Thank you to all of our wonderful principals for everything they do for our students and their families. We wish them a Happy Principals Month! Some principal facts from the National Center for Education Statistics:

There are 90,850 public school principals in the U.S.

Like teachers, most American principals are white and female.

• 53.7 percent female

• 46.3 percent male

• 77.7 percent White

• 10.5 percent Black

• 8.9 percent Hispanic

• 0.9 percent Asian

• 1.0 percent two or more races

• 0.7 percent American Indian/Alaska Native

• 0.2 percent Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander

In 2017–18, about 37 percent of public school principals had 3 or fewer years of experience as a principal, 36 percent had 4 to 9 years of experience, 24 percent had 10 to 19 years of experience, and 4 percent had 20 or more years of experience.

Don’t miss the The Education Trust - Midwest virtual Ed Summit 2021 on Nov. 10, 11 and 13. Superintendent Dr. Rita Raichoudhuri will be speaking about building equity and culturally-responsive instruction in Michigan’s schools. Educators can attend for free.

Learn more and register at https://events.bizzabo.com/357776/home.

Linda Lee's Novels of Choice class at Kalamazoo was invited to (librarian Tonya) Colvin's Cafe to sample a tasting of the newest books on the cafe shelves. Students enjoyed a four-course meal of 20 books at each table. Each course was a different genre. Students sampled at each table and highlighted the book titles they would be interested in reading on their menus. Students also filled out a review of Colvin's Cafe and, once back in class, students were able to log in to their online library account to favorite the highlighted books. Students enjoyed the tasting and the treats afterwards. It was such a success, other teachers want to do it with their classes.

The Kalamazoo Public Library plans to bring back the Global Reading Challenge as an in-person event. Staff sent a letter for elementary schools:

Dear Principals, Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Teachers, and School Librarians,

It’s time to think about Global Reading Challenge! This year will be our 29th annual event and we are inviting your school to join us in the fun. We plan to be back in person for our Spring 2022 events and will continue to adjust as necessary with the ongoing covid protocols.

Since 1994, 4th- and 5th-graders in Kalamazoo have participated in this unique program that introduces them to excellent children’s books while also improving their reading and teamwork skills.

Thanks to generous support from the Friends of Kalamazoo Public Library and the Kalamazoo Public Library, all Team Sets of books used in your school’s Challenge this year will be donated to your school! Our hope is that, by providing each team with a set of books that will remain in the classroom, more children will be able to enjoy these stories after the program ends.

How does the Challenge work?
Each school decides how many teams will participate in the Challenge but must have at least two teams. KPL librarians have chosen the ten books that will be used for this year’s Challenge; they will be announced on the library’s website, www.kpl.gov, on Monday, December 6. During that week, team sets of books will be delivered to participating schools by KPL staff. Teams will have until late February/early March to read the books, plan team strategies, practice answering questions, and prepare for the School Level Challenges, which take place during March. Students then work as a team to answer questions in a quiz bowl-type program, earning points for correct answers and advancing through several levels. One team from each school will advance to the Branch Level Challenge, and then the District Challenge will be held in late April. Of course, up-to-date schedules will be shared as soon as the teams are set. Complete information will be included in the Team Guide, which will be included with each Team Set of books.

What’s the cost of the Challenge? There is no cost to the school to participate! We’re so pleased that the Friends of KPL along with Kalamazoo Public Library are supporting the cost of this year’s program, which runs about $70.00 per team. Please take this into consideration when forming your teams and register only the number of teams that you expect will be able to fulfill the commitment to the Global Reading Challenge.

Now, what do we need to do?
If your school would like to compete in the 2022 Global Reading Challenge, you can register your teams online by completing this form.

Be sure to designate one person as the coordinator for your school; this will help us with scheduling and sharing information.

Our very firm deadline is 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 17. Teams registering after this deadline will not be guaranteed Team Sets of books!

More questions?
Contacts: Jill Lansky, Youth Outreach Coordinator, JillL@kpl.gov or 269-553-7885
Sandra Farag, Head of Youth Services, SandraF@kpl.gov or 269-553-7876

We are very pleased to offer the Global Reading Challenge to your school and hope that you’ll join us in this terrific reading program!

The Kalamazoo Promise is in the planning stages of the You Make A Difference Awards for this academic year. The 2020 and 2021 ceremonies were canceled because of the pandemic, but The Promise hopes to be able to honor all of the staff making a difference this year. Current plans are for the event to be held in the new Promise offices. We'll keep you updated as plans are firmed up.

Save the date! KPS is collaborating with the Family Health Center to hold a COVID vaccine clinic on Tuesday, Nov. 2 from 11 a.m. to 3 pm. in the parking lot at Kalamazoo Central High School. This is a non-instructional day.

• Pfizer first and second doses for individuals 12 years of age and older;
• Pfizer third dose to individuals 12 years of age and older who have been determined to have certain kinds of immunocompromised;
• Pfizer booster dose 6 months after completion of the primary vaccination series for individuals 16 years of age and older.

The registration link will be shared as soon as we receive it from FHC.

Next Monday, October 25, 2021, you will receive your Confidential Survey Link for the KPS & Teach Upbeat Survey.

Please be sure to complete the survey no later than Friday, November 5, 2021. This past spring, teachers received the first survey allowing you to share how KPS is doing as an organization. Why have we partnered to continue this confidential and anonymous survey?

• KPS leadership wants to know how we are doing as an organization.

• What needs to be changed

• Where we can improve, and

• Most importantly, how we can support our employees.

• From a building standpoint, your responses provide feedback on your school’s culture and how you feel about the workplace.

The results from last spring saw individual meetings with building administrators to review and understand their survey results. Action plans were developed to address concerns and build upon current successes.

We will build upon already successful processes and work together to improve where needed with your continued input.

Thank you in advance for completing the survey honestly and helping build upon our already strong foundation of educational excellence.

Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

Loy Norrix High School

Winter 2021-2022

Job ID: 3878

Middle School Social Studies Teacher

Linden Grove Middle School

Job ID: 3879

Human Resources Specialist Secretary

Human Resources, Administration Building

Job ID: 3880

Hourly Tutor (10-Month)

Kalamazoo Innovative Learning Program

Job ID 3881

Special Education Classroom Paraprofessional

Edison Environmental Science Academy

10 Month, Full-Time

KSP, Paraprofessional Salary ($16,059 - $23,657)

Job ID 3882