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| BCSD Staff Newsletter |
April 2018 |
Superintendent Letter to Staff
April 2018
Dear Colleagues,
Please allow me to take this opportunity to thank our elementary grade teachers who have been working very deliberately to improve the reading skills of our students. Their focus and intentionality on this work is amazing. They are all working towards the goal of ensuring all of our students leave elementary school reading on or above grade level.
As a district we have asked that every elementary child have at least 120 minutes per day of literacy instruction with at least 30 minutes of that time focused on explicit instruction. At grades K to 2 that explicit instruction has been focused on Word Work (decoding, encoding, reading words in context) and at grades 3 to 5 the focus has been on comprehension and metacognition. It is evident that this structure is being put in place.
We are also seeing evidence of district-wide improvement in grades K to 3 in both our IRI data and our STAR Reading data. Collaboratively, by school and across the district, our K to 2 teachers have been working to ensure all students are becoming readers. Our Lead Reading Teacher, Gloria Wieand, is supporting K-2 teachers in a variety of ways.
Our grade 3 to 5 teachers also are intensely focused on improving the reading skills of our elementary students. They have not had the ongoing weekly support of a Lead Reading Teacher like their K to 2 colleagues have had. We are planning how we can provide this higher level of support for teachers of grades 3 to 5 next year.
I offer my deepest gratitude to our teachers engaged in improving reading outcomes for all of our elementary children. It is a hard work, but doable. I know from personal experience that this is exactly the work that will ensure our children leave the elementary grades reading on or above grade level. I am so excited and so grateful that we have the teachers in BCSD who are ensuring our children have the gift of reading. Together we can make the difference.
With gratitude,
GwenCarol
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The Buildings and Grounds Department and the Residential Academy have collaborated to bring additional opportunities to students enrolled in this program. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC trade skills can now be taught as part of the program by our own licensed professionals in the Maintenance Department.
During the recent Idaho Legislative session, a bill was introduced by the House Education Committee, sponsored by Wendy Horman, which would create an "apprentice exemption" allowing students to actually perform work associated with these trades. In the past this would have created issues with fees and also triggered a timeline to finish the apprentice program. The bill sailed through both the House and Senate and has been signed by the Governor. Without the constraints, we can now greatly expand the learning opportunities for the students in our program and those across the state.
Look for more involvement from members of the Buildings and Grounds team as we work to help students learn electrical, plumbing and HVAC trade skills.
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Communications
Who wants a chance to win a JBL soundbar with Bluetooth? It's as easy as sharing your good news with communications.
Help us celebrate the good news! What are your students learning? What do you want to celebrate as we finish the school year? Fill out the
Google form
between now and May 25 and you will be entered in a drawing to win a new soundbar for your home or classroom.
Thanks to Cox Communications for donating the soundbar.
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Finance
The Finance Handbook is complete and ready for your perusal. Please take some time to review this material as some of the procedures have changed, and may impact how you apply for reimbursements and travel. The procedures are the updated versions and are applicable as of 9/1/17.
You can access the Finance Handbook via the Employee Staff Portal
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Click Sign In on the top right hand corner and enter your user name and password
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Staff Portal
will appear on the blue menu bar at the top of the page once you are signed in. Click.
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You can now access the Guidelines to Finance document and related Finance Forms from this page
Finance Handbook Shortcut
Finance Forms Shortcut:
Guidance on Travel
To assist you in determining the dollar amount of your trip, please read the following district guidance.
NOTE -
ALL
items must include a receipt for reimbursement.
TRANSPORTATION:
- Standard Mileage rate for the 2017 calendar year is .535 per mile. (Please note that this rate is subject to change each calendar year). Travelers are encouraged to share transportation with other individuals whenever possible.
- Airfare, hotel, rental car and conference registration will be arranged by Susie Reese at the District Office.
- Airfare will be reimbursed for coach fare only.
- If you choose to drive, reimbursements will only be made to the lesser of the standard mileage rate or airfare.
LODGING:
Lodging reimbursements will be made at the standard room rate only. When traveling as a group double occupancy per room will be required.
MEALS:
Meal reimbursements will be made up to a maximum of $34 per day for in-state travel and $46 per day
for out-of-state travel. Partial day meal reimbursements will be made on the following basis:
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In State
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Out of State
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Breakfast
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$7.00
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$8.00
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Lunch
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$8.00
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$13.00
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Dinner
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$19.00
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$25.00
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Receipts must be
ITEMIZED
and include a listing of all food and beverage items purchased. The credit card signature receipt must also be included.
NO ALCOHOL WILL BE REIMBURSED
. Meal reimbursements that do not include an itemized receipt will not be reimbursed due to our inability to demonstrate to auditors the traveler's adherence to allowable food purchase procedures.
GROUND TRANSPORTATION:
Reimbursement will be limited to travel to and from the airport, as well as the site of the meeting or lodging (if different). Parking is reimbursable with receipts from the garage/lot.
Interesting Trivia
Since Spring is officially upon us though the weather may suggest otherwise, here are a few trivia pieces about many people's favorite season:
According to a Facebook study, couples are most likely to break up in the spring and two weeks before Christmas. The lowest breakup time was Christmas Day and from August through October. (Interesting - break up in time for summer)
The first day of spring is called the vernal equinox. The term
vernal
is Latin for "spring" and
equinox
is Latin for "equal night."
On the first day of spring, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, beginning six months of uninterrupted daylight. A person at the South Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signaling the start of six months of darkness. (I don't want to be in either location when this event takes place.)
