Dear Central-Support Team,
Thank you for stepping in to support our schools so they can keep the doors open for in-person learning. Our school leaders have shared how grateful they are for this support and what a difference it’s making for their students.
As members of our Central Office team continue to support our schools in-person, we wanted to give a few updates to keep you informed, as well as share new information for those who may not have an assignment.
School Support Opportunities for Unassigned Staff
Many of you who have not been assigned to a school have been reaching out, sharing that you are ready to step into our schools. Thank you!
We are working hard to get all Central Office team members into our SmartFind Express system (SFE), which is the system our schools and guest teachers use to request help and select assignments. Everyone in Central Office should now automatically have a profile set up in our system. Find instructions at the bottom of the FAQ to register your account and set up your preferences. If you are not in the system, please check back the next day.
Please keep in mind that SFE will only show jobs for guest teachers, ECE and substitute paraprofessionals. The system is only set up for staffing those positions in a classroom. Our primary need is for guest teachers, so if you do not have an active substitute teaching license or need to renew, please consider getting one or renewing yours to support these substitute teaching needs. Review the FAQ for information on next steps, reimbursement, and how DPS can support.
School Need Daily Hot List
With so much need, it may be hard to know where to start. To help prioritize, we have created a list of schools with priority needs in this Google Sheet. This sheet includes requests for both classroom jobs and other roles, such as lunch and recess duty. We will send a daily email with this hot list of needs.
If you find a position you are comfortable with and are able to support, please contact the school immediately and let them know you can help using the listed contact information. The school can help claim the assignment in the SFE system, if needed. All support can be submitted for extra-duty pay using the instructions below.
In addition to scheduled absences at schools, we also have many requests for last-minute support. Please consider setting aside one day each week to support, and go into the SmartFind Express system or our assignment list to pick up a last-minute assignment. This support provides some of the biggest impacts to our schools.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your manager or email [email protected].
Reminder about Extra-Duty Pay
As a reminder, Central team members (except SLT) will receive extra-duty pay for their time spent in schools. Please refer to the FAQ to see the various pay rates. To help you keep track of your hours and for us to have a record of your support, it is every employee’s responsibility to complete this timesheet and submit their hours as “extra duty” pay in TruePay. Please review the specific instructions within the timesheet, and reach out to your manager if you have any questions.
Health and Safety Reminders
Keeping our team members and students safe continues to be our top priority, and we have robust health and safety protocols for our schools. In addition to these protocols, and always following the DPS 5, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has recently shared that in order to be considered fully vaccinated, educators should receive their third COVID vaccine booster by Feb. 1. Those who aren’t able to get their third booster by that day could be subject to quarantine if they are exposed (but are still able to support in our schools).
Schedule a vaccine or booster appointment online or by calling 303-602-8958. You can also contact your healthcare provider or visit Colorado’s vaccine website to find an appointment that works for you.
Thank you for all you are doing for our schools and, most importantly, for our students.
