Yvette Orin-Martinez's advisory classroom welcoming each other back on the first day of school at West Leadership Academy.
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Announcing the Culturally Sustaining Curriculum and Instruction Department |
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Dear Educators,
We are excited to share that, effective immediately, the C&I and CRE teams are being combined to create one department -- the Culturally Sustaining Curriculum and Instruction Department, which will be led by Theo Shaw. Theo is the current executive director of CRE and has a background in both CRE and elementary and secondary education. We are honored to have him take on this critical role!
This move is incredibly important in order for us to realize our vision of becoming an Equity school district, and our collective commitment to culturally responsive education in DPS. It is imperative that we share the responsibility for culturally responsive education to ensure that each and every teacher has the resources needed to support each and every DPS student and break the historical patterns of inequity that exist within DPS.
Our vision for the Culturally Sustaining Curriculum and Instruction is that:
- Our Black, Indigenous and Students of Color will see themselves in the curriculum.
- Our Black, Indigenous and Students of Color will learn about their history and the history of their communities.
- We will honor our Black, Indigenous and Students of Color students and their families by acknowledging their contributions past and present.
- We will help our students, all students, see how their contributions are essential to our community, to our nation and to our world.
- We will help teachers create a space for learning and growing in their profession.
- We will hold necessary, difficult conversations, together.
Please click here to read the full Vision Statement, and here to read the announcement that was sent to team members in the Academics Division.
Many thanks,
Tamara and Mike
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Student COVID-19 Active Screening Process |
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In DPS, we are fostering a culture of trust. This means that parents are responsible for ensuring that their students are safe and healthy before arriving at school. Students needing support with health screening and those who feel unwell during the school day will be screened through the active screening process. For more detailed information about active and passive screening, access the COVID-19 Screening Guidance for Students.
If a student or staff member is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or has been in close contact with a confirmed or suspected case, notify your schools’ COVID-19 coordinators. There are two COVID-19 coordinators at every school: one is your school nurse, and the other is chosen by school leaders. Your COVID-19 coordinators will help make important decisions about whether the student or staff member needs to quarantine, isolate or return to regular activities based on the COVID-19 Screening and Testing decision tree. From there, school leaders will take responsibility for notifying close contacts of the individual.
As a reminder, all medical diagnoses and conditions are highly confidential and protected information. This includes positive COVID-19 tests, people who are isolating, and people who are under quarantine. Educators can maintain their students and families' trust by maintaining health confidentiality.
Our district works closely with Denver Public Health and the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment and has a strong process in place for reporting infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. We will continue to work with those in the health department and follow processes necessary to help ensure the health and safety of our staff and students.
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Updates on ECE: Staff Return |
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Thank you to those who joined the teacher webinar Tuesday. We wanted to share some resources from this meeting, including access to the recording from the webinar.
As we shared during the webinar, here is a list of the staff members who need to be in-person when ECE centers open on Sept. 8 and ECE programs on Sept. 14. These roles are:
- School leader
- Licensed director
- Classroom/core content teachers
- Paraprofessionals (including ECE paras and other paras, such as general assignment paras)
- Specials/elective teachers
- SPED teachers
- Food service team members
- Nurse/health tech
- Specialized service providers including: Psych, SW, GT, speech language, occupational therapists, physical therapists, low incidence disability
- Facilities personnel
School leaders will determine what office staff/office support is needed to report in person and will communicate directly with their building-based team regarding expectations for in-person return. The principal can determine if some building-level positions are not needed to serve ECE students (i.e. specials teachers).
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This Week's Top 5 Things to Know |
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Health and Safety Protocols for In-Person Learning Training |
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Last week, you received an email informing you that you are registered for the Health and Safety Protocols for In-Person Learning training. This training will prepare you with the health and safety protocols that you need to know to be in person with students. It is critical for anyone who is returning to in-person learning or who is in a building where students are present to complete this training prior to being in the building. If you were not automatically registered for the training, please access it here.
Please note, after you register for the course, you will see a button in Learning Space that says “Launch.” Please click on that button, and it will automatically direct you to Schoology; if prompted, use your DPS gmail account to sign in. The Schoology course contains a video to watch, the link to the slide deck, and a quiz that you must successfully pass with a score of 80 to show you have completed the training. Successful completion of the training will be recorded and shared with school leaders in order to confirm that anyone working in the building when in-person learning is taking place has completed this required training.
As a reminder, all DPS employees can access free COVID-19 tests. Click here to learn more and schedule an appointment.
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Returning to School Family Guide Now Available |
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As an educator and trusted advisor to our families, we know you will be asked many questions from your students and their families. To help ease those conversations, we’ve created a K-12 family guide that will better prepare families for what they can expect with this school year.
The guide provides an overview of important topics pertinent to the operations of the school year, including our alignment with Colorado’s three COVID response levels structure, what the shift between learning scenarios will look like and more.
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Understanding Seesaw in DPS |
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As team members are hearing more requests for Seesaw support, please note these important details to help clarify any confusion with your families:
- Schools should use the homeroom, intervention, GT and ELD classes rostered from Clever to Seesaw to ensure the best experience for students and families.
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Students log in via Student Portal or through seesaw.dpsk12.org. Students should not be sent Home Learning Codes.
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All staff access their accounts via the Teacher Portal or seesaw.dpsk12.org to ensure they are logged in with the correct account connected to their dpsk12.org email address.
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Parents create their own accounts via an invite and log in at app.seesaw.me. They do not sign in via Clever.
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What Staff Should Do If They Become Aware of a Student At-Risk for Suicide |
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Please review the following guidelines to understand how to respond if you have knowledge of a student who is at risk of suicide.
If you become aware of a student at-risk during school hours:
- Do not leave the student alone (in person or virtually) until they are connected with support.
- Notify the principal/building leader and mental health team of concerns so that they can initiate the Suicide Risk Review (SRR) process.
- If unable to notify the principal/building leader and mental health team, notify DPS Department of Safety at 720-423-3911 to request a welfare check.
If you become aware of a student at-risk after hours (i.e., weekends, holidays, evenings):
- Call 911 to request a welfare check.
- Notify the principal/building leader and mental health team so that they can initiate the Suicide Risk Review (SRR) process on the next school day.
- Notify DPS Department of Safety at 720-423-3911 to share that you called 911 and requested a welfare check.
If you become aware of a suicide attempt or death by suicide:
- Notify the principal/building leader and mental health team.
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Notify Jane_Lineman@dpsk12.org to initiate postvention programming.
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The principal/building leader may request support from the District Crisis Response Team by contacting Meghan_Kimball@dpsk12.org or at 720-812-0281.
Training is available for all DPS staff on suicide prevention/risk factors. To learn more about training options, email Jane_Lineman@dpsk12.org.
Reminder: If at any time you suspect concerns of abuse or neglect, please make a report to Denver Human Services by calling 844-264-5437.
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DPS Mask Guidance Document for Families |
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We are communicating to our families that students who plan to return to in-person learning when our buildings open should also plan to wear a mask, as it is a requirement for entering school grounds. We know it will take some getting used to, and we have prepared a guidance document with support from our health partners and our DPS nursing staff. Please share our mask guidance resource with your families.
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Denver Public Schools sends all district newsletters and critical employee communications through Constant Contact. Please do not unsubscribe your dpsk12.org email address from any message; if you unsubscribe from one newsletter or one communication, you will be removed from all other district-managed email lists in Constant Contact. If you have any questions, please email newsletters@dpsk12.org.
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