Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Administrators' Desk logo

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.

Federal Programs

AUDIENCE:  All Principals 

Subject: REMINDER of Required Documents Compliance Checklists

All KCKPS Principals use the Required Documents Compliance Checklist to organize and document that their building has completed all Title I and Title IX annual requirements. The checklists are located on the Annual Staff & Student Mandatory Training and Title I Schools resource pages in the Principal Handbook.  Principals should submit their annual Required Documents Compliance Checklist by Friday, September 10, 2021.

Please contact Lisa Walker with questions.

AUDIENCE: Title I Principals

Subject: Parents-Right-To-Know Letters for Long-Term Substitutes

A reminder that Federal Program guidelines require buildings receiving Title I funds to notify parents any time their child receives instruction for four weeks or more without a highly qualified teacher in the classroom.  Templates (English and Spanish versions) for these individual classroom situations are linked to the  Title I Schools resource pages in the Principal Handbook. Editable formats are located in the Elementary/Middle Title I Schools – Required Documents 21-22 folder in the Federal Programs shared drive.

If you are starting the year with a long-term substitute in any of your classrooms, you will need to provide a letter to your families. Please provide Bridgette DeSmet with a signed copy on your school letterhead to retain for the 2122 SY compliance report.

As these situations occur during 2122 SY, please use these Parents-Right-To-Know templates to inform families of long-term substitutes and provide a signed copy to Bridgette DeSmet.  Thanks for your help and let us know if there are questions.

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)

Re: Instructional Software Inventory (Action Required)
To: All Building Administrators 
As we continue to ensure district alignment and identifying the resources that are having a positive impact on student achievement, we are asking each building to complete this short instructional software inventory form. This inventory form will help district leaders know what software is being implemented throughout the system. Please complete this inventory by no later than close of business on Friday, August 27.

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.

DCIP PD Series

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.