SLP Superintendent's Newsletter
Week of October 14, 2019
UPCOMING EVENTS
SUPERINTENDENT PATRICK JENKINS
You have made it to the end of the first nine weeks of school. Thank you for your hard work in making your students, staff, school, community and SLPSD better every day! Every Student, Every day!
Take a deep breath, enjoy the brief respite and come back recharged and energized!
In chapter two of the book, The Fred Factor, there are four principles or core beliefs that are defined as the essence of the Fred Factor.
1. Principle 1: Everyone makes a difference
2. Principle 2: Success is built on relationships
3. Principle 3: You must continually create value for others, and it doesn’t have to cost a penny ( I will provide a brief excerpt from the book on this topic below)
4. Principle 4: You can reinvent yourself regularly
Principle 1: Everyone makes a difference - The fact is that everybody is already making a difference every day. The key question, what kind of difference is each of us making?
Three Difference-Making Strategies
1. Identify when you will make a difference
· When can you make a difference? At every opportunity!
2. Target the people to whom you will make a difference
· The most important people in our lives deserve our best attention:
i. Customers
ii. Family
iii. Boss
iv. Teammates
v. Friends and strangers
3. Be the difference
· A little thought and reflection will quickly help you see the difference you can make in any activity or event. Once we know the difference we can make, our challenge is to be the difference maker. True difference making can’t be delegated.
District 2019 - 2020 Theme: Become What You Believe!
Mission
Vision
LSBA LEGISLATIVE REMINDERS
DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM - ANGELA CASSIMERE
New Options for Students Who Take the ACT
Every student deserves the best chance to succeed. That’s why we’re providing new options for the ACT® test beginning with the September 2020 national test date, so students can put their best foot forward. These options are designed to give students more choices and an improved testing experience while providing greater confidence that their test scores reflect their overall academic achievement and potential.
- Section Retesting
Once students take a complete ACT test, they will have the opportunity to retake one or more single-section subject tests to improve their scores. - Superscoring
A superscore is an ACT Composite score calculated using the highest subject scores from different test administrations. This will allow students to showcase their highest achievements on college and scholarship applications by combining their highest scores by subject into one Composite score. - Faster Results with Online Testing
On national test days, students will be able to choose between online testing and traditional paper testing to better align with how they learn today. For students testing online, they will get faster test results—as soon as two business days.
Suggestions for High Schools
During this morning’s district staff meeting, liaison supervisors noted having received several parental concerns/questions relating to several high school topics. As a result, I would like to offer several suggestions:
1. Work to ensure that all parents are aware of high school course offerings, high school assessments—CLEP, ACT, WorkKeys, LEAP 2025, etc. Maintain documentation of information presented to parents along with signatures/dates. Don’t just list a topic on an agenda—provide details and clarity to parents.
2. Work to ensure that all parents are aware of available dual enrollment offerings both academic and career.
3. Work to ensure that all parents are aware that district funds—Title I, Title IV, DSS, etc. are being used to pay for assessments such as CLEP, ACT, WorkKeys. Mr. Champagne provided guidance on this topic to all principals. Principals, please share this information and ensure that your school’s counselor is knowledgeable of these important facts.
4. Work to ensure that your school website is up to date and provides parents with beneficial information for all students—university and career pathways.
5. As reminded, all counselors should have a readily visible bulletin board that is up to date with scholarship information, FASFA, etc.
6. Remember to take the time to answer parent questions, if not sure of a response, contact the district office to ensure that accurate information is being given to parents and students.
7. Follow policy—currently, there is a district with 1,200 ZEROS on the ACT assessment index due to not following policy on WorkKeys. We have not one school in the district that can absorb not even 50 zeros and still be able to maintain a letter grade above an F. There is no way our district can afford to absorb 1,200 zeros and not be an F.
