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BCSD Staff Newsletter March 2019
Superintendent Letter to Staff
WRHS students led a book discussion with adults and teachers for the Big Read. 
Photo Credit: Emanuel Guzman.


Colleagues,

What is the difference between Student Voice and Noise? (Quaglia Institute, Developing Student Self-Worth to Impact Engagement , BCSD Workshop, January 29, 2019)

Student Voice includes:  
  • Sharing thoughts, ideas, and opinions that are genuine in an environment of trust and respect .
  • Offering realistic suggestions and expectations for the good of the whole .
  • Accepting responsibility for not only what you say, but what needs to be done.

One recent example of Student Voice is the students who participated in the Big Read.  Together with adults from their school and the Community Library, students were instrumental in planning events to bring the community together by reading one book, Into the Beautiful North .  These students shared their thoughts, ideas and opinions with each other and with adults as they discussed the book and created opportunities for the community to share their own perspectives and experiences.

Another example of Voice is our Building Leadership Teams (BLT) who work to continue to improve outcomes for students in their schools.  There are deep discussions on scheduling, building climate, reading instruction, math instruction, closing the achievement gap, creating welcoming environments, and so much more.  We don't always agree, but we share our ideas with trust and respect and we come together for the good of the whole - even when our individual idea is not the one that prevails. I am proud that our BLTs are demonstrating leadership and taking responsibility for ensuring our schools are the warm, caring places where all students master the standards and so much more.

Students who led the Big Read and teachers who serve on their Building Leadership Teams are two examples of Voice and a welcome respite from the Noise that occasionally dominates the media. I am proud of our adults and students who lead by example.

Thank you for all you do each day to ensure our students feel valued, master the standards, and learn to be the responsible citizens our country and world can count on for a better future.

With gratitude,

GwenCarol
Teaching and Learning

Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) is Wide Open to Minorities

If you have read the recent article in the Mountain Express, it may leave you with the idea that we have closed GATE to all minority students. Nothing could be further from the truth! If anything, we have pushed the GATE open to minorities by:
  • increasing awareness of gifted traits in culturally and linguistically diverse students.
  • using an early elementary screening process that captures the reasoning abilities of ALL students.
  • adding a screening process for all 6th and 9th graders to capture students throughout their education to identify possible gifted students who may have been overlooked in elementary school.
  • modifying the eligibility process  beyond a single assessment score to include a body of evidence.
  • using the CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) as a piece of the body of evidence, a test that is language neutral and less biased than a traditional IQ test.
  • expanding the categories of giftedness beyond intellectual to include students in gifted in the areas of academics, leadership, creativity and the visual and performing arts
  • focusing on data to monitor the demographic representation of students in the program with annual reports to the Board of Trustees that inform continued actions for improvement

The BCSD GATE Facilitators are working hard to close the GATE Program's demographic gap.
  • Total GATE enrollment is up from 5.5% in 2014 (176 students) to 8.2% in 2018 (277 students)
  • Of the 277 GATE students in Fall 2018:
    • 82% are White, 16% are Hispanic and 2% are Other (Overall demographics in BCSD: 54% are White, 42% are Hispanic, and 4% are Other)
      • Hispanic representation has increased from 7% in 2014 to 11% in 2017 to 16% in 2018
      • 57% of current Hispanic GATE students are identified as having once been English Learners (25/44)
If you have further questions, please reach out to your GATE Facilitators, as they have been working diligently through committee to find more equitable ways to have a more inclusive GATE Program.
Buildings and Grounds

With spring sports starting next week, the Building and Grounds Department has blown the snow off the WRHS track (twice) and has been clearing off the tennis courts. A six foot wide path has been cleared to the softball field and we will do the same for the baseball field next week.  We are committed to getting student athletes onto the fields as soon as is practical, all while watching a storm of serious magnitude move across the west and into the valley, promising a significant amount of snowfall.

A shout out to the City of Hailey for removing the snow from the bike path that runs from the Fox Acres Campus to the bus stop by the roundabout.  Students will no longer need to utilize the narrowing roadway to get from the WRHS to the bus stop. Thank you for helping provide safe routes for our students, not only here, but throughout the City as well.  

