Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Administrators' Desk logo

Action Items

For All Administrators (Action)

Orientation Directions

from Human Resources
Please read carefully this Word document.

New District Letterhead

from Communications

Please use this letterhead template for district communications.

Annual Inventory Reporting

from Risk Management

A new year is upon us and so is the annual inventory counts for your respective buildings, departments/offices and classrooms. Attached you will find a template to help guide you with the inventory accountability process.

We DO NOT need every pencil, paper clip and staple, as those are considered supplies.
We DO need all the electronics, furniture and equipment to be accounted for.
This includes but is not limited to: Couches, Desks, Dry-Erase Boards, Cabinets, iPad charging carts, radios, TV’s computers, electronic learning devices, heavy machinery etc.

If there are any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact Dennis Martine.

Inventory Instructions PDF
Inventory Template XLSX

For Elementary Administrators

NGSS Elementary Amplify Science Program Status Survey

from Curriculum and Instruction

In an effort to support and advance science instruction and the implementation of Amplify Science, the Science Core Leadership Team would like to gather information on the status of science instruction in the district. We are requesting that all K-5 science teachers fill out this NGSS Elementary Amplify Science Program Status Survey. This is an anonymous, 27-question survey with the majority of questions being quick multiple-choice options. It should only take about 15 minutes to complete. We appreciate you encouraging your teachers to fill out this survey and finding creative ways to allow time for it. The team will use this information to better customize support for the implementation of Amplify Science. If you have any questions, please contact Cheryl Beyer.

For Building Principals (Action)

School Improvement Plan (SIP) SMARTIE Goals Updated By Friday, 1/21/22

from Federal Programs

THANKS for your deep thinking and robust engagement in the November/December SIP Workshops! WOW – the dialogue was powerful and changes in SIPs are reflecting our deeper understanding of the SIP Impact Cycle and how that work is captured and monitored in KansaSTAR!

SMARTIE Goals should be updated in KansaSTAR by Friday, 1/21/22. As you revise, keep in mind the following:

-Revise Smart Goals to SMARTIE Goals by including data measurements for subgroups.
-Include goals for ALL the data you’re tracking (Attendance, Academics, Behavior, Academics, SEL, Graduation, Postsecondary, etc.).
-Break up content areas into separate goals to track and measure progress, celebrate successes.
-Move away from “will score proficient on the KAP in spring 2021-22” to “will demonstrate grade level expectations by spring of 2021-22” and use the specific assessments in the Performance Measures section for each goal. This approach helps to triangulate data rather than measuring success of a goal to a single assessment.
-Move away from “40%” or “50% of students will score” language to percentages that align to MTSS Tier I Goals and reflect HIGH expectations for ALL students. Move those lower percentages over to the Performance Measures section for each goal to benchmark annual progress. This approach keeps expectations HIGH, but provides a continuum to monitor progress as we increase the rigor of instruction and expand interventions, ultimately resulting in the number of students meeting grade level expectations.

Please refer to the KCK Principal Handbook School Improvement Planning resource page or call/email Lisa Walker for support!

SMARTIE Goals Worksheet PDF

Informational Items

For All Administrators (Informational Item)

Assessment Updates & Mandatory District Training

from DERA

Greetings Building Admins! With the start of the school year, DERA has several updates to share with you regarding assessments for Q3 & Q4. Please share these assessment updates with your teams; test coordinators have already been notified.

