Monday Mission Memo
Oct. 29, 2018
Interim Superintendent's Message
Good evening Catholic School Leaders of the Diocese of Cleveland (and Toledo!),
Well, just one leader soon to be in Toledo… Congratulations to our own Matt Daniels, currently principal at St. Rocco School in Cleveland, on being appointed Senior Director of Catholic Education for the Diocese of Toledo. Matt will be making the transition as we approach our shared professional time together at November’s principal leadership conference. Please join me in congratulating Matt and lifting him up in your prayers.
I am also excited to announce the addition of the newest member of our diocesan finance office, Dennis Beckstrom, who will be working closely with schools in his role as School Controller. Read on below a more complete introduction.
Just one business reminder: last month I shared updates on the requirement for our school websites to list both total enrollment and the policy on background checks. Details of how to meet these requirements were in the September 24 memo. The deadline for completion is October 31. Please ensure that your schools are updated. Feel free to look back or email me if you need another copy or need any other assistance.
Please read on to meet Dennis, see updates related to inclusion and tiered interventions (RTI), and see valuable reminders.
May God continue to bless you in this work,
Frank
Meet Dennis Beckstrom, School Controller
Meet the newest member of the diocesan finance team, Dennis Beckstrom, who has joined us in the position of School Controller. Dennis brings years of experience from the corporate sector as an executive leader in finance and business administration with a background as a certified public accountant.
We believe that leadership matters, and experience has taught us that collaborative leadership among principals, pastors (or board) and finance directors (or committees) are the three-legged stool of viable school operations. Dennis will work closely with and learn from John Szarwark as we strive to support schools and keep Catholic education vibrant and viable throughout the diocese. Dennis and his wife Susan have been married for 30 years, have two adult children, and live in Seven Hills and are members of St. Columbkille Parish.
Research-Based Intervention Site of the Week
Did you know that our OCSAA standards require us to use assessments not just as evidence of learning, but to differentiate support to those who need it? A process for tiered intervention, such as the RTI process, is an expectation of all of our schools, not just those in the Better Together pilot, as we strive to meet the learning needs of all of our current students. To that end, we intend to feature valuable research-based intervention resources to highlight effective interventions for students who may not be succeeding in the classroom with traditional teaching methods.
This week, Intervention Central is highlighted. Click here to find thousands of academic and behavioral interventions and resources that can be implemented in classrooms to help struggling students.
School Spotlight, Julie Billiart
The Spooky Library, A Halloween Tradition at Julie Billiart
Julie Billiart School is Northeast Ohio's Premier Special Needs School Since 1954. All teachers are intervention specialists and work hard to ensure that ALL children have the potential to be happy, successful students. One tradition at Julie Billiart is the Spooky Library. Each grade decorates a part of the library with a Halloween theme. Pictured here is the concession area complete with eyeball popcorn and floating heads. A "Walk the Plank" to Mrs. Johnston's office is another area of this much-loved Halloween tradition at JB!
Julie Billiart has a Gaga Pit!
Jodi Johnston, principal of JB, in her beautiful, historic office
NDCL is the only high school in Ohio to receive the 2018 Blue Ribbon Award!
The event featured a hamburger and hot dog cookout complete with a variety of blue-themed treats, including Blue Moon ice cream, blue cotton candy, blue corn tortilla chips and a blue candy buffet with more than 200 pounds of sweet treats. The NDCL food service staff even created a gigantic Blue Ribbon rice crispy treat sculpture.
Proud NDCL students wearing new Blue Ribbon t-shirts
Joe Waler and Michael Bates, NDCL president, will travel on Nov. 7-8 to Washington, D.C. to accept the Blue Ribbon award. Accompanying them will be the entire teaching staff. NDCL students will enjoy an extra day off school on Nov. 8 as part of National Blue Ribbon Celebration Day.
NDCL is sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame
School Spotlight - Notre Dame Elementary School
Better Together at Notre Dame Elementary School
Barb Doering, principal, with her predecessor
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is part of all religion classes
SCHOOL SAFETY UPDATES AND REMINDERS
SAFETY GRANT:
Important reminder that Ohio School Safety Training Grant Application is due to the Ohio Attorney General’s office by November 1, 2018. Every school should be taking advantage of these funds to improve school safety in their building. Funds can be used for training, student programs and materials that focus on safety and mental health, and yes, the funds can be used for materials in your building that improve safety, for example, new locks on doors, communication devices for drill/crisis situations.
Keep in mind that once you submit your application and funds are disbursed, a report will be sent to you that needs to completed and sent back to the Ohio Attorney General’s office by July 31, 2019, or once the training/project is completed. You will be required to write a narrative describing how the funds were spent. Documentation of the expenditures will also need to be provided, so save all estimates, proposals, and receipts. You must spend the entire amount and show evidence to the state that the full amount was utilized for school safety.
If you don’t plan to use your funds, please notify Sue Biggs sbiggs@dioceseofcleveland.org. The state will permit districts to combine funds if a program can benefit the schools. We have programs that need funding at the diocesan level that could be made available to everyone with funds from the safety grant.
SAVE THE DATE:
Crisis Communication expert Anthony Huey will kick off a K-12 school safety training on January 30th at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Cuyahoga Falls. The 8 a.m.–2 p.m. seminar will begin with Mr. Huey’s presentation on how to deal with the media in crisis situations. He will help you create a plan for your school, prepare for an interview with the media, and provide an overview of why we need to be prepared with responses that get accurate messages to our school families and the public. More details coming soon.
CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS IN NEW AND EXISTING BUILDINGS:
According to the 2017 Ohio Fire Code, CO2 detectors will be required in school buildings if certain conditions are met. Not all schools will be required to have a CO2 detector, but some buildings may be required to have a CO2 detector in each classroom by January 1, 2019. Due to the vastly different buildings in our Diocese, we are encouraging each school to contact their local fire department and the contractor who provides fire alarm inspections in your building. Based on the type of heating system and location of the classrooms, they will be the best advisors to your school in terms of meeting this new requirement for the Ohio Fire Code. If you have any initial questions, please contact Sue Biggs at sbiggs@dioceseofcleveland.org