Administrators' Notice

Curriculum & Instruction

KCKPS Mobile Minute – Please forward to all staff

Principals

The Zoom link has been added for Thursday’s session.  Books will be in the mail to your building soon! Please take some time to read Chapter 1 (linked below) prior to Thursday.

ESOL

Building testing schedules must be sent to Jacqueline Rodriguez, jacqueline.rodriguez@kckps.org, for in-person testing. The testing schedule template can be accessed through this link or the testing protocol document found here. Check with staff at the end of each testing day that they have sent the KELPA-p calculator to Dasiel Saurez, dasel.saurez@kckps.org.

Please remember that all in-person services are subject to change as directed by the health department and school board. The ESL testing plans is a working document and will be revised as we move forward with testing to ensure safety.

ESOL SIT Addendum: 

The ESOL SIT Addendum process must be completed prior to any ESOL student beginning the SIT process. Training for SIT Coordinators, ESOL staff, admin, and teachers who will engage in the SIT Addendum process is now live in Frontline. Please ensure that staff completes the training as there have been updates to the process for the 2020-2021 school year.

IIO

Wellness

Virtual 5K

There is still time to sign up for our Virtual 5K!

You can Sign up here!

If you don’t sign up you can’t be counted—and you don’t get one of the great prizes for finishing the race.  Don’t forget the school with the highest percentage of staff who complete the 5K will win a big prize for your school and have major bragging rights.

Concerned about Covid-19? Please note we are not asking you to do this event as a group. You can do it by yourself, with your family, using your home treadmill, or you can even map out a 3.1 mile course around your home and take part.

Please note, that this race is also a way for us to not only support a healthy lifestyle but also help out a great organization. If you are interested we ask that you consider making a donation to the United Way at the time of your sign up. This is not mandatory to take part.  If you do decide to donate the link is in the registration form.  Once you complete your donation, you will still need to return to the google form to complete and submit your registration.

Additional information on how it works is in the attached document.

Please contact Stephanie Faris with any questions.

Canvas

Canvas Leadership Update

Curriculum and Instruction

ESOL

To begin testing the week of November 16^th please ensure that ESL staff have shared testing schedule with Jacqueline Rodriguez. ESOL staff have a plan for safe return to buildings on their designated testing days. Testing days are organized by cluster to reduce the burden on parents with students in multiple buildings and to allow transportation in hardship. The testing schedule will be as follows: Mondays (Schlagle), Tuesdays (Harmon), Wednesdays (Washington), Thursdays (Wyandotte), and Fridays will be used for buildings with large number of students to test. The testing rotation will continue until we have screened all students able to complete the KELPA-p in person. Administrators will work with staff to adjust teaching schedule or provide coverage for on testing dates

Please remember that all in person services are subject to change as directed by the health department. The ESL testing plans is a working document and will be revised as we move forward with testing to ensure safety. The testing protocol can be found here.

Federal Programs

REQUIRED: General & Title IX Investigations Training for ALL BUILDING and DEPARTMENT Administrators

REMINDER: NEXT WEEK is the 2nd quarter investigations training for ALL administrators (principals, ALL assistant principals, department directors).  This training is a collaborative effort of the Human Resources, District Title IX and Legal Teams.

This training will focus on issue spotting, organizing and documenting investigations, and real-world scenarios to practice processing all types of student and staff employee misconduct. Additionally, updated and new Title IX forms will be reviewed.

Please click on the link below to sign up for your training session and to get the Zoom link to place on your calendar for your upcoming training session.  Please be sure to note the date/time of trainings on the bottom of each sheet, to ensure you sign up for the correct training!

Tuesday, 11/17/20, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. – High School Admin Teams

Wednesday, 11/18/20, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Washington/Wyandotte Cluster Elementary Admin Teams

Wednesday, 11/18/20, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. – Middle School Admin Teams

Thursday, 11/19/20, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. – Harmon/Schlagle Cluster Elementary Admin Teams

Human Resources

Above and Beyond Bonus 

This is a reminder that if you have any employees who qualify for the Above and Beyond Bonus but have not received payment, please have them submit an appeal form. Salary employees do not qualify for the Above and Beyond Bonus.