In addition, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! DATA CERTIFICATION! Superintendent Jenkins was required to sign a Louisiana Department of Education affidavit of understanding that articulates Beginning with the 2018- 2019 graduation cohort, no overrides to what exists in LDOE state data systems will be allowed in the data certification process for any EXIT that could have been corrected in the 2018 SIS cleanup regardless of the documentation provided to the LDOE. This means that as Tricia Thomassee contacts you regarding your school’s potential drops, you must ensure that you have the documentation to support the EXIT—no exceptions. No longer will you be able to dispute an exit code and/or provide a rationale in the data certification window. This will be discussed with high school counselors at our next meeting on October 23, 2019 after Career Futures.
Lastly, as always, when in doubt, please ask—do not assume. Graduation index, strength of diploma, GRADUATION, and all things high school are extremely important to students, parents, your school, as well as the district.
New: Resources and Events at the Louisiana Old State Capitol
Please share with high school teachers.
Louisiana’s Old State Capitol, part of the Office of Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, has partnered
with the National Park Service to host an exhibition called Victory from Within: The American POW Experience through December 20.
Below, please find information on other related upcoming programs and initiatives:
● November 3 from 1:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m.: Free showings of "The Ghost of the Castle" and related activities
○ Recommended Audience: All ages
● November 13 at 5:30 p.m.: Part One: An American Prisoner of War Experience
○ Recommended Audience: High school students and above; not for sensitive audiences
● November 14 at 5:30 p.m.: Part Two: Victory from Within
○ Recommended Audience: High school students and above; not for sensitive audiences
Visit Louisiana’s Old State Capitol’s webpage for more information on all exhibits and upcoming events, including how to book a tour. Additional materials will be added to the site over the coming weeks.
Save the Date:
Wednesday, November 6, 2019 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Administrators Institute of Professional Learning: Focus: Inclusion—all grade levels
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please find attached the 2019 – 2020 Accountability Tracker that has been updated to reflect the current school year. The Accountability Tracker will be reviewed and discussed with administrators during the fall/winter High School Academic Audits conducted by Mr. Jenkins and team. Schedule is forthcoming.
BARBARA ROBERSON - SAFETY
THERESE ELLENDER - SUPERVISOR OF STEAM
New: Save-the-Date 2020 Jump Start Convention
New: CLEP Preparation and Exam Funding
New: Critical AP Classroom Action
● 89 percent have activated the APRO (registration and ordering) system and signed an AP participation form;
● 82 percent have created AP sections; and
● 48 percent of teachers have provided students with join codes to join individual classes, unlocking the new AP resources (Unit exams, Item Bank, Progress Dashboards, etc.).
To better support schools in completing these steps, the Department will host six recurring Advanced Placement Activation Webinars throughout the month of October that are designed to walk participants through the process of completing the AP Classroom activation process. Each webinar will last approximately twenty minutes with time for Q&A. Each webinar will be the same, so there is no need to attend each one unless participants have additional questions.
AP Coordinator Exam Order Training Dates
The preferred AP exam ordering deadline is October 4. Please register for one of the nine remaining Preparing and Submitting the Exam Order sessions for AP coordinators to prepare for the changes. The sessions will be offered at varying times on the following dates.
● October 31 at 3:00 p.m.
● November 6 at 11:00 a.m.
● November 12 at 8:00 a.m.
The final deadline for submitting AP exam orders is November 15.
2019-2020 Jump Start Updates
The Department has released several Jump Start updates, listed below, that provide detailed information for implementing various Jump Start programs.
● 2019-2020 Guidelines for Use of CDF Allocation
● 2019-2020 Jump Start Funding Guidance
● 2019-2020 List of CDF Qualifying Courses
● 2019- 2020 Jump Start Pathway Updates
Quest for Success Teacher Training
Quest for Success is an innovative, new, high school-level, career exploration course designed to prepare all Louisiana graduates for career and life success. Individuals who have not attended the two-day Quest for Success training and seek to teach the Quest for Success course should attend one of the upcoming training events. Registration is currently open for the following two-day trainings. Each training will run from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.
● October 22-23 in Mansfield
● November 4-5 in Chalmette
Social Studies Fair
SEE ARCHIVED SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 SU NEWSLETTER FOR DETAILS
*ALL DOCUMENTS CAN BE FOUND IN THE PRINCIPALS E-BINDER.
