Office of
Catholic Schools
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Our next update will not be published until the end of Catholic Schools Week. We wish you a wonderful week filled with the love and joy of learning in a school based on Jesus. Know that our Catholic schools students, staff, parents, benefactors are in our prayers.
Almighty Father,
You sent forth your Son as a beacon of hope for all people.
As Teacher, he has given us the prime example of the importance of education.
As disciples, we look to him for inspiration and strength.
Thank you for the many sisters, brothers, priests, and laypeople who have dedicated their lives in service to our Catholic schools.
Thank you for the teachers and administrators who sustain our schools today.
Thank you for the parents who have given support and witness to the importance of Catholic education in their daily lives.
Thank you for the students who work hard to further their education and learning in faith.
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Next editions of the Office of Catholic Schools Newsletter:
February 6 & 19, 2021
March 5 & 19, 2021
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Look for topics in previous editions:
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Archive of Superintendent’s emails:
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Jan. 22 Winter MAP Testing Window Closes
Jan. 31 Catholic Schools Week (January 31-February 6)
Feb. 3 All School Mass at Cathedral with Bishop
Feb. 8 New School Administrators Workshop-virtual
Feb. 9 PowerSchool User Group 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Feb. 17 Ash Wednesday
Feb. 24 New Teachers/Methods B Faith Integration 3:30-4:30 (Virtual)
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Tuition for School Year 2021-2022 |
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Letter sent to Principals 1/19/2021
Dear Principals,
Typically, as part of your preparation for Catholic Schools week, one agenda item is the process for setting tuition. Please remember, that for School Year 2021-2022r tuition increases need to be in lock step with cost increases. In other words, we cannot pass along costs to our parishes from parish investment to make up for costs we are not covering through tuition. We cannot also use the funds we receive from Choice to cover the GAP as well, because increases in Choice need to be set aside for long term improvements. We understand that there will always be exceptions, however, these exceptions need to be documented as they will be presented to the Bishop.
To make sure you have made these considerations prior to Catholic Schools week please send the following information to Lisa Gruber by January 28th.
- Tuition Increase rate (from and to, by Grade)
- Expected Tuition dollars generated from increase
- Expected operational cost increases in dollars
- Explanation of GAP if there is a deficit
Thank you for all the hard work you do for our students! You have done amazing work this year dealing with unprecedented challenges.
Sincerely,
Todd A. Blahnik
Superintendent of Catholic Schools
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Join other schools in learning how to create a targeted fundraising campaign. We will be joined by representatives from OSV who specialize in creating campaigns that help target new donors and build a comprehensive program for your school. They understand the importance of the parish and school working together. The call will be Friday, February 12th from 10-11. Please click here to register and the link for the call will be sent to you.
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Camp Tekakwitha is accepting applications for Summer Camp |
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Registration for Camp Tekakwitha is accepting registrations for Summer Camp. Please encourage your families to go to the Camp Tekakwitha website to register. camptekakwitha.org
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The All School Mass is Wednesday, February 3rd at 10:00 at the St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. Students, families and staff representing the school should arrive by 9:45. If you have not registered your school representatives, please contact Lisa Gruber as soon as possible. The mass will be livestreamed for schools to view at at www.gbdioc.org/allschoolmass. The program for the mass is available here
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WCRIS will be hosting its first Wisconsin School Choice Program and Special Needs Scholarship Program webinar on January 27, from 1 to 2:30 pm.
The hope with the webinar is to answer any questions you may have, whether you are new to the programs or a seasoned participant. The webinar will start with basic information about the programs, areas of concern for you, and inside knowledge that you will not hear from the DPI training.
The majority of the webinar will be focused on your questions. To help facilitate this they have a questionnaire for you to fill out. This is also your sign-up form. The information will help ensure the content is focused and relevant.
You can sign up and fill out the questionnaire here:
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Assistive Technology and Center for Resilient Schools from DPI |
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Are you looking to learn more about Assistive Technology and how it can be used in your classrooms to support students? Would you like to connect with other educators from around the state to improve how we use assistive technology in our schools and classrooms? The Assistive Technology (AT) Forward! Project was created to support educators to increase student and family autonomy in exploring and utilizing Assistive Technology tools to support their access, engagement, and progress in their learning. Assistive Technology Forward! supports a statewide, virtual Community of Practice (CoP) to support assistive technology in virtual, hybrid, and in person learning. We hope you will consider adding your voice to the conversation! When you join our Community of Practice, you will have the opportunity to learn from experts in the field of AT as well as benefit from the knowledge learned through networking with colleagues statewide. By joining our AT Forward! Community of Practice, members will have FREE access to:
- A learning center subscription to Assistive Technology Industry Association
- One-on-one virtual technical assistance to support the use of assistive technology in your classrooms, with a student, or within your school
- Regular updates from the field of Assistive Technology
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Center for Resilient Schools |
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The Wisconsin Center for Resilient Schools is a new statewide coaching center designed to help school and/or district teams bring comprehensive school-based mental health and trauma sensitive, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) to full scale implementation. This free resource is available to schools and districts in Wisconsin including private, charter, tribal and state schools.
