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| BCSD Staff Newsletter |
March 2016 |
Superintendent Letter to Staff
Dear Colleagues,
I was inspired this past week as I met with two math teachers at WRHS and they shared their work to improve access to Algebra II for all our students. It seems that whether a student elects to go to college or technical school after high school graduation, Algebra II is a gatekeeper or a huge indicator of success after high school. Students who participate in advanced opportunities are much better prepared for life after high school. We have numerous students that are well prepared for life after graduation. We also have numerous students that are less prepared primarily because they have not taken advanced opportunities classes, whether it is higher level math, advanced science classes, advanced orchestra, etc. One indicator of this achievement gap can be seen when we look at our ISAT scores by the primary subgroups of white and Hispanic.
Overall, our students continue to perform above the state on the ISAT English Language Arts and Mathematics measures. Our two major subgroups, White and Hispanic, most often perform well above their peer groups. However, the gap in performance between these two subgroups within our district is not acceptable; this is an area we are working on intensely to improve.students to use.
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Assessment
March Assessment Topics in Four-Quadrant Framework*
This month's topics all fall within the Interim / Benchmark Assessments quadrant; all three topics are discussed at the
top of the Staff Resources page of the BCSD Assessment website:
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Buildings and Grounds
March brings with it a transition from winter's snow and ice to longer days and spring sports. The Buildings and Grounds Department is working to clear off the tracks and tennis courts to allow students the opportunity to utilize these venues as soon as possible. The plentiful snow this winter has made the task a little more difficult than in the past, but we will stay with it until the work is complete. The truckloads of sand that were spread on the parking lots and sidewalks will be swept up and hauled away.
Toward the end of March the green spaces and fields will be thatched and raked. Sod areas damaged by snow removal equipment will be repaired or replaced. Even though the snow will be gone, the fields will still need time to firm up and begin to grow before practice and games can begin. We realize it is tempting to be on them as soon as the snow leaves, but it is important to allow this time to prevent long term damage to the sod. Teresa Gregory from the Community Campus will be having ongoing conversations with landscape personnel and Buildings and Grounds to make sure the fields are accessible as soon as possible. Please check with her at 578-5460 before starting any activity.
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Communications
Please give us a few minutes of your time. We want to hear from you. Please take this quick survey to give feedback on the website. The goal of this survey is to assess our current websites and evaluate how to improve them.
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Feedback in the recent budget survey indicated that district and school websites are primary sources of news and information for staff, students, parents and public visitors.
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Changes in technology are driving the school district's interest in updating the websites to keep up with current trends toward mobile devices and to improve user experience.
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Recent analytics indicate that 7,361 users visited the websites 14,004 times and viewed 39,308 pages in the last month. These analytics do not include internal traffic.
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Curriculum
Earn your ENL endorsement for free!
Listen to what Shawn Hovey has to say about the value of pursuing your ENL endorsement and the Aha moments that come when students acquire language.
We are encouraging teachers to remain in their current content and general education classrooms with this offer.
The opportunity is yours!
- Available to certified teachers across the Blaine County School District
- Join a cohort of other BCSD teachers to earn your ENL endorsement through Boise State University
- This endorsement is FREE for up to 20 BCSD certified teachers (the district will be using Title IIA federal money to pay for this)
- Credits earned will apply to salary advancement schedules
Teachers and/or para-educators interested in this opportunity are invited to attend an informational session with BSU and district leadership on Monday, April 18th at 4:00 PM in the Community Campus.
Read more.
Conservation Education Projects
The Idaho Fish & Wildlife Foundation will award a single grant of up to $20,000 or two grants each of up to $10,000 for projects including, but not limited to, hands-on habitat improvement, wildlife field trips, and conservation-specific education projects for youth in the Wood River Valley! Read More.
Practical and Effective Strategies for Teaching the Common Core Writing Strategies
For 2nd-5th Grade Teachers
Cost: This two-day class is sponsored by the Blaine County Education Foundation with support from Lee Pesky Learning Center. Enrollment is limited to 35 participants. Credit is available for this two-day class through NNU for an additional $60 (details for signing up for credit will be available two weeks prior to the first class).
Dates: June 13th and 14th, 2016 from 8:30-4:00 p.m.BCEF and Lee Pesky class
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Finance
The Finance Department has been looking at current enrollments and projecting the 2016-17 enrollment for each of the schools. With the goal of staffing our schools based on need, and with movement of students, we are again planning on a shift of student population between the elementary program and the secondary program. Elementary enrollment will be slightly down or flat and secondary enrollment will be increasing. Wood River High School will be adding 86 students to the hallways of the building. This year's graduating class will be approximately 170 while the new freshman class will be 238. Wood River Middle School will be adding approximately 13 students to their building.
