The EduGATOR!
Week of September 2
Exit Ticket for August 26-28!
Thank you for completing this exit ticket from our first three days of school. We'll leave the survey open until Monday to ensure we capture staff feedback.
This form will be used for attendance as well as to shape PD in the future, so please take a few minutes to complete if you have not already. Thank you!
Election Conversation Follow Up
At our district PD day, we talked about the upcoming election and how to handle different situations in the classroom. There were also some questions that popped up that I said I'd ask our attorney. Here are his responses:
Q: What are the parameters where staff can post on their personal social media page about their opinions about politics?
A: Staff are allowed to post their personal opinions regarding politics on their personal social media pages. However, it is not permissible to post or say anything that would be perceived as discriminatory or infringe upon other civil rights. For example, saying something like: all people who support XXX are XXX is not allowed. Generally speaking, in your private life, statements or actions would need to pass the line of decency in order to connect to school. This behavior includes anything that can be perceived as illegal, infringing on someone's rights or labeling others that would have a negative effect on students. At that point, the workplace would need to intervene and address behaviors in the staff member's personal life, as these actions would likely affect the workplace culture.
Q: Are there certain requirements that need to be met in order for them not to be in violation of their responsibility to be neutral as educators? ie. private page or associated to the school via someone's profile
A: Best practice dictates that staff should not be "friends" with parents on social media. Your social media policy should prohibit staff from including students as friends. If staff have a personal relationship with a family outside the school setting that is acceptable, but if the only connection is through school, then staff should not be "friends" with parents or students on their personal page. Staff should not tag or connect their personal opinion about politics to the school district when posting on their personal page.
Q: Is it acceptable to campaign for a candidate on a staff member's personal time. What happens if a student sees them?
A. Staff can campaign for candidates on their own time. They should not look to influence students in their campaign efforts during their personal time (or ever).
As a reminder: when we talked at PD, the general statement I read aloud from the attorney is:
Staff can teach facts about politics when connected to the curriculum standards, but can never discuss their own political beliefs and/or attempt to influence students to support a particular political viewpoint.
Regarding student free speech rights, students have First Amendment rights and even greater rights in Massachusetts due to a separate law. Therefore, they basically have the right to say whatever they want so long as it does not infringe upon other students' civil rights (e.g., discriminatory language, etc.).
Additionally, we spoke about how staff may not wear clothes (the sentence continues) that display support for one candidate or political perspective. It is acceptable for staff to have a decal on their vehicle that supports a political candidate.
Fundamentally, because we as educators are in positions of power and authority over students in the most basic form, we must be so careful to ensure that our behaviors are not interpreted as attempting to sway or influence students. It's likely that students look up to us and will heavily weigh our opinions as important. In other realms of our relationship with students, they look to us to provide guidance and support, but political opinions are an area where we are required to have students form their own opinions. With this being said, it is acceptable to teach about the facts related to our government, the election process, and topics related to policy.
I know that these conversations are going to be delicate to facilitate, and I appreciate your diligence to ensure that we are complying with these expectations in our roles as educators shaping our future!
Educator Evaluation
As we touched upon at our district PD day, the Educator Evaluation process at Gateway is new and improved this year thanks to the hard work of the task force that came together over the summer. The purpose of the changes is to encourage evaluators to see educators in action to get a fuller sense of what is happening in classrooms. We hope that the shifts will allow for more frequent feedback, transparency, and to make it more "educator friendly".
The updated addendum to the contract that outlines all of the educator evaluation expectations can be found here.
Also, the new rubric for educators published by DESE this summer is here. The focus indicators for educators are listed below. Focus indicators are the focus areas that evaluators will be looking for in classroom observations and will be intentional about providing feedback about these specific indicators. Educators are evaluated on the whole rubric, but these are the main priority when doing observations. The description of the educator focus indicators are here (aligned to the admin focus indicators.
The final touches in Frontline are being made to simplify the process. Specifically, you won't need to do a complex self-assessment in Frontline. The only evidence that you'll need to upload is to show progress towards your goal and artifacts that support standard 3 (family and community outreach) since that is not always observed in classroom observations. Evaluators may ask to see other forms of artifacts, but most will be observed in visits. Frontline will include:
- a check off for the self-assessment
- goal submission
- formative evaluation write up
- summative evaluation write up
Observations will no longer be tracked in Frontline and will now be on a simple note catcher. Educators or evaluators are welcome to upload the observation notes in Frontline if they wish as an attachment.
One update that is coming up: Goals are now due on October 1 in , so please be thinking about how to align your goals to the instructional priority. Your evaluator will be able to support you with this work.