  • FastBridge winter screening window is currently open (01/03-28 for EC; 01/10-28 for K-12).
  • Per KSDE, 12th graders will be assessed in FastTrack Reading for both Winter & Spring. Reminder: 6-11th grade students who score below benchmark in aReading should be routed through TASN’s decision tree “FASTBridge 6th-12th Individual Decision-Making Flowchart”. Please consult the district’s companion guide “Clarifications: FASTBridge 6th-12th Reading” for further information.
  • 01/04 the state released a new KITE School Cluster report to support the interpretation of the KAP Interims. They also developed grade-specific ELA/Math cluster maps as a companion.
  • Virtual learning students are to be screened (FastBridge) and tested (KELPA, KAP interim/summative, ACT) at their assigned home buildings. Please make sure you connect with these students to make arrangements for successful assessment (i.e., needs regarding transportation, meals, accommodations, etc.). Reach 500 students will be tested at Central Office.
  • KAP Summatives are scheduled for March 21- April 29. Please make arrangements to follow the expected testing schedule to ensure high participation, minimize fatigue, and aid in state/self-monitoring: Week 1 (03/21-25): Test Coordinators finalize user profiles and student rosters, Week 2 (03/28-04/01): Testing for ELA Week 3, (04/04-08): Testing for Math, Week 4 (04/11-15): Testing for Science, Week 5 & 6 (04/18-29): Makeups for students (Quarantine/Absent/etc.)
  • KAP Summative test administrators need to complete the District’s 2022 Test Security & Ethics training before March. This training will be uploaded to Frontline. We will keep you posted on its release date.

Finally, any KCKPS staff involved in the KansasCAN web application reports need to save the date of February 22nd (Central Office staff) or February 24 (Building Admin teams), for full-day (8:30a-4p) mandatory Data Quality Certification training. The state will be providing training in 131-133 those days. This is a KESA requirement. Sign-ups will be released shortly.

Clever, Canvas and Other Instructional Software Reminder

from Curriculum & Instruction

Just a friendly reminder that it takes 24-48 hours for new students to become active in all instructional software platforms (Clever, Canvas, etc). If a student’s schedule is changed, it will take 24-48 hours for that change to be reflected in any instructional software.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Julie Leach or Wendy Elkins.

**Please share with staff**

Field Trip Request

from Transportation

Please remember to submit your Field Trip request at least two weeks in advance. All Field Trip requests must be submitted with 9 am departure time and arrive back to the home school no later than 2 pm (M,T,TH,F) and 9 am to 12 pm (W only). Anything currently in the field trip system outside of the current parameters, we will try to accommodate. Transportation currently unable to honor request outside of this timeframe. If you have any field trip questions, please contact Shameka Brown at 913-627-3100.

Environmental Ed Certification Through KACEE

from NEA-KCK

A message from Kansas Association For Conservation & Environmental Education (KACEE):

We, at KACEE, are very excited to have launched our eeCourses and eeCredentials during this past Fall semester and we have our Spring semester schedule up and running and ready for folks to register. We share this information out through our website, our newsletters, and social media but an area that we would be so grateful to have your help and expertise in is sharing this out at a local, regional, or even state level.

This Spring we are offering an assortment of opportunity to for professional development, graduate credit, resources, lesson plans, activities that will help connect our students with the environment. There is opportunities for early childhood through high school teachers. Below are the dates and information about each opportunity. A flyer is also attached here.

Spring Semester 2022
KACEE eeCourses and eeCredentials

Feb 7 – Apr 15 eeDoubleCourse $100 ~ 1 graduate credit hour available (additional $85) ~ approximately 4 hrs per week ~ receive PLT, WILD, WET, WILD Aquatic, and either LEP or GUW & PLT Early Childhood
Feb 7 – Apr 15 Kansas Green School Leader eeCredential $125 ~ 1 graduate credit hour available (additional $85) ~ receive PLT, WILD, WET, WILD Aquatic, and either LEP or GUW & PLT Early Childhood
Feb 7 – Feb 25 Project Learning Tree & Project WILD eeCourse $50 ~ approximately 4 hrs per week~ receive PLT and WILD
Feb 28 – Mar 28 Project WET & Project WILD Aquatic eeCourse $50 ~ approximately 3 hrs per week ~ receive WET and WILD Aquatic
Mar 28 – Apr 15 Leopold Education Project eeCourse $50 ~ approximately 4 hrs per week ~ receive LEP
Mar 28 – Apr 15 Growing Up WILD & PLT Early Childhood eeCourse $50 ~ approximately 4 hrs per week ~ receive GUW & PLT Early Childhood

Questions? Contact Ashlyn Kite-Hartwich at akite@kacee.org phone:785-889-4384
To register or for more information click this link.

