Principal Update

Teaching & Learning Updates

Principal Update Attachments:

The information shared in the Principal Update is for administrators.
Items within the Principal Update that can be shared with staff will be clearly identified.
Links to documents will not be shared with any staff requesting access from an outside TPS email address.

Weekly ZOOM UPDATE: We are at 47%. Please encourage teachers to download, save, and delete their class videos from the cloud DAILY. T&L will be deleting the recordings today for the week of Oct. 19. This will keep us from reaching our maximum storage and defaulting to a not recording status. #SHARE

Technical Support w/ Report Cards: If you have teachers needing support in completing their report cards or are having any technical issues in posting them, please arrange a time this week with Ms. Cline so she can schedule a time and plan accordingly.

Updated Data Consult Start on November 9: See the revised Data Consult Schedule in the attachments folder as well as a Blank Data Consult Form.

Ci3T Direct Observations: The Ci3T Leadership Team heard your concerns and have opted to postpone observations until Spring. We do plan to send the Teacher Self Report and Primary Intervention Rating Scale survey to your staff during parent teacher conferences. The survey has been shortened and refreshed to be even more relevant.You will receive an email with the details when the survey is ready for dissemination through Qualtrics. For questions, please contact Stacey Kramer, skramer@tps501.org.

Snow Days: Snow days will be remote learning days. There will not be lost instruction due to inclement weather. #SHARE

Close Contact Quarantine: Shawnee County has shared new guidance in mask use and determining if staff and students quarantine. See the attached SNCO Guidance. Schools will continue to contact Mrs. Vawter as is the current practice. #SHARE

Face Covering Guidance: Please see the SNCO Guidance on face coverings. Unacceptable face coverings include: • Gaiters; • Bandanas; and • Masks with valves or vents. #SHARE

KSU Extension Lessons: K-State Research & Extension – Shawnee County provides school enrichment programs for local elementary schools, including Ants, Wheat Science, Butterflies, and Chick Embryology. We will soon be placing our order for fall programs. These programs are all of a “drop-off” nature and no staff member will be requesting to be in the classroom. I have also attached a letter describing how we will handle delivery and pick-up of the kits due to COVID. These educational materials have been supplementing school curriculums for many years, particularly to help meet Kansas Science standards.

If you have additional questions about these programs, please contact Haley Kelley, 4-H School Enrichment Coordinator at kelley13@ksu.edu or locally at 785.232.0062 ext 112.

COVID Walkthrough Tool: The app is found at this link: https://tpswalkthrough.glideapp.io/ . You can access the app on your phone, iPad, or computer. The link to the district COVID-19 form is on the front screen and you will also find it on your school's screen along with your school's Visible Learning walk through form and data. You can share the link to the app with your APs, Coach, or anyone else doing walk throughs in your building. If you have any questions about the app or walk through forms please let me know reach out to Travis True.

American Education Week: American Education Week is November 16-20. Please share fun and unique ways you plan to celebrate.

Attendance Concerns: Please address attendance for ALL students (remote and in-person) was we have in past practice. Please make ongoing outreaches to families, send pre truancy and truancy letters and after 10 consecutive days absence and having done the outreaches to families, schools can drop students (unless they are Special Education). If it is a Special Education student, please work with your consulting teacher and Dr. Harrington to address. #SHARE

Grading Window: The window to post grades opened Monday, October 26. Grades are due at 6:00 pm on Monday, November 9. At the elementary level, the remote teachers will complete the report cards, except in the case of music and PE. They will complete the report card for remote and in-person students. #SHARE

Mondays Chief Days: On Mondays, staff may wear appropriate jeans and Chiefs spirit wear to either cheer them on or celebrate their wins. #SHARE

Masks: Masks MUST be worn at all times during the school day in conjunction with maintaining the 6 foot social distance. These two mitigating steps will have the greatest impact in reducing COVID spread. #SHARE

Emergency Drills: The following emergency drills should be conducted: 2 tornado drills, 3 crisis drills and 4 fire drills. Drills should be done in a manner that ensures social distancing. Schools should make modifications to drills to ensure all Covid-19 safety procedures and protocols are utilized. Students must know where to go or what to do in the case of an emergency event. Please continue to log the dates/times of your drills on the red document in the office. See the attached document.

