Student Support Services Department
Roadmap - Week of 02/25/19-03/01/19
IDVA Mission - Building a community of engaged learners.
IDVA Vision - Empowering every student to learn at high levels.
SSS Department Mission
Support students in increasing/maintaining academic success.
SSS Department Impact
Increase/maintain attendance (CC + progress).
SSS Department Group Agreements
- We will be intentional in our collaborative work with school community members to address students' academic needs.
- We will proactively identify and support students' individual needs and accomplishments.
Counselor/Advisor Mission-Impact Analysis
SSS Dept. Optimal Support Distrobution
FAST Mission-Impact Analysis
SSS Department Kudos!
If you have kudos to share about you or a colleague, send them to Alex.
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Mark received this message from a parent: "You've really been so helpful in all of her scholarship and school applications. I wanted to let you know that [student name] was accepted to Baylor and they offered her 72K in academic scholarship! Still waiting to hear from Pepperdine."
Wow! Great support, Mark!
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Bev received the following message from Jenny: " I wanted to let you know that I just visited with Angel for her evaluation conference. She noted that you have been a tremendous support to her and that she enjoys being able to write to you and get your guidance and feedback. She said that you are really helpful and great to work with and she really appreciates you. She also noted that Fast is going so well this semester for our students."
Great job Bev and FAST!
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Jessica sent the following email to Jennifer E.: "This student just notified me that she will be attending U of I next year. She is a Pell Grant Recipient!! She’ll receive $6000 for the first year. I asked her how she knew to complete the FAFSA and she said 'I kept getting emails from someone named…Jennifer I think?'"
Way to go, Jennifer!
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Jenny sent me this message about Bev: "I just really appreciate Bev in her new role. She is such a great collaborator and does a good job of looking at the notes for students. I have been in a few discussion where her input has been so valuable."
Awesome, Bev!
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Deslynn shared this feedback from a parent: "“I am really impressed with the level of dedication all of you at IDVA show toward the students. Very well run program."
Kudos all around!
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SSS Department Trivia
Week 8 of Round 2- Who am I?
WHO AM I? "I love to watch Nascar. I don't advertise this fact."
The answer is Jennifer Edwards!
No one guessed this correctly! You hide this secret well, Jenn.
Kristi, Cassidy, and Jessica, you each had 18% of the vote - I guess y'all seem like Nascar fans.
Alright, we have one more week to find our Round 2 winner! Right now, Loretta is in the lead. Let's see who takes it in the end!
Scoreboard
Loretta - 3
Pam - 2
Tree - 2
Bev - 2
Deslynn - 2
Jennifer E. - 1
Jesse - 1
Here is what Jennifer Edwards has to say about her love of Nascar!
One Saturday morning my husband was sitting on the couch and to my surprise was watching NASCAR. As I ruthlessly teased him for being a “redneck” I went back into the kitchen and watched the race over his shoulder without him knowing. Then, the next Sunday, we found ourselves inviting friends over who also love the sport. The group grew and pretty soon we were having “Sunday NASCAR potlucks” and occasionally “mixed drinks NASCAR nights”. My son grew up loving the M&M car and my husband and I cheered on Dale Jr. and his 88 car. Sadly, friends have moved away and my husband has turned to hockey. I will still catch a race when I know I can count on some drama. There is nothing like watching a driver get out of his car and throw his helmet at a car that is driving by at 180 mph.
We’ve never been to a race, but it’s on my bucket list.
SSS Department Team Building
A weekly Google Slides (Google version of PowerPoint) will have our weekly Ungame question. All you need to do is add a text box to the presentation and answer the question. Take a look at the picture next to this text for more instructions.
Here are our teammates' answers from last week...
Weekly Calendar, 02/25-03/01
Monday 2/25:
- 56th day of 2019
Tuesday 2/26:
- 22 days left until Spring
Wednesday 2/27:
- National Strawberry Day
Thursday 2/28:
- Promising Practices Conference - see info below for reminder details
Friday 3/01:
- For counselors/advisors: New student grad plans due
Departmental & School Updates
Welcome our new FSL - Trish Thomas!
