CSD Staff Scoop
The Internal Employee Newsletter for City Schools of Decatur
December 6, 2020 Edition
Table of Contents:
- Results of the Fall Teacher Work Day Survey
- District Review of Planning Time for Teachers
- Welcome Menia Greene, Wilson Center's new Receptionist
- Welcome Shonda Moore, CSD's new Lead Nurse
- Staff Support Update
- Information Services
- Research and Analytics
- School News You Can Use
- CSD Staff Shout Outs!
- Scenes from our Schools... Photos from around the District!
- Important Dates Around the District
- About the Staff Scoop
Results of the Fall Teacher Work Day Survey
From that survey, it was determined that most who participated (63%) prefered that the weekday after Halloween be the Fall teacher work day going forward. As a result, the 2020 and the 2021 school years will have the following days as teacher work days:
Monday, November 2, 2020
Monday, November 1, 2021
As a reminder, the last day of school for the 2019-2020 school year was changed based off of the recent public survey and will now be Friday, May 29, 2020. June 1 and 2, 2020 will be teacher post-planning days.
Thank you again to all who participated in the survey. Your voices were heard!
Review of Planning Time for Teachers
The Office of the Superintendent is gearing up to review planning time for teachers across the district. Dr. Fehrman, Executive Director of Schools, will lead a Cross-Functional Action Team (XFAT) to study the amount of planning time teachers of all types have across the district.
The goal of this XFAT is to review planning time for all teachers and make a recommendation to the Superintendent on how much planning time should be provided for teachers in 2020-2021 (and beyond) at each grade band to ensure there is equitable planning time for all teachers regardless of their school assignment.
Teacher representatives from all schools and a variety of district leaders will serve on this team. Below is a summary of the work this team will do over the next few months. Teachers and leaders serving on this team will seek input from staff at each school.
Our work will be completed in five phases. Each phase will include gathering stakeholder input and providing feedback to stakeholders on decisions that are made by the group.
Phase 1: Data Collection and Analyze - collect master schedules from all schools and analyze the amount of planning time teachers have at each grade band.
Phase 2: Agreement Development - we will develop a set of agreements for the minimum / maximum amount of planning time teachers should have at different grade bands
Phase 3: Proposal Drafting- We will draft at least two options to present to the Superintendent on our recommendations for planning time
Phase 4: Proposal Presentation - We will present our proposal to the Superintendent for consideration
Phase 5: Communication - We will communicate the process that was complete, and the final decision that was made at your respective school.
Welcome Menia Greene, the New Receptionist at the Wilson School Support Center
We are proud to welcome Wilhelmenia Swinney Greene, or Menia ("Mee-nah") for short, to the Wilson Center staff. Menia has over 18 years of experience in school systems around Georgia, including Cobb County School District and Dekalb County Schools. She is a proud mother of three and grandmother of three. Menia has a sunny outlook on life and is a friendly and welcoming addition to the Wilson Center. We are so happy to welcome her to the CSD family! Next time you drop by the Wilson Center, please be sure to meet Menia!
Welcome Shonda Moore, CSD's new Lead Nurse
The Equity and Student Support department is delighted to welcome our new Lead Nurse, Shonda Moore.
My name is Shonda Moore and I am the new Lead Nurse here at CSD. I will be working to support the nurses in each building as well as our students and staff. Although I've been briefly introduced to some of you, I wanted to tell you a little about myself.
I am from Cincinnati, Ohio and I moved to Georgia this Summer 2019. I have a very strong background in School Health as a School/Public Health Office Nurse and a District School Nursing Supervisor. I am a wife and mother of three with my youngest attending DHS.
My office will be located in the nurse's office in DHS; however, I will move around the district often to work with the nurses in the schools.
Please don't hesitate to reach out with anything you need, I'm happy to help! I'm so looking forward to working with you and getting to know you and this great district a little better.
Staff Support Update:
Voluntary Employee Leave Bank Project
The Staff Support Department is working to establish a voluntary employee leave bank. A leave bank is a leave-sharing plan under which employees may voluntarily contribute an established amount (as defined by the plan) of their accrued leave in order to participate on an annual basis. A leave bank allows participating employees to request additional leave should they experience an unforeseen event that causes them to exhaust their available paid leave. The terms of the leave bank will be defined in the plan.