(Link to Form: https://forms.gle/rH7wm5FMHMticbEt7)

Extra Duty Board Agenda Items  

Due to the Thanksgiving break, we ask that all items for the December 1^st agenda be submitted by 12:00 pm on Tuesday, November 17, 2020. This will allow us to comply with our deadline.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Ana.Perez-Sievert@kckps.org.

Student Services

KCTC Survey 

Our district utilizes the Kansas Communities That Cares (KCTC) Survey to gather information needed to plan prevention strategies and judge their effectiveness, measure the district’s social-emotional strengths and weaknesses, and provide data for our current KESA plan. Between November 2020 and January 29 2021, our district’s 6^th, 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th grade students will be participating in the KCTC survey and we are asking for your help in doing this. KCTC and KCKPS Flyer

Our timeline for implementing the KCTC survey:

• November 2020
  • Provide communication to Middle and High School students
  • Coordinate KCTC Training with building representatives
  • Upload KCTC in Infinite Parent Portal
• December 2020
  • Gather permission slips via Infinite Campus Parent Portal from all 6^th, 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th grade students
  • Start proctoring the KCTC as your school community feels ready and collects permission slips
• January 2021
  • Continue to proctor the KCTC survey
  • The KCTC survey window closes January 29

Curriculum and Instruction

All Principals

Diane Sweeney and Leanna Harris are coming to KCKPS (virtually) to provide professional learning on Student-Centered Coaching. The goal is to maximize our time with these ladies to enhance our instructional coaching framework to ensure positive coaching results in buildings.

Click here for the training schedule. Mark your calendars! Zoom links and Frontline links will be added soon.

ESOL

Due to students not receiving in-person instruction and other challenges, the ESOL department is currently out of compliance with the state for prescreening students for services. While the ESL staff has worked diligently to screen as many students as possible virtually we still have a large number of students we need to be prescreened.

Beginning the week of November 16^th the district will begin prescreening potential EL students using the KELPA-p or Prelas. This will require ESOL staff to return to buildings on their designated testing days. Testing days are organized by cluster to reduce the burden on parents with students in multiple buildings and to allow transportation in hardship. ESL staff may need to coordinate with other buildings in cluster to accommodate families with multiple children. The ESL staff may need to assess multiple grade levels in one testing appointment, i.e. family has students at both elementary and middle school so they would assess at one building during testing time. The testing schedule will be as follows: Mondays (Schlagle), Tuesdays (Harmon), Wednesdays (Washington), Thursdays (Wyandotte), and Fridays will be used for buildings with large number of students to test. The testing rotation will continue until we have screened all students needing to complete the KELPA-p. Administrators will work with staff to adjust teaching schedule or provide coverage for on testing dates.

Please remember that all in person services are subject to change as directed by the health department. The ESL testing plans is a working document and will be revised as we move forward with testing to ensure safety. The testing protocol can be found here.

Curriculum and Instruction

All Principals

RE:  Priority Standards

The Curriculum Coaches in the Curriculum and Instruction Department are currently working on documents for the GVC that will more clearly identify priority standards for grade levels and contents. Priority standards are a carefully selected subset of the total list of the grade-level specific and course-specific standards within each content area that students must know and be able to do by the end of each school year in order to be prepared for the standards at the next level. These priority standards are meant to help focus the time and energy of teachers, specifically in remote and hybrid learning, with the understanding that we are still responsible for other grade-level standards. In many cases, the other grade-level standards are necessary foundational learning that contribute to the overall understanding of priority standards.  Priority standards provide the power of focus for the time and intensity of instruction, may help focus feedback and grading, and provide a manageable way to plan for asynchronous and synchronous instruction. 

All Principals

RE:  KCKPS Instructional Coaching Framework – Professional Learning

Diane Sweeney and Leanna Harris will be presenting a 6-part training series in KCKPS on  Student-Centered Coaching. Two trainings will be hosted for both principals and coaches to attend together. The other 4 trainings will be for coaches, though principals are invited should schedules allow.  The first session will occur as part of the Principals’ Networking meeting on November 19 from 8:30 – 10:00. The Zoom link for the training, as well as the Frontline link, will be shared next week.

