March 2023 | Monthly news for and about the staff of Northwest Education Services | |
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Arnell Campus Expands
Dear North Ed Staff,
It is with great pleasure that we announce the addition of the Pine Rest facility to North Ed’s Arnell Administration Campus, and the new home for our Early Childhood teammates!
Currently the 42 Early Childhood professionals that are within our ISD are housed in a variety of different settings in our programs.
In June 2022, North Ed’s Board of Education began a process to acquire the 12,000-square-foot building from Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. This acquisition was an important step in delivering needed space for our services, a priority identified in a 2021 facilities assessment and an outcome of our strategic plan.
This is an exciting step forward for North Ed and improves the ability of our Early Childhood team to better serve the needs of our communities and families.
Under terms of our agreement with Pine Rest, roughly 5,000 square feet of the northwest part of the building will be leased back to them as the organization continues its search for a permanent location. Meanwhile, we expect to begin minor renovations and technology updates to parts of the facility this spring to ensure it meets our needs prior to occupying it later this year.
While this effort has been in the works for several months, the process to officially transfer the property concluded today. It is the culmination of much hard work by many people. We must thank our North Ed Board members for their support and vision in seeing the opportunities this facility holds, as well as the team at Pine Rest for working with us to achieve this mutually beneficial outcome. In addition, we are deeply grateful to North Ed CFO Linda Bielecki and the Business Office team for their tireless efforts and diligence in making this acquisition a reality.
Lastly, I must thank all of you at North Ed. Without this team of compassionate, committed professionals serving our students, families and schools every day, our communities would not be the wonderful places they are. Thank you.
Respectfully,
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Dr. Nick Ceglarek
Northwest Education Services Superintendent
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SAILORS on Deck!
North Ed Adult Community Experience (ACE) teacher Teri Maas was honored by the Board of Education on Feb. 7 for her dedication to the value of Excellence as recognized by her colleagues through the SAIL Organizational Recognition System (ORS).
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SAIL(ORS): Organizational Recognition System
Use the form linked below to nominate a colleague who has gone above and beyond in their work. That colleague will receive an email copy of your nomination. One person is selected from the pool of nominees each month to be recognized by the North Ed Board of Education.
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Michele (Chel) Berry
Teacher Assistant, Bridgeway East MS
Previous work: Hanover-Horton HS
Education: Jackson HS
Interests: Enjoys gardening and reading.
Fun Fact: Will be raising chickens in the spring!
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Jerica Gillett
Teacher Assistant, Bridgeway
Previous work: Willsub
Interests: Creative and crafty. Likes to crochet and also likes farming and taking care of all sorts of animals.
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Angela Hartman
Teacher Assistant, Bridgeway
Previous work: Office Manager
Education: Clear Lake High School
Interests: Family, photography, fishing, outdoors and bowling.
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Corie Layton
Teacher Assistant, Bridgeway
Previous work: Willsub
Fun Fact: Enjoys hiking, camping and snowboarding
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Mary McKee
Teacher Assistant, LSC
Education: Leland Public School
Interests: Loves going to the beach and physical exercise.
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Hailee Miller
Teacher Assistant, Creekside School
Previous work: Gardener/Farmer
Education: Central Michigan University
Interests: Gardening and biking.
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Constance Rottman
Accounts Payable Lead, Admin Building
Previous work: Munson Healthcare, Project Coordinator
Interests: Enjoys boating, traveling and smush-faced dogs.
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Eric Slade
Teacher Assistant, LSC
Previous work: Walmart Team Associate, Produce/Meat Dept.
Fun Fact: He's a huge Michigan Wolverines fan (Go Blue), and collector of sneakers.
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Alison Stephens
Parapro, Career Tech Health Careers
Previous work: Lead assistant for family medicine
Education: NMC, Penn Foster, CCMA certification
Interests: Enjoys spending time with family, hiking, biking and any adventure outdoors. Also enjoys volunteering at church and working with children.
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Nik VanWagner
Tech Services, Admin.