Parent Teacher Conferences: Teachers will work two 12 hour days November 11-12 on site for Parent Teacher Conferences and have Friday, November 13 off. Conferences are the evening of November 11 and all day on November 12. There is no school for students on November 12-13. #SHARE

Title I Agreements for Success: Title I schools are required to complete an Agreement for Success with parents and students. Attached are the directions for doing this digitally in Google Sheets. The completed eform during enrollment does not meet the requirement; they must have signatures from the teacher, parent, and student.

SSRS -IE: Please see the attached guidance in delivering the SSRS-IE. The assessment window opens on Wednesday, October 7, 2020. #SHARE

District Calendar: Please add school events to the TPS District Calendar. This is what is shared with the board members and allows them to know what is happening across the district.

Improvement Plans: All Improvement Plans are due prior to December 1 and should be sent in advance to Dr. Hackett (secondary), Mrs. Sharp (elementary), and Billie Wallace. We will review them and give recommendations before presenting them to teachers. #SHARE

GRANTS: If you or a staff member wish to apply for a grant for your building or program, please complete this Grant Application Google Form. The request will be reviewed by the Grant Committee and you will be given further information about completing the application. If you have any questions, please contact Stacey Kramer, skramer@tps501.org. #SHARE

Ci3T Update: Please see the attached document for ideas to support remote learners with engagement. #SHARE

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UPDATE:

KSDE Releases their Professional Development Website: To access the website, click on the following link: https://kansasteachingandleadingproject.org/. #SHARE

Breakouts at Bishop: Please see the attached flyer on the Breakout at Bishop sessions being offered starting this Thursday evening from 4:30-5:30. The next one is December 10. #SHARE

Professional Development Articles:

5 Essentials Every Teacher should incorporate into Remote Teaching and Learning

Professional Development that Helps Teachers Improve the Quality of their Video Instruction

Elementary School Principals' Professional Learning; Current Status and Future Needs

Greenbush PD Session: ACEs Training - November 18

Frontline App. Please download the app from the Playstore on your phone. It is a check-in app only for Topeka Public Schools. It will prompt you to enter the following code: 7354 and sign in with your Frontline information. You have to enroll in a learning opportunity on Frontline for you to check in on your phone. The check-in app will take the place of having to have attendance sheets for certified staff. The learning opportunity will pop up on your phone two hours before the start of the activity. Which then allows you to enroll at least fifteen minutes before the start of the activity. The app will be able to capture the time you registered. The use of the Frontline App is optional. Staff can continue to login to Frontline as they have in the past. #SHARE

Social Justice Lecture Panel on the book How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi: This event is on Tuesday, October 27 may be of interest to you. It's a free opportunity to view a social justice panel discussion of Ibram X. Kendi's book, How to Be an Anti-Racist sponsored by UMKC. Registration is required.

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES:

Approved Software Lists: You will find the approved software lists here on the Teaching & Learning Website. #SHARE

Software Approval Process: If there is a specific software than a teacher is requesting, please check the approved software list to see if it has been previously approved. If it is not an approved software, staff can complete the appropriate request form:

Software & Website Approval Request

Requests are reviewed by a committee that includes teachers, administrators, information technology staff, and teaching & learning staff. #SHARE

SeeSaw Updates: Seesaw just released some new updates. They include

Calendar view of assigned activities
Pin to top: Activity
Pin to top: Post
Improved post recover

The following video will demonstrate how each of these new features work. Web versions (chromebooks) are automatically updated, iPads need to be running version 7.5.1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD3eNUR7uoA

Moby Max: In Moby Max, please DO NOT hide any content areas from your students. If one teacher hides a content area, it hides that subject from the student for ALL teachers the student is assigned to not just your class. We are having issues with students not seeing assignments and it is because other teachers have hidden some of the subjects.