Elementary School Principals

RE: Phonics Resource Survey

The C&I Department is seeking feedback from staff who work with K-3 students in reading regarding the current phonics resource, FPC Phonics, Spelling, & Word Study. A survey was shared with instructional coaches this week to share with applicable staff. Administrator feedback is also welcomed. The deadline is Thursday, November 12th. If you have any questions, please contact allison.rice@kckps.org Here is the link to the survey: https://forms.gle/JVTD1mTms8yzC1118

Human Resources

Hello Administrators! Human Resources would like to share with you the updated Formal Complaint Form for concerns brought to you regarding district staff members. While the district prefers that complaints or concerns be resolved informally at the lowest administrative level, there are times when a thorough investigation is required to resolve allegations of misconduct. As such, you may provide the Formal Complaint Form to a complainant if the issue is unable to be resolved informally or if the alleged misconduct is so severe that it warrants an investigation. This form should be used for complaints unrelated to Title IX.

BOE Policy KN – Updated 9.2020

KCKPS Formal Complaint Form 20-21SY

Curriculum and Instruction

Canvas Update

• Canvas is available for all teachers with rosters in Infinite Campus. To access the district Canvas accounts, either login to Clever and click the Canvas tile or go to kckps.instructure.com and sign in using the Clever username and password.
• Canvas accounts for Admin, ICs and support staff without rosters in Infinite Campus are not available. We are working through some glitches and will have them ready soon.
• We have created a Preparing for Canvas course to help teachers prepare for using Canvas with students.
  • To enroll in the course, go to https://kckps.instructure.com/courses/279 and login with your Clever username and password. Once you’ve logged in click Enroll Now.
• Timeline for Implementation:
  • Now – Thanksgiving 2020
    • Staff Learning, Planning and Preparation in Canvas
  • Thanksgiving – Christmas Break
    • Begin to Introduce students and families to Canvas. Resources will be provided to support staff with the introduction.
    • Staff can begin to utilize modules to organize and deliver learning to students.
    • Assignments within learning modules can be Canvas assignments, links to Google Classroom assignments or Seesaw Assignments.
  • January 2021-May 2021
    • All staff will utilize Canvas to organize and deliver learning to students through learning modules.
    • Assignments within learning modules can be Canvas assignments, links to Google Classroom assignments or Seesaw Assignments.
    • Continue to help families become familiar with Canvas.
  • 2021-2022 School Year – Full implementation of Canvas LMS
• For more information regarding Canvas, please see the Mobile Minute

Department of Evaluation, Research, and Assessment (DERA)

Assessment Updates – from Team CIA

The optional fall FastBridge testing window has been extended through November 13.  The Frequently Asked Questions document in the FastBridge PD Google Folder has also been updated, and will continue to be updated regularly.

The KAP Interim Window is also open as of today.  If you are choosing to participate in this optional assessment, that testing window has been extended by KSDE through November 18.

Please note that both these assessments (FastBridge, KAP Interim) continue to be optional during this time of remote learning.  The primary purpose of these assessments is to gain familiarity with each kind of testing platform.  A secondary purpose is to provide additional data points, which might aid in establishing further context regarding data gathered from formative assessments.  Please also consider these purposes when deciding whether to opt-in or opt-out.

If you have any questions, please let us know!

IARC (Fine Arts)

Elementary and Middle School Principals

ARTS INTEGRATION

Principals,

Please share the attached information with all teachers in your building.  In the past, IARC paid for homeroom/core teachers to attend a local arts-integration symposium.  The workshop is now going virtual and will be free.  The next session is November 17th or 19th. See the attachment.

An arts-integration learning experience points out and explores natural and relevant connections between a subject of focus (math, ELA, science, social studies, etc.) and an art discipline.  It moves beyond arts-enhanced learning to engage participants in rigorous artistic practice that helps participants gain insight into and understanding of the connected subject and, ideally, gain deeper insight into and understanding of the art form through the connected subject.

In addition to the November session, there will be virtual sessions in January and March.

Please forward this flyer to all of your teachers.