A student from Ashley Elementary in Near Northeast Denver, taken last spring. |
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Our Commitment to Racial Equity |
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Dear Educators,
Welcome to the 2020-21 school year! We hope you had a great summer and are feeling excited for the challenges and opportunities ahead as we kick off a year unlike any before.
Over the summer, we have been working with school leaders to strengthen our commitment to racial equity -- and our commitment to lifting up the talent and excellence of each and every one of our Black students across DPS begins with understanding the past. This year is going to be a different experience for all of us, and we are not going to continue to adhere to the established norms that have plagued our students of color; we need to make important changes that will help achieve equity for everyone. Our students are not going to be coming back the same, and it is vital that we, as a district and educators, challenge the system of racism within DPS. We reaffirm our commitment to Black Excellence, and if we take action now, our Black students, leaders and educators will thrive in Denver Public Schools.
As a school district, we have the opportunity to be at the forefront of this nationwide issue and urge you to work collaboratively with your school leader to implement your school’s Black Excellence Plan to support this critical work.
Additionally, we want to share with you some updates on the exciting work happening between our community and our Curriculum & Instruction and Culturally Responsive Education departments. Click here to learn more.
DPS has continued to learn and grow by engaging with students and leaders that have helped put equity at the forefront. Specifically this year, we have had the privilege to witness the strong leadership and advocacy of students at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College (DMLK). You can read our full communication about these efforts here.
Thank you for your commitment to our students and for joining us on this important work. We look forward to working with you in the year ahead!
Many thanks,
Tamara and Mike
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Reminder: COVID-19 Testing Available for All Educators |
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As we shared, DPS is partnering with Denver-based Gary Community Investments to provide access to free COVID-19 testing and support to all of Team DPS. We strongly encourage employees to get tested, beginning with those who are already reporting on-site and followed by those who will be returning to work in person at a later point. Sign up directly here and learn more on the The Commons. Please reach out to your supervisor if you have questions, or email coronavirusinfo@dpsk12.org.
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This Week's Top 5 Things to Know |
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Extended Deadline: Required Asynchronous Literacy and Mathematics Professional Learning |
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Remote Lesson Examples K-12 |
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As a follow up to last week’s scheduling webinar, remote lesson examples can be found here. These include lessons from arts and PE, ELD, literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies.
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Teal Week Office Hours for Pathways Schools |
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Following the Unit Internalization sessions on this week’s Teal Day, Curriculum and Instruction will offer office hours to provide additional unit internalization support for Pathways Schools. Please plan to attend these office hours for additional, differentiated support based on your role. These will take place:
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High School Mathematics in Pathways Schools: Today, Aug. 12, from 2-3 p.m. (Click here for meeting link; Meeting ID: 959 0259 4002; Passcode: 9mtDUH)
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High School Language Arts in Pathways Schools: Friday, Aug. 14, from 1-2 p.m. (Click here for meeting link; Meeting ID: 998 7978 6146; Passcode: 2pfgAH)
An additional session for High School Mathematics in Traditional Schools will be offered Thursday, Aug. 13, from 2-3 p.m. (Click here for meeting link; Meeting ID: 930 1051 0695; Passcode: 1mwd3k)
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Personalized Engagement Educator Training: Required Training for Week of Aug. 17 |
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We know that many educators have started reaching out to families to jump start the school year and build relationships. To support these efforts, all educators are required to please review the Engagement Call User Guide and participate in the Personalized Engagement screencast training. This training will support our goal of contacting every student and family in all classes starting the week of Aug. 17. Research has proven that authentic relationships are at the core of every effective partnership and are linked to student achievement and school improvement. Please reach out to Family and Community Engagement for support.
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New Infinite Campus Advisory Tool for Teachers and Other IC Updates |
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As we start the new school year, please be aware of some updates and new features to Infinite Campus (IC):
Advisory Tool
The Advisory Tool is designed to help teachers target areas of improvement for the students they mentor. The first screen lists students with the number of assignments they have flagged as missing or late and the number of non-passing grades. Click a student to view more details in the student profile or click an assignment or grade total to view more details. Click here for a brief introduction to the Advisory Tool.
New Look for Calendar Names
For ease of access, changes have been made in IC’s school calendar names. Instead of showing a student's school number and school year (ex. 447 20-21), you will now see the school name and school number (ex. DCIS at Montbello HS 20-21). This updated look will allow you to more easily navigate a student’s enrollment while in DPS.
Updating Student Gender Identities and Pronouns
As DPS continues to support our diverse student body, supporting the Whole Child includes making sure all of our students feel safe and respected at school, regardless of their gender identity. IC has been enhanced to offer three non-binary genders and flags for student pronouns. For more information on how to use the new enhanced features, click here. If you have questions, please email Levi Arithson, LGBTQ+, at Levi_Arithson@dpsk12.org; Autum Brown, Data Quality Management Team, at Autum_Brown@dpsk12.org; or Marc Long, Infinite Campus Product Manager, at marc_long@dpsk12.org.
Sending Messages in IC
DPS has purchased SchoolMessenger to send messages to parent and guardian contacts, as well as high school students who have signed up to receive them. These messages include text, email and phone communications. This is a shift from our IC messenger system previously used. Schools and teachers may continue to use IC to send email messages or messages via the process inbox to guardian contacts and students; however, you will not longer be able to use IC for phone messages or texts. For information on how teachers may use Infinite Campus for email and process inbox communications, click here.
If you have questions, please email Marc Long, Infinite Campus Product Manager at marc_long@dpsk12.org.
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Additional Resources and Information |
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Click here to learn more about these resources and opportunities:
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- Google Transition Update: All Team Members Moving to Google by December
- Updated Elementary Bell Times for Social Distancing Transportation
- Virtual Strategies for Classroom Community Building
- Youth Mental Health First Aid Training Opportunities
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Denver Public Schools sends all district newsletters and critical employee communications through Constant Contact. Please do not unsubscribe your dpsk12.org email address from any message; if you unsubscribe from one newsletter or one communication, you will be removed from all other district-managed email lists in Constant Contact. If you have any questions, please email newsletters@dpsk12.org.
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