4J Educator
June 2023, Volume 1
Information for Eugene School District 4J employees
In this message
• Last Day of School: The school year is nearly over for students – and many of our employees
• High School Graduation: Six ceremonies honoring our Class of 2023 will be held over next week
• Recognizing Retirees: Fifty-two departing employees thanked for service during ceremony
• Paid Family Leave: Read the latest update as 4J works to implement new state law
• ParentSquare: New unified communications platform, websites to launch for new school year
• Simply the BEST: Learn about an after-school program that helps students achieve success
• Dependent Eligibility: Deadline is June 27 for classified employees to submit documentation
• Walker Tracker: Winners from first group movement challenge announced
• Top Billing: Delilah the duck's eggs set to hatch right next to Ed Center's main entrance
• The Water Cooler: Check out the latest district-level newsletters
Summer Is Coming: End of School Year Fast Approaching
Believe it or not, but we're almost finished with another school year.
For students in grades K–11, the last day of school is next Thursday, June 15. This Friday, June 9, is the last day for high school seniors.
The last contract day for licensed employees is Friday, June 16. Administrators and classified staff who don't work year-round will start their summer vacations next week or later this month.
Thank you for all your hard work this year. We look forward to seeing you back and refreshed, ready for the 2023–24 school year. Until then, have a relaxing, fun and well-deserved summer break!
It's Time To Celebrate: Graduation Season 2023
For every graduating senior who walks over the coming week, there's a great educator who helped guide them to this crowning achievement.
2023 GRADUATION CEREMONIES
- International High School (IHS), Friday, June 9, 7 p.m., Hult Center
- North Eugene High School, Saturday, June 10, 2 p.m., Swede Stadium
- Sheldon High School, Saturday, June 10, 7 p.m., Hult Center
- Churchill High School, Monday, June 12, 7 p.m., Hult Center
- South Eugene High School, Tuesday, June 13, 7 p.m., Hult Center
- ECCO (Early College & Career Options)/GED, Wednesday, June 14, 7 p.m., Wheeler Pavilion (Lane Events Center)
Congratulations to our Class of 2023, and all of you who supported them along the way.
Thank You, 2023 Retirees
District employees gathered last week to recognize 52 colleagues who are retiring during a well-attended event at the district office.
There was food, music, camaraderie, a fun photo booth, words of appreciation from Superintendent Dey—and plenty of memories shared with our retirees, who have provided more than a 1,000 years of combined service to our community's children and the 4J school district.
Congratulations, retirees! You'll be missed by your colleagues, but your service to our students and community will long be remembered. We wish you good health and lots of fun in retirement.
New Communications Platform, Websites Coming Soon
Our district will be launching ParentSquare, a unified communications platforms ahead of the coming school year. The platform offers a whole host of tools that will allow you to more effectively communicate and engage with colleagues, families and students.
We'll provide much more information, including training resources, ahead of the new platform and websites going live. Stay tuned.
Program Showcase: Simply the BEST
More than 50 4J leaders and supporters attended the BEST after-school program's showcase event at the school on May 23.
The district-run program has cared for and supported students for nearly a quarter-century. Each year, the program provides several hundred of 4J's highest-need students with extra support to help them both achieve academic success and build up their self-confidence so they can grow into safe, healthy and contributing adults.
"Usually when you hear it’s an after-school program, people maybe think it's daycare," said Josh Harvey, the program's coordinator at Chávez Elementary School, during the event. "But these kids get social-emotional learning, academics and a safe place after school hours. It’s been a really cool program to be a part of.”
The program, which currently operates at four elementary schools on an invitation-only basis as well as Kelly Middle School, is paid for through an Oregon Department of Education grant. Staff are working to renew the grant and continue the program for another five years. Plans are underway to expand to up to two more elementary schools next year.
Classified: Dependent Eligibility Verification Deadline Approaching
Employees who have dependents (e.g. spouses, domestic partners and children) on their 4J insurance plans must submit documents to verify their dependents' eligibility — or risk losing coverage.