If you have a school or district team working on comprehensive and systemic school-based mental health and/or SEL this center can help you to:
- Strengthen and align systems that support comprehensive school-based mental health and trauma sensitive social and emotional learning in order to promote academic success of each student
- Engage with data, resources and tools to create a sustainable plan to reach your desired outcomes
- Develop strategies for stakeholder engagement
- Explicitly position and communicate about trauma sensitive SEL as a lever for equity
Beginning on January 20, 2021, schools and district teams that are interested in coaching services can complete the service request form found here.
Check out the full press release here.
Please note that this center provides coaching for teams who are ready to fully implement School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) and trauma sensitive SEL. This is not a training opportunity. If you are just beginning to consider school-based mental health, social and emotional learning or trauma-sensitive schools, please see the resources from the Department of Public Instruction using the hyperlinks provided.
Thanks,
Chanell Crawford
Director, Parental Education Options
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Phone: 608-266-5880
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Automatically Re-enroll Your Students for 2021-2022 |
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Several of our schools are changing the way they re-enroll students for the 2021-2022 school year. Instead of sending enrollment packets to parents and waiting for the families to return everything, parents are instead being informed that their children have been automatically enrolled for the next school year. If parents do not plan on attending, they are required to notify the school. This is a huge opportunity to retain your students without having to chase everyone. For more information or assistance in drafting a letter for families, please contact Lori.
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Newsela - There are many teachers across the diocese using the free version of Newsela. Newsela connects with MAP and will give students articles at their just right reading level when using the paid version. If you would like to learn more about Newsela please join the demonstration Thursday, February 11 at 1:30.
Mark Gallo is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 970 8487 0548
Passcode: 214068
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,97084870548# US (Washington D.C)
+13126266799,,97084870548# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
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As the needs of our schools continue to grow, it is important to make sure that the platforms we are using are providing the schools with the tools they need to be successful without excessive financial costs to the schools. Starting this year, we will be creating a task force of representatives from the system and parish schools to evaluate our SIS platform and determine what the schools need to be competitive and grow. If you are interested in being part of this discussion, please contact Lori Paul for more information.
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Going forward, schools will only have to submit their payroll records twice a year – on March 31st and September 30th. Please make sure whoever is doing your payroll is aware of the change. |
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Choice Information Available |
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The 2021 open application period for the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program is right around the corner (reminder: applications for the WPCP can be submitted February 1st- April 15th in 2021)!
As a complimentary service to participating schools, SCW has once again, created postcard mailers and posters for schools to order. There is an English and Spanish option for both as well. Schools can utilize the mailers and posters to assist in marketing their participation in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program and to assist with recruitment efforts. There is no cost to you for the printing of the mailers or posters.
Click on the attachment below to view all options. SCW has left open space on the mailing label side of the postcard and at the bottom of the poster so that you can easily adhere your individual school's information. If you would like some of these sent to you please fill out the attached request form and send to Lisa LaDue at ladue@parentchoice.org no later than January 18th.
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School Choice Wisconsin Survey |
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We recognize that you may be unaware of some of the services SCW provides to schools. They are vital to keeping parental choice programs strong. It is SCW, for example, that fought for and won increases in payments to schools, ending years of payments fixed at $6,442. K-8 payments are now $8,300 and high school payments are $8,946. It is SCW that fought for and won the so-called “once in, always in” provision that allows choice students who are accepted to remain in the program without re-verifying income each year. It is SCW and its allies that took the Department of Public Instruction to court to win the right for private schools to count online learning to meet state requirements for hours of instruction.
SCW does so much more. Next week, you will receive a survey regarding services School Choice Wisconsin (SCW) provides to private schools that participate in Wisconsin’s four parent choice programs. Your participation will help ensure that you get the services most important to you.