SPECIAL EDUCATION UPDATE:

Close Caption: Please remind all district staff making videos to add the closed caption option. Especially counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and those dealing with bullying, sexual harassment, health, suicide prevention, death, crisis situations, etc.

Particularly for middle and high school students the content is very sensitive.

It is important that the students who are deaf or hard of hearing have the information by reading along on the screen, and that other students do not try to “copy” the signs and use them inappropriately.

Special Education Referral Form: Here is the new Special Education Evaluation Referral form. The new procedure for submitting a referral and the required documentation are outlined on the first page of the form. The district GEI Coordinator, Stacey Kramer, will also be adding a Master version of this document to each building's GEI Google folder.

If you need an interpreter for an IEP, please contact Sandy Harter at Quinton Heights to make arrangements. Her number is 235-7571. Please allow a few weeks advance notice for her to be able to coordinate with interpreters.

Please remember if students are sent home for any part of the day, this counts as a full day of suspension for a student that has an IEP.

Middle Schools and High Schools-If a student is considering enrollment at Avondale West, the school team must meet and determine if they support that recommendation since it is a change of placement. If enrollment at AW is supported it must be clearly outlined on the Prior Written Notice why this choice was selected and how FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) will be addressed. During the pandemic, it needs to also be documented why remote only through the home school is not appropriate.

Elementary Update

If you have any questions related to the Elementary Update, please contact Mrs. Sharp, General Director of Preschool and Elementary.

Elementary Virtual School Attendance: Attendance for virtual elementary students who are accessing the Calvert/Edmentum online learning platform will not be entered daily into Tyler SIS. In alignment with current virtual school practices, students are instead expected to demonstrate a certain amount of weekly progress in each of their courses. In addition to schools reaching out via email and phone, families will receive a formal letter later this week informing them if their child is not progressing adequately in online coursework. Further steps will be taken weekly for students who continue not to progress. Ms. Wrisley will reach out to each school Wednesday and then mail the letters to families at the end of this week.

Ready Gen Selections: ReadyGen stories are in the process of being placed in the Seesaw district library. These can be used in a variety of ways for both remote and in-person instruction.

Moby Max Assignments: For the purpose of making it easier for all staff, C&A Teams have identified Moby Max assignments in ELA that are being pushed out by T&L. Teachers may choose to use this as an aligned assignment that gives them a percentage grade, or the grade level teams can determine to use something different. If teachers want to use them and see the student scores, please share this Moby Max Score Video.The following video shows how to access scores on assignments in MobyMax.

Parent Teacher Conferences: TPS will be hosting parent/teacher conferences on Wednesday, November, 11th from 4-8 and Thursday, November 12th from 8-8. All conferences will be done remotely. Teachers should utilize these directions to create a google form to gather information from parents. The google form should be sent out to families on Wednesday, October 28th. Schools will set up translator and sibling conferences as they typically would. Teachers will need to send home devices on Wednesday for families who indicate on the google form that they need them in order to participate in the conference. Teachers will hold conferences from the school each day during conference times as this allows them to be off on Friday. #SHARE

Dual Enrolled Students: Principals, if you have a remote student that is dually enrolled or will need to be dually enrolled in another school, please notify Dr. MacDonald when they switch between micro/remote. He will ensure that all necessary changes in Tyler are complete.

If you have students enrolled in the Oasis program at FSGC, you can mark the 1/2 day they are at Oasis with an "R" if the students complete the work during their shortened school day.

Girl Scouts: Rather than sending home notes with students, please consider including these flyers in your school newsletter. Flyer and Invitation. #SHARE

Secondary Updates

If you have questions regarding the Secondary Update, please contact Dr. Jill Hackett, Associate Superintendent.

Naviance Lessons: Naviance lessons for the 2nd Quarter will be pushed out to students on Thursday Nov. 12th. Please keep in mind that all of the 1st quarter lessons will still need to be completed. The first quarter lessons will remain on the students "To Do" tasks. It is important that students are given time to work through the lessons, as these meet certain requirements in a student's Individual Plan of Study (IPS). Counselors should attend all Naviance Sessions in order to provide quality support for teachers during implementation in the classrooms.