Previous work: Papano's Pizza in Kingsley
Education: Kingsley HS, Norhtwestern Michigan College
Fun Fact: Enjoys photography, music performance, computers and traveling
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Sarah Youker
Secretary, Admin East
Previous work: Clock Mobility
Education: TC West Senior HS, Baker College, Associate Degree in Nursing
Interests: Enjoys cooking, family time, helping her boys with 4-H projects, and helping with the family farm and market
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Welcome the new arrivals! | | |
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Iris Ann Bennett
Born Jan. 25, 2023
9 lbs., 3 oz., 22" long to
Leah Bennett, Speech Pathologist
Lola Ann Wilson
Born Feb. 4, 2023
8 lbs., 1 oz., 21-3/4" long to
Emily Wilson, Speech Pathologist
Aurora Jade Lobb
Born Feb. 27, 2023
6 lbs., 9 oz., 19" long to
Vera Lobb, Teacher Assistant at Life Skills Center
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Children who attend preschool are better prepared for school and have more success later in life. Learn about:
- Ages and stages
- How to find regional programs
- Special education services
- How preschool supports social/emotional learning
Register for the Roundup!
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Women's History Month
In an industry overwhelmingly dominated by women, such as education, how many do you think hold the top leadership position? A much smaller number, that’s how many. The ILO Group found in a recent study that while 76% of all teachers are women, they hold fewer than one-third of the superintendent jobs. Evidently, that gender gap has not improved since the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when considerable turnover of the superintendent position occurred.
When looking at the top 500 largest districts nationally, 49% of them saw turnover at their top administrative positions. Of those 246 districts, 94 female superintendents left their roles, and 66% percent of them were replaced by men. As of September 2022, according to the ILO Group report, women represent just 30% of the superintendents at the top 500 largest districts.
As we kick off March and Women’s History Month, help us celebrate the women leaders out there who have made invaluable contributions to our profession and have considerably changed our world for the better.
Below you will find a link to some resources to explore, including lesson plans for educators and social media tools to celebrate Women’s History Month:
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Lunch & Learn
The North Ed DEIB Committee will host two discussions on the Netflix documentary “Amend: The Fight for America”, which looks at the struggle for equal rights in the United States. This session's focus will be on Episode 4 of the series, available to stream on Netflix and YouTube. Those interested in joining the discussion are encouraged to watch the episode prior to the event, though it is not a requirement. The two discussions will be as follows:
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5:30 p.m., Thursday, March 9 at The Filling Station Microbrewery, 642 Railroad Place, Traverse City. Some food will be provided, with drinks available to purchase.
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11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Friday, March 10, Virtual via Google Meet or dial: US) +1 484-746-4239 PIN: 470 085 987#
Please see the Facebook event page and flyer for more information.
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Community Resources
Everyone needs a little help once in a while. Below are some resource lists for organizations that offer assistance to families and individuals in our region, both during the holiday season and throughout the entire year.
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If you read the newsletter in your email inbox, you may be missing the full story! | |
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Changes to Employee Assistance Program
Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider, LifeWorks, is launching a new website today, March 1, 2023, with a new user-friendly interface where employees can access more articles, podcasts, tools and resources. To access the website, staff must login with a username and password. The username and password will be the same for all employees:
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Website: www.niseap.com
- Username: NISEAP
- Password (case sensitive): EAP
EAP telephone assistance is still available at 866.451.5465. The current app, MYEAP, is valid until May 1, 2023. The new app, LifeWorks, can be downloaded today, with the same login information as the website listed above.
Our EAP can provide you with support and resources to help you find answers related to work, life, health, family or money. Included in your EAP is LIFT Session Virtual Fitness. This virtual fitness platform gives you access to unlimited fitness journeys that are customized to your goals and current fitness level.
For more EAP resources, see the following:
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Retirement Planning
2023 Pension Seminars
For employees hired before July 1, 2010
Benefit Plan: Basic/MIP/DC Converted
Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 4:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Location: North Ed Conference Center
For employees hired on or after July 1, 2010
Benefit Plan: Pension Plus/Defined Contribution (DC)
Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 4:30 p.m.
Location: North Ed Conference Center
Not sure which seminar you should attend? Contact Holly: holly@marsprps.com
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$500 Referral Bonus Expands
North Ed staff can earn a $500 bonus for successfully referring someone who joins our team as any of the following positions:
- School Psychologist
- School Social Worker
- Speech and Language Pathologist
- Special Education Teacher
- Teacher Assistant
- Paraprofessional
Due to an ongoing need to fill these positions, this opportunity will remain in place until vacancies are filled. Simply email the name of your referral to HR Generalist Jaime Walton. If that person is hired, you will get a $500 bonus in your paycheck.