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Recommended Registration Information |
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As you prepare to begin registering students for the 2021-22 school year, DPI is asking schools to include some optional but recommended data elements to collect as part of your registration process. Some of these are new data elements, while others are a reminder of existing data elements that can be helpful in reporting for equity and educational outcomes. If you are able, we recommend that you add these questions to your parent portal or online registration forms.
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Digital Equity. Collecting data about students’ access to broadband internet and learning devices at home is vital to help target initiatives to increase broadband access for families statewide.
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Ancestry/Ethnic Origins and Tribal Affiliation. These new data collections are optional for both Choice and public schools to collect and report. This data is valuable for improving educational outcomes for small groups of students who otherwise would not be distinguishable in the aggregated data used for federal reporting. Including this information with registration can help provide families and students with more choices when identifying their racial or ethnic background, as well as help DPI to better understand the diversity of our students and families.
- DPI will use this information to report on the educational progress of groups of students, but never individual students.
-Tribal affiliation is also used to target grant funding.
These optional but recommended fields will be part of Powerschool in an upcoming release.
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The legislation, now signed into law, establishes a new $2.75 billion Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) program. Click on the button below for full details of the EANS program.
Also of great importance: private schools will not be allowed to accept aid both under this program and the new round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that the bill authorizes. Private schools will have to choose one or the other. Schools that received a PPP loan prior to December 27, 2020 will still be eligible.
The law also allows EANS funds to be used to reimburse schools for purchases already made for these purposes, EXCEPT for the items listed in paragraphs C, D, I, and L -- those items are not eligible for reimbursement (with the strange caveat that portable air purification systems are an allowable reimbursable expense). Unlike new purchases, reimbursements could constitute federal financial assistance and thus trigger the strings that come attached to such status.
We will continue to update and work with our schools as more information is available.
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8th Grade Diploma Ordering |
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If you need diplomas for your 8th grade students, you will need to order them from the Digicopy Portal. To access the portal and to order:
Enter your username and password - your username is your email and, if you have never used the Digicopy Portal, your password is 1234 and you will be prompted to change it. If you have difficulty logging in, please contact Sheryl Biersteker at biersteker@dcopy.net to have your password reset.
Click on the Blue Square labeled DIPLOMAS. Follow the directions while choosing the options you want.
If you chose the option to have the student name pre-printed on the diploma, you will be required to download and complete the diploma spreadsheet template.
When you check out you will be required to pay. If you do not have a school credit card, please contact DigiCopy to make payment arrangements.
Instructions are also included on the web page and all customer support information for DigiCopy is also included at the bottom of the web page.
If you have any questions or need assistance with ordering, please contact DigiCopy at greenbay@dcopy.net or 920-857-2208.
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City of Green Bay Crossing Guards |
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The City of Green Bay is looking for Crossing Guards and has asked us to have our schools send home the attached flyer. |
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Catholic Schools Week will occur Sunday, January 31 - Saturday, February 6, 2021, and will have a new theme through the year 2024: "Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” Below are the CSW daily themes from the NCEA. Click on the links below for ideas to celebrate each day. The NCEA has also included great tips to navigate COVID-19 on each of the daily themes.
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RCL Benziger Resources for CSW |
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Catholic Schools Week celebrates the contribution that Catholic education provides to our children, to our Church, to our communities, and to our nation. Use our free downloadable Catholic Resources to help you celebrate Catholic Schools Week. |
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Bible in a Year Podcast - Fr. Mike Schmitz |
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Fr. Mike’s podcasts are one of the most followed Catholic podcasts for young people. He has collaborated with Ascension Press to produce a Bible in a Year Podcast. This is a great tool for your middle and high school teachers to utilize to help students gain a better understanding of the Bible. Each podcast is between 15-30 minutes long. Search Fr. Mike Schmitz on your favorite podcast app or https://bibleinayear.fireside.fm
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Due to the uncertainty, disruptions and additional procedures and adjustments required by the current COVID pandemic we are waiving the ACRE requirement for 2021 for all parish religious education programs and all Catholic Schools. |
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Lent Invitation and Links |
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Catholic Relief Services offers some great virtual events, prayers and reflections (English and Spanish), even a downloadable virtual Rice bowl to make at home. |
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Sample Tuition Increase Letter |
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During the Financial Planning Webinar, we said that there would be a letter you could use as a template to inform your families of any tuition increases for the next school year. Please click here to download a WORD template.
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The Archdiocese of Milwaukee put together a wonderful document on Open House Tips during a pandemic and said that we could share it with our schools. |
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Congressional COVID Relief Bill |
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What's in it for Private K-12 Schools?
