the status of all open POs in your budget regularly to ensure invoices are received so payment can be made no later than the last board meeting in May.
THE LAST DAY TO SUBMIT INVOICES TO AP FOR PAYMENT WILL BE JUNE 15, 2021 (NOON)!
If invoices are not received, it is the responsibility of the school/department to contact the vendor to get the invoice to AP before the June 15 deadline.

Human Resources

Classified Professional Development Survey

We are in the process of developing a comprehensive professional development plan for our classified staff.  We need the input of all principals and department supervisors.  The link below is to a Google form that will take you about 5-10 minutes to complete.  Please complete this and submit by the end of the day on Monday, May 3^rd.  All questions should be directed to Sherrie Piedimonte.  Thank you so very much!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RTbEPiaf0pWYTcZNYiQ6B8XfEw5oWto1hYu13Gnt94w/edit

Certified Salary Adjustment Window May 1 – July 31, 2021

Leaders –

This year’s Certified Salary Adjustment window is open from May 1st – July 31st. The electronic form is used to request a salary adjustment based upon the following; completion of additional college hours, a combination of college hours and PD points, and/or add a National Board Certification Stipend. The Certified Staff Salary Adjustment Request form can be found in TalentEd Records under Available Forms. If approved for salary adjustment, a salary increase would go into effect beginning with the August 15, 2021 paycheck and onward.

Official transcripts and/or proof of National Board Certification can be uploaded directly to the submission form or sent to transcripts@kckps.org. All Official documents are due to Human Resources by July 31, 2021. If you or your staff have any questions,  encourage them to reach out individually to Shaunteh Jones at shaunteh.jones@kckps.org or Ariel Kittling at ariel.kittling@kckps.org. Please share this information with all of your Certified staff.

Stay Well!

New social media platform for HR and Recruitment 

Message:

Hi everyone,

HR and recruitment will be using Tik Tok as a new and exciting way to showcase our job vacancies, schools and creating particular videos for our high need areas. Stay tuned as we will post a new video each week. Please do us a favor and like, comment , share and follow us at @unlimited.possibilities

Attachments: Click here 

HR Power Hour

Message: Thank you for attending our HR Power Hour on April 22nd.  We would encourage anyone who was able to attend to share with your colleagues that this is an available resource for them.  We will be having our next zoom session May 6, 2021 from 9:30am – 10:30am.  During this time, any questions that Building Administrators or IIO’s may have they can ask our HR Staff.  Also, from an HR Standpoint, we will share any announcements or updates we may have.

Join Zoom Meeting 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83432238376?pwd=dmtsUDc2eHFJZzN4WEY2NUhlRUtQUT09
Meeting ID: 834 3223 8376
Passcode: mdA63N

Message: Teacher Appreciation Week is right around the corner. This year it’s the week of May 3–7, with National Teacher Day on May 4. While it is always important to recognize how much teachers matter; this past year is especially significant. Please make sure you are planning something fun and exciting for your teachers. Below are some examples of how you can show appreciation.

• Thank You, Teacher printouts

• Send an e-card

• Send message on social media #IamKCKPS #KCKPS

• Treats

• Thank You video

IARC (Fine Arts)

ARTS INTEGRATION

Principals,

Below is information from Kansas City Young Audiences (KCYA) for a professional development opportunity.  Please make your core classroom teachers aware of this no-cost event.

Arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form.  Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject and meets evolving objectives in both.

This KCYA session is May 4th, from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. and is facilitated by Harlan Brownlee.  Harlan is on the Kennedy Center’s National touring roster for the Partners in Education program and Changing Education through the Arts.  The session will cover arts integration, specifically related to movement and dance.  Teacher can learn more and register here.  There are both Zoom and in person attendance options.

Please share with your teaching staff.

Professional Development

Special Education

Student Services

Universal Trauma Training

All school building staff (classified and certified) need to have completed the Trauma Sensitive and Resilient School’s Universal Training by May 1, 2021. This training is located on Frontline, and consists of:

• 4 video modules (approx. 3 hours run time total)
• 3 handouts
• 1 Learning Check/Evaluation (which appears after each modules/handout has been “launched” and “completed”). 

Here’s a short video tutorial on how to access the evaluation. 

Each school has their own Frontline Activity. If staff have already completed the training (either in-person or live-virtually) they should have a certificate. If anyone is experiencing issues with these trainings, or locating their certificate, please contact Brittany Talley: brittany.talley@kckps.org. 

Trauma Sensitive Tuesday: May 4th, 2021

Register Here!

As this is our last meeting, we would love to hear from you about your favorite TST moments. If you are up to it, please record a short (5-10 second) video telling us what you love about Trauma Sensitive Tuesdays. All videos must be submitted by Friday, April 30.

Send completed videos to brittany.talley@m.kckps.org