Radios
During winter break, the district distributed 780 new radios in all schools, including CARES, the Service Building, and the Board Office. These radios were acquired through grant funds to support daily communication within buildings and enhance district-wide communication during emergencies. Following adjustments to the radio repeaters (which enable clear communication within buildings and across the district in emergencies) and reprogramming of the radios, we are now close to achieving effective functionality throughout the district. Here are a couple of important reminders regarding the radios:

  • When using the Push to Talk button on the left-hand side of the radio, wait for one second before speaking to prevent the initial part of your message from being cut off.
  • Keep radio transmissions as concise as possible.
Ohio Blended Collaborative (OBC)
For the past six years, Mentor has been actively involved in the Ohio Blended Collaborative (OBC) with 25 other districts across the state, concentrating on blended and personalized learning. Throughout this period, more than 125 teachers from our district have engaged in year-long professional development centered around the concepts illustrated in the graphic below.

In the upcoming year, the Ohio Blended Collaborative (OBC) is set to expand, incorporating a couple of neighboring districts (Perry and Riverside.) This expansion brings about changes in the collaborative's format and session focus, placing greater emphasis on teacher interest and providing opportunities for collaboration with educators from across the state.

In late March or early April, we will extend invitations to all teachers, including those who have previously participated, to enroll in this exciting opportunity. We hope you consider this great opportunity to find new ways to reach your students while having the opportunity to work with other teachers across our great state!
IT Tips and Tricks
As you have heard from IT on many occasions, restarting a device is the first step when something is not working right. In this month's  IT Tips and Tricks Todd shares with you a few ways to restart your iPads.
Many staff have taken advantage of our new communication tool, Loop. Last month we featured a GIF to remind you how simple it is to create and send an announcement! This month, learn how to create a Group within Loop from the GIF to the left.
A Little IT Humor
After a month or so of struggling with programming and getting the repeaters all figured out, we were close to having 780 ear cleaners... Not really but a funny picture to represent this thought!
Approved Programs
(In addition to District Purchased / Approved Programs)
District Approved / Non-Supported "FREE" Programs where a SDPA has been SECURED
While we prefer district-approved programs, we've also secured agreements for specific "FREE" programs. We currently have secured 51 Student Data Privacy Agreements (SDPA) for district-purchased / approved programs along with 24 "Free" programs where we have also secured SDPAs. The list of these district-approved / non-supported "FREE" programs is below:
  • Actively Learn
  • Blooket
  • Code.org
  • Common Lit
  • Conjuguemos
  • Delta Math
  • DESMOS
  • Edpuzzle
  • Eduflow
  • Explain Everything
  • Formative
  • Gimkit
  • iXL math
  • KHAN ACADEMY
  • Lucid Chart
  • No Red Ink
  • Noodletools
  • Padlet
  • Quill
  • Quizizz
  • Readworks
  • Reflex Math
  • Story Board
  • Verso
Failure to protect student and staff information can result in financial and reputational loss, including significant costs for resolving a data breach or cybersecurity attacks and loss of confidence in the district by the public. Our district will continue to focus on maintaining the highest system and data security level!