Glendale-River Hills
School District Update
Dear Parents & Guardians-
Welcome to the first edition of the Glendale-River Hills School District Update. We value our parents and community and want to improve our open lines of communication. Please take a moment to read through this email for the most recent information happening in the district. Be sure to continue to check out communication from your building principals and Thursday folders, while we work on streamlining our communication procedures.
WE ARE RESPONSIBLE!
As a district, we are committed to providing a quality education for ALL students.
Our commitment is to EVERY kid, EVERY day, Whatever it takes!
Change is an Opportunity for Growth!
Welcome!
Jennica Westfahl- Director of Teaching and Learning
Nasif Rogers- Glen Hills Principal
Shari Tucker- Associate Principal at Glen Hills
Mallory Umar- Associate Principal at Parkway.
Some familiar names and faces still on the leadership team- Larry Smalley- Superintendent, Shannon Kilton- Director of Educational Services, and Haydee Smith- Principal at Parkway.
We are here to support our students and families! We are committed to EVERY kid, EVERY day, WHATEVER IT TAKES!
Did you know...
- Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade
- By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school
Parkway:
Doors open at 8:40 AM
School Hours 8:50-3:35
Glen Hills:
Doors open at 7:30 AM
School Hours 7:46-3:00
Substitute Teacher Shortage
Despite the fact we are using this service, we still struggle to get all of our vacancies filled each day requiring us to be creative each morning to staff our classrooms.
We are continually recruiting new people to join our substitute teaching pool. If you have a bachelor's degree and like working with kids, please reach out to the building principal or secretary in each school. We'd be happy to have you shadow a classroom and see what the job entails. Our current daily rate for substitute teacher rate is outlined below:
- Less than 20 days for GDRH in a single assignment = $115
- 25 days for GDRH in previous school year = $125
- Long Term Sub 20+ days in single GDRH assignment = $200
Food Service Update
As you know, we have a new food service company serving food to our students this year. We have received great feedback on the quality of food and the number of choices being offered to our kids. Although the transition started with a few bumps in the road, we do believe these have been remediated. Please continue to keep an eye on your child's lunch account to ensure the transactions are accurate.
School Safety & Security
Professional Development
Our district is committed to professional growth and learning around the following topics:
- Equity
- Literacy
- Culture/Climate
Each professional development day that your kids stay home from school, the staff participates in training and discussions around these topics. To help parents learn and understand the direction of our district initiatives, we will highlight some of this work in each edition of our communication with parents during the school year.
One exciting thing we are doing this year is having each staff member participate in a book study led by our own teachers and administrators. The staff gets to choose a club that interests them and is able to learn and grow with their colleagues.
Here are the topics we are reading and learning about this school year!
Social-Emotional Development
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) can be a part of our daily practices with students! Participants will continue to explore the importance of SEL in the classroom. Through discussion of articles and resources, participants will be exposed to evidence-based SEL practices, build confidence, practice new skills and be provided with takeaway materials to utilize inside and outside of the classroom!
Technology
Using excerpts from The Google Infused Classroom, this book study will allow teachers to explore how to use technology in meaningful ways in the classroom. Teachers will explore the essential question: How can we use technology in our classrooms to allow students to make their learning visible and share their work with authentic audiences?
Equity
Using Oluo’s book So You Want To Talk About Race? as the primary basis for discussion and examination, this group will dive into the topic of race and whiteness in American society. Participants will work to develop a solid understanding of how to navigate discussions on race and receive an education on the implications that this has for teachers and administrators who serve in diverse communities.
Special Education
Re-Examining Special Education! Let’s read the current research on ways to best meet the needs of all kids! We are RESPONSIBLE, Every Kid, Every Day, Whatever it Takes! How can we do it the best way possible?
Literacy
Join us as we REALLY dig into one of the newest Jennifer Serravallo books, Understanding Texts, and Readers. Our time together will provide us the opportunity to examine the many tools this book offers for immediate implementation with readers. We will explore the various strategies discussed in the book, and then "have a go" at some of them in our classrooms. Each time we meet, we will professionally debrief on how we did and how kids responded.
Equity
In our book study, we will examine current research on the continual educational subornation of LGBTQ+ Youth of Color. Education and society neglect of these highly marginalized populations. How do these oppressive assumptions contribute to our thinking in and outside of the classroom? Will be the essential question of this book study.
Culture & Behavior
Using current research-based articles we will dive into the best (and most effective) practices around students with challenging behaviors, explore discipline vs. punishment approaches and learn strategies to not only deescalate students but prevent those escalations from happening altogether.
Glendale-River Hills School District
Email: larry.smalley@glendale.k12.wi.us
Website: www.glendale.k12.wi.us
Location: Glendale, WI, USA
Phone: 414-351-7170