District Dialogue

A recent Jefferson High School graduate is reflecting on a significant honor he received at the National Speech and Debate Tournament in June in Des Moines, IA. Beneyam Hassen was among one of five finalists for Student of the Year. Ultimately, Beneyam was named the winner of the title National Speech and Debate Student of the Year. He received a $3,000 scholarship in addition to continued accolades for his role in high school speech and debate. Beneyam participated as a speaker at the TEDxYouth Sioux Falls event in March and was selected as a student speaker for graduation this past May. Congratulations to Beneyam and to his coach, Travis Dahle of Jefferson!

As we get closer to the first days of the school year, lots of preparations have been underway to welcome back staff. Professional development is an area of emphasis identified through the SFSD Priorities. Professional development activities aim to enhance staff capacity, emphasize ‘The Sioux Falls School District Experience,’ encourage self-reflection, and stimulate innovation, all of which will positively influence student achievement. In addition to District-planned professional development, principals have been providing building-specific training, health and safety protocols, emergency preparedness, and other targeted professional developments.

For more on SFSD Professional Development efforts, view the full report below.

Last year the Sioux Falls School District received a three-year, $1.5 Million grant to address chronic absenteeism at six schools. Grant dollars paid for the hiring of six attendance liaisons and one academic recovery teacher that was a split position at the middle schools to assist with academic learning loss caused by excessive absenteeism. Data collected over the first year of implementation show a general movement in the right direction. Attendance liaisons have been busy making phone calls, texts, home visits, working on incentive and attendance plans, and most importantly, building relationships with students and families. As we move into the second year of implementation we hope to use this momentum to continue the positive trends in combating chronic absenteeism.

For more information on the grant, view the full report below.

Several hundred new employees will soon join our team this year, bringing their best to our schools this fall. As of early August, SFSD has welcomed 148 new teachers to our classrooms. For a closer look at who the District is welcoming this fall, please view the full report below.

The SFSD 2024-25 t-shirts have arrived, and there are enough to make sure every SFSD employee gets one. Please be in contact with your building clerical staff to coordinate how pickup will go.

Many building clerical staff are receiving large orders of shirts to distribute at their buildings, so they will be in contact about specific sizing.

If your specific building is NOT doing a bulk order for shirts, a pickup event is being held at IPC on Tuesday, August 20th from 10 AM - 12 PM. This is also where each building will be able to come pick up their bulk orders. Please enter the lane between IPC and Robert Frost from the north side and continue to the southern-most available station. See the attached map for instructions.

Principals/Clerical:

If you choose to make one large order for all the staff in your building, please communicate with them accordingly, so as not to double up. You have received an order form via email where you can order specific numbers of sizes for your staff. Please fill this out before August 15, so we can have your order boxed up for a quick pick up on that date.

The Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation surprised 70 new, first-year teachers with $200 First Time Teacher Grants during orientation! Teachers are able to use these grants to purchase materials to get their classrooms ready for the school year. The Education Foundation started this program in 2011, and with the announcement this morning, they will have awarded more than 1,000 First Time Teacher Grants! What a wonderful way to kick things off for the upcoming school year!

Each passing week of August brings us a little bit closer to the upcoming first day of school! As you begin to get things ready for the 2024-25 school year, please consult this Back To School Bulletin for a list of important dates and trainings to remember.

SHINE stands for Scholarship, Honors, Innovation, Networking and Exceptionalism. We’re looking for stories we can tell about high school seniors, any-age students, staff (yes, you can and should absolutely fill out this form for yourself!), projects and programs. Have a new partnership that is benefitting the classroom? Win a grant you think the world should know about? Get nominated for or receive a state-wide, regional or national honor? Know a senior stand-out on a team, in the fine arts arena, or in the classroom? How about younger students who are leading by example, making giving to charity a priority, or are making the most of a bad situation? Should a program or portion of your school be highlighted? What about some current projects: experiments, field trips, new collaborative lessons?

Send your suggestions today, and keep this in mind for the days, weeks and months ahead!

Imagine Solutions Conference is a nationally known thought leader conference that brings world-class visionaries to share ideas on today's most relevant issues. The conference offers an impressive speaker lineup in topics, such as Science and Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Arts, Music and much more. We are excited to provide Sioux Falls School District teachers the opportunity to attend this year's conference virtually. Registered attendees will receive a link to the recorded videos.

