Tuesday, May 10, 2022

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Action Items

For All Administrators

HEDS-Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey (Spring-End of the Year)

from Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Administrators: Please share this with your staff.

District Staff,
Thank you for responding to the Fall HEDS Climate and Culture Survey as the DEI department utilized the feedback and data to inform our work on diversity, equity and communication this year. We would like everyone to complete the Spring HEDS Climate and Culture survey to continue to inform our future learning.

In this survey, we will ask you about your perceptions of the Kansas City, Kansas Public School District (KCKPS) climate, your perceptions of how KCKPS supports diversity and equity, and your experiences with discrimination and harassment in KCKPS.

Your participation is voluntary. We are grateful for your cooperation and willingness to provide information that will help us better understand the KCKPS climate. We are committed to ensuring that our campus has an inclusive, engaging, and supportive environment, and your participation in this survey will help us work toward this goal.

HEDS Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey Link

For All Principals

Homefield KC

from Communications

We have been engaged in conservations with Homefield KC about a partnership to provide our students access to their indoor and outdoor facilities for sporting events. They are constructing a 153,000 square foot premier sports venue with football, baseball, soccer fields and basketball courts in the former Schlitterbahn Waterpark location.

To kick off this partnership as part of their Homefield Cares Foundation, Homefield wants to donate more than 25,000 books to all of our students in Pre-K to 5th grade. The students can keep these books and take them home for the summer. There will be two books for each student.

They have volunteers that will deliver the books to our schools on Monday, May 16th, and Tuesday, May 17th. The volunteers are older/seniors and, therefore, will need assistance from your Librarian, Custodial Staff, and any other staff you can spare to assist with unloading the books.

You or your librarian will need to determine which books students will receive or grade appropriate. Homefield will be contacting your school to let you know when they are on the way to deliver the books to your school.

If you have any questions about the books, please contact Mr. Vaughan at 913-302-0809. 

Quick Background

In late 2020, Homefield LLC struck a deal with the Unified Government to redevelop the Schlitterbahn Waterpark site. Homefield is using STAR bonds financing the KC project, which will allow the project to capture sales tax revenue to pay off the bonds.

Robb Heineman, founder and CEO of Homefield, discussed what’s in store for the site with grand plans to revolutionize the youth sports experience nationwide. Homefield is working on projects in 12 cities; Chicago, Indianapolis, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Columbus, Dayton, Raleigh, Charlotte, St. Petersburg and Austin. Kansas City will Homefield’s flagship location.

Homefield Cares 

Homefield KC will host a kickoff event to help introduce themselves to the KCK community. The event will take place on KCKCC campus grounds, May 23, from 4-7 p.m. The event will offer free hot dogs, chips and water. The organization will also giveaway goody bags, containing home care products. Homefield plans to have 1,000 goody bags, which will be first-come, first served.

Tutoring Update – ACTION REQUIRED

from MTSS
The last day for tutoring will be Wednesday, May 25th. If, for some reason, you have conflicts with tutoring schedules the last weeks of school due to field trips, field days, finals, etc., please let your Tutoring company know ASAP.

Post Assessment scheduling has already begun with TPT as Mike Graham is working with principals to get that scheduled. Varsity Tutors will be administering their Post Assessment the week of May 16th during their regularly scheduled tutoring times. Please ensure that all your students in tutoring take the Post Assessment.

Along with using the Post Assessment data to measure success, KCKPS is conducting a Program Evaluation to measure our Return on Investment. To ensure we can easily pull FastBridge and KAP data on the students who participated, we need your assistance with adding important program information into Infinite Campus. Please use these instructions for adding the appropriate tutoring program to students’ Infinite Campus profiles.

Program start date will be January 13, 2022 (Board Approved on January 12).
Program end date will be May 25, 2022.

Deadline for completion is May 25, 2022.

Assessment Updates

from DERA

Important Dates

  • FastBridge Screener:
    • Early Childhood:  Monday, April 25 – Friday, May 20
    • K-12: Monday, May 2 – Friday, May 20
    • Review Assessment Schedule for further details
  • HGSS Score entries in Infinite Campus due:
    • High School:  Friday, May 20, 2022

FastBridge

    • If you haven’t started testing, please check your rosters for accuracy.  This will prevent losing the opportunity to test later in the window if there is an issue with student rosters.