A cross-functional team of CSD staff members, representing certified, classified, and administrative job families, is currently reviewing this project. An actuary has been engaged to assist in formulating oversight provisions to ensure that the leave bank remains viable for the future once it is implemented.
Thank you to the CSD employees who have advocated for this leave bank. We believe that this project, once completed, will enhance our benefit offerings. The success of this leave bank will depend on the donations from our employees. We are proud to announce we already have our first employee who has committed to donate leave to this plan.
If you have suggestions or input regarding a leave bank and how it will be of benefit to staff members, please send your comments over the next two weeks to David Adams or Jenny Wynne.
New Recruiting and Hiring Application Launched
We are proud to announce a new recruiting and hiring application. Now when you refer a friend, the new electronic application is much more user friendly and adds the capability for the district to do electronic on-boarding. This will result in greater efficiencies and a better experience for new hires. The application allows candidates to create a profile for interest in future postings and enables the district to customize application questions on an individual posting basis when needed.
Now when you visit the CSD Staff Support job listing page, you will notice external applicant and internal applications are separate. This will allow us to differentiate between postings that are open to internal applicants only and replaces the expression of interest process that we have utilized for the past two years. We will also be able to manage any future transfer processes through the application.
You will also notice that active vacancies can now be sorted by category or by location. In our previous software we did not have this capability. Thank you to our colleagues in Information Services who helped operationalize this new product.
CSD’s University Partnerships Prepare Future Teachers
City Schools of Decatur’s relationships with local colleges and universities are beneficial to stakeholders in our district and institutions of higher learning. Through these partnerships, students who are considering careers in education gain access to authentic and realistic learning experiences.
Decatur’s teachers are important contributors to the improvement of the profession when they accept responsibilities as a cooperating teacher. Consistent, regular feedback from CSD’s cooperating teachers, university coursework, and real-life classroom learning experiences contribute to a strong foundation for pre-service educators.
This close collaboration with universities also allows building leaders the early identification of potential teacher candidates. Administrators will have expanded opportunities to see how well student-teachers interact with students, collaborate with teacher leaders, and contribute to the district’s goals and school improvement. From the perspective of Decatur’s students and staff, these partnerships can provide extra hands and eyes in the classroom for intervention, small group, and personal instruction.
We are collaborating with Georgia State, Kennesaw State, and Mercer Universities to improve and expand upon our partnerships. We will meet with Spelman, West Georgia, and other universities in the weeks to come. We also have Agnes Scott College students (outside the pre-service education programs) placed in Decatur High, Renfroe Middle, Oakhurst, and Winnona Park.
Information Services:
New ticketing platform
Thank you for supporting the transition to IncidentIQ (https://csdecatur.incidentiq.com), our new IT support ticketing and inventory tool. The last handful of FreshDesk tickets (of the 23,184 created since June 2015) have mostly been resolved, and that tool will be retired at the end of the calendar year.
Update on new staff laptops
This fall, about 100 randomly-selected teachers provided input on what they need, want, and don't want in a new staff laptop. The majority of teachers identified four must-have traits: strong protections against malware and other harmful programs, ease for the site tech to support, a good battery life, and the ability to easily install approved software. We currently have several potential replacement devices in circulation with teachers, with more to come soon. This hardware project is also going hand-in-hand with a management project to ensure your Information Services team can better push updates and proactively monitor the condition of staff and student computers. We're excited this month and in January to put more teacher hands on potential replacement devices with some "roadshows" to schools, and we'll also begin reaching out to non-teacher staff to gather your input on device needs.
We plan to begin rolling out new devices before the end of the school year. We highly encourage all staff to reach out to their site technician to ensure their current computer is fully taking advantage of the CSD Google Drive Backup & Sync program to backup your work-related files. You can use the new IncidentIQ tool to request help! Create a new ticket, select Software/Online Services, and select Google Backup & Sync.