The $900 billion legislation easily passed in the House — 359 to 53 — before breezing through the Senate shortly before midnight in a 92-6 vote Monday, Dec. 21.
President Trump is expected to sign the bill in the coming days.
It contains $86 billion for colleges and schools.
Our advocates at the Council for American Private Education in D.C. provided a summary of the 5,593-page bill.
According to the agreement reached by Congress, here’s how CAPE says the COVID relief bill treats private K-12 school children:
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Very important: schools that apply for the new round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds made available by this bill will not be eligible for the GEER set-aside for private schools. In other words, private schools can either take PPP or they can take their share of the $2.75 billion private school set-aside. They can’t take both. However, schools that participated in the first round of CARES Act PPP are still eligible for the second GEER/$2.75 billion private school set-aside. It’s only participation in this new round of PPP that disqualifies them.
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WI DHS at home COVID Testing link |
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The State of Wisconsin and Vault Medical Services have teamed up to offer a new COVID-19 testing option for everyone who lives in Wisconsin, with or without symptoms, at no cost. This new service allows people to collect their own saliva samples for testing in their home. The capacity is expected to expand over time.
Click on the button for more information:
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Rural Life DRAWING OR ESSAY CONTEST |
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For students in Grades 1-8, create a picture or write an essay (200 words or less) on the topic: How do farmers and rural communities support their neighbors during a pandemic?
Include your name, address, grade and school/parish on the back of your 8.5 x 11 in. drawing or essay.
One entry per person. Please submit your drawing or essay by Feb. 12, 2021.
Send all entries to:
Peter Weiss
Catholic Charities & Living Justice Mission Team
1825 Riverside Dr.
P.O. Box 23825
Green Bay, WI 54305-3825
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Each of our regional DASA Groups meet monthly. Here are the regions and when they meet:
DASA Central – first Monday of the month at 1:30
DASA Southeast – first Thursday of the month at 1:30
DASA North & Northeast– Second Monday of the month at 1:30
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Purchasing What You Need, Needing What You Purchase |
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If you were not able to attend the conference this past week, here are some of the highlights from this session.
Communicate with the Diocesan Office of Catholic Schools when reviewing curriculum in order to collaborate with other schools and for support as needed.
Work with your DASA region to make purchases and professional development opportunities together if feasible.
Volume pricing is a benefit.
Determine your needs based on data. If the data reveals a change is needed evaluate whether it is the materials or the pedagogy/methodology being used. Perhaps the change needs to be in how one is teaching not what is being used. More professional development may be needed.
Research online content, investigating what other schools are using then evaluate what you are using to determine its effectiveness.
Determine if the materials being used can assist the teacher in faith integration and Catholic identity.
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DPI Releases Choice Income Limits for 2021-2022 |
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For the 2021-22 school year, the family income of a student new to a choice program must be at or below the amount listed at the DPI site. All students must apply each year at dpi.wi.gov/choice. If a student is continuing in any of the choice programs or was on the choice waiting list for the same Choice program in the prior year, he or she does not need to meet the income limits.
Family income includes the income of the student’s parent(s)/legal guardian(s) that reside in the same household as the student applicant. If the student’s parents/legal guardians that reside in the same household are married, their income is reduced by $7,000 when determining income eligibility for the program (i.e. married family income minus $7,000).
For example, if a family of four with parents that are married has an income of $60,000, subtract $7,000 from their income and compare that amount ($53,000) to the income limit for a family of four in the appropriate table. Family size includes parents/legal guardians and their children by birth, marriage or adoption that reside in the same household as the student applicant.
At this time, the voucher amount for the 2021-2022 year has not been set as it has to be done by the legislature. School Choice Wisconsin does not believe that the amount will change significantly over the current rate due to a tight budget season. Schools should budget $4150 per 4K student, $8300 per K-8 student and $8946 for high school students.
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Please pass this link for MAP Resources to your teachers. There is a lot of information available to them for using the data to drive instruction and do goal setting with students.
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Beginning Tuesday, November 10, the Office of Catholic Schools is inviting teachers to join fellow educators in open conversation to support one another, share ideas and have a place to just “hang out “ with each other. We know schedules are tight, we are offering two different times for convenience.
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Check out the new Diocese of Green Bay Vocations website.
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Office of Catholic Schools Weekly COVID-19 Data Report |
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Here is the link to the report.
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NCEA Newlsetter Link
Click on icon below to read the latest issue of Catholic School Matters Newsletter from NCEA and Dr. Tim Uhl.
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Office of Catholic Schools
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