Trish Thomas started as a learning coach with the Idaho Virtual Academy in 2004. She continued in that role for the next twelve years. In 2012 she was hired as one of the first onboarders at IDVA and enjoyed helping families and students get a strong start in their own online learning experiences. Now she’s excited to be back as a Family Support Liaison and looks forward to once again helping students and families in their educational journeys. Trish has a Bachelor of Education from the University of Oregon and taught English in Seoul, South Korea to children in grades K-8. When she is not working she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters.
Alex will be off March 5 through March 15
See the coverage matrix for those covering tasks for me while I am off. If you see something I didn't address and are curious about, let me know.
Please note, if you are requesting time off when I am way, you need to follow two steps:
- Complete Docusign, as normal
- Email Jessica to inform her of date(s) and type of time off you are requesting (flex vs. sick)
Also, when Mike calls for timesheets on March 8th, go ahead and still send them to me as usual.
Required K12 Training - please complete ASAP
This short training is similar to last year, but has been updated with the new documents for this year’s re-registration. It takes about 15 minutes to complete.
Go to K12Training.com and search Re-Registration: Building Community and Commitment
Updated SSS Dept. Phone Tree
A couple important reminders
- Document all contacts in TVS, including the phone number you called, date, and time. Remember, if it isn't documented, it is like it didn't happen.
- You should always use your work phone for all work-related calls. Do not use your personal phone to make work calls. If you are having issues with your work phone, email Alex and Andrea Hampton ASAP so we can come up with an alternate plan.
Mail Merge Procedure with Excel Formula Instructions
In order to safeguard student data when using an email merge, please use the mandatory mail merge procedure if you send an email merge through Outlook.
Mandatory Mail Merge Procedure
- Do not use full student names or full student IDs in the mail merge.
- Turn Outlook “send/receive” off before doing a mail merge.
- Click your “Send/Receive” tab and then click “Work Offline”
- Check the Outbox and verify that the information is going to the correct recipients.
- Spot check several emails.
- Once verified, turn “send/receive” on and send the emails.
- Click your “Send/Receive” tab and then click “Work Offline” to reactivate.
- If student information is mistakenly sent to a recipient other than the student, parent, or LC, report this to your supervisor immediately.
The attached document has a short video and formulas for how to shorten student IDs or student names from your spreadsheet (see #1 on the procedure).
K12 Updates
Promising Practice Virtual Conference - SSS Dept attendance expecation
The K12 Promising Practice Virtual Conference is coming up on Thursday, Feb. 28. For our team, the expectation is you sign up and attend 2 workshops that you find relevant. There are typically lots of options to choose from, so 2 should be no problem. Knowing this expectation, please plan ahead and block out the necessary time.
2 Promising Practices sessions featuring your IDVA colleagues
Reoccuring/Reference Info
Past SSS Dept. Roadmaps
Week of 2/18-2/22: https://www.smore.com/pf37x
Week of 2/11-2/15: https://www.smore.com/vyqhc
Week of 2/4-2/8: https://www.smore.com/qx1cf
Week of 1/28-2/1: https://www.smore.com/7wfuq
Week of 1/21-1/25: https://www.smore.com/0ndq7
Week of 1/14-1/18: https://www.smore.com/cqz3s
Week of 1/7-1/11: https://www.smore.com/akxes
Week of 12/17-12/21: https://www.smore.com/7t41s
Week of 12/10-12/14: https://www.smore.com/7yb2a
Week of 12/3-12/7: https://www.smore.com/xpdqk
Week of 11/16-11/23: https://www.smore.com/a02nh
Week of 11/12-11/16: https://www.smore.com/2w90t
Week of 11/5-11/9: https://www.smore.com/zyewf
Week of 10/29-11/2: https://www.smore.com/ey46r
Week of 10/22-10/26: https://www.smore.com/4jy7m
Week of 10/15-10/19: https://www.smore.com/hn84z
Week of 10/8-10/12: https://www.smore.com/measg
Week of 10/1-10/5: https://www.smore.com/w649k
Week of 9/24-9/28: https://www.smore.com/tukpj
Week of 9/17-9/2: https://www.smore.com/tcejb
Week of 9/10-9/14: https://www.smore.com/a9jsg
Week of 9/3-9/7: https://www.smore.com/73nbg