Weekly Naviance Support: We will begin weekly Naviance check-in meetings on Mondays at 1:00, beginning Monday Nov. 16th. Counselors should plan to attend.

https://tps501.zoom.us/j/85154259876
Meeting ID: 851 5425 9876
Passcode: naviance

Naviance Parent Academy: We will be hosting a district Naviance Parent Academy during PT Conferences on November 11 and 12 at 6:00 pm each evening. The link will be shared in the next PU. Counselors are encouraged to attend.

Know Your Rights: Schools have provided an annual training for secondary students so they understand their rights. Here is the Know Your Rights that can be found on our Equity Page. #SHARE w/ STUDENTS

Autonomy in Scheduling: Secondary principals have the autonomy to gather staff input into making revisions to the schedule within the A/B schedule to improve learning and support teaching. One consideration is to group remote students into classes and in-person students into other classes. You can collaboratively work with staff to find creative solutions. Please be sure to share any revisions with Dr. Hackett and Mrs. Wallace for final approval.

Advisors Excel Scholarship: AE has developed with Kansas State University that is focused on expanding opportunities for women and minorities in the field of financial planning. KSU has one of the top ranked Personal Financial Planning departments in the country, which is a field that is going to be in huge demand over the coming decades. This scholarship is for incoming freshman from Shawnee County and is renewable for all 4 years at $5,000 per year.For more information on the Advisors Excel Scholarship, contact Matthew J Messer, CFO at The Ellis Foundation at matt@theellisfoundation.org or visit www.TheEllisFoundation.org.

WU Leadership Scholarship: See the attached information and share with counselors and seniors, due December 1, 2020. #SHARE

Assessment & Demographics Updates

The following updates are from Dr. Kipp, General Director of Assessment & Demographics:

KAP: The 2021 KAP test security and ethics training will be held in the boardroom at Burnett Center on the following dates and times:

Wednesday, February 10th at 9:00 AM

Wednesday, February 10th at 1:00 PM

Thursday, February 11th at 1:00 PM

This training is mandated by the state of Kansas. You must attend one of these sessions.

Remote Learner Attendance: Attendance rates for remote learners are slightly lower than those of in-person. To monitor your remote learner attendance, please follow these directions:

PULLING ATTENDANCE FOR REMOTE LEARNERS
1) Login to Tyler Pulse tylerpulse.topekapublicschools.net
2) Click Menu in upper left
3) Click Programs and Services
4) Click PR - Program Attendance List
5) Under Service - Filter Full Remote Student

Communications Update

Please note the Communications Department Updates Senior Communications Specialist, Ms. Erika Hall:

United Way: Thank you to everyone who turned in their United Way form. We understand that some staff may have been on leave during our campaign or have misplaced their form and/or are now in a position to donate. If this is you, please know we are sending a "gentle" last call and will be accepting your United Way form until November 9, 2020. If you are in need of a new form, please let us know. #SHARE

Wear your Chiefs Gear on Mondays: Starting next Monday, October 26, the district will be encouraging students and staff to wear their Chief gear and appropriate jeans every Monday throughout the football season to serve as a morale booster in the spirit of working as a team district-wide!

Above and Beyond Nominations: Communications is seeking nominations for TPS employees who have gone above and beyond in their service to Topeka Public Schools!

This award is given monthly to a teacher, staff member, parent, or community volunteer who goes above and beyond to help deliver educational services to students.

An employee must perform in an exceptional or outstanding capacity “above and beyond” the expectations of the job title to impact lives in a selfless manner. He/she must exemplify excellent behavior and inspire others to achieve a higher standard.

A community member must make a significant contribution to further the mission of the district and display loyalty and collaboration. The award is given monthly throughout the school year.