SCIENCE FAIR
SEE ARCHIVED SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 SU NEWSLETTER FOR DETAILS
*ALL DOCUMENTS CAN BE FOUND IN THE PRINCIPAL'S EBINDER
2019 Career Futures Expo
The 2019 Career Futures Expo will be October 23rd at Northwest High School. The registration deadline is October 15th and we would love to have your confirmation of attendance to reserve your booth! There is NO COST to you to participate and breakfast will be provided by Cengage as well as a hearty lunch by various businesses.
The Career Expo is designed to allow 10th graders an opportunity to explore career options prior to determining a pathway at the end of the school year. This year 10th graders from St. Landry and Evangeline Parish Schools will be in attendance as well as St. Edmunds and Opelousas Catholic. We have an estimate of 1,500 students attending.
I look forward to receiving your registration, attached.
TRESSA MILLER - DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
1. Fixed Assets- Beginning of Year Inventory counts are due to Charlie Latiolais by 9/30/19.
- Form A- Fixed Asset Inventory Verification Form (signed by principal),
- Form B- Fixed Asset Inventory Form for every room and area on campus (signed by staff),
- Staff Roster
2. You should be reviewing and approving the following bookkeeping reports monthly. And your bookkeepers should be submitting these to Angie Marks monthly by the 15th.
- 1. General Ledger Activity Report for the month
- 2. Bank Reconciliation Report
- 3. Outstanding Check Listing
- 4. Copy of Entire Bank Statement (including copies of checks and deposits)
August 2019 reports are due now.
JEROME ROBINSON - SUPERVISOR OF CHILD WELFARE AND ATTENDANCE/ATHLETICS
Rave Panic Button
SUPERVISOR OF ENGLISH-SPENCER ARNAUD
SUPERVISOR OF INSTRUCTION, SCHOOL CHOICE, & SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT- TRINA PRESTON
Reminder: Updated LEAP 2025 Assessment Guides for Grades 3 and 4
Day 1: April 27 ELA session 1; math session 1
Day 2: April 28 ELA session 2; math session 2
Day 3: April 29 ELA session 3; math session 3
Day 4: April 30 science session 1; science session 2
Day 5: May 1 social studies session 1; social studies session 2
LEAP Connect Online Tools Training (OTT) Expanded
Updated LEAP Connect Assessment Guides
● information about the new science field tests and sample science tasks for grades 4 and 8, and high school; and
● a new appendix which lists the ELA and math vocabulary for American Sign Language (ASL) translation, object replacement, tactile graphics, word boards or word banks, and Assistive Technology and Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AT/AAC) devices.
LEAP Connect Sample Math Constructed-Response Tasks Webinar
● Webinar Date and Time: October 16 at 3:30 p.m.
● Webinar Link: https://ldoe.zoom.us/j/448611621
● Webinar Phone Number: 646-876-9923
● Meeting ID#: 448 611 621
The link to the Assessment Guidance Library is below.
https://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/library/assessment-guidance
Reminder: Available Assessment Resources
● 2019-2020 Assessment Guides
● 2019 Teacher Leader Summit presentations and materials
● Updated Mathematics Equation Builder Guides
● LEAP Connect Constructed-Response Sample Items
GLORIA MALBROUGH - PERSONNEL RECRUITMENT COORDINATOR
CERTIFICATION UPDATES
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY FACILITATOR/WEBMASTER TRICIA FONTENOT
Video
UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN
Please send me the name of the person at your school that will be handling the kick-off. I will be sending this person campaign resources in the near future.
Principals' E-Binder
https://www.slp.k12.la.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=371733&type=d&pREC_ID=1651247
Login Credentials:
Username: slpsb
Password: principals
*Send me an email if there is something specific that you would like included in the e-binder.
Submitting Content for Administrative Reminders
Email: TOF9686@SLP.K12.LA.US
Website: www.slp.k12.la.us
Location: 1013 E. Creswell Lane, Opelousas, LA 70571
Phone: 337.948.3657