Staff Talk
A Newsletter for Beaverton School District Employees
September 2017 Issue
Superintendent's Welcome Message
I want to take this opportunity to welcome you back as we prepare to begin our 2017-2018 school year. First and foremost, I hope that each of you were able to get some well-deserved rest, have some fun, and spend quality time with family and friends. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of staff who worked throughout the summer to ensure our schools and other infrastructure were prepared for students and staff. Thank you! I hope each of you are able to schedule some vacation in the future in order for you to rest and rejuvenate. I also want to thank you for your help and communication during my first year as your superintendent.
In an effort to keep you informed, I have outlined some key issues, events, goals, and information that could impact you as an employee, affect our schools, have State or National implications, and most importantly, impact our children.
Safe & Welcoming Schools: Regardless of your political views, it is very apparent we are continuing to experience many volatile issues and events at the national level that are making their way into our classrooms, schools, and across all sectors of our educational environment. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts to ensure each and every child walking into the Beaverton School District enters a supportive, safe, welcoming, and rigorous learning environment with high expectations. We continue to hear from families, students, staff, and our community regarding some of the national political issues impacting all stakeholders. Please know our School Board and District is committed to ensuring all students feel safe, supported, have the ability to reach their potential, are respected, and are free from prejudice, bullying, or harassment. This is non-negotiable. We continue to refine school and District practices, policies, and governance strategies to make these goals a reality. This requires change and is often difficult and takes time. Please know we have a sense of urgency. Effective communication, equitable access to resources, and understanding diverse views and opinions are essential strategies if we are to effectively move forward to provide equitable opportunities and outcomes for all impacted parties.
Improving Student Achievement and Opportunities for All Students: Providing a quality, comprehensive education for all students is our core mission. Being able to expect excellence, innovate, and collaborate through an equity lens is needed to improve student outcomes. The District will be allocating additional resources to address some barriers to improving student achievement and opportunities. We are hiring specialists to address serious behavior issues at the elementary level, increasing career technical educational opportunities at the high school level, and ensuring students entering the Beaverton School District are prepared for kindergarten by developing an early childhood education program. We are committed to ensuring our students and parents receive timely and effective feedback by grading and reporting progress consistently. I believe these strategies will improve outcomes and opportunities for all of our children and families.
Early Release: One of the most valuable commodities in education is the gift of time. Our District has a tremendous opportunity beginning in September to improve student achievement, gain valuable professional development, and make adjustments to our instructional practices in an effort to help our students succeed. Being able to collaborate with our colleagues is paramount to change our adult behaviors and actions to meet the needs of all students. We will be creating many opportunities to participate in effective, embedded professional development, to evaluate data to change instructional practices and to adjust scope and sequence. We are being given this gift of time to create positive, system-wide change. It will be imperative to maintain our focus and truly make this time a critical part of our educational program.
Local Option Levy: Our current Local Option Levy which annually funds 300 teachers will expire in June 2018. Our School Board and other Central Office staff have been working diligently to conduct community polling and research.
The local option levy which generates $30 million annually and funds 300 teachers will expire in June 2018. The School Board is looking at options to bring forward to voters on the May 2018 ballot. Once a decision is approved with a formal vote at a future School Board meeting, our Board and others will be engaging multiple stakeholders to ensure the levy passes. We will be asking all stakeholders to help with this effort. Stay tuned.
Customer Service: We will continue our intentional efforts to improve customer service to students, staff, parents, and our community across all departments and sectors of our organization. In addition to allocating needed resources in various areas, we are also intent on changing adult actions to ensure timely and effective communication and accountability which I believe will enhance the perception of the Beaverton School District and public education. While we have much to do in this area, I continue to receive suggestions about changes in practice, and appreciation for the renewed efforts of our employees to increase the quality of customer service across departments and schools. Thank you!