Please submit nominations to: Erika Hall, Senior Communication Specialist, ehall1@tps501.org

Winter Holiday Plans/District Holiday Card Contest: If you would like to submit student holiday card art for our holiday card contest, please submit your cards by November 13th for judging and the winner will be announced in the following CNews Wednesday, November 25th. We encourage each school to have a school-based selection process and to send us the top 5 you want to be considered. This will help us as we look through hundreds of coloring sheets and card submissions. This year cards should be submitted as a single-sheet postcard (front & back) rather than on a bi-fold. Artwork should reflect a winter celebration theme (eg. gingerbread, snow, etc.) Here are examples of winners from last year's holiday card contest .

Building Leadership Academy Dates: (Thursday's before Equity Council ** from (4:30 -5:30 p.m.) via Zoom.

November 19th

January 28th

March 25th

May 27th

Principal for a Day:

Hello Principals,

Each year, Topeka Public Schools hosts an event called Principal for a Day in conjunction with American Education Week. This event invites community leaders to shadow principles in order to gain an inside perspective of modern education.

This event is typically fully in-person, however, this year we have made adjustments to allow our community members to safely engage with our students and staff. The 2020 Principal for a Day event will be fully virtual, and will take place on Thursday, November 19th, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Each principal will be paired with a community member who will virtually shadow you throughout the event. To ensure that each community member receives the same engaging experience as previous years, we ask that each principal prepare a virtual meeting with 1-2 classrooms, and a virtual meeting with your school's student council. You will also be asked to take your community member on a brief virtual tour of your school. This can be done live, or be pre-recorded.

We are excited to continue the tradition of Principal for a Day. We will be sending our first round of applications to our nominees this week, and you will be notified of your pairings by November 2, 2020.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Marissa Meis

Information Technology Updates

Please see the Information Technology Updates from Mr. Gowan, Chief Information Officer:

Grading Window is Open: Please share with your teams that the grade cycle is now open for the first quarter through 6:PM on Monday, November 9th. Your teachers should be verifying that all assignments have been scored and recorded, and that grades are getting "posted" or "imported" to the "Report Cards Tab." When they are done with grades for the quarter, they will need to click the "finalize" button. If you would like a refresher on the Grading Process, please see the following instructions for Elementary Teachers and Secondary Teachers. Elementary teachers will also need to generate a standards-based report card to share with their parents, as shown in the instructions.

Inclement Weather Remote Days: Please share with your teams that in the event of an inclement weather day, elementary teachers will need to send home with students both the device and the power adapter that is currently used in the classroom. Secondary teachers will need to remind their students to take their device and power adapter home for remote learning.

Cox Connect-2-Compete Partnership: Please share with your teams that a communication went out to eligible families that highlighted two options for our families who qualify: 1) we pay for their Connect-2-Compete services until the grant expires, or 2) we pay a $10 credit for a higher level of service or a bundled package. The instructions included in the email provide all of the details, and most families will be able to navigate that process; however, if you receive any calls with questions you cannot answer, please redirect them to IT.

Please Follow Up on Hotspots: Also, if you have borrowed a district hotspot for families who were previously invited to the Cox Partnership, please check in with them to make sure they have completed their transition. The sooner those hotspots are returned, the sooner the next family can use it for their situation.

Help for Students with Connection Difficulties: Please share with your teachers that students who are having trouble staying connected (audio or video) to Zoom, need to update their ChromeOS. Also, our larger families with limited bandwidth, are encouraged to use speaker view, and to rotate their video feeds among the family so that all students can have a positive experience with learning. Students who cannot connect via the internet, may also be able to participate using the phone, so consider this as a way of including your students.

Power Cord for Teacher Laptop: Please share with your teachers that the new teacher laptop uses a stronger power cord than other USB-C devices. If a teacher wants to purchase a second one to use elsewhere, please consider this one from Amazon or its equivalent.

Spoofing Incidents on the Rise: Please share with your staff that spoofing incidents are on the rise again. Spoofing occurs when an attacker gathers information about a principal or other leader and then uses that information to create a fake account to send messages that look like they are from that person. Please remind your teams not to open or share emails that appear to be from a staff member but not sent from @tps501.org.

