Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Communications

Important School Website Information – for All Principals

Principals – please inform your school website editors of this information:

1. COVID-19 information has been added to each school website, at the top of each of your homepages. Do not remove this info until further notice.
2. Due to conflicting issues with the current school server setup, standard security updates that were installed yesterday across the school sites caused the site’s visual theme’s homepages to no longer be visible. To circumvent this issue, the front page of each site is now the normal “Home” page, not “Landing Page.” If you need to make any homepage edits, go there to do so. Apologies for this inconvenience, as the page change may have affected your own formatting.

COVID Guidelines for Gatherings

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.

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.

DERA

Please ensure all KAP testing is completed by 5/7.  As a reminder, it is the expectation that all students are tested.  All opt-out forms for remote learners whose families refused on-site testing are due 5/10.  All SC codes are also due to Samantha by 5/10 as well.       

FastBridge Spring Universal Screening

5/10/21 – 5/21/21

Refer to https://tinyurl.com/kckpsFastBridgeGuide for all details.  Please also remember that remote learners can test remotely during this screening window, however, any student applying for Sumner Academy admissions will need to test in-person.

Diversity & Inclusion

Cinco De Mayo- Facts vs. Myths

Mexican Cinco De Mayo celebrations are more or less limited to the city of Puebla where the victory over the French army took place on May 5, 1862.

“…Yes, it commemorates a major Mexican military victory at the Battle of Puebla. No, it isn’t Mexican Independence Day. Yes, it’s been exploited by marketing agencies and brands in an attempt to capitalize on Latino buying power. No, it isn’t widely celebrated in Mexico, except in certain places….”

You can read more about May 5, 1862 and you can find respectful ways to celebrate here: https://www.bustle.com/articles/159026-how-to-celebrate-cinco-de-mayo-without-being-racially-insensitive

Kodomo no Hi

As a young child growing up in Hawaii I can remember my grandparents fly giant carp streamers outside our house to celebrate Kodomo no Hi! Even though these carp are made of fabric, It was (and still) is a beautiful sight to see these beautiful majestic creatures flutter in the wind.

Children’s Day, which is called Kodomo no Hi (こどもの日) in Japanese, is a national holiday in Japan held every year on May 5th to celebrate happy and healthy children and to express gratitude to their mothers. One of four national holidays during Japan’s annual “Golden Week” in late April and early May, Children’s Day is especially colorful with flying carp streamers and samurai motifs. In this article we will introduce the history and essential facts of this holiday as well as looking at some typical activities and traditional foods.

@shigatsu0926

Here are some links that will immerse you in the traditions of Kodomo no Hi!

https://savvytokyo.com/kodomo-no-hi-guide-childrens-day-japan/

https://www.jaccc.org/kodomonohi-2021

ESOL

ESOL Voluntary Professional Development and ESOL Endorsement Opportunities: 

• SIOP: Teachers will gain an in-depth understanding of the components of the SIOP Model and strategies to implement it. The main goal of SIOP is to make content comprehensible for independent learners with a strong focus on strategies for all students especially language learners. Participants will finalize training by creating a sample lesson using the SIOP Model features and components. This is a 12-part series with 5 live sessions with a SIOP certified trainer with the SAVVAS Company. Sessions begin June 3rd through July 29th through BrightSpace Virtual Platform. SIOP Book and Workbook provided to participants. Live sessions are scheduled for June 3, 17, July 1, July 8, July 29 at 3:00pm. Sign up by May 15th through the following google form. Email Jacqueline Rodriguez, jacqueline.rodriguez@kckps.org, with any questions

• Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners Book Study: There is no time like the present for you to reflect on your role in culturally responsive teaching and use new tools to build an even stronger school community that is inclusive of MLs. This is self-paced 20-hour book study that is designed for educators looking for tools and strategies to suppor  the implementation of culturally responsive teaching in their context. Book is provided for participants that join.The book study is framed around Sydney Snyder and Diane Staehr Fenner’s new book Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity. The book study is self-paced and can be completed according to your schedule. This on-demand course includes:

  • Three reflection questions per chapter,

  • Videos clips that accompany a selection of chapters,

  • A pre- and post-course survey, and

  • A certificate for 20 PD hours.

Book study begins June 7th through July 29th. Sign up by May 15th through google form. Email Jacqueline Rodriguez, jacqueline.rodriguez@kckps.org, with any questions

Federal Programs

AUDIENCE: Elementary Principals

SUBJECT: 3-5th Grade Student Survy OPEN NOW

The window is open for the 3rd-5th grade student survey!  Surveys will run 5/3/21 through the week of 5/14/21 to gather data on culture, climate, equity & inclusion, and instructional programs.

DATA will be used for KESA, District Strategic Plan, and in your School Improvement Plans. It’s important for all elementary schools to have strong participation rates in order for the responses to be a valid data source.

Please work with your teachers to make sure ALL 3rd – 5th grade students have an opportunity to participate in the survey.  The first page of the survey includes drop down menus where students will select a language in which to complete the survey and also their school.

English, Spanish, Hakka Chin, Hmong, Kiswahili, Nepali, Somali, Arabic, Burmese Survey Link:

https://kckps.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8k5GFCCmgoooCYC

Karen: https://kckps.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9HO1yaWRHEEnQ4S

Thanks for your help in collecting this important data! For questions, email or call Lisa Walker.

AUDIENCE: ALL SCHOOLS

Subject:  REMEMBER – Any Department Plan Goes In Your School Improvement Plans

In order to streamline efforts and eliminate duplicate work, the District Instructional Leadership Team agreed that “Department Requested Plans” will NOT be separate documents, but will become a part of your School Improvement Plans in KansaSTAR.  Please remember this as you see department requests in the weekly Administrators’ Notice for “plans” to be developed.

Another training on how to use KansaSTAR as a hub will occur soon! KansaSTAR has the ability to incorporate folders of artifacts and departments and buildings can link data in various places, so that truly everything can be in ONE PLACE!

This will be terrific as we begin to submit our SIPs annually in KansaSTAR to KSDE, beginning this May, 2021.

Contact Lisa Walker or Kacie Olson if you need some 1:1 KansaStar/SIP assistance for you, your team, or your process manager.  We’re happy to help!

Finance Department

If you requested additional funding in your budget meeting and were instructed to complete a Case for Investment, the form is due to Tracy Kaiser by May 10th.

Human Resources

Board Policy Review

Message: The board policy review for the month of May is now active on Frontline Professional Growth. Each month you will be assigned a series of board policies through your Frontline Professional Growth account. The activity or activities, depending on your role, will be located under the Approved and/or In-progress section on your Learning Plan.

Please see below for the list of this month’s Board Policy Review. Please reach out to jared.alexander@kckps.org if you have any questions.

As a reminder staff has until May 31st to view the policies that are assigned to them for the month of May.

May Board Policy Review- Certified Staff 

May Board Policy Review- Classified

Professional Development

Student Services

Universal Trauma Training

Thank you all so much for your hard work in getting this training completed! If you are still having trouble accessing the evaluation, please use the tutorial below or contact me: brittany.talley@kckps.org.