PERS: There was no change to individual PERS benefits during the last legislative session. I believe there will continue to be discussions taking place regarding PERS reform tied to some sort of revenue reform. As you are aware, the District incurred about $14 million dollars in PERS increases this year taking resources out of our classrooms. We will incur another $14-15 million dollar increase in two years which will have a significant financial impact. To give you an understanding of the issue, in two years PERS will account for nearly 35% of payroll costs. This is a statewide issue that is expected to continue for the next 8 to 10 years. We can expect to see additional political measures on the ballot to address PERS and revenue reform in the future. While I understand this is a state issue, I also realize it is very personal and could influence decisions staff make about employment and retirement. I will do my best to keep everyone updated as the landscape changes.
In closing, I want to thank you for making a positive difference for the children of the Beaverton School District. While we have challenging and difficult jobs, regardless if you are in a support role, classroom teacher, director, or administrator, it is important and essential to understand we are accountable and responsible for the most important job possible - to level the playing field by ensuring all of our children have access and receive a quality education. Thank you for what you do day in and day out under difficult circumstances. I applaud you for choosing to work in public education. We take all children as they come to us. Unlike many private or for-profit organizations, we do not self-select our clientele. Your dedication, commitment to equity, and sacrifice in many instances are to be applauded.
Thank you for all you do!
Don
Superintendent
Beaverton School District
Early Release/Teacher Collaboration
Beginning September 13, 2017, the District will implement a 90-minute early release on Wednesday afternoons to allow educators time to collaborate and participate in professional development opportunities.
Beginning Wednesday, September 13, 2017, dismissal times will be (subject to change):
- Elementary schools that start at 8:00 a.m. will dismiss at 1:05 p.m.
- Elementary schools that start at 8:30 a.m. will dismiss at 1:35 p.m.
- Hazeldale Elementary will dismiss at 2:25 p.m.
- Middle schools will dismiss at 2:20 p.m.
- High schools will dismiss at 1:00 p.m.
- Bridges Academy will dismiss at 1:00 p.m.
- ACMA, Health & Science, SST, ISB, Rachel Carson and Merlo will dismiss at 12:35 p.m.
The Early Release/Teacher Collaboration webpage has an updated FAQ and an animated video (English & Spanish) explaining Early Release and Teacher Collaboration. Check it out and share it today!
Online Enrollment Verification
The Online Enrollment Verification window is now open. Previously, enrollment verification was a paper process and part of the back to school packet. The online process will be completed through ParentVUE. Currently, more than 57% of District families have completed the Online Enrollment Verification process.
The Student Verification of Enrollment process is very important. The District uses information provided to support student's academic success and for safety purposes. Updated data allows us to distribute important information, contact parents/guardians in the event of a school emergency, respond appropriately to a medical situation involving students, and communicate academic progress.
New Online Payment System
The Business Services Department has implemented a new Online Payment System for all schools. Using a Visa debit or credit card, you may make secure online payments for your students with no transaction fees. You can access the Online Payment System at https://or-beaverton.intouchreceipting.com to pay:
- Student fees – athletic, student body, band, field trip, etc.
- Fines – lost library book, lost textbooks
- Donations to programs and activities
To access the Online Payment System, you will need an active ParentVUE account. Once the ParentVUE account is created, it may take up to 24 hours for the Online Payment System account to be activated. For more information on ParentVue, please visit the ParentVUE/StudentVUE page.
Open Labs for linguistically diverse parents/guardians
The Multilingual Department is hosting open labs September 5-7, 2017 at the Capital Centar IT Lab, 18640 NW Walker Rd., Entrance B to help. (See the schedule below)).
Please contact the Multilingual Department at 503-356-3755 for additional information or to schedule an appointment for Friday, September 8, 2017.
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Go Paperless!
If you accept, your preferred delivery method for either document may still be changed at any time. If you do not regularly access EOS, please consider logging in today to make this change OR simply submit the form (below - click to enlarge, right click to save) to the Payroll Department.
Substitutes: Please note that receiving your Pay Stub and/or W-2 electronically will not discontinue paper delivery of your monthly time receipts.
While opting-in is not required, by going paperless you can help us protect the confidentiality of your personal information, improve the timeliness of your access, and significantly contribute to the overall efficiency and expense reduction of the District.