Please Use Track-IT to Request Help from IT: Please share with your teams the reminder that Track-IT is the fastest way to get help from our Information Technology team. This is a busy time of the year for technology, so we need our whole team to be able to provide assistance where we can. Track-IT is the system our IT Managers use to assign and to supervise the work of their teams. It also provides a way for us to monitor issues and organize our work efficiently.

Operations Updates

COVID Safety Water Bottles: The water bottles have been received and will be distributed in the next week to schools. If you have questions, please reach out to Deputy Superintendent, Larry Robbins.

HUMAN RESOURCES: If you have questions related to Human Resources Updates, please contact Deborah Ramberg, General Director of Human Resources.

COVID Directions: Please see the COVID MEMO from Dr. Anderson and Mr. Robbins.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP): See here for information. If any principals need additional flyers, cards, posters, or pamphlets, please call Daneva Coker in Human Resources. She can get them to you quickly. #SHARE

TRANSPORTATION: If you have questions about transportation, please contact Paula Schwartman-Waters:

Route Changes: Starting the week of November 9 route changes will be completed once a week. All changes will be due by Thursday at 11 am and the route changes will take effect on the following Monday. Thanks Paula

FOOD SERVICE: If you have questions related to Food Service Updates, please contact Nicole Jahnke, General Director of Child Nutrition Services.

Because of Co-Vid quarantine and loss of meal revenue, the Child Nutrition Service department is no longer self-sufficient. We can no longer allow free meals to adults supervising meal periods. If you would like to set up a meal account, please contact Lisa Nelson at 295-3097 or lnelson@tps501.org.

BIC teachers who are modeling are still allowed a breakfast meal.

Principals, please strongly encourage your students to take the free meals offered to them. With high participation rates, we could become self-sufficient once again. Each breakfast meal means $2.39 and each lunch meal means $4.16 in revenue to the district.

Newly Revised Food Service Phase 2 Chart.

Calendar of Events

November 9, 2020: Grades due in Tyler by 6:00 pm.
November 11, 2020: Parent Teacher Conferences, 3:30/4:00-7:30/8:00
November 12, 2020: Parent Teacher Conferences, 7:30/8:00-7:30/8:00
November 11-12, 2020: Naviance Parent Academy, 6:00 pm
November 12, 2020: Equity Council, 5:30-6:30, Burnett
November 17, 2020: SSRS-IE Winter Preview
December 2, 2020: SSRS-IE Winter Window Opens
December 10, 2020: Equity Council, 5:30-6:30, Burnett
December 18, 2020: SSRS-IE Winter Window Closes
January 25-27, 2021: TPSF Major Saver Campaign Kickoff
January 28, 2020: Equity Council, 5:30-6:30, Burnett
February 1-8, 2021: TPSF Major Saver Campaign Collection
February 9, 2021: TPSF Major Saver Campaign Follow Up Day
February 23, 2021: KSDE funded ACT for juniors, paper
February 26, 2021: Equity Council, 5:30-6:30, Burnett
March 2-4, 2021: KSDE funded ACT for juniors, online
March 9, 2021: KSDE funded ACT for juniors, paper make up
March 9-11; 16-18, 2021: KSDE funded ACT for juniors, online makeup
March 19, 2021: Last Day of 3rd Quarter
March 22, 2021: Grades Due in Tyler SIS by 6:00 pm
March 24, 2021: SSRS-IE Spring Preview
March 25, 2021: Equity Council, 5:30-6:30, Burnett
March 26, 2021: Grade Reports Printed/Posted
March 31, 2021: SSRS-IE Spring Window Opens
April 16, 2021: SSRS-IE Spring Window Closes
April 26, 2021: Equity Council, 5:30-6:30, Burnett
May 4, 2021: Adaptive PE Field Day
May 11, 2021: Adaptive PE Field Day Rain Date
June 3, 2021: TPS Foundation’s 28th annual golf tournament, 12:00, GreatLife-Shawnee County golf course
June 4, 2021: Grades Printed/Posted

Principal Update

November 3, 2020