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Teacher Weekly
We hope you’re enjoying Teacher Appreciation Week, our time dedicated to celebrating YOU and all you do! See our DPS Teacher Appreciation website for videos, discounts, giveaways and more student quotes like these! 
May 6, 2020
Update on Summer Learning
Dear Educators,
 
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! We hope you’ve been enjoying the celebrations. There has never been a time our teachers deserve more recognition, so THANK YOU for everything you’re doing for our students!
 
As we look ahead, w e appreciate your patience as we have been working with leaders and others across DPS to consider all aspects of summer programming.  We wanted to share that, in the best interest of our school communities, families and team members, DPS has made the decision to move to remote summer programming -- with the exception of camps, which will be canceled . Additionally, community use of DPS space will not be granted for June and July this year.
 
This decision was made with the goal of protecting the safety, health and wellness of our students, staff and families. Amid the uncertainty this pandemic brings, we acknowledge that our DPS community working together is more important now than ever -- and we can work together to protect each other and slow the progression of COVID-19. We remain in close contact with public health officials, elected leaders and other school districts, and will continue sharing information as it's available.
 
Below is a high-level summary of the impacted summer programs:
  • District camps will be canceled.
  • Summer Academy will be held remotely.
  • High school credit recovery will be held remotely.
  • Regional Summer School will be held remotely.
  • Sixth and Ninth-Grade Academies will be held remotely.
  • Extended Year Services for Special Education will be held remotely.
  • All summer professional learning (including June and July Leadership Weeks, New Educator Welcome Week and Universal) will be held remotely.
  • Food services will continue grab-and-go distribution.
 
Individual program managers will be providing additional information and next steps to school leaders later this week. We know there are questions around some of DPS’ targeted programs, which we hope to have additional information on this week as well.
 
Thank you for your continued flexibility and support.
 
Many thanks,
Tamara and Mike
Complete Open Enrollment Today for a Chance to Win $500
Benefits open enrollment ends this Friday! This is your only opportunity to select, change or waive your medical, dental, vision and supplemental benefits for the next school year. 

Don’t wait to take action -- all employees who have completed their enrollment by midnight tonight will be entered to win a $500 bonus! (Note: Any team members who took action since open enrollment began April 20 will be entered to win). Enroll now for your chance to win!
Do you have questions or need support? Even though we aren’t together in our schools and offices, we are here to help you choose the best benefits for you. Check out these virtual resources to support you in making your choices:

  • 2020-21 Benefits Enrollment Guide is a comprehensive resource with plan options, rates and information on choosing the best plan for you.
  • Virtual Enrollment Toolkit, where you can sign up for virtual one-on-ones with a benefits specialist, chat with vendors and access recorded and live webinars with Aetna and Kaiser.
  • How-to Guide for enrolling in or waiving on the benefits enrollment site.
This Week's Top 5 Things to Know
Share Your Voice in Upcoming Surveys,
Designed to Support You
As we enter the last month of the 2019-20 school year, educators will start to see more requests to share their voice and opinions through surveys. Thank you to those who have already provided feedback on our first Teacher Touchpoint survey and on our Employee Well-being check!

Please keep an eye out for additional survey invitations in your inbox in the coming weeks. During this time of extreme change, surveys are becoming a critical tool for DPS and other education organizations around the country to capture real-time feedback, and make adjustments to strategies and supports as quickly as possible to best support teachers, students and families. Here are a few of the surveys you can expect to see this month:  

Teacher Touchpoint - Open Now:
Our goal is to collect data that measures changes in experience over time, and the purpose of this second Teacher Touchpoint will help us further understand:
  • Which remote learning tools and resources are most helpful.
  • How well these tools meet the needs of students.
  • Changes in teachers' reported well-being over time.
  • Perceptions of student engagement.
  • What additional supports are needed.

There will also be an additional opportunity to share more about your experience with remote learning by participating in an optional in-depth survey or interview. There will be a question on the bi-weekly survey where you can indicate your interest. Please respond between May 6-15 . If you have questions please contact Remote Learning with questions.
"Reimagine SPF" Survey - Now-May 18:
Learn more below, and take the survey here.

Surveys coming soon: 

  • Coaching and Leadership: May 11. An annual opportunity to share your experiences of development, coaching and feedback this year.

  • Impact Survey: May 18. Share feedback on various DPS strategic initiatives. This year, teachers will have an opportunity to give in-depth feedback on remote learning.   
Information on Class Rank, Credit Waivers and Virtual Graduations
Thank you, educators, for working tirelessly to reach out to students and support them through COVID-related challenges. We’ve gathered feedback from our school leaders, teachers, students, support teams and the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to develop guidance around graduation requirements, class rank and graduation ceremonies. Please review the guidance here for updates on class ranking, credit waiver, virtual graduations and more. 
Provide Feedback for 'Reimagine SPF' Recommendations
The Reimagine SPF Committee has been working together for the past 10 months to evaluate the current DPS School Performance Framework in terms of what is working, where improvements are required, and how DPS can better capture how we can both support and hold accountable the schools we rely on to prepare our children for success in life.

Please read the committee's  full report  and this  brief overview. Your feedback is very important in this process. Please complete the feedback survey by May 18.
Review Adjustments to Spring Assessments
Given interruptions in instructional time during the transition to remote learning, the following adjustments have been made for the remaining spring assessments:

  • Supplemental Assessments 3 for grades 3-8 ELA and 6-8 Math will remain available in Illuminate, but are no longer required.

  • Due to the secure nature of high school course finals, these will not be available for administration this semester.

  • SLO PBTs will be available for instructional use. Contact your assessment specialist for tailored support in how to best adapt them for remote learning.

  • READ assessments will be made available for remote use and for instructional purposes only.

Additional information will be emailed directly to school SALs. If you have questions please, contact Megan Lovinguth .
SchoolMessenger Training Available
In the fall, we shared that   DPS would be transitioning from Infinite Campus (IC) Messenger to SchoolMessenger   for automated calls, texts and emails to families. Schools have now started moving to SchoolMessenger for all school-based communications since IC Messenger phone and text options will   no longer be offered after this school year

Training for this new communication tool is now available to teachers.  School leaders should provide guidance to teachers on whether they should complete the training and how each school plans to use SchoolMessenger to communicate with families.  If your school leader has indicated that you should do the training, you must complete the   SchoolMessenger training  (an   e-learning module that will take about 25 minutes) before you begin sending messages.

If you have questions or need guidance, please reach out to your school leader. If you need support with SchoolMessenger, please email  Communications .
Additional Resources and Information
Click here to learn more about these resources and opportunities:  
 
  • Review Teacher Transfer Dates

  • Sign Up Now: Second Superintendent Discussion Group

  • Phone Interpretation Supports Available

  • ICYMI: Resources to Support with Elementary Google Logoffs

  • Mathematical Support Resource to Share with Parents

  • Share Successful Math Instruction in Schoology

  • High School Math Assessment Revisions Opportunity

  • Social Emotional Tip of the Week: Developing a Growth Mindset
Contact Us
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