Classified employees should have received information about the verification process from OEBB by email and mail. The deadline to submit the required documentation for classified employees is Tuesday, June 27. (The deadline for licensed and MAPS employees to submit their documentation has passed.)
Group Movement Challenge Winners Announced
The competition was fierce, but our victors ran, er, walked away with the three delicious prizes offered up during 4J's first-ever group movement challenge.
The winners are:
- Best Team Picture: Chávez
- Most Pictures Posted: Bailey Hill & River Road/El Camino Del Río (tied with 81)
- Highest Participation Percentage: Sheldon
Congratulations to our winners! Let's keep those steps up during the summer. 4J's Walker Tracker program is funded by a Oregon Education Association wellness grant. We look forward to more group movement challenges during the coming school year.
Update on Paid Family Leave
Greetings all employees,
We wanted to provide employees a brief update related to Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) based upon internal changes associated with this new upcoming benefit. As many of you are aware, Paid Leave Oregon is currently set to begin in September. To prepare for PLO the State of Oregon required agencies to begin deducting and paying the statutory amounts for these upcoming services.
While initially Eugene School District 4J was working with the State of Oregon to provide services associated with PLO, our district and many other organizations have reviewed vendor options other than the one offered by the State of Oregon which offer the same benefit options while being more convenient to employees as well as more efficient and cost effective to the district; this third party vendor plan is referred to as an Equivalent Plan.
After working with our insurance provider and consultants, we have elected to collaborate with The Hartford which offers the best plan for our employees and district. With this change in vendor, we will still offer all the same criteria of the State of Oregon plan and nothing will change in relation to the benefits employees will see. We acknowledge there will be many questions associated with this new program in the coming year. More information will be provided as the State of Oregon finalizes details and we establish our process with The Hartford.
As a reminder, this employee benefit is currently scheduled to begin September of 2023. However, due to the complexity of the program, the State of Oregon may delay the start date.
With the change to The Hartford, rather than directly with the State of Oregon, there will be a change in the current mandated payroll deductions related to PLO that employees have been making since January 2023. Employees saw these required deductions on Jan-May paychecks, both an employee and employer portion, and will again see this deduction on the upcoming June paycheck. However, employees will see a change in their July payroll deductions. By changing to The Hartford as our PLO provider, this will allow the district to temporarily remove these deductions until September's payroll (the tentative start date of Paid Leave Oregon benefits). This means that for both July's and August's paychecks, employees will not see these payroll deductions. If the Paid Leave Oregon program is delayed to a future date, your deductions will not restart until the Paid Leave Oregon program actually begins.
If you have any further questions about the information shared, please do not hesitate to contact Human Resources or Financial Services and we will do our best to answer questions that come up.
Top Billing: Delilah's Eggs Getting Ready to Hatch
Our district office is about to welcome some new additions.
Three weeks ago, a female mallard duck whom office employees named Delilah (pictured) laid her eggs under the large scrub in the planter next to the district office's main entrance, which is plainly visible from the front lobby. It takes an average of 28 days for duck eggs to hatch, so we're expecting a brood of ducklings to arrive right around the time our schoolchildren depart for the summer. Let's root for our Ed Center ducks!
If you have ducks or other wildlife that has made your school or building grounds home and are known to staff and students, please email the information and any pictures to information@4j.lane.edu. We may feature them in a future issue.
The Water Cooler
District-level newsletters:
- NEW! The Equity Extra, June 2023
- NEW! The Library Lowdown, June 2023
- NEW! Eco Experience with Eco Chick (eco tips and more)
- NEW! Hadley Herald (tech tips for 4J educators)
- Prior Written Notice (SSD newsletter), May 2023
- EdTech (technology tips, teaching strategies and more)
Coming Up in 4J
6/9 No School: Elementary Only (Grading Day)
6/9 High School Graduation: Eugene IHS
6/10 High School Graduation: North Eugene & Sheldon
6/12 High School Graduation: Churchill
6/13 High School Graduation: South Eugene
6/14 High School Graduation: ECCO
6/19 Juneteenth (Paid Day Off for Staff)
6/21 School Board Meeting