The district is reviewing every program to determine where we can eliminate some expenditures without affecting the class sizes and maintaining our class size policy. We will be able to accomplish this task again if we work together. I am sure you have been hearing about a "financial crisis" for the district. I don't look at this as a "financial crisis." The public has made this out to be a bigger issue than necessary. I look at this as an opportunity to review all of our spending and identify areas that can be trimmed. We will be able to cut our budget expenditures and still provide the best educational system possible. We are reviewing all of the comments and concerns listed in our financial planning meetings as well as the financial planning surveys to make sure we are listening to what you and the public are asking of us. Please know all of our decisions will be based on what is best for our students staff and public.
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Human Resources
Welcome to Newly Hired Staff
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Andy Martone
Technology Teacher at WRMS
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I am a native of New Hampshire but have spent parts of the last 8 years living and working around the western states. I moved to Hailey 3 years ago and have been involved in local education since. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of New Hampshire and I am very excited to be teaching middle school Tech Ed for the remainder of the year In my spare time, I'm trying out new trails for biking, skiing, and hiking my dogs.
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Safety and Security
This past week we received the stickers for the back of the staff identification badges that correspond to the emergency signs posted in each building. We have distributed them to the schools and buildings districtwide. If you have the old "Code Red, Yellow and Green" on the back of your identification badge, please check with your building office and update the information. If you put your door access card behind your badge, put the sticker on your access card facing out so you can read the back of it. I know, change can sometimes be hard. Every now and then, I still hear a random "Code Red" instead of "Lockdown" in a conversation. Thank you for helping to update our programs so everyone has more clear information on what to do when something happens.
 Find out why WRHS has these buckets in this article by WRHS Student Jake Ortiz. Read here.
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Technology
Welcome to the Team - Rebecca Duncan, Instructional Technology and Data Specialist. Becky comes to the Tech Dept from Wood River High School where she coordinated online courses for students, assisted with school communications and updating the website. Becky will be working in tandem with Paul to bring you additional enthusiastic technology support. Becky has hit the ground running and is ready to help teachers and staff to promote learning with technology tools.
You've been hacked! Recent news reports of data breaches at large organizations such as IRS, Home Depot, Target, Anthem and JP Morgan highlight our vulnerability to online threats. How can we protect ourselves?
On March 17th, 2016 at 6pm Peter Zimmerman will offer a public presentation at the Community Campus. Pete is an engineer with the Department of Defense specializing in security. He will discuss common threats and how we can realistically raise the bar against hackers while enjoying the conveniences of online access.
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Transportation
 This school year seems like it has flown by...at least to me. As we are headed into the spring, I would like to offer a couple of reminders about Spring field trips. Field trip requests and dates fill up fast and we only have a certain number of buses or drivers available. Please, please, please contact our office first (578-5420) to determine if buses are available on the day that you want to have a field trip. We will let you know if your proposed date will work or if an alternate date needs to be found. Generally, you need to plan to be back from your field trip by 1:45. If you are using a bus from your own elementary school, we will let you know when you schedule your trip if there is a different time that we can accommodate. If you are scheduling for a secondary school, then 1:45 needs to be your planned return time at your school. Our buses primary responsibility are to take students to school and home afterward. Field trips are a luxury to help support the educational curriculum. Just remember when you call to schedule, we will do what we can to help work things out, but we can't always be a miracle worker.
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Attention Teachers
In order to commemorate and honor the lives of those who put service before self, Wives Behind the Badge is creating a state-wide, Paint The Town Blue event from May 5 (the 1-year anniversary of Sgt. Moore's death) to May 21st (the end of Police Week). We are looking for partners in this effort to support and thank all Idaho law enforcement. We would love your help in one of the following ways. Read more.
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School News
Carey School
 Leadership night is coming soon! You are invited to visit Carey School on March 16th at 6:30 PM.
We are so excited to open our doors and let everyone see how our wonderful students shine. Carey School started The Leader in Me program in 2010 and became the first Lighthouse School in Idaho in 2013. The Leader in Me Lighthouse School title is awarded by FranklinCovey to honor the attainment of a well-rounded leadership model. Lighthouse Schools serve as models of leadership and mentors to other schools. Currently, there are 173 Lighthouse Schools in the world.
Leadership Night is an evening where our school opens its doors to the community and neighboring schools to show off the many great things that are happening. The Leader in Me is FranklinCovey's whole school transformation process. It teaches 21st century leadership and life skills to students and creates a culture of student empowerment based on the idea that every child can be a leader. Schools implementing The Leader in Me process have a unique environment where principles, practices, and habits of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People are embedded into the culture.
The Leader in Me is now being implemented in 2,480 schools around the globe. Attend this leadership night to be immersed in a leadership culture with presentations from students.
Last But Not Least - Look Who Is Featured in the Glencoe Health Textbook!
From the desk of John Peck:
"This was kind of a cool find. Mr. Lee J. Cook is now teaching Health at Carey School. In
preparing his Health lesson the other day he found this gem on Page 329 of the
Glencoe Health teacher edition of the Health textbook we are using. A picture of his father Lee Cook and some words to help all teachers reading this book. No one knew it was in there, Mr. Lee Cook didn't tell anyone that I know of. Just kind of a special find for Mr. Lee J Cook."
These are the things that make BCSD so special!
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