During the past 14 years, the Imagine Solutions Conference (ISC) has brought together more than 550 world-class experts to learn, springboard, and leverage their capabilities to effectively address social issues. Their mantra, "a profound respect for learning" mirrors the heart and soul of teachers who "love to learn." The ISC Virtual Learning Program for the Sioux Falls School District was created out of these beliefs, allowing all teachers to participate for free.

All registered teachers qualify for 5 hours of professional development for registering and completing a brief survey after watching all of the videos.

Do you have a coworker or colleague who is constantly going above and beyond? Do you notice when somebody is going out of their way to make a student's day just a little bit brighter? Do you have a staff member who consistently brings their best, day in and day out? We want to hear about it! We know that amazing things happen every day in every building of the Sioux Falls School District, and we need your help to tell those stories. Follow the above info (or click the link below) to nominate a coworker to be recognized for their amazing dedication to the work of SFSD.

Do you have questions about your personal leave options, SEMS codes, and personal leave balances? If so, please see the “Personal and Wellness Day Leave Memo for the 2024-25 School Year” for the 2024-25 school year!

Do you have questions about which days in the 2024-25 school year are “restricted dates” for the use of personal leave? If so, please see the “No Meeting-No Personal Days Memo for the 2024-25 School Year” for the 2024-25 school year!

Do you have questions about the Comp Days you will earn by working the fall and spring conferences? If so, please see the “Comp Days Memo” for the 2024-25 school year!

MySDRS has been integrated with the MySD Citizen Portal. This affects how individuals log in to MySDRS to access their SDRS account. If you have not already created a MySD account, you will need to create one in order to link and access your MySDRS account.

Click HERE to learn more about this integration and to view steps on creating/linking your accounts.

The South Dakota Retirement System (SDRS) has created Retire Ready, a new virtual format for group presentations. The SDRS Retire Ready series will consist of four short presentations, all designed to increase your financial awareness and help you prepare for retirement. All SDRS members, at any stage of their career, will benefit from the information provided. These 45-60 minute presentations are held via ZOOM every Wednesday on a rotating-basis.

SDRS-SRP & SPP: August 14th, 2024 at 4:15 pm

Retirement is expensive and additional personal savings will be key to having a financially successful retirement. Learn more about how the SDRS Supplemental Retirement Plan (SRP) and SDRS Special Pay Plan (SPP) can help you save more for your retirement.

Register via ZOOM

Steps to Financial Success: August 21st, 2024 at 4:15pm

Build on your budgeting and savings skills and take charge of your finances to be more prepared for retirement.

Register via ZOOM

Q&A Session: August 28th, 2024 at 4:15 pm

Ask your questions and get answers from SDRS staff. Every session will have unique questions from our members, so feel free to tune in often.

Register via ZOOM

We understand that our furry friends are part of the family! That’s why our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) extends to your beloved pets as well.

What SandCreek Offers:

• Pet Care Resources: Access to a wealth of information on pet health, nutrition, and training.
• Discounts on Pet Products: Enjoy exclusive discounts on brands your pets will love such as The Farmer's Dog, PetSmart, and various pet insurance companies!
• Pet Loss Support: Compassionate counseling services to help you cope with the loss of a pet.

Visit SandCreek today and sign-up to learn more!

SandCreek, our Employee Assistance Program, is free, confidential, and available to ALL Sioux Falls School District employees and their family members. To register use the company code siouxfalls.

August is National Eye Exam Month. Getting regular eye exams is important, even if you think your vision is fine. Eye exams allow an eye care professional to monitor your eyes for common vision problems and signs of disease. By identifying diseases early, you have the best chance of preserving good vision with the best treatment options.

Simple actions can go a long way to protect your eye health, including not smoking, eating a healthy diet (especially dark, leafy greens like spinach or kale), and maintaining a healthy weight. Also, be aware of your family’s eye health problems, as certain diseases can run in families. Make sure to wear sunglasses to block harmful rays and protective eyewear for activities like sports and home improvement projects.

You can utilize our new Employee Assistance Program to locate an eye doctor near you! Call Sand Creek’s 24/7 Toll-Free Support at 888-243-5744 or login to your Sand Creek EAP