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Congratulations to
Sara Shafer for being last month's correct answer provider and winner!!
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Spring almost always arrives on March 20 or 21, but sometimes on the 19th. The reason the equinoxes and solstices don't always come on the same day is that Earth doesn't circle the sun in exactly 365 days. (Hence February 29th on an occasion???)
While springtime brings flowers and warmer weather, it may be the worst time for human babies to be born. A large-scale study found that babies born in the spring are more likely to develop schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and anorexia. (Sorry for including as this one was f
ar too clinical.)
One long-term study found that, at least in the Colorado Rocky Mountain region, spring b
egins,
on average, about three weeks earlier than it did in the 1970s. (Sounds like the 70s were a bit confused beyond even what we know about that decade.)
Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.
Email Karen Hoffman and provide her the correct answer to the following questions and you will be entered into a drawing for a $20 Amazon gift certificate (or Starbucks if you prefer). What amount is reimbursable for an in-state dinner? And why do the equinoxes and solstices arrive on the same day?
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Community Campus
Highlighting the special events for April
April 6th - Shakespeare Festival with SCHS, WRHS, Carey High School , WRMS
April 11th - Pre K and Kindergarten Registration
April 13th and 14th - State of Idaho Fiddlers Contest
April 21st - Senior Bash Garage Sale
During April we also will have a series of classes for local realtors, Wilderness First Responders and Environmental Resource Center classes.
We have baskets of free books to support the initiative 5B Reads. Community members are welcome to come and borrow or keep books in our baskets. Look for them in the Community Campus Cafe!
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Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees meetings are webcast for your convenience. Check out the webcasts here. Thanks to the Technology Department for running the webcasts and providing this service for staff and the public.
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Technology
It's Spring Break, March 2018. A time to get out of town or stay around, a time to relax or a time to adventure. For teachers, a chance to refresh. For me, a time to reflect. Why I love basketball.
With a stature of 5', basketball has never been one of my go-to activities. Yet I am intrigued by the game and impressed by a metaphor. Whether participating in a pickup game in Southie or the Community Campus in Hailey, there is common ground. For one thing, no one is looking at their cell phones. There is laughter and encouragement among players. As dusk dissolves in the neighborhood, a device fills the air with the music of the moment. Today it is the steady, low rhythm of a hip hop musician. Every player contributes to the game. Color doesn't matter. Size doesn't even matter. Everyone on the court is equal.
There are many greats in the field of basketball. Kobe Bryant started at the ripe age of 17 in professional play, right out of high school. Michael Jordan overcame great personal difficulty to continue a long career. Shaq is a big man, now and then. Chamberlin set the stage for others. Stephen Curry inspires many of today's youth. So many big names, but more importantly, so many small names. Like your kid's coach. Like your dad or brother or daughter who are energized on the court. And how about those Zags? (Ok, maybe next time.)
There's something about basketball. It is a simple game, anyone can play. Run, bounce the big ball and loft it into the hoop. It propels all of us forward. It's a metaphor for life. It doesn't matter what your skill level or ethnicity or size, we are all participants. Anyone can come out to play.
Night has taken over and the court is dimly lit by one lone stanchion. The evening chill creeps in. Yet play continues; a mother is wondering when the child will come in for dinner. Better they are on the court than in the streets tonight.
So, "What does this have to do with technology?" you ask. There is current dialogue about the expectations for technology in the district. One strong theme has emerged. Everyone needs a device (or more) for 24/7/365 learning and support of our goals. Technology is tool which has the potential to level the playing field and transform learning. Join in the game. Your participation matters!
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Teaching & Learning
The Blaine County School District Strategic Plan (
BCSD Strategic Plan
) is a guiding document for us. It encapsulates the community's hopes and dreams for our children: All students will be Inspired, Engaged, Educated, and Empowered. This is a five year plan and includes a wide array of objectives and tasks. For the past two years, at the request of the Board of Trustees, we have identified and highlighted the Strategic Plan objectives that are most likely to ensure ALL students meet or exceed standards.
At the March Board of Trustees meeting, recommendations were shared for the coming year based on work done in teacher groups, District Leadership Team, and teacher responses to the Continuous Improvement Survey. For the 2018-19 school year, our primary areas of focus will be:
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Student Engagement: Clarity, Challenge, and Relationships. Students will be able to verbalize: 1) What they are learning, 2) Why they are learning it, and 3) How they will know when they have learned it.
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Elementary Literacy: K-2 explicit instruction in Word Work and using these skills in comprehension of text. 3-5 explicit instruction in metacognitive and comprehension skills used in reading appropriate level text and writing.
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Mathematical Thinking: Students in grades 3 to Algebra II will be able to explain their thinking and tell the WHY (relevance) when using mathematical problem solving
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Academic Language: Secondary students will be able to read and write using the language of the specific content areas.
Reallocated and a small amount of additional resources, will be focused on providing support in elementary reading, secondary math, academic language.
In order to support these areas and continue efforts to close the achievement gap, th recommendation is to provide additional support through:
These will be Teachers on Special Assignment working in a similar manner to our current K-2 Lead Reading Teacher who provides weekly support to K-2 teachers. Students have made significant progress in K-2 reading since this support began.The support of a Lead Teacher aligns with how staff tells us they learn best: observing exemplary classrooms/teachers; team planning and data analysis of common assignments, and small group workshops.
In addition, we will work to add an additional Special Education teacher and two ELD teachers. Go to Skyward Employee Access if you have any interest in these positions.
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