Strikeout COVID Vaccine Events Coming Soon

from Communications and Marketing

Administrators, please share this info with staff and students:

Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools is partnering with the Wyandotte County Health Department and the Kansas City Royals to Strikeout Covid for those ages 5 to 11 for three upcoming vaccine events.

Disqualifiers for getting the vaccine:

  • Sick now with any new fever, cough, chills, body aches, sore throat, fatigue, congestion, headache, shortness of breath, diarrhea, vomiting, loss of taste or smell
  • Positive covid-19 test in the past 10 days
  • Living with anyone who is positive currently.
Gloria Willis Middle School – Wednesday January  12, 2022, and Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Two days after the last Grant event, we will have another COVID-19 vaccine event on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, this time at Gloria Willis Middle School, located at 1735 N. 64th Terrace in Kansas City, Kansas. Another COVID-19 vaccine event will also be held at Gloria Willis Middle School on Wednesday, February 2, 2022. Both events run from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Those youth receiving the vaccine will get a free meal on site and be able to pick up other great giveaways.

The Wyandotte County Health Department will be on hand to administer the Pfizer vaccine for those ages 5 to 11. A parent/guardian must be present at the event. No vaccines for those over 11 or booster shots will be offered. Masks are required at the event.

Supportlinc EAP Services

from Employee Wellness

Beginning January 1, our EAP is now through Supportlinc.

SupportLinc offers confidential and professional support, including the following resources, at no cost to you or your family:

SHORT-TERM COUNSELING Through SupportLinc, all employees and benefit-eligible family members may receive up to six (6) in-person counseling sessions with a licensed clinician to address issues such as depression, stress, relationship problems, grief, substance abuse, anxiety or other emotional health concerns.

FREE LEGAL SERVICES The SupportLinc program provides free telephonic or (30-minute) face-to-face consultation with a local attorney.

EXPERT REFERRALS SupportLinc’s knowledgeable specialists provide referrals to resources that help address a wide range of issues such as child or elder care, adoption, pet care, home repair, education and housing needs.

FREE FINANCIAL SERVICES SupportLinc provides expert financial planning and consultation through our network of licensed financial counselors.

WEB PORTAL The SupportLinc web portal provides access to thousands of articles, tip sheets and videos covering a wide array of health, well-being and work-life balance topics. The site also contains child and elder care search engines, reference libraries, legal and financial resources, self-improvement programs and educational training modules.

MOBILE APP The SupportLinc eConnect® mobile app allows you to talk or chat directly with a SupportLinc counselor or schedule a time for SupportLinc to call you.

TEXT THERAPY Exchange text messages, voicenotes and resources Monday – Friday with a licensed counselor for up to six (6) weeks, through the Textcoach® mobile and desktop app.

ANIMO Animo is SupportLinc’s personalized digital resource that strengthens mental health and overall wellbeing through a dynamic series of self-directed modules. (password to access: kckps)

NAVIGATOR Take the guesswork out of your emotional fitness. Click the Navigator icon on the web portal or mobile app, complete a short survey and receive personalized guidance for accessing program support and resources.

All requests for information or assistance through the SupportLinc program are free of charge and completely confidential. You can contact SupportLinc anytime, around-the-clock, 365 days a year. To get started, call 1-888-881-5462, or log in to the SupportLinc website www.supportlinc.com or eConnect® mobile app with username kckps.

Standard Daily Meals & Incidental Expenses Rate Increased

from Purchasing

Beginning January 1st, the Standard Daily Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) Rate increased from $39 to $59 per day. The new rate will only apply to travel that occurs after January 1, 2022. Accompanying this message is a guide that provides information about the new rate, with examples of how to calculate for overnight and same day travel.