KAP Student Score Reports (Availability Change)

  • KAP teacher survey available in Kite® Educator Portal until May 6.
  • KSDE reports student score reports will be available in KITE on May 11 after 2:00 pm and in the Parent Portal May 17.  Results are confidential until scores are available for view in the Parent Portal.  This allows time for changes to be made if necessary.
    • All KAP student score reports will be available with the exception of 10th grade Mathematics.

ACT

  • Mark your calendars: 22-23 Administration
    • Our goal is to go to an online format for the 22-23 school year.
  • ACT and PreACT 8/9 reports are now available in Success.  Currently no historic data is available for PreACT 8/9, only the results for fall 2021.  
  • ACT is no longer producing the graduation cohort reports that have been sent to the district in the past.   Generate and customize those in Success.
  • For reports that will be delivered to schools, see the Reporting Schedule in section 7 under the ACT tab on the Kansas ACT website.  That schedule gives a timeline and format for the reports that will be available to schools.
  • myACT: Students may access their ACT scores and request scores be sent to colleges through myACT.  Please encourage your students to create an account if they have not already done so.  Only about 78% of students that tested in KS this spring have set up their myACT accounts.

HGSS

  • Scores should be collected and entered into Infinite Campus by the classroom teacher (click here to download instructions for score entry).  The window for the high school HGSS assessment closes on Friday, May 20th, 2022. 
  • Please note that all K-12 students should be assessed using the HGSS scoring rubric before the window closes. 

Please contact the DERA Team with any questions you may have at dera@kckps.org.

For Elementary Principals

Defined Learning (PBL) Summer School Supply Shipments

from Curriculum & Instruction

Please be on the lookout for shipments from School Specialty containing summer school supplies. Schools may be receiving emails that these shipments are being prepared and should expect them to arrive in the next week or two. There may be multiple boxes coming on different days. As schools received these shipments, please set them aside and label them clearly for summer school. Summer school principals may find more information about the materials in this document. If you have any questions, please contact cheryl.beyer@kckps.org.

Grades 3-5 Student Survey 2022 Data in KansaSTAR Folders

from Federal Programs

Your school’s Student School Climate Survey (Grades 3-5 Spring 2022) have been loaded into your KansaSTAR School Improvement Plan folders.

Please look under the NEEDS ASSESSMENT DATA (Surveys) folder and then click on the student survey subfolder to find your school’s 2022 data.

The report contains aggregate data, as well as disaggregated reports by grade level and race/ethnicity. You will want to pull this data into your data review cycles with your BLT and PLCs as you conclude this school year and make plans for 22-23!

Questions, contact Lisa Walker.

Informational Items

For All Administrators

DEIx Summer Conference

from Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Aloha, Building and District Amin.

The DEI Department has some information about our DEIx Summer Conference that will be happening on Thursday, July 21, 2022.

We are asking to pass this information on to your staff and students.

The theme for this conference is “When You See Me” centered around stories of lived experiences, successes and challenges, and how our speakers have overcome them.

The DEIx Conference, hosted by DEI-KCKPS, will have open discussions around five topics we believe will lead to closing the achievement gaps between marginalized groups. Which is critical to the successful education of children in our community. Topics will include Understanding Generational Differences, Race & Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, Language & Culture, and People with Disabilities featuring distinguished and influential business leaders and government officials from across the Greater Kansas City Region.

Please register at this link. All KCKPS staff will also have to register in Frontline.

We look forward to seeing you there! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out 😊

The DEI Team

For All Principals

Device Information for High School Students in Summer School

from TIS

High school students that are attending summer school can turn in their laptops at the end of the summer school.

KCKPS Staffing Process Sheet for Annual Spring Budget Planning & Meetings

from Federal Programs

Any staffing position included in the building budget must be an existing district approved position with an existing district approved job description, and district approved compensation scale for the following school year.

Position titles and/or job descriptions of staff included and approved in the building budget cannot be changed (during the summer or following school year) to something different than what was discussed and approved during the spring budget meetings. (Titles and actual duties must remain consistent with district approved job descriptions and associated district approved compensation scales.)