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Planning Ahead for 2023-24 School Year
Those who have contracts spread out from September – August should be aware that there are 27 pay dates in the fiscal year between Sept. 1, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024 instead of 26. This means that your biweekly pay amount will
decrease because of the extra pay date.
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Comodo Endpoint Security
In the coming days, North Ed Technology Services is deploying Comodo Endpoint Security, which was recently rebranded as Xcitium. You may see either product name associated with some extra software activity or prompts, as well as a new icon appearing along the taskbar on your North Ed computer.
This deployment will improve cybersecurity. The software watches for unusual activity that may indicate a compromise and contains anything suspicious. Every effort has been made to prevent the software from blocking legitimate activity while it protects us from malware and hacks, but it is possible there may be some growing pains. If you experience a problem, please treat it like any other technology issue and submit a service request.
This software has been running on Technology Services computers and servers for a few months already. The deployment is expanding now to computers used by Administration and the Business Office because those computers and accounts are the next most targeted ones on school networks. You may notice this same communication going out to all staff members in the near future as we expand the deployment. As always, if you have any questions please let Tech Services know.
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Buzzing About Tech Challenge
Sign up for the Buzzing About Tech Challenge. Our Tech Challenges are a chance for you to complete some asynchronous learning about a variety of extensions and websites that can help make your work easier. Follow the link to complete the Google Form. On April 12, we will send our slide presentation. There are eight days of activities. For each of the eight days, watch a short video, visit the site and then test it out. As you watch, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to REMC 2C’s Peter Milne. When you've completed all the videos, fill out the follow-up Google Form to be entered into a drawing for one of eight prize baskets. We will select eight participants who complete all eight videos and the Google Form to win a basket of classroom items.
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North Ed TECH HELP
Need help with a technology issue? Try this:
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Research common problems and solutions through North Ed's Help Desk Shared Google Drive.
- Call the Help Desk at 231.922.6307. Leave a message if your call goes unanswered.
- Submit a Help Desk ticket online by clicking the link below.
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Provide feedback or offer comments via the Help Desk Survey instead of responding with a final note of appreciation through the system ticket (which re-opens the service request).
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Spring Retirements!
Is someone from your North Ed building/team retiring this spring? Are you planning an event to recognize their work? Let us know! Email the information to NorthEdNews@NorthwestEd.org by mid-May to be included in a special communication to North Ed employees.
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Happy Birthday!
See who celebrates in March
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OK2Say
Did you know Michigan has a student safety program and system to support the confidential reporting of bullying, threats and other safety concerns in our schools? It's called OK2Say, and you can learn more about it by clicking the link below:
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Empty Bowls Fundraiser
Empty Bowls raises funding for the Northwest Food Coalition to support our food insecure neighbors in the region. Enjoy a bowl of soup and bread along with a hand-crafted artisan bowl to take home. Advance ticket costs: Adults, $25; children 6-13, $15; children 5 and under are free.
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988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
A new three-digit number – “988” – has been established to route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline primarily seeks to offer a sense of hope, and people can call, chat or text the nationwide dialing code if they or a loved one are in a suicidal or mental health-related crisis to connect with someone who can help.
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Classified Ads:
House for Rent: Available March-May, fully furnished 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch style home with basement and one car garage located near North Ed Career Tech. $1700/month plus utilities. Contact Tom Lennox
North Ed staff are welcome to submit classified ad requests by the 25th of each month to NorthEdNews@NorthwestEd.org
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North Ed Apparel Store Open 24/7
North Ed swag is available for purchase. Order direct from our approved supplier. It's easy! Browse the North Ed online catalog TODAY!
Website link location:
Intranet/North Ed Brand/Be a Brand Ambassador
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Getting the Lingo Right
As you talk about Northwest Education Services (shortened to North Ed, not Northwest Ed), it is important that we all use the correct words and represent the organization in unified fashion. Brand integrity depends on each of us. If you have brand questions or need logos for an event, document or presentation, contact the Communications Department at NorthEdNews@NorthwestEd.org.
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Board of Education Links
General Resources
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COVID-19 Resources
Communication Links
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Northwest Education Services
1101 Red Drive, Traverse City, MI 49684
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