Staff Laptop Insurance
We will be offering a staff laptops repair deductible again this year for $50 per device for teacher/faculty MacBook Air and HP laptops. As in the past, this deductible will cover accidental damages as well as manufacturer defects. Staff who decline to contribute towards to deductible will be responsible for all costs associated with repairs to their devices. Staff who would like to opt in should write a check made out to GRSD by October 4 and give to Technology Director Chris Parker.
Para chromebook insurance will be free of charge.
Technology Support
All technology requests should be sent via email to Technology-Department@grsd.org. We are implementing a new Help Desk system that is not quite ready. Once it is ready, we will send out directions for use. Chris Parker, Kurt Zinnack, and Tammy Paiva receive the technology email and copies go to Steph Fisk and Kristen Smidy.
The best way to ensure that your request is received and addressed quickly is to use the email above. Please do not call for assistance as the list of work is generated and distributed from the emails received. Thank you!
Getting in Touch with Security
The email address security@grsd.org is available! The email goes directly to the security monitors located at the entry of the middle/high school. Feel free to email with questions or concerns and they will either get back to you or forward to an administrators for follow up.
The day security monitor is Ellen Emmonds. Night security is James Levy on Mondays and Tuesdays and Stephanie Paiva on Wednesdays through Fridays. The security email also goes to Kristen and Steph.
Security Cameras FYI
Speaking of security--
A few years ago, the district installed security cameras in some common spaces in every building in addition to the cameras outside and in the hallways. This was a result of our safety audit from the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that we can monitor large community gatherings like rallies, events, and athletic games in spaces like our gymnasium, library, cafeteria, and auditorium during non-instructional time. Security cameras are not located in classroom spaces, offices, or bathrooms (absolutely not!).
The GEA and administration have an agreement to ensure that these cameras are not viewable in teaching areas during the school day. The GEA may request that cameras are turned on during the school day in areas and the district will comply with this request. This happened last year when there was a request to ensure that vandalism and theft was prevented in a spaces. To start off this year, these cameras are currently not viewable.
The only staff authorized to view any security camera footage are principals and assistant principals, superintendent and assistant superintendent and security monitors per the school committee policy. The principal or the superintendent may authorize police or necessary staff to view footage with a reason provided that is in line with the policy.
Please let Kristen or Jim (GEA President) or Bill (GEA Vice President know if you have any questions about this.
Mandated Trainings Reminder
Mandated trainings are due no later than September 6. Please complete all of the requirements before that time, including the EPI Pen practice with your school nurse. All of the information can be found at this link.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EBj-tn6S0RP7ap8pzFnHLJIaq4cLmdCI8YbazbYt3jE/edit?usp=sharing
Let's Recycle!
Single stream recycling (or “mixed” recycling) is a system in which recyclable materials such as cardboard, paper, and plastic, metal, and glass containers are collected together for processing.
Single stream recycling programs do not accept the following materials. Businesses and institutions that generate a large quantity of these materials should consider collecting them separately for recycling:
- Film plastics, including plastic bags
- Bulky rigid plastics (plastic buckets, crates, etc.)
- Styrofoam
- Textiles
- Waxed cardboard
See below for the dos and don'ts and let's do our best to recycle what we can :)
Free Webinar FYI
As we all gear up for back-to-school, we wanted to share this free upcoming webinar on social media and youth mental health: Social Media and Youth Mental Health: What To Know; What To Do. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center of Excellence in Social Media and Mental Health are partnering with Cartwheel to bring this to parents, caregivers, and school staff on September 17 at 7pm EST: you can read more below, and register here.
You can also view the full 2024-2025 school year webinar calendar here.
Register here, spots are limited!
Sep 17, 7pm ET:
Social Media & Youth Mental Health: What to Know, What to Do
16 de oct, 7pm ET:
Redes Sociales y Salud Mental Juvenil: Qué Saber y Qué Hacer
Social media use by young people is nearly universal, with up to 95% of youth ages 13-17 reporting using a social media platform and more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly” (U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory).
Parents and caregivers play a crucial role in guiding how children and teens use social media. But starting that conversation can be hard. How can we engage young people in useful conversations and help instill healthy habits? What are some roadblocks to avoid?
Join Cartwheel and Dr. Ilan Shapiro in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health for an engaging webinar on one of the most pressing youth mental health topics today. Learn how to engage your child in meaningful discussions, set healthy boundaries, and support their well-being in the digital age.
Faculty Handbook
Please take a little time to review the faculty handbook for the 24-25 school year.
There are updates to the following:
- times to reflect the contractual updates
- COVID protocols
- new homework policy per the school committee
- sub caller directions
- multi-factor authentication technology expectations
- replacement ID updates
- language about political conversations
Please let me or your principal know if you have any questions!