As noted previously, having a number of skilled professionals within our ranks, we have been hoping to collaborate with the Residential Academy program to expose students to trades not included in years past.  Buddy Wendel, our District Journeyman Electrician, is taking time to visit Mr. Urbany's classroom. He is providing occupational information such as apprenticeship training and wage structure, electrical theory, and basic installation methodology.  

Staff Recognition


Kevin Stillings
INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) is pleased to announce that Kevin Stilling, Athletics & Activities Director at Wood River High School, has been recognized by this association as a Certified Athletic Administrator.

To earn this distinction, Kevin has demonstrated the highest level of knowledge and expertise in the field of interscholastic athletic administration. The voluntary certification process included a thorough evaluation of the candidate's educational background, experience and professional contributions, as well as a rigorous, comprehensive written examination.

Kevin is one of an elite group of interscholastic athletic administrators nationwide to attain this level of professionalism.

The NIAAA is a national professional organization consisting of all 50 state athletic administrator associations and more than 10,000 individual members.  It is dedicated to promoting the professional growth of high school athletic administrators and preserving the educational nature of interscholastic athletics and the place of these programs in the secondary school curriculum.
Finance
Reimbursement Tips
 
We are moving into the time of year that requests for reimbursement increase in number.  To assist you with being able to receive your reimbursements in a timely manner after submitting to the Finance Department please keep these tips in mind.  

When submitting for a meal reimbursement where a credit card was used to pay please provide in your reimbursement both the receipt that includes an itemized list of the food and beverage items purchased AND the credit card signature receipt that matches the total amount charged and paid on the receipt.  

In addition no alcohol will be reimbursed.  Any line item that says "beer" on it unless preceded by the word "root" will not be paid regardless of where it contained alcohol or not. While rootbeer is universally accepted by auditors as alcohol free, ginger beer and other craft versions of near-beers are not so obvious and may be a red flag during an audit.  

Also we highly recommend that each individual pays for their own meal, and that one person in a group does not pick up the tab for all diners and then submits the reimbursement request for the collective cost of all meals.  While this may be an easier way of closing out the bill at the dining establishment it does create a great deal of risk for the person who pays for the bill should they fail to collect or lose the receipts necessary to demonstrate proof of payment and to receive a reimbursement.  

When submitting for a supply reimbursement please provide a payment receipt in your filing.  We must have proof of payment, and not a quote, statement, or order form that does not provide definitive proof of payment.  This is another issue where auditors will accept only a document stipulating unequivocally that a purchase AND payment has been made, and not just that an order has been placed, but is not declarative that a payment was made.

Our interest is to provide a reimbursement to employees in a full and rapid manner.  However, we also have to balance payments with the need to prove to an auditor that purchases were actually made and done so within the parameters of Federal, State, and District policy guidelines with the first two entities being unforgiving when they discover errors.
Human Resources



Teacher Recertification Reminder

Human Resources will be sending out reminders to certifications that will be expiring August 31, 2019. Should you receive a reminder email from Human Resources please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Reminder:

Please check your personal information in Skyward (Employee Access) to ensure the information is accurate. You can update your information by clicking on the "Request Changes" button.

KEPRO ~ Employee Assistance Program

Monthly Online Seminar ~ Interpersonal Communication: Social Skills for Success
When: March 19th at Noon (eastern time)
How to Access: Go to your EAP web site: www.EAPHelpLink.com   
Enter your code : EAPNOW and look for Online Seminars in the lower right hand corner of this homepage or you can search for them by title .

Summer Job Opportunities
Summer Job Opportunities

The U.S. Census Bureau is now hiring in preparation for the 2020 Census.  We are in need of applicants in Blaine County.

The position we are hiring for very soon are for enumerators.  What enumerators do is verify that our list of places and addresses matches what is physically on the ground.  It is a simple task, but important work for the census.

We will begin offering positions next month, jobs will begin in June.  The work will be during the summer, but can easily extend beyond that if desired.

Pay is $13.50 to $15.00 an hour.  In addition to that, we pay 58 cents for every mile traveled while on the job.  Hours are flexible.

If there are any questions, I am happy to answer them.

Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Joy Stewart
Recruiting Assistant
U.S. Census Bureau
208-410-4157