Questions should be directed to Wayne Correll by email, or you can call (913) 279-2270.

EAP Letter

from Human Resources

Please see this PDF document for EAP information.

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/

For Building Principals

Physical Education Opt-out Form – Human Sexuality Unit

from IARC

In the past, our PE Department used an opt-in format when delivering the human sexuality and AIDS portion of our curriculum. Starting this semester, we will utilize on opt-out format. Parents who do not want their child to participate must complete the district opt-out form and return to the PE teacher. Teachers will receive details and forms this week.

Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Week and Day

from Student Services

RAK Week is February 13th-19th and RAK Day is Thursday, February 17th.
We encourage you to participate in RAK Week/Day this February within your school communities. Even the smallest act of kindness can change a life! To sign up, access lesson plans, activities, and tools kits please visit the Random Acts of Kindness website.

For EC and Elementary Administrators

Connector Goals for Spring

from Diploma+

The Connector goals begin again. Below are the target goals for the spring semester.

30% Feb. 2
50% March 2
75%. March 30
90%. April 20
100% May 18

The goal is for each regular K-5 elementary teacher and every elementary counselor to share one live session with their students during the spring semester.

Please share this information with you teachers and counselors and reach out to Renee Freers if you need any assistance.

Canvas and Instructional Technology Support

from Curriculum & Instruction
In an effort to be available to support staff on the use of the Canvas, Wendy Elkins is hosting open, drop-in office hours (via zoom) in Jan. and February. 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, you can schedule a time with Wendy Elkins using this Calendly Link.

Elementary Reading Intervention Cadre

from Curriculum & Instruction
The C&I Department is seeking K-5 Reading Interventionists and/or Instructional Coaches to engage in a cadre that will review reading intervention materials for potential adoption. This cadre will be meeting for a few hours monthly during the school day. The building administrator’s approval will be required prior to cadre selections being announced. For more information about the cadre and to view the application click this link. If you have any questions, please contact Allison Rice.

LETRS Asynchronous Learning Clarification

from  Professional Workforce Development

LETRS Asynchronous Learning Clarification: During the second semester, there are a total of six Wednesday afternoons designated to complete the Unit 2 LETRS Asynchronous Learning. All LETRS Units have a total of eight “sessions” for learners to complete; this means participants will have time to complete MORE THAN ONE session per Wednesday Afternoon. For specific time estimates for each Session, within each Unit, please go back to the: LETRS-Estimated-Time-by-Unit document.

Principals, you will need to let your IDP reps know who has completed the Asynchronous Learning to receive the PD points in Frontline. For Unit 1 a total of 11 hours should now be awarded in Frontline. Then, after Unit 2 is complete in April, a total of 12 hours will be awarded in Frontline. For specific LETRS PD dates, please see the 21-22 KCKPS District PD Calendar.

All Asynchronous Learning for Unit 1 was expected to be completed by:

  • Dec 8, 2021

All Asynchronous Learning for Unit 2 is expected to be completed by:

  • April 20, 2022 for 9:00 Elementary Schools

  • April 27, 2022 for 8:30 Elementary Schools

As a reminder, the Zoom links for the LETRS PD sessions have been added to the Early Childhood tab and the Elementary Curriculum tab of the 21-22 District Content PD – Locations/Links document. Some schools have been grouped together for the LETRS training, please use the unique Zoom link provided for your school. Training materials have also been linked within the document.

For Secondary Administrators

Edgenuity SEL Content

from Student Services

Middle and High School Administrators, this is a reminder that your ISS/STS monitors, counselors, and social workers all have access to the Edgenuity Purpose Prep (SEL) content suite to be used for interventions with students. Our ISS/STS monitors, counselors, and social workers all received training from Edgenuity in September 2021 on how to access and utilize this platform. If you would like more information or support with utilizing this resource please contact Tracie Chauvin.

The recording the training can be found here for your reference.
Passcode: 07uK2U+m

Intervention on Purpose Content Suite Word Document