Thursday, April 6, 2017
Living our Shared Core Value of Fun at Sandra Todd-Williams Academy.
Top 5 Callout: How Did You Spend Spring Break?
Spring Break may be over -- but at least we have the memories. Whether it was basking in the sun or snuggling up at home, we want to hear how you spent Spring Break 2017. Send us your stories and pictures here to be featured in next week's Top 5, and you may even win a prize!
Honor Our Native-American Community at Equity Boot Camp
Hear stories and experiences from our Native-American community, including our students, and discuss bias and racism within DPS during the next Equity Boot Camp: Healing a Broken System. Honor our Native-American students, families and colleagues through stories and relationship-building, and participate in a facilitated conversation around the impacts of institutional bias and racism.
 
Students showcase their Native-American traditions at a Board of Education meeting.
This day-long opportunity is open to all DPS team members, and school teams and previous and new attendees are encouraged to attend. 

Choose from two session dates: 
  • 8 a.m.-4 p.m., April 18, PPA Event Center
  • 8 a.m.-4 p.m., April 19, PPA Event Center
Click here to register. For more information, contact [email protected].
How Much Does DPS Contribute Toward Medical Costs? 
As we gear up for Open Enrollment (happening April 24-May12), you may be wondering what DPS contributes toward premium costs. In looking at the numbers, DPS actually pays the majority of medical premiums for our team members. In 2016, DPS contributed over $53 million toward employee benefits. This year, 45% of benefit-eligible employees are able to receive employee-only medical coverage without paying a cent toward their monthly premiums, and 73% of benefit-eligible employees pay less than $27 per month in premiums after contributions. 

DPS is investing in the health of our team members in a number of ways:  
  • Benefits Credits (formerly Flex Dollars)
  • Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions
  • Well Aware Program
  • Child/HMO/Medical Subsidies
Click here to learn more about these investments and how DPS is offsetting medical costs, and stay tuned to thecommons.dpsk12.org/openenrollment for all the resources you need to choose the health care plan that works best for you and your family during this year's Open Enrollment. 
Heads Up: Change in Retention of Instant Messages
Did you know your instant messages exchanged with co-workers via our "Lync/Skype" system were being archived? Many people don't, believing they fade away shortly after they're sent. DPS will implement a change in this policy and begin deleting instant messages more than 24 hours old starting at 5 p.m., Monday, April 10. Questions or concerns? Email [email protected] or the [email protected] . This is part of a broader district effort examining our retention of digital communications, including emails. Stay tuned for more information about this effort.
ICYMI: Protect Yourself from Email Phishing Scams  
In case you missed yesterday's   all-staff email   from Chief Information Officer Sharyn Guhman, please protect yourself -- and your bank account! -- from email phishing scammers. On Monday, DPS was notified by an employee that their monthly paycheck was not deposited in their bank account. We launched an internal review immediately and learned that a small number of employees' personal information as compromised via an email containing a link that asked the employees to provide their DPS usernames and passwords.

What can you do? D ouble-check your information in Infor HR and confirm that your payroll information is accurate.  Change your password and make a habit of changing your password every 30 days. Other best practices include:
  • Do not download unknown software from the internet, click on attachments or respond to emails from unknown sources.
  • DPS Board Policy EGAEA requires users to keep district passwords secure and to not share them.
  • No DPS department will ever ask you to share your confidential employee information, including your DPS username and password, via email.
Please contact the DoTS Hotline at 720-423-3888 or email [email protected] if you have any related questions or concerns.
Discount Alert: DPS Night with the Colorado Mammoth
Join DPS supporters and sports fans on Saturday, April 15, at the Pepsi Center to watch the Mammoth take on the Rochester Knighthawks. Tickets are $14-$23 -- a savings of up to $6 per ticket. As a bonus, a portion of every ticket sold benefits DPS through the DPS Foundation.
Need Help Planning Your Kids' Summer Camp?
DPS' Guidance Resources can help! While it may seem too early to start thinking about summer camp for your kids, many camps begin taking applications as early as March, so it's important to act quickly to secure a spot.
 
Guidance Resources, DPS' employee assistance program, is a free service that can find a camp (along with many other services) to fit you and your child's needs. Just call 855-327-1377 and tell them what you're looking for, and a representative will provide three to five listings that match your request.
 
Finding the right camp is just one of many supports Guidance Resources can help with, giving you and your dependents confidential support, resources and information for personal and work-life issues -- all at no cost. Learn more here. 
Living Our DPS Honoree:
Sarah Klieforth-Williams
ELA Coordinator,
English Language Acquisition
Collaboration
 
"Sarah Klieforth-Williams models Collaboration daily as she works with content experts, leaders and teachers to improve educational resources for our students and strategies for instruction. She has been working tirelessly to ensure our students who are learning English are supported. Her efforts mean our teachers are able to provide more linguistic support, and our students are able to access content and learn advanced concepts in their classes even if English is not their first language.
 
As many schools are scheduling ACCESS testing, Sarah is volunteering to administer the speaking test -- a challenge for many schools since this is a 1:1 test that takes 30 minutes. She is also leading the co-teaching ELD pilot in our high schools, and has been traveling across the district to train teachers, provide resources and support teachers with planning. She is continually placing Students First and guaranteeing education is accessible and supported. Sarah is an amazing leader who is improving education for our kids!"

-- Jeanine Harvey, Post Secondary Readiness

Nominate one of your colleagues to be featured as a Living Our DPS honoree.
Connect with Us
Note: We send many DPS communications via this platform. Please do not unsubscribe from these messages or you will not receive future and important messages. If a specific message doesn't interest you, simply delete it and stay tuned for a future communication that will be of more interest. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].