Email scams
Unfortunately, educators and school staff are increasingly the target of scams trying to get money, gift cards, or sensitive information. If you receive an email that seems suspicious, please promptly forward it to phishing@csdecatur.net.
Research and Analytics
At the end of January and beginning of February, we will administer the Avant STAndards-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) assessment to all students in grades 2, 4, 7, and 10. These grades will be assessed in speaking and listening while fourth, seventh, and tenth grade students will also be assessed in reading and writing.
The STAMP results will be used to assess students’ proficiency in the World Language they are learning. The assessment data will be used for program evaluation and individual student planning.
The test is not timed. For grades 2 and 4, each section is estimated to take 30 minutes or less. For grades 7 and 10, each section is estimated to take less than 45 minutes. The test will be administered during regularly scheduled world language class time and world language teachers will proctor the tests.
Our world language teachers will use the data to determine teaching points, allowing us to continue to increase student achievement. Second and fourth grade students will take the STAMP 4Se test. Seventh and 10th graders will take the STAMP 4S test. More information about STAMP can be found below.
Avant STAMP 4S: https://avantassessment.com/stamp4s
Avant STAMP 4Se: https://avantassessment.com/stamp4se
To take a sample test, you can visit https://avantassessment.com/sample-tests.
School News You Can Use!
Talley approved as an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme Candidate School
* Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.
For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org.
Two CSD Schools Named Distinguished Title 1 Schools!
CSD is proud to announce that Clairemont Elementary School and Decatur High School have been named Distinguished Title 1 Schools!
Only schools that perform in the top 5% of Title 1 Schools in Georgia receive this designation. Congratulations to both schools!
https://www.gadoe.org/…/com…/Pages/PressReleaseDetails.aspx…
Clairemont Encourages an Inclusive Community through Reading
Clairemont staff are building their critical literacy muscles through examining and discussing books focused on issues of equity. Teachers have been sharing the books through read aloud and facilitating discussion with students around understanding and respecting differences. Starting in January, Clairemont will be on the same page by reading the same book school wide and facilitating critical discourse with students around each text.
This work aligns with Clairemont's EL Work Plan Goal: Clairemont will develop students with the habits of scholarship and character needed for success as effective learners, ethical people, and who contribute to a better world in their approach to learning and their interactions with others and the community. Specifically, Clairemont students are becoming more effective learners and ethical people who contribute to a better world by:
Engaging in student friendly language that articulates what an ethical person looks like and sounds like.
Engaging in an awareness of becoming a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community at Clairemont.
The Clairemont Equity Crew is leading the staff through a collaborative process to identify, select and implement this Critical Literacy Initiative. For example, one of the books we read is "Can I Touch Your Hair," by Irene Latham and Charles Waters. After reading this book, students in first grade made profound connections and insightful comments such as:
"The book made me think to be kinder to everyone."
"Even if you're different colors, you can still be friends.'
"This book encourages me to talk to people who look different than me."
"After listening to the poems, it made me think to be more respectful of other people's perspectives."
"The book, Can I Touch Your Hair?, made me think to create something with someone of a different race who has a different perspective just like Charles and Irene did."
The Clairemont Crew is committed to implementing student-facing experiences to foster equity towards a more just and inclusive society.
GaDOE highlights Erica Godfrey and CSD as District of the Month for MTSS implementation.
District of the Month! City Schools of Decatur
City Schools of Decatur is expanding and investing in students by adding more staff to help with the district's MTSS implementation.
Erica Godfrey was recently hired as the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Lead at Renfroe Middle School. The Georgia native serves as a liaison between the school and central office for all things MTSS. "I help teachers facilitate the RTI process by developing plans of intervention and monitoring student data to determine its effectiveness, as well as working with all stakeholders to make data driven decisions for students," said Godfrey.
The newly created role allows Godfrey to monitor student progress and support teachers in identifying student needs and plan and implement interventions for students. "I have the opportunity to develop our infrastructure from the ground up and tailor it for our building" said Godfrey. "Our goal is to help all students receive access to quality instruction and work toward closing any achievement gaps."
