District Digest
Monthly Wenatchee School District Staff Newsletter
September 2019
Superintendent's Office
Paul Gordon, Superintendent
Lots of Talent in our Ranks
It was an honor to spend Opening Day with our entire staff last month. In my very brief time in the District, I have been impressed with the talent of our staff and their commitment to our students, parents and their colleagues. Remember that every individual in our organization matters to the outcomes of each student in our district - You Matter!
School Visits
I look forward to being in our schools over the course of the year. Often times, I will be there walking the building with school leaders and visiting classrooms. Other times, I will be with members of the Curriculum & Instruction Department to assist in our understanding of the work occurring in the classrooms and schools. The District Office is designed to support the needs of our students and therefore the needs of our schools. I am extremely excited to be in buildings and observe the learning that our students are engaged in each day. See you soon.
Superintendent Reception
Tuesday, Sep 10, 2019, 05:30 PM
Wenatchee School District, Sunset Avenue, Wenatchee, WA, USA
Human Resources
Kelly Lopez, Executive Director of Human Resources
Open Enrollment for Current Health Insurance Changes September 10 through September 19.
Classified & Administrators - Premera
Certificated - Aetna or United
Paperwork for the 2018-2019 school (9/1/2018 - 8/31/2019) year needs to be submitted prior to September 30th.
Student Services
Safety & Security:
The work of adding security fencing to many of our sites is in progress. We will be going out to bid soon and hope to begin the installation, pending Board approval, late this fall to be continued next spring.
Social Emotional Learning:
We had a great kickoff presentation by Houston Kraft from Character Strong at Opening Day! Kindness is hard work. Incompetence, insecurity, and inconvenience were 3 key words he mentioned as to why we struggle with kindness. For more information about the work that has been done so far specifically in our District, check out the SEL report https://www.wenatcheeschools.org/sel
Curriculum and Instruction and Instructional Technology
Curriculum and Instruction
Sarah Wall, Director of Curriculum & Instruction,
This month, all K-5 students will be taking their first of three
i-Ready diagnostic assessments for Reading and Math.
The i-Ready diagnostic is an adaptive assessment designed to provide teachers with actionable insight into student needs. The diagnostic provides a complete picture of student performance and growth. The Math diagnostic results also create a personalized learning path for each student, so that students can work on skills that match their unique learning needs. The Math diagnostic measures knowledge within four math domains: Number and Operations, Algebra and Algebraic Thinking, Geometry, and Measurement and Data. The Reading diagnostic measures Phonological Awareness, Phonics, High-Frequency Words, Vocabulary, Comprehension: Literature, and Comprehension: Informational Text.
These graphs show our 2018-19 district performance and growth for each grade level (note that the spring column is shown first). Thank you for all you do to advance student learning!
Special Programs
Nadya Bush, Assistant Director of Special Programs
Upcoming training for teachers.
September 17
- GLAD Savvy (Ben's Place) - open to anyone
- GLAD Make & Take (Ben's Place) - open to anyone
- Achieve 3000 for all current users and 5-12 grade ELA/EL teachers, 6.5 clock hours
September 20-21
FALL WABE Institute, if interested send your name to Janice Williams by September 12 to be registered.
September 27
Maravillas Training for teachers and paras using it, K-5, 6.5 clock hours
Check out my Recipe for English Language Success
"Strawberry Vanilla Pancakes"
Ready in 180 days
Serves 1898 people
Ingredients
Compassion
Competence
Collaboration
View the document below for how to whip up this EL treat.
Communications
Translation and Interpretation Services
Clear communication is an essential aspect of our work. Under state and federal law, all parents have the right to information about their child's education in a language they can understand. To better assist our school and departments in creating accurately translated documents and providing certified translation services, we have created a list of approved outside of the District service providers to meet those needs.
A note about Google Translate
While Google Translate is helpful in some instances, there are many disadvantages to the system including translation that is often inaccurate and ungrammatical. Often with Google Translate, the meaning is “lost in translation” because there is no way to incorporate context. That said, Google Translate should not be relied on for official school communication.
Local and Online Support
JRivera and Clarius Languages are local companies that provide both services and support in a variety of languages, in-person, over the phone and in print. Rev.com is an online service that provides certified document translation services with quick turnaround time. Below you’ll find a link to download this outside services document which includes how to request help.
Communications HUB
https://www.wenatcheeschools.org/committees
Finance & Operations
Larry Mayfield, Executive Director of Finance & Operations
With the new school year underway, we wanted to share some important reminders from Payroll and Maintenance & Operations.
FINANCE
Timesheets are to be submitted to supervisors by the last working day of the month.
MAINTENANCE & OPERATIONS (M&O)
Use of Tape and Staples on Surfaces:
- No Scotch tape mounting to walls, use painters tape, command stickers, etc.
- If you choose to put tape on floors, it needs to be a tape designed for this purpose which does not leave a tacky residue. Any tape left too long will be hard to remove.
- No staples into walls, use on tackable surfaces only
Security Alarm:
Make sure staff are comfortable with the use of the alarms. Please educate them on what to do if the alarm is activated, who to call, security password and to give their name, and position when calling alarm central.
After Hours Issues:
The first call for after-hour issues should be to the principal. i.e. locked keys in classroom.
Work Orders:
Please provide as much detail as possible when describing work to be performed.
Carpet protectors:
Carpet protectors should be used under any rolling chairs that are used on carpet, such as at a teacher's desk. Heavy rolling chairs on carpet will break down the carpet backing causing a bubble to form.
Fire Procedures:
In the event of a fire, classroom doors should be closed and latched. This means the strike magnets should be removed. Reason: A fire will pull open an unlatched door allowing the fire to spread or in the event of a fire in a room will allow smoke to enter the hallway which is needed for students to safely exit the building.
Exterior Doors:
All exterior doors should not be propped open or left unlocked.
Gates:
All gates should be locked during the school day, M&O will be working to get padlocks on these gates. Do not leave padlocks unlocked so they can be removed by a student.
Portables:
Do not block the air return with furniture. Typically located low, in the middle of the end wall.
Whiteboards:
Shift furniture to accommodate whiteboards rather than moving whiteboards to accommodate room layout.
Warehouse:
Do not ship personal packages to the warehouse or school. Purchases on personal credit cards should be shipped to the home.
Surplus:
Check with others in your building to see if they have use of furniture before you surplus.
Wenatchee School District Communications
Email: district_communications@wenatcheeschools.org
Website: Wenatcheeschools.org
Location: 235 Sunset Avenue, Wenatchee, WA, USA
Phone: 509-663-8161
Facebook: facebook.com/wsd246
Twitter: @wenatcheeSD