District Digest
Monthly Wenatchee School District Staff Newsletter
December 2019
Superintendent's Office
Paul Gordon
Superintendent
Maybe I am the only one, but I cannot believe it’s already the middle of December (Also, what happened to the sun?)! Even with the quick pace of the first semester, I am proud of our educators as they have reengaged in many thoughtful discussions about Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) over these past few months.
PLC’s have become part of our education vocabulary adding to the growing list of acronyms in our profession. The reality is that PLC’s aren’t just a word or talking point, they’re an essential tool as we work to construct an educational system that works for students. The reality is that our kids can’t wait for us to figure education out. They don’t get another 3rd grade, 7th grade or 11th grade year. PLCs are not the holy grail of education, but PLCs create structures that allow educators to engage our students, teach well, lead better, and ensure that our students leave our district ready for the challenges this world has in store for them.
Our charge is to fully engage in PLCs and work hard to build meaning and understanding for all of our collaborative teams. We need to be vulnerable in order to determine areas of strength and weakness. We must lean in and focus on improving our PLC practices with the intent of improving outcomes for students - bottom line.
Our PLC Beliefs document clearly tells us why we need to be engaged in this work and it offers us the research backing up our why. If you have not seen this document I encourage you to review it.
Many of our school leaders have worked with their teaching staff to determine improvement, and we see many commonalities among our schools, such as:
- How to use our data to inform instruction
- How to Leverage Teacher Efficacy
- Our PLC teams review data in a format that helps shift culture and conversations from “what is being taught” to “what are students learning and how do we know?”.
There is nothing easy about our work with students, but following great structures will assist us in creating better outcomes for students. We have many great examples in our district of highly effective PLCs and we’re in the process of capturing video evidence of these exemplars to share. It’s important for us to highlight and amplify outstanding practices.
I hope everyone has a great winter break and enjoys time with family and friends! Our work is critical, but we need to also make sure we are taking care of ourselves.
Human Resources
Kelly Lopez
Executive Director of Human Resources
New insurance starts Janurary 1 Our SEBB insurance will begin on January 1st. Be on the lookout for your new insurance cards.
All CERTIFICATED staff - If you plan to retire at the end of the 2019-2020 school year, please submit your written notice to Human Resources by January 28th to receive early retirement notification benefit.
ALL STAFF WANTING TO USE PGR FUNDS FOR ANY PURPOSE MUST GET PRIOR APPROVAL. FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO HUMAN RESOURCES NO LATER THAN TEN (10) BUSINESS DAYS BEFORE TRAVEL DATES. Please see the HR page on the District website for all forms. Any questions on which form to use please contact your Human Resources Specialist.
Instructional Technology
Ron Brown
Director of Instructional Technology
We are continuing to support your use of technology in the classroom through our instructional facilitator Ray Birks, our help desk ithelpdesk@wenatcheeschools.org, and through other online or after school training opportunities. Remember you can always ask for a workshop on demand.
There are still opportunities for training this year through some after school opportunities, you can check the offerings on our registration site and search for technology. Some of the classes also count for STEM clock hours.
Technology is supporting our vision of effective PLCs and is working with our leaders to provide easy access to the resources we will need on our journey. You will find a new website listed at the bottom of the PLC documents that will provide resources and helpful examples of your fellow staff within PLC team videos. I am working with Diana Haglund to capture footage of great PLC work to provide examples from within our organization.
Lastly, please consider supporting our Computers for Kids program through GWATA. We have given away over 100 computers to students of need in 2019 and the goal is to give away even more. Please contact me or Matt Lang if you have a computer/laptop/tablet you would like to donate to the program.
Enjoy the holidays and the time to recharge with friends and family. We will see you, at least virtually, in the new year.
Student Services
Assistant Superintendent
Implementation of our SEL survey is in process. This was the result of our SEL Committee’s work, with support from Ron Brown and the District Technology team. We are anxious to see the results and how we can use this data to identify students potentially in need of support. We will give this survey a second time this Spring to see trend data and to help evaluate the effectiveness of our SEL curriculum. We sincerely appreciate the time and effort it takes to administer this important survey. Thank you!
Special Programs
Mike Lane
Director of State & Federal Programs
Thank you for helping us remain in compliance with our State & Federal funds by staying on top of T&E forms. Please review the T&E Log that Angie shared with you and follow-up with your staff.
Here a couple of reminders about Time & Effort documentation:
It is required.
The Reg's reference filling in T&E hours on a daily basis.
Completing multiple months worth of T&E forms in a single sitting can result in audit findings.
Angie has shared sample forms/directions. She can share them again and/or she can come out to your school and meet with your folks to ensure the forms are correctly completed.
Please have all of your staff's outstanding T&E forms completed by the end of the day on December 20.
WSU Extension 4-H Positive Youth Development SEL Training
Our 4-H Challenge program has been serving the community for over 30 years and is currently offering workshops for Social and Emotional Learning in classroom and group facilitation techniques. They are eligible for clock hours or continuing education credits. This workshop is a preview of WSU's Spring training and does not have a cost. Contact Seth Wetzel seth.wendzel@wsu.edu for more information.
Congratulations to WestSide High School for being selected to present at the 2020 Beyond Paper Tigers Trauma-Informed Conference in June about their Social-Emotional Learning journey and for being chosen to pilot the Stop, Breath and & Think App, an award-winning mindfulness app.
Migrant and Bilingual Programs
Nadya Bush
Assistant Director of Special Programs
ELPA21 State Assessment Testing window is February 3 to March 27, 2020. The proctor training will be January 8, 3:30 - 5:00 in the Main Board Room.
GLAD T-Shirt Design Contest
Step 1. Design a T-Shirt logo for WSD GLAD Trained Staff
Step 2. Send your design idea or sketch to WSD GLAD Trainers Terri Goveia or Kathy Anderson
Step 3. Winner is announced the week of January 6-10 and receives $100 worth of GLAD supplies for your classroom.
My Colleagues' Closet Raises over $400 for District Families
Thanks to the leadership of the Special Programs department the District office raised $422 through My Colleagues Closet. District office staff filled the main board room with donated clothes, shoes, and accessories for a unique shopping experience. Staff was able to shop in the closet by donation.
Funds raised from the sale will go to support District families this holiday season. A Bilingual, Migrant, and McKinney - Vento family are among the four families to receive a $100 Fred Meyer gift card.
Photo: Nadya Bush welcomes shoppers to the My Colleagues Closet event.
Finance & Operations
Larry Mayfield
Executive Director of Finance & Operations
Transportation
Winter routes are in effect for some routes. Specific details on routes are available on the transportation website.
Operational Technology
Please be aware that the district Acceptable Use Policy applies to work both in and out of the district when using district technology. The full policy can be located at:
Communications
Director of Communications
School Board Openings
As you may be aware we currently have two open board positions and we need your help to get the word out to our community. To be eligible, you must be a United State citizen, be registered to vote and live within the Wenatchee School District boundaries. Applicants may apply online or pick up paper forms at the District Office. More information and the application are available on our website.
Special Education Programs
Trisha Craig
Director fo Special Education
A big shout out to our very own Staci Bain’s work around literacy and the literacy training she is providing specifically to K-1, Elementary Resource, Speech Language Pathologist, and Interventionist staff. We are excited to enhance our Tier 1 practices around teaching Literacy in order to provide access for all learners.
Communications HUB
https://www.wenatcheeschools.org/committees
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