Oakhurst Celebrates Literacy Month with a Reading Camp Out
Finally, we finished the night roasting marshmallows and assembling s'mores. It was a night to remember! More photos of the Family Reading Camp Out can be found below in the "Scenes from our Schools" section of this newsletter.
F.AVE Teacher quoted in article about teaching about "Fake News"
F.AVE fourth grade teacher Alison Eber was recently quoted in an WABE article,
"How Teachers Are Trying To Help Students Identify ‘Real’ News".
Click here to read the full article.
The article explains the different ways Ms. Eber teaches her students to tell what is fact and what is fiction. One way includes playing games within her class room. According to the article, "to help her students tell the difference between real and fictitious news sources, Eber plays a game with them called 'Two Truths and a Lie.' She gives her students two articles from credible sources. They have to make up the third story — the lie — themselves. They present all three to the class who has to guess which stories are true and which is the lie."
CSD Staff SHOUT OUTS!
SHOUT OUT to Ms. Lacretia Chambers! Ms. Chambers has worked in CSD since 2013. She has been the foundation of the Westchester custodian staff since 2015. Ms. Chambers makes sure our building feels like a home for all of the staff and she does not allow our school to look anything other than beautiful! She always offers to help those in need whether cleaning, moving, setting things up or taking things down. She is a team player and the model of how to be CREW.
SHOUT OUT to F.AVE teacher Alison Eber for going above and beyond to help her students learn about Fake News versus facts.
SHOUT OUT to Oakhurst's media specialist, Suzanne Hawkins and our media clerk, Erin Gueirreri for planning and executing the Oakhurst Reading Camp Out!
SHOUT OUT to F.AVE teachers Alison Eber and Matthew Livermore for being chosen to present at this year's GaETC conference. Their presentation was called Good Tech Gone Bad: Tips for Handling Tech Abuse & Misuse in the Classroom. As experienced 1:1 teachers they shared their expertise about why students might misuse technology and how to be proactive and prevent that misuse.
SHOUT OUT to F.AVE teachers Elizabeth Hance and Nora Olson for volunteering their time to coach Girls on the Run! F.AVE had 45 girls participate this year in three different groups. We appreciate Ms. Olson and Ms. Hance for taking their time to help out our wonderful parent volunteers.
SHOUT OUT to F.AVE teachers Angelina Prophet and Charee Waugh for their participation in the Global Read Aloud program. This year's Global Read Aloud book was Front Desk, by Kelly Yang, a book about an immigrant girl helping her family run a motel and adjusting to a new school and community. Students exchanged postcards with other classes around the world and even connected over Skype to discuss the book and learn about each other.
SHOUT OUT to the 7th-grade science content team at RMS for coordinating a science showcase day for 7th-grade students. The 7th-grade science team secured volunteers and walking field trips to support an engaging day of exploring why Science matters! The morning consisted of 20 different scientists presenting to all 7th-grade classes, and the afternoon was filled with exciting hands-on experiences.
SHOUT OUT to the RMS language Department and school counselors for coordinating Thanksgiving baskets for over 50 families in need at our school. The teachers provided an opportunity for students and parents to ensure a nice meal over Thanksgiving break.
SHOUT OUT to the 8th-grade science content team for successfully planning and implementing a read across the curriculum adventure by having all students share in the experience of reading the graphic novel Trinity by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm.
SHOUT OUT to Suzy Plishka for coordinating with 7 Stages Theatre to bring NEA's BIG READ of Pretty Monsters by Emily Link to a group of Renfroe students. They have read the book and are now creating art to showcase at the theater
SHOUT OUT to David Harbin for implementing an athletic effort reporting system that encourages coaches, teachers, and parents to use effort data to implement ways to celebrate success, encourage growth, and help our RMS athletes!
SHOUT OUT to the Sunshine committee at RMS for coordinating a successful Chili cook off during our planning together, and fun treats on Halloween. Teachers that break bread (or candy) together stay together.
SHOUT OUT to Kristin Karaby, Sabrina Shields, and Ragen Hudson for coordinating with the Decatur Housing Authority a parent grading information night for the community.
