Action Items
For All Administrators
Two-Factor Authentication for Email
from TIS
Please share this with your staff:
All district staff are encouraged to enroll in two factor authentication (2FA) for their district email account. This ensures the security of their district email account and prevents any unauthorized access. The directions for enrolling in the 2FA can be found at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ARv3y25eWkq7ZUeOz_21CJp-Kmqbl6LW9dtVnlYiH6Q/edit
If you have any questions or need assistance please contact the help desk. Thank you.
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).
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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.
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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).
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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.
For Title I Principals
NEW Parents-Right-To-Know Letters for LAPSED CERTIFICATION Classroom Teacher Letters
from Federal Programs
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. This includes situations where a classroom teacher’s CERTIFICATION HAS LAPSED.
A template (English) for these individual classroom situations is located in the Elementary/Middle Title I Schools – Required Documents 21-22 folder in the Federal Programs shared drive or on the KCK Principal Handbook Title I resource page. (The Spanish version will be coming ASAP.)
Any time you are notified of a classroom teacher with an expired or invalid Kansas teaching certificate, 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 the remainder of 2122 SY, please use these Parents-Right-To-Know templates to inform families of long-term substitutes OR lapsed certifications and provide a signed copy to Bridgette DeSmet. Thanks for your help and let us know if there are questions.
Title I Lapsed Certification Letter PDF
For Principals
Overwriting Forms for Parents who need Assistance
from Student Services – Summer School Invites
BrightArrow & BrightChat Whole-Building Access
from Communications – BrightArrow and BrightChat
As posted here on January 21, 2022, we will be limiting the number of staff who send building-wide messages through the BrightArrow and BrightChat systems. This cleanup will be completed by March 15th.
If you have not already done so, please visit this form and let us know who your other staff members are.
Early Childhood & Elementary – Building Principal + 2 additional staff members
Middle Schools – Building Principal + 3 additional staff members
High Schools – Building Principal + 4 additional staff members
You must be the principal & be logged into your m.account to complete the form. If you do not complete this form by March 11th you will be the only person with building wide access when we return from Spring Break.
Managing Summer School Invitations & Responses
from Student Services – Summer School Invites
Please refer to the help files on our internal Infinite Campus Support site for how to manage Summer School Invitations. K-8 Invitations were pushed out to parents on 2/16/2022. High school and students entering into Kindergarten next year are done on an individual basis from the building. Please discuss with your staff who may be helping you with this task. The support site is viewable by all employees logged into their m.kckps.org account.
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)954-0219
Informational Items
For All Administrators
HR Power Hour
from Human Resources
We would like to host an HR Power Hour Thursday, March 10th from 9am – 10pm. During this time HR will share updates and announcements. This is also a time for building administrators to ask HR questions they may have. We look forward to seeing you!!
Meeting ID: 850 1203 6919
Passcode: eXU4jW
Reminders
Sack Lunch Requests
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.
C & I Materials (workbooks) Ordering Information for 2022-23
from Curriculum & Instruction
Consumable Workbooks (CKLA & Eureka Math) and Science Materials
Please see this document (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fH822opC1UJf-mqo-9Tca3l05K83hFRPA5MZipmoNHc/edit?usp=sharing) for instructions to order workbooks for the 2022-23 school year. Information regarding budget lines for science kit refills is also included.
Adding/Closing Classrooms
If you are planning to add or close any classrooms for the 2022-23 school year, please let Suzie Legg, Curriculum Coordinator of Academics, know via email as soon as possible so we can determine the next steps that make sense for your site. For reference, this document indicates the number of classrooms the C & I Department shows that you have materials for at your site.
Thank you for attending to this task as soon as possible. Please have this information completed by the end of the day Wednesday, March 9, 2022.
Please contact Suzie Legg with any questions.
Application Process for Certified Staff
from Human Resources
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools certified employees interested in applying for positions within the school district for the 2022-2023 academic year may do so through the following steps for which they meet the current qualifications, endorsements, or license.
- Certified staff may apply for positions for the 2022-2023 school year as they become available through the Talent Ed application system located at kckps.org/careers. All applications will be subject to the qualifications set forth in the job postings and represent no guarantee for interviews or future hires.
- Certified staff can apply for positions until the Kansas state approved resignation date has been completed. June 3, 2022 is the official state approved date for certified staff to submit their resignation to the school district. Liquidated fees under the separation of services section of the current NEA-Kansas City, Kansas agreement, will be in effect at 12:00 a.m. on June 4, 2022.
- If the certified staff has not received an offer for a KCKPS job, then the employee will remain in their current position and location for the 2022-2023 school year.
Grades 6-8 Second Step Usage
from Student Services
Middle School and Sumner Principals, on the March 9th DCIP Day there is time built into the schedule to review grades 6-8 Second Step usage reports for your building, celebrating success, and brainstorming how to support those FA teachers that may be struggling to use this MTSS Tier 1 resource for teaching social emotional skills to set our students up for success.
Linked here is a folder that has each of your respective reports. On the reports, you will see some color coding. The color coding is based off the FA Pacing Calendar.
Shout out to Gloria Willis for having the most FA teachers in the green!
Green= has completed 8+ lessons and is a champion for SEL in your building.Yellow= has completed 4-7 lessons and is on track for SEL success.Red = has completed less than 4 lessons and needs support.
Middle School Second Step Usage Reports by Building
SEL Day 2022
from Student Services
SEL Day 2022 is coming up! On Friday, March 11th 2022 KCKPS will be celebrating SEL Day. To sign your building up visit the SEL Day website. Need ideas for how to celebrate SEL Day 2022? Here is a great google doc with ideas or you can email Tracie Chauvin to brainstorm! Email Tracie with any SEL Day plans that your school has as well to be highlighted and recognized.
Cell Phone Upgrade Information
from TIS
T-Mobile will be in the East Wing Conservatory of Central Office on Wednesday, March 9th from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm to upgrade district issued cell phones. This will be the last day they will be here for upgrades. To make the upgrade process smooth please follow the directions on the two attached documents provided by T-Mobile. Thank you.
Deployment Preparation (Word Document)
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.
State Wide Tornado Drill Exercise 10AM Tuesday March 8th.
from KCKPS PD
Severe Weather Preparedness Week is March 7 to 11. The State wide tornado drill will be held at 10 AM on Tuesday March 8. There will not be a backup date or time. This year’s KS SWPW packet can be found here as educational material.
This year’s drill will differ from years past in one critical way. The NWS will NOT be sending out a live tornado warning over NOAA Weather Radio and EAS, rather we will send out a routine weekly test on NOAA Weather Radio containing tornado drill information. This was done because sending out the live warning has been extraordinarily problematic and confusing to the general public for years, and resulted in testing EAS in a manner inconsistent with its design. Wyandotte County will be sounding the normal tornado sirens throughout the County.
We are requesting that all schools and district buildings conduct a tornado drill at 10 AM on March 8, and we encourage you to participate by sounding your sirens or utilizing test verbiage in any other emergency communications protocols you utilize. The NWS will also be sending out graphics for the drill on Facebook and Twitter at 10 AM to encourage the general public to practice sheltering.
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/