Monday Mission Memo
Sept. 17, 2018
The Mission of the OCFE:
Interim Superintendent's Message
School leaders of the Diocese of Cleveland,
This Monday update is a little late in the day following an OCFE retreat focused on how we carry out our mission to serve you who lead ministries in our schools. It was wonderful seeing so many of you last week at our many field meetings. Please read on for a few updates.
First, we are finalizing details for the 2018 Principal’s Leadership Conference, to be held at Kalahari Conference Center from the afternoon of Wednesday, November 14, through lunch time on Friday, November 16. Once again, attendance will qualify as professional development appropriate for Title II fund uses. Watch your email as well as this space for the forthcoming registration information.
Second, as “reporting” season gets into full swing, one state operating standard to which we all must adhere is a requirement for our school websites to list both total enrollment and the policy on background checks. I have a request in with the Catholic Conference of Ohio to provide more specific guidance, if applicable, but please be aware that if you do not already list these on your sites, we will ask you to start.
Third, last week The Ohio State University announced the release of a valuable resource, the nation’s first free online implicit bias training for K-12 educators. Understanding and recognizing implicit bias is an important step in learning to become more welcoming, inclusive communities. You may find this resource a valuable tool for PD as we strive to educate a broader range of students “Better Together.”
And on a related note, you may have seen last week that a lawsuit that reached federal court was withdrawn after a Catholic school in New Orleans rescinded its policy banning hair extensions. High expectations are a hallmark of our schools, yet all of our policies, including those for appearance, should emanate from our deeply held beliefs and intentionally reflect our values and standards. This is a reminder that we should remain vigilant to ensure that the norms we set contribute to, and do not detract from, a welcoming, Christian climate of care.
Thanks for all you do for our students and families,
In Christ,
Frank
Recap of important information from September Elementary and Secondary Principal Meetings:
For All Principals:
1. STANDARD SCHOOL SURVEY INFORMATION: You can begin entering information into the online Standard School Survey any time after September 12th; however, you must complete and sign your survey before midnight on Tuesday, October 9th. DO NOT SIGN YOUR SURVEY BEFORE 12:00 PM ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 5th. The Standard School Survey form is found at schoolsurvey.dioceseofcleveland.org. See the complete instructions for more info.2. AVS REPORTS WILL BE CHECKED TWICE A YEAR - NOV. 1 AND MARCH 1. Register for the AVS training on Sept. 19th on the Digital Academy if you have questions about how to correctly enter AVS information into the OCSAA portal.
3. All schools (elementary and high schools) need to have one person trained as an EVT chairperson. There are two opportunities being offered in our diocese (Sept. 28 and Oct. 1). Register on the Digital Academy by Friday, Sept. 21. There will be a special surprise for all administrators and teacher leaders who choose to take part in one of these two training days (Hint: It's Italian!)
4. All materials and presentations (PLC presentation, and Basic and Advanced MAP presentations) for the October 12th PD Day are available on the Digital Academy in the Principal Group under Resources and October 12 PD Day. If you cannot access the NWEA professional learning site (prolearning.nwea.org) from the Basic MAP training, please contact Mark Duquette at mark.duquette@nwea.org. Thank you to those who have shared (or are going to share) other resources that could be used for the Advanced Training!
5. If you did not bring your copies of teacher information sheets, contracts, or a copy of your Spring Student Growth Summary, please bring them to the next diocesan meeting that you attend and give them to any OCFE team member.
School Spotlight, St. Adalbert, Cleveland
Jim Smith, principal welcomes Tracey Arnone to St. Adalbert
St. Adalbert celebrates the groundbreak-ing of a new Early Learning Center!
Intentional use of space to promote learning
School Spotlight - St. Matthew, Akron
Royal Round Up Rally comes to St. Matthew
Prayer and Learning with Fr. Mike
Specialized Enrichment Electives Equal Hands on Fun!
CAPP registration ending this week
Department of Homeland Security and School Emergency Management Plans
The Department of Homeland Security has prepared a Guide for Preventing and Protecting Against Gun Violence - 2018 and a Security Survey.
The Guide is delivered in two parts: the first portion is a PDF with general security best practices and considerations in narrative format; while the second portion is a Microsoft Excel-based security survey. Together, these documents outline action-oriented security practices and options for consideration based on the results of the individual school’s responses to the survey. The DHS created this survey specifically for K -12 school personnel to evaluate their physical security current practices and identify ways to prevent and protect against active shooter threats.
This survey is NOT MANDATORY and there is no cost associated with it. It is a resource schools may utilize to improve internal operations.
Access the Guide for Preventing Against Gun Violence and the Security Survey: https://www.dhs.gov/publication/k-12-school-security-guide
SAFETY TIP: Your safety plans are not public records. They should not be released to anyone other than the state and NaviGate in their advisory support role. First responders can access your plans from the state or you can share with them directly.
You are not required or obligated to share your safety plans with parents or the media. It actually could put you at more risk. However, keep in mind, that safety drills and NaviGate "chats" shared during a drill or incident are subject to public record and can be requested.
If anyone requests a copy of your school emergency management plans, you can share the statement recommended by Deputy State Superintendent, Dr. John Richard:
School emergency management plans are comprehensive all-hazard plans that take into account all threats and hazards for a particular school. They are considered security records by Ohio Revised Code 149.433(A)(3). In accordance with that section, and well as Ohio Revised Code 3313.536(I) and 5502.03(B)(2), school emergency plans are not public records.
Eileen Updegrove has a new look
Corrected Elementary Principal PD certificate
Cognitive Abilities Test - Opportunity for Group Pricing
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has offered the Diocese an opportunity to receive group pricing for the schools who are interested in administering the Cognitive Abilities Test to students in their buildings. This is not mandated, but more than 40 schools continued to administer the CogAT last school year as a means to measure student ability. If you are planning to continue with this assessment, we ask that you provide school contact information so we can compile the interested schools and forward that information to HMH Assessment. Since they would be receiving all the school names as a group, HMH is offering a one-year commitment that would provide schools with customized scoring and ordering packets and a 15% discount. They will bill your school directly, and you can use auxiliary funds for this assessment. The benefits of ordering as a group are that you would get a greater discount and the customized ordering and scoring packets would once again be offered at no additional cost. The schools participating as a Diocesan group would be required to adhere to a testing window, most likely early March, so that all schools in the Diocesan group would have assessments completed by a set date. If interested, please respond to the following questions.
Reminders from Missy Hokanson
Resident Educator Program: Year 2 meetings are this week, September 18th and 19th.
Year 1 meetings are next week. They are listed in the Digital
Academy.
Make-up meetings are as follows:
Years 1 & 2, October 17th at St. Leo School
Years 3 & 4, October 18th at St. Leo School
Gees School Hosting Catholic High School Night October 3, 2018
Gesu Catholic School will be hosting a Catholic High School Information Night on Wednesday, October 3, 2018 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Family Center. Representatives from area Catholic high schools will be present to answer questions and distribute admissions information. Reservations are not necessary. If you have any questions, please contact Judi Herbert at (216) 932-0620, extension 117 or jherbert@gesu.com.