The Payroll Department currently prints, stuffs, and manually distributes approximately 3,500 pay stubs per month. We so appreciate your consideration to GO PAPERLESS today, in an effort to reduce the count in 2017-2018!
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Tech News!
On Monday, August 28, a new BSD Intranet was launched. The URL address remains the same (no need to update bookmarks) and there are many exciting features designed to make it easier to navigate and allow staff to customize District resources.
Some of the improvements include:
- Customizable My Resources page: You now have the ability to hide and re-order links on the My Resources page to best fit the way you work. Click the pencil to edit the links. You can re-order them by dragging a resource to a new position.
- Improved searching: You can filter searches to more easily find forms or other information.
- Electronic Forms: We have launched with a few forms that are fully electronic and will be adding more in the coming weeks. Electronic forms allow on-screen input and can automatically route to the correct department or person.
Check it out today!
BSD Outlook web email now has the same template as the new Intranet site. An important security upgrade launching this fall is the automatic display of Dorian photos as a part of the staff profile.
You will notice the District branding and your profile photo change when you log into your Outlook email.
2017-2018 Nutrition Services Information
The Oregon legislature provided funding to eliminate the reduced payment for School Breakfast and Lunch. For the school year 2017-2018, breakfast and lunch will be accessible at no charge to students who qualify for reduced price meals.
Meal prices for the 2017-2018 school year:
Elementary K-5
- Breakfast: $1.45
- Lunch: $3:05
- Breakfast: $1.50
- Lunch: $3:25
- Breakfast: $1.60
- Lunch: $3:60
Adult:
- Breakfast: $2.00
- Lunch: $4.50
Note: If your student does not bring a meal from home and has a zero cafeteria account balance, then the District Meal Charging Procedures will be followed.
Payments for school meals can be made by:
- Sending a check made out to "BSD-Nutrition Services" or sending cash.
- Making payments online at the SchoolCafé website. SchoolCafé is an online payment system that is linked to your student's cafeteria. Parents can register for a free SchoolCafe account on the SchoolCafe website.
District seeks volunteers to serve on Budget Committee
Zone 1: Fir Grove, Greenway, McKay, Montclair and Vose elementary schools, Whitford Middle School, Southridge High School and Arco Iris Charter School.
Zone 2: Bethany, Jacob Wismer, Oak Hills, Rock Creek and Sato elementary schools, Springville K-8, Stoller Middle School and Westview High School.
Individuals interested in serving on the Budget Committee need to live in the zone they wish to represent. The School Board Zones do not entirely match school attendance areas. Zone maps are available on the District website.
Candidates must also meet the following qualifications: be a qualified voter of the District, have lived in the District for one year and cannot be a Beaverton School District employee.
The Budget Committee reviews the District’s budget and recommends needed changes. The Committee conducts business in evening public meetings held between November and June. The Budget Committee also approves the Budget Document and forwards it to the School Board for adoption by the end of June.
Budget Committee members will be appointed by the School Board.
Signage on School Properties
With the proliferation of requests for materials distribution, we also have requests for placing signs on our school properties. We also have businesses that randomly place signs for such services as roofing and house painting. Due to safety concerns (e.g. maintenance workers mowing lawns), visual aesthetics and volume of requests, community-based signs and banners will be prohibited on District property that is visible from the street. School specific events (Kindy Orientation, plays at the high school, etc.), District (recruiting bus drivers and custodians) and BEF (phon-a-thon signage) will still be allowed. We are updating the Administrative Regulation (AR) related to Materials Distribution to reflect this change.
Construction Updates (Click on the images to view, right click to save)
Mountainside High School
Sato Elementary School
Vose Elementary School
Beaverton School District
The Beaverton School District recognizes the diversity and worth of all individuals and groups. It is the policy of the Beaverton School District that there will be no discrimination or harassment of individuals or groups based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, marital status, age, veterans’ status, genetic information or disability in any educational programs, activities or employment.
Email: melissa_larson@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: www.beaverton.k12.or.us
Location: 16550 SW Merlo Rd, Beaverton, OR, United States
Phone: 503-356-4360
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeavertonSchoolDistrict
Twitter: @beavertonSD