Additional positions cannot be added and charged to the budget after the spring budget meetings (during the summer or following school year), without first discussing with Federal Programs, Human Resources, and Finance departments.

Any newly created positions must be vetted and approved through the Human Resources Department and the principal must provide the approved job description from the Human Resource Department, as well as the approved compensation scale for the new positions. Positions cannot be added (even as a projection) in the building budget, unless they’ve been vetted and approved through the Human Resources Department.

Student Photographs

from  Purchasing

For the 2022/2023 school/year, schools are free to use the photography provider of their choice for student pictures.

Nothing in this statement should be interpreted to rule out Strawbridge Studios as an option.

UPDATED End of Year Technology Procedures

from Curriculum & Instruction
***UPDATED SUMMER SCHOOL PROCEDURES***

In collaboration with our TIS department, we have created a document to help buildings understand the end-of-year procedures for building technology. The document reviews procedures for iPads, Chromebooks, and MacBooks. We have also included a video overview we encourage you to view with staff.

Summer School Device Info
-All students attending summer school will keep their device for summer school.
-Students who have iPads DO NOT need to erase iPads.
-All students need to return devices by the last day of summer school. iPads will need to updated and erased.

Reminders

ZERO Card Information

from Human Resources

Please share this information with your staff:

Want to learn more about the new ZERO card feature added to your medical plan this year? You are invited to attend a virtual presentation about ZERO and how it works. Feel free to join one of the upcoming virtual sessions on May 11th, 2022, or May 13th, 2022, at 3:30 pm. Details on how to join the session can be found in the attached flyer. ZERO is only available with the following plans: HMO Blue Care, EPO Blue Select Plus, $500 Preferred Care Blue, $1,000 Preferred Care Blue, $2500 Preferred Care Blue, $2500 Blue Select Plus, and Spira care EPO $3,500.

KCKPS ZERO Flyer for Staff (PDF)

Directions for Submitting SIPs in KansaSTAR, May 24th-27th

from Federal Programs

All principals should submit their SIPs in KansaSTAR to KSDE between May 24th-27th.

Directions for Pre-Checking, Conducting Final Updates, and Submitting your SIP in KansaSTAR can be found in the Federal Programs shared drive folder: All Schools: School Improvement Planning Modules & Resources 21-22.

There are TWO DIFFERENT submission choices –

  • Elementary/Middle Schools: Indicators of Effective Practices – (Title I Schoolwide Annual Submissions)
  • ECH/High Schools/Alt Schools: Indicators of Effective Practices – (All Other Schools)

Still have some additional work to do in order to move your School Improvement Plan categories to Approaching or Transforming? Here are two SUPER quick videos that will show you how!

Contact Lisa Walker or Kacie Olson if you need to phone a friend for SIP advice!

Delivery of Summer School Supplies to Buildings

from Curriculum & Instruction

Please be on the lookout for shipments from School Specialty containing summer school supplies. Schools will be receiving emails that these shipments are being prepared and should expect them to arrive in the next week or two. There may be multiple boxes coming on different days. As schools received these shipments, please set them aside and label them clearly for summer school. If you have any questions, please contact Cheryl Beyer.

Title IX Building Coordinator End of Year Debrief

from Federal Programs

Since this is the first full year of in-person learning with the new Title IX regulations, the Title IX team wants to gather input from Title IX Building Coordinators regarding Title IX reporting & investigating processes.

Two debrief sessions have been scheduled for building Title IX Coordinators at the following times:

Secondary Title IX Building Coordinators: Tuesday, 5/17/22 from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Elementary Title IX Building Coordinators: Tuesday, 5/17/22 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Building Principals who do NOT have an Assistant Principal serving as a Title IX Coordinator may choose to attend since they serve as the Title IX Coordinator; however, attendance is optional and therefore, NOT required. (Any Building Principal wishing to attend is welcomed to do so, but not required.)

Department Leaders serving as a Title IX Coordinator may choose to attend; however, these debrief sessions are designed to focus on how Title IX processes are working in the school setting.

Location for debrief sessions will be included in the calendar invitations sent to building Title IX Coordinators.

Questions, call or email Lisa Walker.