SHOUT OUT to social studies teachers Kristen Embry and Cherith Johnson for leading our Model UN team to two successful competitions so far this year, the first at Georgia Tech and the second at Georgia State University. Our students took home numerous awards from both conferences for Outstanding Position Papers and Outstanding Delegates.
SHOUT OUT to Media Specialist Ifeude Hill for the incredible programming she's facilitated for our students over the past weeks. She took students to hear author T-Nehisi Coates speak about his new book The Water Dancer; hosted author Nic Stone to kick off Project Lit and talk about her book Jackpot; hosted spoken word artist Mila Konomos to come in to discuss The Shadow Hero and to teach students about Asian culture; enlisted GSU sociologist Nia Reed to do an opening discussion with DHS parents about the history of racism in America as part of our ALA Great Stories Program, which focuses on racial healing; and coordinated with the 12th-grade lit team for a podcast tasting for our seniors classes who are creating their own original podcasts.
SHOUT OUT to Coach Cody Cory for leading our football team to its first playoff game in 15 years! While #OurTeam lost in the playoffs to Buford, they fought valiantly all season and took our school to new levels of school spirit at pep rallies and games! Many thanks to Coach Cory and to all of our football coaching staff for such a great season.
SHOUT OUT to Transportation for awesome Bus Safety presentations to all 10 schools in October and November!
SHOUT OUT to Nutrition for their creativity with their menus! Have you noticed they have had a ramen bar, pasta bar, and many other ways they have been creative with the school breakfasts and lunches. Thanks for all you do!
SHOUT OUT to the first cohort of the CSD Leadership Academy! We are excited to see this group grow and learn!
Did you just complete a training or program, have some exciting news to share or want to give a shout out to a fellow colleague? Send that over to sjones1@csdecatur.net and you will see that in this section in future newsletters.
Scenes from our Schools... Photos from around the District!
The Decatur Business Association named DHS student Alix Wagner, alumnus Happy Herold, and DHS teacher Jennifer Gonzalez as 2019 Decatur Hometown Heroes.
Important Dates Around the District:
Upcoming PTA Events...
Winnona Park's Jingle Jog and Tree, Wreath, and Candle sale- This Weekend!
Winnona Park Elementary PTA Holiday Sale
Saturday, December 7th
Start this holiday season off right by joining your friends at Winnona Park for a special holiday event that combines the Jingle Jog with the Tree, Wreath, and Candle Sales on the Winnona Park Field. Fore more information or to purchase in advance, visit https://winnonaparkpta.org/product-category/holiday-sale/.
Clairemont's Winter Marketplace- Next Weekend!
Friday, December 13, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Clairemont Annual Holiday Marketplace, happening next weekend, features handmade crafts, art, gifts and more from over than 100 local and regional artists as well as food from local restaurants, delicious homemade soups and desserts in the café. For more information visit decaturholidaymarketplace.com.
Glennwood's Casino Night Silent Auction- Save the Date: February 29, 2020
For tickets or more information, visit www.glennwoodpta.org.
College Heights Bid for Chick's Little Luau Auction- Save The Date : March 6, 2020
For tickets or more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/BidforChicksLittleLuau.
The Oakhurst Annual Give-a-Hoot Auction-Save the Date: March 20, 2020
For tickets or more information, visit https://oakhurstelementarypta.org/.
Westchester's Battle of the Band's Call for Bands:
Westchester is currently looking to for local bands to perform in their annual Battle of the Bands, the deadline is today, December 6. To submit your band for consideration, visit https://www.westchesterrocks.org/band-submission. Save the Date: March 27, 2020.
Upcoming Appreciation Days:
January: National Mentoring Month
About the CSD Staff Scoop
If you would like to submit some good news, a shout out or a student or staff recognition, please feel free to submit it here or by emailing Sarah Jones, Communications and PR specialist at sjones1@csdecatur.net. Also we love photos! Please share your photos with us and we will share them with the district here and on CSD’s social media pages.
PDFs of these newsletters will be saved under the staff section of the website for future review.
Wilson School Support Center
Email: sjones1@csdecatur.net
Website: csdecatur.net
Location: 125 Electric Avenue, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404-371-3601
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cityschoolsofdecatur